Adrian Peterson - Pro Football Rumors

La Canfora’s Latest: Mariota, AP, Dolphins

March 26th, 2015 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

After spending four days at this week’s league meetings in Arizona, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com came away with some additional insight and information on a number of key storylines around the NFL, including Marcus Mariota‘s potential landing spot and the Adrian Peterson situation in Minnesota. Let’s round up some of the highlights from La Canfora’s latest column….

After speaking to a number of team executives around the NFL, La Canfora gets the “strong sense” that Mariota won’t make it past the second overall pick. That doesn’t necessarily mean Mariota will be a Titan, but if a team wants to move up to snag him, a trade with Tennessee at No. 2 is more likely than a move to No. 5 or 6. “He’s going second overall,” said one GM who has an eye on the Mariota market. “I don’t know to which team, but he’s going second overall.”
Ben Dogra, Peterson’s agent, was “ever-present” at this week’s meetings, and his mission to get his client off the Vikings‘ roster “remains at full throttle,” according to La Canfora. While head coach Mike Zimmer indicated yesterday that the team had no plans to trade its star running back, Dogra will continue to do whatever he can to accommodate an exodus from Minnesota for Peterson, and has told people he’s confident a deal can get done before the draft.
As La Canfora notes, and as I alluded to yesterday in the wake of Zimmer’s comments, the Vikings aren’t budging, and they have no reason to — the team is unlikely to get a whole lot in return for a 30-year-old running back who sat out most of last year, won’t be reinstated until April 15 at the earliest, and has three years and $45MM left on his deal.
Several people told La Canfora this week that Mike Tannenbaum is “clearly calling the shots” for the Dolphins, with GM Dennis Hickey playing a reduced role.
Many people in the know believe that the Saints will ultimately end up with Tom Benson‘s wife Gayle rather than his grandchildren, as a legal battle for the franchise continues to play out.

Goodell Talks L.A., Peterson, Investigations

March 25th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Unsurprisingly, there were no earth-shattering revelations from commissioner Roger Goodell during his press conference at the league’s annual meetings today in Arizona. However, Goodell did answer questions about a number of pertinent issues, so let’s check out his answers on a few of those topics, with all links pointed toward the Twitter accounts of reporters in attendance:

The NFL isn’t necessarily focused on getting a team (or two) to Los Angeles in time for the 2016 season, but if that happens, it would have to be in temporary stadium. Goodell expects more discussion about L.A. possibilities at the league’s May meeting, adding that there’s “a great deal of work being done.”
The league’s relocation window is typically January 1 to February 15, but the NFL has discussed the possibility of moving that window forward, with the race to L.A. heating up. As Albert Breer of the NFL Network notes, there’s a good chance the Los Angeles situation crystallizes by the fall, in which case moving up the deadline for relocation could help to allow an L.A. stadium break ground by year’s end.
The NFL still appears to be handling Adrian Peterson‘s situation as if the league’s original suspension of the running back is in place. Goodell says he expects to meet with Peterson by April 15 to make a “determination on his status,” which is the same timeline initially announced by the league, before a judge ruled that the suspension should be overturned.
Asked if Ted Wells‘ DeflateGate investigation needs to be finished by the draft, Goodell said there’s no timetable for its completion. Obviously, if the Patriots were to lose a 2015 draft pick for the incident, the NFL would need to announce that within the next few weeks.
The Browns’ TextGate investigation appears poised to conclude sooner. Goodell said today that Troy Vincent is heading that case, and the commissioner expects to be brought up to speed on it within the next few days. The fact that GM Ray Farmer was reportedly texting his opinions to the team’s sideline may be a mitigating factor when determining discipline for the franchise, per Goodell.
Goodell said today that the league is looking into the pre-free-agency actions of “several” teams to determine if the NFL’s tampering rules were violated. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears that more than 20 teams are being investigated, though there’s no word on potential penalties for those clubs.
A decision on Greg Hardy‘s discipline – or lack thereof – is expected in the “near future.”

Zimmer: No Plans To Trade Adrian Peterson

March 25th, 2015 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Vikings recently came out and said that they have no intentions of releasing Adrian Peterson, and it appears that same stance applies to a possible trade of a running back. As Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press details, head coach Mike Zimmer told reporters today that the team has “no plans to trade Adrian.” According to the Vikes coach, there haven’t even been any discussions with other teams about a deal (Twitter link via Ed Werder of ESPN.com).

Although Zimmer doesn’t want the star running back to be unhappy, he notes that Peterson is under contract for three more years with the team, and told reporters – including Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com (Twitter link) – that he never once said he would “accommodate” the 30-year-old if that means assenting to a trade request.

