The Minnesota Vikings expect Adrian Peterson back for the 2015 season, but the running back is not making things easy, as he took to Twitter to rant about his contract and his agent Ben Dogra likely wants the team to give him a new deal with guaranteed money and if he doesn't get it, he could hold out to leave Jerick McKinnon as the starter in training camp.
Peterson's future has been up in the air all offseason and heading into OTA workouts the running back took to social media to complain about his contract. According to Pro Football Talk, Peterson is set to make $12.75 million in base salary this season and he has over $40 million on his contract over the next three years. Peterson reportedly wants his contract for 2016 to be guaranteed, as he is set to make over $15 million.
Ben Goessling at ESPN.com writes that Peterson could miss out on a $250,000 workout bonus if he holds out for a certain amount of time and he also could be fined for missing mandatory minicamp. Zimmer said he had an "indication" of wen Peterson would return and the team has said that they will not be trading him. Peterson has some leverage, but so does the team and they may feel that Peterson will play in Minnesota or nowhere this season.
Last season Peterson played in just one game while dealing with his legal issues off the field and he was placed on the exempt list during that time. Peterson later was suspended and that suspension was overturned on an appeal. Peterson came up in trade rumors for most of the offseason and teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals and San Diego Chargers were mentioned as potential landing spots, but no trade ever came close to happening.
The Vikings were very consistent during the offseason in saying they were not looking to trade Peterson and at this point in the year a move looks very unlikely. Zimmer was confident that Peterson would come to offseason workouts, which will be mandatory in the middle of June. Peterson's agent has had some tough words for the Vikings this offseason, but lately Ben Dogra has been less pointed with his words.
According to USA Today, Dogra said that he appreciated the team sticking to their word and not trading Peterson, but that he also feels a "commitment" should be made for the future. Pro Football Talk writes that Dogra likely wants more guaranteed money or an extension for his client and there is a chance he could push Peterson to hold out for part of the offseason or training camp. Peterson has a $12.75 million base salary this season, but the team doesn't owe him anything on his base salary until the year starts, giving them leverage in the situation for now.
Peterson is making a high salary for a player his age and the Vikings feel they are in a good position with his contract set for three more seasons. Minnesota has Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata on the roster and they will take over if Peterson holds out and this comes after they stepped up for him last season. McKinnon had a solid year as a rookie and he could be even better for the team in year two.
