The erroneous perception that the Vikings may not have been thrilled about welcoming back running back Adrian Peterson may have been fueled by the team’s desire to not make waves within the broader structure of the National Football League. As the league office has failed to walk and chew gum at the same time regarding its handling of Peterson, the Vikings have not complained -- at all.
In the aftermath of the decision to suspend Peterson for the rest of the season, the team once again has opted not to sound off.
“The NFL has informed the Vikings of today’s decision regarding Adrian Peterson,” the team said in a statement issued on Tuesday morning. “We respect the league’s decision and will have no further comment at this time.”
The Vikings respect the decision, but they may not like it. And now they have reason to like it even less.
Apart from not having him at a time when the Vikings were 4-5 and preparing to face the Bears in Chicago and now not having him for the rest of the season, Peterson’s status won’t be revisited until April 15, 2015.
This means that the Vikings’ hands will be tied until at least one month into the 2015 league year, making it harder to trade him (if they choose to do so), since any team that may be interested in him likely will have addressed their needs at the position elsewhere in free agency. The end result could be that the Vikings ultimately will have to decide to keep him at a salary of $12.75 million for 2015, or to cut him.
While the Vikings would have taken him back during a season in which they’d already decided to carry his salary of $11.75 million, the decision becomes a bit more complicated for 2015. Complicating it even more will be the absence of the ability to shop him to someone who, as of the start of the league year, would be more willing to take the balance of his current contract and give up players and/or draft picks.
Whether it’s because they want to curry favor or they fear a Park Avenue reprisal, the Vikings have yet to gripe about the situation. If they haven’t by now, they likely never will.
