The Minnesota Vikings have done and said everything that would indicate they want Adrian Peterson back next season. They may consider trading the running back if he absolutely refuses to play for them, but one thing they will not do is release him.
USA Today’s Tom Pelissero reports that Vikings GM Rick Spielman told Peterson’s agent Wednesday that the team will not release the star running back.
#Vikings GM Rick Spielman told Adrian Peterson's agent, Ben Dogra, tonight the team won't release him. No surprise but that's off the table.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 19, 2015
If #Vikings were going to cut Peterson and get nothing, it would've happened in September. They want to keep him. AP still has concerns.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 19, 2015
If you have been following this story, Spielman’s message to Dogra should not be surprising. The Vikings have expressed multiple times that they want Peterson back. They even have met with him twice this offseason to try to sway him to play for the team, though Peterson’s message afterwards was that he still had “concerns.”
The only way Peterson will not be a Viking next season is if he demands a trade. He supposedly has five teams on his trade list, and three of those teams still have a need at running back, so the Vikings certainly could get something in return if they tried to deal him. Also keep in mind what Peterson’s dad said: The Vikings may be publicly saying they want Peterson back in order to inflate the former MVP’s trade value.
