The Minnesota Vikings may look at the trade or release of Adrian Peterson this offseason and if that happens, teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts could be interested in acquiring him, as the running back may be asked to take a pay cut for GM Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer.
Peterson played in just one game last season before being placed on the exempt list and while he was later suspended, that suspension was overturned on appeal. According to ESPN.com, Peterson can have his status changed next week, as he was bumped back to the exempt list but not yet reinstated after the appeal decision. The NFL likely will activate Peterson and after the decision was made, the Vikings were allowed to start talking with Peterson about his future.
The Vikings have been very open and very public about wanting to bring Peterson back following his child abuse case and it comes after he reached a plea deal in that situation. The league suspended him after that, but on appeal it was overturned, as the judge ruled the NFL applied a policy that should have been applied on Peterson yet. According to Pro Football Talk, USA Today reports that Zimmer will meet with Peterson this week and he will give him a "pitch" on why he should stay in Minnesota.
Zimmer and Spielman are permitted to meet with Peterson now that he is back on the exempt list and his future in Minnesota could come down to money. Peterson reportedly is "uneasy" about coming back, as he did not like the way the team shuffled him to the exempt list during the season, which resulted in him missing 15 games. Peterson is one of the most productive running backs in the history of football and in the previous two seasons from 2014, he rushed for 1266 yards and 2097 yards while scoring over 20 touchdowns.
Pro Football Talk reported earlier in the week that the Arizona Cardinals were interested in Peterson, while Mike Floro speculated that he would end up in Minnesota, Dallas, Arizona or Indianapolis. The Cowboys have been considered the favorites for Peterson, as they may lose DeMarco Murray to free agency and Peterson is from Texas. The Eagles could be in the mix if Peterson is released, as they just got rid of LeSean McCoy in a trade with the Buffalo Bills.
