As expected, the Vikings’ organized team activities got underway today without Adrian Peterson, and the running back is prepared to forfeit his $250K workout bonus by not reporting to Minnesota’s OTAs. Unhappy with his current situation, Peterson has “ruminated on the possibility of retirement more than once” since last season, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
The update from La Canfora appears to be the latest attempt by Peterson’s camp to regain some leverage in the running back’s standoff with the Vikings. The team has so far expressed a complete unwillingness to explore trade possibilities for Peterson, and at this point in the offseason, it’s not likely that there would be a long list of suitors anyway.
As Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) observes, while renegotiating Peterson’s contract to guarantee some money is one tactic the Vikings could use to try to mend fences with their star running back, the 30-year-old’s primary goal is to play somewhere besides Minnesota. Still, no matter how strong Peterson’s desire is to move on, or how many rumors his camp leaks about a potential holdout or the possibility of retirement, the Vikes appear unlikely to change their stance, writes La Canfora.
Except for perhaps the Cowboys, no team currently looks like a reasonable trade partner for the Vikings, and it has always seemed like a long shot that any club would part with multiple top draft picks to land a 30-year-old running back set to earn a $12.75MM salary. Ultimately, as La Canfora outlines, the end game now is probably what it has been all along — the Vikes making some changes to Peterson’s contract, and perhaps restoring the bonuses that he’s currently in the process of forfeiting.
With Peterson and agent Ben Dogra digging their heels in, it may be a few weeks – or even months – before we find out how this situation will be resolved. However, this late in the offseason, it would be an unexpected twist if Peterson retired or was traded.