Contrary to whatever it was that Cris Carter was hinting about last week, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson wasn’t traded. And Peterson’s agent has acknowledged that a trade won’t happen -- but that the Vikings should extend “a commitment to make him retire as a Viking.”
Appearing recently on PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio, Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman declined to comment on whether that commitment will be made.
“He is a player under contract,” Spielman said. “We never discuss with any of our players any financial consequences or anything financial with players’ contracts. We never discuss them publicly. That is kept internally, hopefully between the agent, the player, and ourselves, regardless of what the player is. There’s nothing I can tell you. All I can tell you at this point he is under contract with the Vikings. We intend to honor his contract in the ’15 season as we look forward to having him rejoin our team.”
Apart from whether a “commitment” will be made to Peterson, Spielman made it clear that he wants Peterson to remain with the team indefinitely.
“I think Adrian has done a lot for this organization,” Spielman said. “He made a mistake. He’s done a lot for this community. If we didn’t believe in Adrian Peterson, he wouldn’t be here. . . . He paid his consequences for that mistake and I think it’s time for everybody to just move on.”
The only remaining question is whether Peterson will show up for any portion of the offseason program, and whether he’ll appear for training camp. If he chooses not to play in 2015, he’ll owe the Vikings $2.4 million in previously-paid bonus money. If he plays, he’ll get $12.75 million.
If he shows up for the upcoming Organized Team Activities, he’ll get another $250,000 -- making it an even $13 million for 2015.