The debate over whether Adrian Peterson should return to the Vikings or be left out in the cold forever continues to rage among fans. And evidently a similar debate is raging behind the scenes at Winter Park as well.
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Per Ian Rapoport, some members of the Vikings front office are not certain they want Adrian Peterson back in purple this year or presumably ever. Rapoport naturally cannot name the front office people who are against Peterson’s return. Because that would be too juicy.
The reporter does indicate that Vikings coaches are on-board with bringing Peterson back and we’ve previously heard that most of his teammates are ready to welcome him too.
It sounds like the majority opinion around the Vikings is that Peterson should come back. But football as we know is not ruled by majority opinion.
If the front office people who want Peterson gone happen to be powerful enough, no amount of lobbying by coaches or players or lower executives is going to matter.
All Adrian Peterson can do now is sit back and wait for the league and the team to make up their minds. It seems neither entity is in much of a hurry.
And that lack of urgency may itself be calculated.
The NFL and these anti-Peterson factions in the front office may be hoping they can sit on this particular ball until the clock runs out.
A six-game suspension is possible for Peterson though reports say it is likely the actual suspension would be shorter. If the NFL can drag its feet long enough, then hand Peterson a suspension, they can effectively wipe out the rest of his season.
And with that done, the Vikings can begin the process of trying to trade Peterson. If they find no takers they can cut him and move on with life.