Adrian Peterson may still want out of the Minnesota Vikings and a trade to the Dallas Cowboys remains an option, as the running back is ready to skip the start of OTAs and all offseason workouts and there is a chance his agent is looking to get his client a new contract with more guaranteed money before training camp over pushing for him to be traded.
Peterson has been mentioned in trade rumors all offseason and according to Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports, Peterson still "wants out" of Minnesota. Peterson's future has been up in the air all offseason after the way he was placed on the exempt list last year while dealing with his legal case in Texas. Robinson writes that Peterson will skip the "entire offseason" program and that comes after some speculated he could holdout of the first part of Organized Team Activities while hoping to get a new contract.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Peterson will be a "no-show" for the beginning of offseason workouts and could be absent for OTAs and minicamp workouts. The newspaper previously reported that if Peterson held out it would "not be deep into camp", but now it looks like things could move in the other direction. The report says that Peterson will be in line to miss out on a $250,000 workout bonus if he skips OTAs and he also could be fined for missing other workouts.
The Vikings had been consistent through the offseason in saying they are not looking to trade Peterson and so far they have followed through on that. The last major trade reports for Peterson came around the draft and Pro Football Talk reported that the Vikings would need to be "blown away" by a deal to make a move. Soon after that Peterson's agent Ben Dogra said that he was pleased that the Vikings have followed through on now trading Peterson, but that he wants a "commitment" from the team.
Dogra made those comments to USA Today and he went on to say that the team should step up and have Peterson retire a Viking, which would mean an extension and likely more money. The commitment that Dogra likely wants is more guaranteed money and if the star doesn't get that, there is a chance he could hold out or try and force a trade. Last season Peterson played in one game against the Rams and rushed for 75 yards before being placed on the exempt list.
Andrew Brandt at the MMQB said earlier in the offseason when reports about a potential Peterson trade or holdout came out that the situation was more about money than a trade. Brandt said on ESPN while appearing on Outside the Lines and wrote on the MMQB that he expects the Peterson camp to ask for a new contract and that any trade talk is likely being used as leverage to get more money in a deal.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that he has an "indication" of when Peterson will return to the team, but that report came out before the news from Robinson. Peterson was mentioned in trade rumors all offseason, with the Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals and Buccaneers as potential landing spots. Jerry Jones said in an interview that he could be willing to give up a 2016 first round pick if the right situation came along and that could mean Peterson.
