The Vikings have reportedly told running back Adrian Peterson that they won’t release him, which would leave two options for Peterson if he wants to resume his career in 2015.
One is to play for Minnesota and the other is to get traded to another team. The Cardinals have been mentioned frequently as a potential trade destination for Peterson, although someone from the team told Peter King of MMQB.com that there was “no way” that the team will deal for Peterson at his current salary.
There have been suggestions that the Cardinals might be willing to trade wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald for Peterson, which would be complicated by Fitzgerald’s no-trade clause. Fitzgerald said Wednesday that he doesn’t “pay attention” to such discussion, although he has heard talk about the Cardinals trading for a running back that Fitzgerald thinks would be a “game-changer” for the team.
“Obviously, he’s an MVP-caliber player,” Fitzgerald said, via the team’s website. “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.”
The Peterson situation has been shuffling toward a conclusion for a while without any clear idea of when it might reach that conclusion or what that conclusion might be. Nothing Fitzgerald says changes that, but it does offer a reminder of why everyone is paying so much attention.