One thing seems certain regarding Adrian Peterson’s future in Minnesota: The Vikings don’t plan on releasing him.
That was the word late Wednesday, but earlier in the day Larry Fitzgerald, a Minnesota native and star wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals – a team closely tied to trade reports involving Peterson – told his team’s website that trading for Peterson would be a “game-changer.”
“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.”
But trading for the 2012 MVP appears to have plenty of roadblocks because of Peterson’s hefty contract; he is due $45 million over the next three seasons, including $12.75 million in 2015.
A member of the Cardinals organization, according to Peter King, said there is “no way” the Cardinals will trade for Peterson at his current salary.
Fitzgerald’s father, local sports columnist Larry Fitzgerald Sr., tweeted on Wednesday that the Vikings are quietly shopping Peterson.
Vikings quietly going about the business of shopping Adrian Peterson.He has requested-I want out! pic.twitter.com/32LFzCSBiE
— Larry Fitzgerald Sr. (@FitzBeatSr) March 17, 2015
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk believes a lot more will be known within a week. All 32 teams will meet in Arizona this weekend for the league’s annual meetings.
Peterson, who will turn 30 on Saturday, continues to hit the gym in preparation for his return to an NFL field for the first time since Week 1 of last season. Yahoo’s Charles Robinson says Peterson looks like he could “rip a keg in half.”
https://twitter.com/CharlesRobinson/status/578271651877376000
