The Viking Age
FanSided

Zimmer Understands If Adrian Peterson Wants Out Of Minnesota

By Adam Carlson

facebooktwitterreddit

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has already expressed that he would love to have running back Adrian Peterson back with the team next season.  He called Peterson “a heck of a football player” and that “he would add value to any team”.  But there’s also a side to the Vikings head coach that would understand if the star running back wouldn’t want to come back to Minnesota after he is inevitably removed from the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission List.

Adrian Peterson is still under contract by the Vikings through the 2017 NFL Season, but he could request a trade or ask to be released if he feels like Minnesota is no longer where he wants to play.

"“I would respect Adrian’s decision,” Zimmer told Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “I’ll always be honest with him and up front, but I’m going to try to explain to him the reasons why I would like for him to be here. But it has to be a two-way street, and he has to get his life taken care of. But we’ll sit down and talk, and I’m a pretty good recruiter, too.”"

Aug 8, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) talks along the sidelines during the game with the Oakland Raiders at TCF Bank Stadium. Vikings win 10-6. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Luckily for the Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson only has $2.4 million in guaranteed money left on his 6 year, $86.28 million dollar mega deal that gave him a guaranteed $36 million according to Spotrac.  Cutting ties with the running back would help to save some face with the Viking front office and some of the fan base and free up salary cap, but it would be a serious blow to the Vikings running backs group and could force the team to search for a feature back in the draft or free agency.

We’ll hopefully know more near April 15th, when the league will make a decision on Adrian Peterson’s status on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission List.

More from The Viking Age

Home/Minnesota Vikings News