Done With Vikings?
Done With Vikings?, Adrian Peterson's agent spent an hour holding court Monday in the lobby of the swanky hotel where NFL owners are gathered this week, but Ben Dogra would allow just one comment for the record.
"We want out of Minnesota," Dogra told USA TODAY Sports.
It was surely a line-in-the-sand type of position that reiterates the tone that has been coming from Peterson's camp.
It's the not-so-secret desire that has fueled the trade speculation that has been attached to Peterson for weeks.
However, the Vikings, who stood by Peterson through his legal issue and paid him $13 million last year, should not have to beg him to return to his job.
As adamant as Peterson's agent was on Monday, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman seemed equally committed to his position.Peterson, on the Commissioner's exempt list as his disciplinary case weaves through the appeals process, might be in the wrong place at the wrong time to force a trade.
"Adrian's a member of our football team," Spielman said during a visit with a small group of media that included USA TODAY Sports. "He's under contract with us. We are focused on the 2015 season and expect Adrian to be a part of that. Our whole focus is getting ready for that season with Adrian."
Peterson's the guy who in 2012 rebounded from reconstructive knee surgery and rushed for 2,097 yards to lead the Vikings to the playoffs while earning NFL MVP honors. It was like he had something to prove that year, in case anybody doubted that he couldn't be the stud runner that he was before tearing up his knee.
Now Peterson, whose image turned to mud with the child abuse case that resulted in him receiving probation for beating his then-4-year-old son with a switch, has something else to prove on the field — in addition to his personal issues.
If I'm the Vikings, I wouldn't think of dealing Peterson. The pieces are in place to take another significant step toward a return to the playoffs.
As if Peterson's edge isn't enough, there's the pure football logic. The Vikings just added speed-burning receiver Mike Wallace to the offense that Norv Turner is building with young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Peterson's game influences Wallace's vertical threat, and vice versa, all of which is good for Bridgewater. If you're Turner, this brings the X's and O's to life.
Even so, the Vikings owe it to themselves to at least explore the trade market. After all, Peterson is 30, the age when the warning signs of decline become more pronounced for running backs — if they haven't happened before then. Even with Peterson's salary — $13 million in 2015, $15 million in 2016 and $18 million in 2017 — in the mix.
Determining Peterson's value would be quite the exercise, in more ways than one.
Spielman, though, did not give off any hints of that possibility.
Asked point-blank about a trade, he said, "We're not going to deal in hypotheticals."At this point, just dealing face to face might advance the ball on some level. Spielman and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who have been consistent in publicly expressing that they want Peterson back, visited the star running back in Texas recently. And after that, Peterson flew to the New York area and visited with Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, along with Spielman.
But for all of that, there's still a major disconnect. The Associated Press reported Dogra won't even have dinner with Spielman this week; neither man confirmed nor denied the report. And Peterson's uneasiness with Vikings chief operating officer Kevin Warren has been part of the buzz, too.
Yet this whole scenario is wrapped in risk. An unhappy Peterson presents the threat of a distraction, if not the threat for a new contract that reflects just how much of a franchise player he is for the Vikings.
Then again, Peterson was a distraction last year, too.
But he's a much better distraction to have than to not have.
"We want out of Minnesota," Dogra told USA TODAY Sports.
It was surely a line-in-the-sand type of position that reiterates the tone that has been coming from Peterson's camp.
It's the not-so-secret desire that has fueled the trade speculation that has been attached to Peterson for weeks.
However, the Vikings, who stood by Peterson through his legal issue and paid him $13 million last year, should not have to beg him to return to his job.
As adamant as Peterson's agent was on Monday, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman seemed equally committed to his position.Peterson, on the Commissioner's exempt list as his disciplinary case weaves through the appeals process, might be in the wrong place at the wrong time to force a trade.
"Adrian's a member of our football team," Spielman said during a visit with a small group of media that included USA TODAY Sports. "He's under contract with us. We are focused on the 2015 season and expect Adrian to be a part of that. Our whole focus is getting ready for that season with Adrian."
Peterson's the guy who in 2012 rebounded from reconstructive knee surgery and rushed for 2,097 yards to lead the Vikings to the playoffs while earning NFL MVP honors. It was like he had something to prove that year, in case anybody doubted that he couldn't be the stud runner that he was before tearing up his knee.
Now Peterson, whose image turned to mud with the child abuse case that resulted in him receiving probation for beating his then-4-year-old son with a switch, has something else to prove on the field — in addition to his personal issues.
If I'm the Vikings, I wouldn't think of dealing Peterson. The pieces are in place to take another significant step toward a return to the playoffs.
As if Peterson's edge isn't enough, there's the pure football logic. The Vikings just added speed-burning receiver Mike Wallace to the offense that Norv Turner is building with young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Peterson's game influences Wallace's vertical threat, and vice versa, all of which is good for Bridgewater. If you're Turner, this brings the X's and O's to life.
Even so, the Vikings owe it to themselves to at least explore the trade market. After all, Peterson is 30, the age when the warning signs of decline become more pronounced for running backs — if they haven't happened before then. Even with Peterson's salary — $13 million in 2015, $15 million in 2016 and $18 million in 2017 — in the mix.
Determining Peterson's value would be quite the exercise, in more ways than one.
Spielman, though, did not give off any hints of that possibility.
Asked point-blank about a trade, he said, "We're not going to deal in hypotheticals."At this point, just dealing face to face might advance the ball on some level. Spielman and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who have been consistent in publicly expressing that they want Peterson back, visited the star running back in Texas recently. And after that, Peterson flew to the New York area and visited with Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, along with Spielman.
But for all of that, there's still a major disconnect. The Associated Press reported Dogra won't even have dinner with Spielman this week; neither man confirmed nor denied the report. And Peterson's uneasiness with Vikings chief operating officer Kevin Warren has been part of the buzz, too.
Yet this whole scenario is wrapped in risk. An unhappy Peterson presents the threat of a distraction, if not the threat for a new contract that reflects just how much of a franchise player he is for the Vikings.
Then again, Peterson was a distraction last year, too.
But he's a much better distraction to have than to not have.
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Done With Vikings?
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