The Minnesota Vikings and Adrian Peterson have agreed to a new restructured contract this offseason that will pay Peterson more in guaranteed money moving forward and this likely means any trades with Peterson in the future are off the table, while Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata are set as the backups at running back for 2015.
Peterson and the Vikings reached an agreement on a new deal after tons of reports this offseason that the running back was unhappy in Minnesota. There were trade rumors, sniping on both sides and threats from agents, but now it looks like Peterson will be in Minnesota for the near future and possibly the rest of his career. According to Pro Football Talk, the team announced that they agreed to a restructured contract that will pay Peterson $44 million over the next three years.
Peterson previously was on a three year deal for $44.75 million, but that money was not guaranteed and that was an issue for Peterson. PFT reports that the overall money has been lowered a bit, but the guaranteed money has jumped up and that likely is making Peterson a happy camper heading into training camp. The report says that Peterson will go from a $12.75 million base salary that was not guaranteed to an $11 million base that is a full guarantee. Peterson also will reportedly get a $2 million bonus at the end of this month.
Peterson will also get more guaranteed money in the next two seasons, including roster bonuses and workout bonuses for participating OTAs and minicamp. There always is a chance things sour in the future, but right now after all that has happened this offseason, it looks like Peterson will finish his career in Minnesota. Peterson played in just one game last season and had 75 yards rushing before he was moved to the exempt list while dealing with his legal troubles off the field.
Peterson was on the list for 15 games and later was suspended, but that decision was overturned on appeal. For a while it looked like Peterson would be traded, but that did not materialize and now he is back with the Vikings for this season. Peterson comes in looking to pick up where he left off in 2013 when he had 1266 yards and 10 touchdowns. The previous season Peterson had his best year with 2097 yards and now he is hoping to get back to normal in 2015.
Peterson likely will not play in the preseason, as head coach Mike Zimmer said he wants to be careful with Peterson coming back from a year off. Zimmer said Peterson has shown "no rust" on the field and that he doesn't need reps to get back to game speed in the preseason. The Vikings have solid depth at running back, as the team used McKinnon and Asiata as starters last season with Peterson out. McKinnon had some nice flashes and rushed for 538 yards and he is expected to be the main backup behind Peterson. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Peterson should get more work out of the backfield as a receiver, while McKinnon could be used as an "occasional" third down back.
