Rumor: Former Vikings RB Adrian Peterson close to deal with Saints

Reports are circulating that the New Orleans Saints are close to signing former Minnesota Vikings running back and free agent Adrian Peterson.

When the Minnesota Vikings signed running back Latavius Murray in free agency, they closed the door on the possible return of Adrian Peterson to the franchise. This made fans wonder where the former face of the team would land.

Several waves of free agency passed with little to no interest from many teams on the former NFL Most Valuable Player and Vikings franchise leading rusher. It started to look as though Peterson would need to wait until after the draft to find a new home.

However, that may not be the case. According to sources from Ian Rapoport on Twitter, Peterson is close to a deal with the New Orleans Saints. Here is that tweet:

The initial thought here is that the Vikings and Saints play in week 1 of the 2017 season at U.S. Bank Stadium. This could be a strange way to open the year for both Peterson and fans in Minnesota.

The second thing to notice is that the asking price is much lower than many experts are reporting he was looking for. While that price is likely still in the negotiation phase, it would be interesting to see him take that kind of contract after averaging $14 million over the last three seasons in Minnesota.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean a deal is done. All this means is that the two sides are likely talking about a way to bring the star running back to New Orleans which could be mutually beneficial to both sides.

Next: Vikings free agency tracker

What do you think of this situation? Are the Saints a good fit for Adrian Peterson? And how do you feel about New Orleans being the Minnesota Vikings first regular season opponent during the 2017 season? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.