Asked about a potential next step for Peterson, Zimmer acknowledged that the back will have to officially come off the exempt list following his suspension. “[Besides that], I don’t know that there is a next step,” Zimmer said, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). “We’re good to go.”

Zimmer’s comments may be a bargaining tool, intended to either encourage Peterson to keep an open mind about a return to Minnesota, or to help improve the club’s position if trade talks do occur. Still, the Vikings’ stance shows that the team has most of the leverage over Peterson at this point — after paying him for not playing last year, the Vikes are willing to pay him again this year at a rate that’s very fair, if not generous, for a 30-year-old running back ($12.75MM base salary for 2015).

According to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link), Peterson’s current unease is about money as much as it’s about a lack of trust with the Vikings. Cole indicates that, whether or not Peterson changes teams, the former MVP wants either a raise or a portion of his salary guaranteed for additional security. Presumably, as he enters his 30s, Peterson recognizes that this could be his last chance at a significant payday. But I’d be surprised if there are other teams willing to guarantee him significantly more money than the $12.75MM Minnesota is prepared to pay him for the 2015 season.

The Cowboys, Cardinals, and Colts are among the most frequently cited potential trade partners for the Vikings, in the event that Minnesota does eventually put Peterson on the block.

NFC North Notes: Peterson, Williams, Guion

March 24th, 2015 at 5:55pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As if Adrian Peterson‘s agent stating that it’s not in the running back’s best interests to play for the Vikings doesn’t paint a clear enough picture, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) reports that Peterson definitely wants out Minnesota, preferring to move on and play for a different organization. Per Cole, the three most likely destinations for Peterson are the Cardinals, Colts, and Cowboys — however, the Vikings know of Peterson’s desire to land in Dallas, and have no intention of helping him attain that goal. Vikings GM Rick Spielman has already stated that the club will not release Peterson, so a trade seems to be his only way out of Minnesota.

Here’s more from the NFC North…

Minnesota tight end Maxx Williams has a meeting lined up with his hometown NFL club, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets that Williams will visit with the Vikings. Williams is expected to be the first tight end selected in next month’s draft.
Free agent defensive tackle Letroy Guion won’t face any charges resulting from his February arrest, and his case is now considered closed, writes Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. However, the 27-year-old could still face discipline from the league, as Demovsky adds in a second piece. The Packers have expressed interest in re-signing Guion, who started all 16 games for them last season.
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press explains how the Lions acquired Haloti Ngata from the Ravens earlier this month, noting that Detroit’s personnel department began looking at game film of Ngata immediately after Ndamukong Suh signed with the Dolphins.
The Lions are working on setting up a visit with Arkansas guard Cameron Jefferson, per Birkett (Twitter link).

Extra Points: Peterson, Rivers, Murray, Hardy

March 23rd, 2015 at 10:26pm CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted notes from around the league as we wrap up this Monday evening…

Adrian Peterson‘s agent, Ben Dogra, reiterated that his client shouldn’t be playing for the Vikings in 2015. “I don’t think it’s in the best interests of [Adrian Peterson] to play for the Minnesota Vikings,” Dogra said (via Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole on Twitter).
However, Vikings owner Mark Wilf whistled a different tune to USA Today’s Tom Pelissero. “He’s an important part of the Minnesota Vikings and we look forward to him being part of our team in 2015,” the owner said (Twitter link).
Chargers general manager Tom Telesco said the the team isn’t considering trading quarterback Philip Rivers, according to ESPN.com’s Eric Williams (on Twitter).
ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson says (via Twitter) the Raiders are not currently pursuing Eagles offensive guard Evan Mathis.
Jaguars general manager David Caldwell said the Eagles offer to DeMarco Murray exceeded his team’s offer by a “large amount,” tweets Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com.
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett touched on his team’s addition of defensive end Greg Hardy (via David Moore of SportsDayDFW.com on Twitter): “If we didn’t believe that Greg Hardy could become the right kind of guy we would not have signed him.”
Moore also tweets that the Cowboys have interest in bringing back linebacker Rolando McClain, but Garrett said the sides haven’t made any recent progress on a contract.

