The Adrian Peterson trade speculation will probably never go away unless the Vikings actually trade him or he retires.
The bottom line, however, is that all of the trade speculation is just that — speculation. The Vikings have never publicly stated they’re interested in exploring what they could get for the 2012 NFL MVP. Peterson, though, addressed the speculation on Thursday.
“I definitely wouldn’t mind playing here,” Peterson told the Pioneer Press. “I feel like we have the right pieces, and we can continue to get some more pieces as well to help build this team and make us even stronger. … So, no, [I don’t want to be traded].”
Tom Powers of the Pioneer Press argued in favor of trading Peterson in a column he wrote last month. NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal ripped the idea with a list of reasons why trading Peterson will never happen, in his opinion.
- This trade will never, ever happen. Let’s just get that out of the way.
- No one is making the Herschel Walker or Ricky Williams trade in 2013. Even for Adrian Peterson.
- You build around transcendent players. You don’t trade them away. Draft picks are so valuable because they offer the chance to find transcendent players.
- You do not trade the greatest player in franchise history just after the public helped finance a new stadium.
- Turnarounds in the NFL happen too fast to give up on a truly great player. Things look bleak now, but the Kansas City Chiefs are a great reminder of how fast things can change. With a few tweaks, a little luck and the right quarterback, who is to say the Vikings won’t be in contention next year? It would be a crime to humanity if the Vikings didn’t have Peterson at that stage.
- I’ve spent too much time on this silly idea. See point No. 1.
Like Rosenthal said, the thought of trading Peterson is nothing more than an idea. Will it ever happen? Nobody knows, but Peterson says he’ll understand if that day ever comes.
“I understand that,” Peterson told the Pioneer Press, via ProFootballTalk. “I know this is a business and things like that happen. So if it happens, it happens. There’s not much I can’t handle. I’m sure someone will welcome me with open arms if they do decide to trade me. … But it’s a business, so if they trade me, then, hey.”
According to ESPN, Peterson is on pace for 1,397 yards this season — far shy of his 2,096-yard performance last season.
