Vikings running back Adrian Peterson declined the opportunity to meet with Roger Goodell and the NFL last week at a disciplinary hearing to explain his perspective on his violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, but he spoke at length to Tom Pelissero of USA Today this week. Within the interview, Peterson expresses remorse about the way he disciplined his son, promising he “won’t ever use a switch again.”
It’s fair to wonder if the running back’s penalty from the league wouldn’t have been quite so punitive if he’d made these comments to Goodell last week, though perhaps they were made in response to the league’s claim that Peterson didn’t show much remorse for the incident with his son. In any case, Peterson sounds prepared to move on from Minnesota if the Vikings decide to release him before the 2015 season, suggesting that “maybe it’s best for me to get a fresh start somewhere else.”
Here’s more on Peterson:
- Considering Peterson is already preparing for the idea of playing for a new team, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) wonders if the running back’s next deal could include a number of not likely to be earned incentives. NLTBE incentives are based on the previous year’s performance, and don’t count against the cap unless they’re achieved. So a team could offer Peterson a deal that includes $1MM for 1,000 yards rushing, for instance, and only have it count against the cap if he surpasses that mark.
- Albert Breer of the NFL Network notes (via Twitter) that the only money the Vikings owe Peterson between next January and September is a $250K workout bonus, so the team will have plenty of time to make a decision on whether to keep him. Of course, as Corry points out (via Twitter), the team may not want to sit on his rights, considering he comes with a $15MM+ 2015 cap hit.
- In the wake of the Peterson ruling, there appears to be plenty of dissent between the NFL and the Players Association. NFLPA leaders DeMaurice Smith and Eric Winston spoke to Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com about the union’s frustration with the league’s handling of personal conduct policy issues, and Goodell’s arbitrary enforcement of discipline.