La Canfora’s Latest: Wilson, Peterson, Titans

March 23rd, 2015 at 4:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com has been busy today at the NFL’s March meetings in Arizona, publishing three pieces — one on Russell Wilson‘s contract, one on the Titans‘ ownership situation, and one that addresses a few other items of note from around the league. Here are a few highlights from all three of La Canfora’s Monday articles:

La Canfora continues to hear that no new deal is imminent for Wilson and the Seahawks, and while both sides would like to get something done, there’s no sense that real progress has been made. The two sides figure to keep negotiating throughout the spring and the summer, but Wilson is prepared to play the 2015 season without an extension in place if need be, knowing that even without a new contract, he’d likely be in line for $20MM+ if Seattle franchises him next winter.
Adrian Peterson doesn’t want to play for the Vikings, but there may not be much trade interest in him at his current salary, and Minnesota doesn’t appear willing to cut him either. That may end up essentially creating a game of chicken between the star running back and the team — the Vikes could probably find a trade partner if Peterson were open to significantly reworking his deal, but it’s not clear how much he’d be willing to sacrifice to get out of Minnesota. La Canfora believes the Cowboys, Cardinals, and Washington would have interest at the right price, but that price likely isn’t $45MM over three years.
Some team executives around the NFL are growing frustrated with the league for dragging out investigations into the Patriots (Deflategate), Browns (Textgate), and Falcons (Noisegate), questioning why there’s still no resolution on any of those issues.
“Lot of people like [Marcus] Mariota a lot more than what you are seeing in the media,” said a high-ranking official for one NFL team. La Canfora believes Mariota will be the second overall pick, or at least a top-five selection.
Currently, veteran free agents signed after June 1 don’t factor into the following year’s compensatory picks. According to La Canfora, the league may change that date to May 1 to help benefit players (who could find a home a few weeks earlier) and teams (who could get those players to their facilities sooner).
Rumblings about a potential Titans sale have only increased since Tommy Smith left the franchise. La Canfora writes that billionaire Dave Tepper, who currently owns 5% of the Steelers, is considered by some league insiders as the favorite to land the Titans. However, the CBSSports.com scribe warns not to count out current Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, who is a Tennessee native and would love to own the Titans. While a “swap” of franchises between owners is unlikely, it’s worth keeping an eye on Haslam just in case, says La Canfora.

Peterson’s Agent Rejects Vikings Meeting

March 20th, 2015 at 5:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

Adrian Peterson‘s ongoing saga in between NFL snaps continued today, with the latest development wedging the two sides further apart. The running back’s agent, Ben Dogra, declined a meeting request from Vikings GM Rick Spielman, Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson reported.

Spielman sought a dinner summit with Dogra at next week’s owners’ meetings. Despite reports the Vikings do not intend to release their star runner leaving the door open for a potential reunion, Peterson does not appear to want to increase the dialogue. The former top-10 pick, however, did have dinner with owners Mark and Zygi Wilf earlier this month, but sources told Robinson he is unhappy in Minnesota.

The Cardinals are considering offering a second-round pick for Peterson, according to Robinson, and giving the disgruntled ball-carrier a new contract.

This latest chapter pushes the sides closer to an impasse. Peterson’s contract takes up a team-high $13MM+ of the Vikings’ 2015 cap with that number set to rise to $17MM in 2017, the final year of his current deal. Teams are not keen on allocating those kind of funds to running backs in 2015.

Peterson turns 30 tomorrow, but the ex-Oklahoma superstar essentially bypassed a year of punishment. He’s rushed for at least 10 touchdowns in each of his seven full seasons and averaged more than 4.5 yards per carry in all but one full season.

The Cardinals’ highest-paid running backs, Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington, are set to occupy barely $1.2MM of cap space between them. The team has just more than $9MM worth of room under its 2015 financial ceiling right now, according to OverTheCap.

The 26-year-old Ellington may be better suited for change-of-pace work at 199 pounds and the yards-per-rush disparity between the 2013 sixth-round pick’s two seasons, the first as a complement rusher and the second as Arizona’s primary carrier. Ellington averaged 5.5 yards per tote as a rookie but just 3.3 last year before going down with a season-ending sports hernia malady.

Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon remain the Vikings’ current contingency plans in the event of a Peterson exit.

Vikings Will Not Release Adrian Peterson

March 18th, 2015 at 10:54pm CST by Ben Levine

Many of the rumors surrounding Adrian Peterson have focused on teams seeking to acquire the running back via trade. There hasn’t been much suggesting the Vikings would cut their star player, and USA Today’s Tom Pelissero confirmed that news this evening (via Twitter). According to the writer, Vikings general manager Rick Spielman informed Peterson’s agent, Ben Dogra, that the team would not be releasing the embattled running back. Pelissero notes that if the team had actually wanted to part ways with Peterson, they would have done so in September following the player’s indictment on child abuse charges.

