Rick Spielman might be bluffing. Who knows? But the Vikings’ general manager said there’s no way he’s going to pull the trigger and trade running back Adrian Peterson.
“We can just end the Adrian Peterson stuff,” Spielman said during his pre-draft press conference at Winter Park on Tuesday, via Pro Football Talk. “Our position has not changed since all of the statements we made down at the owners’ meetings. Adrian Peterson is under contract, his suspension was lifted, we’re looking forward to having Adrian Peterson as a Minnesota Viking in 2015. That’s the end of the story. That’s it.”
Rick Spielman: "If our ownership had interest in trading Adrian Peterson he probably wouldn't be here today.''
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) April 28, 2015
Charley Casserly of NFL Network said the Vikings would need at least two first-round draft picks for Peterson if he was the general manager.
Whether Spielman is bluffing when he adamantly states his case on the Peterson situation is anyone’s guess, but Ryan Boser dug up an old headline in which Spielman was quoted as saying he had “no intent” to trade Percy Harvin, which he wound up doing.
Rick's recycling old tricks. pic.twitter.com/cdPLwPJnqt
— Ryan Boser 🇺🇸 🏈 (@Ryan_Boser) April 28, 2015
But the “Adrian will play for the Vikings” claim has been everyone on the team’s modus operandi when publicly discussing Peterson’s future. Teddy Bridgewater got in on the act, or truth, on Monday when he said he fully expects to be handing the ball to Peterson in 2015.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Chicago, and it’s safe to assume we’ll hear plenty more about Peterson’s future over the next 48 hours.
