The Minnesota Vikings are not planning to trade Adrian Peterson this offseason, at least that's what head coach Mike Zimmer wants and this comes after speculation about Peterson's future, as teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals have shown interest, but Zimmer would rather keep Peterson to help develop the offense with Teddy Bridgewater, Cordarrelle Patterson and Jerick McKinnon.
The Vikings and Peterson have been at odds this offseason about his future, with the running back's agent going public about his displeasure with the situation. According to ESPN.com, Zimmer spoke about the speculation about Peterson and said that the team "fully expects him" to be in Minnesota for the 2015 season. Right now it appears that the Vikings have the leverage, as Peterson is under contract for three more seasons.
Zimmer and the Vikings have been very public about wanting Peterson to return, but some issues still remain. According to ESPN.com, earlier in the offseason Peterson spoke about feeling "ambushed" with the way he was placed on the exempt list while dealing with his child abuse case last season. Sources said that Peterson planned on fighting his case and playing at the same time and he felt the Vikings and the NFL pushed him to the exempt list to help with PR after the Ray Rice situation.
Peterson later had the case settled and he ended up getting suspended indefinitely by the league. Peterson later had that suspension overturned on appeal and now he can return to the team, but so far that has not happened officially. Peterson is under contract, but his agent said this week that t's not in Peterson's "best interested" to stay in Minnesota. The Vikings have already stated that they are not releasing Peterson and that could signal that a battle is coming between the two sides. Pro Football Talk reports that the Arizona Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys have interest in Peterson, but his contract is likely keeping anything from happening.
Peterson is set to make $12.75 million this season and he is signed for three years and $45 million overall. The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly interested, but Peter King at the MMQB writes that his contract makes the deal a "non-starter" for the team. The Cardinals reportedly were willing to give up a "high draft pick" for Peterson, but they did not feel comfortable taking on his contract without a pay cut or a restructuring.
Zimmer has met with Peterson this offseason and the team is hoping the two sides can agree on how to move forward this year. Teddy Bridgewater had a strong rookie season and Zimmer praised the work that Cordarrelle Patterson has done this offseason. Last year Patterson took a step back and now the team is hoping to keep Peterson while building around Bridgewater for the future. The team has some insurance behind Peterson, as Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata both played well last year.
Roger Goodell said that the league has "still considers April 15" as the date when they will make a decision about Peterson's reinstatement. Peterson technically remains on the exempt list despite his suspension being overturned and at that time he could be reinstated to the league, although he can talk about and re-work his contract while on the exempt list.