According to Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo (on Twitter), Dogra texted the following:

“It was important for me to relay the position the Vikings are taking to Adrian. I want to make sure there is absolutely no confusion whatsoever.”

As Garafolo tweets, the wording of the agent’s text was very deliberate, and there have so far been zero public demands for Peterson to be moved. We heard in February that the running back was “uneasy” about returning to Minnesota, and recent reports have suggested that Peterson’s feelings towards the organization haven’t improved.

The Vikings releasing Peterson never appeared to be the logical route, as the organization would presumably rather acquire an asset for their best player as opposed to receiving nothing. While releasing the 29-year-old this offseason would save the organization $13MM, the extra cash wouldn’t do much good this far into free agency. Previous reports have suggested that prospective teams, including the Cardinals, have been scared away by the three years and $45MM remaining on Peterson’s contract.

Peterson’s 2014 campaign was limited to one game, when he ran for 75 yards on 21 carries. In 2013, he finished the season with 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him the 11th-best rating among 55 running back candidates on Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Extra Points: 49ers, Hardy, Peterson, Rivers

March 18th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Ben Levine

49ers CEO Jed York appeared on Bloomberg Television on Tuesday to discuss a number of different topics, including the surprise retirement of Chris Borland (via SFGate.com):

“We respect it, and I love Chris. He’s a great kid. And it’s certainly a surprise to us and I think to some of his teammates. But you have to respect the decision. If he fears for his health and safety going forward, I don’t ever want somebody to go out there and do something that they’re not comfortable doing. And I would never try to talk somebody out of retirement. I know it wasn’t an easy decision for him, but we respect him and we wish him the best.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the NFL…

Greg Hardy spurned the Buccaneers for the Cowboys earlier today, but as Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times writes, it may have been the organization that rejected the player. “At the end of the day, we didn’t feel good about it,” said general manager Jason Licht.
Count Larry Fitzgerald among those who’d like to see Adrian Peterson wearing a Cardinals jersey next season. The veteran wideout told Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that adding the All-Pro running back would be a “game-changer” for the organization. “Obviously, he’s an MVP-caliber player,” Fitzgerald said. “Everybody knows that. Any team he ends up with — or if he stays with the Vikings — is going to have a great back. If he was to come play here, it would obviously mean a tremendous amount for our ballclub.”
Following news that Philip Rivers wouldn’t consider a new deal with the Chargers until the end of the 2015 season, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport says the organization has no intention of letting the quarterback depart (via Around The NFL on Twitter). Rapoport notes (on Twitter) that both sides have plenty of leverage during negotiations.
CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora tweets that the Bills actually signed wideout Percy Harvin to a three-year, $24MM deal, but the contract voids to a one-year, $6MM pact. As WGR550’s Joe Buscaglia points out on Twitter, this saves the organization $2MM in 2015 cap through “signing bonus proration,” meaning the player’s cap hit for this season will be $4MM as opposed to $6MM. Furthermore, if the Bills decide to void the contract following 2015 (which they’re expected to do), they’ll get hit with $2MM in dead money.

King’s Latest: Peterson, Hardy, Winston

March 16th, 2015 at 9:30am CST by Luke Adams

After publishing a Wednesday Morning Quarterback last week to recap a crazy first day of NFL free agency, Peter King of TheMMQB.com returns to his usual Monday Morning Quarterback piece this week, and the latest installment includes several noteworthy tidbits from around the league. Let’s round up the highlights….

Addressing a report about the Cardinals‘ possible interest in Adrian Peterson, King cites a “reliable Cardinals source” who indicates Arizona hasn’t had any contact with the Vikings about Peterson. “There is no way we could live with those numbers,” the source said, referring to the three years and $45MM left on the running back’s contract. “We just got Larry Fitzgerald’s contract under control. No way we’d add that salary.”
One general manager tells King that Greg Hardy is on his club’s free agent list, “but pretty far down.” Many teams believe the veteran defensive end will be suspended by the league for the first six games of the 2015 season.
Jameis Winston isn’t currently planning to attend the 2015 NFL draft in Chicago, preferring to spend it with family and friends down south, says King.
King thinks a team like the Falcons or Buccaneers would be a nice fit for free agent pass rusher Dwight Freeney.
The Jets likely would have blown any rival offer for Darrelle Revis out of the water, so even if the Patriots had been willing to get into the neighborhood of New York’s five-year, $70MM proposal, the Jets probably would’ve just upped the ante.
The Cowboys started out at a $5MM-per-year price tag for DeMarco Murray, and were willing to stretch that to $6MM annually, but never considered matching the Eagles‘ final offer, which got up to $8MM+.