Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson needs to focus on his future

Just a few months ago, it looked like running back Adrian Peterson’s days with the Minnesota Vikings could be coming to an end. Rumors surfaced that Peterson was interested in joining the Dallas Cowboys – Peterson played for the Oklahoma Sooners and is from Palestine, Texas where he attended Palestine High School. Peterson also reportedly spoke with Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones but nothing has come of it. In fact, Peterson recently said he’d like to retire a Viking.

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Whether or not the Vikings want to keep him throughout his career is another question and Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com believes Peterson should be focused on his future.

"Put it all together and you have a player who should recognize that his future with the Vikings, at least at his current pay scale, is year to year. If his production decreases in 2014, will the Vikings want to pay him $13 million in 2015? That salary dwarfs the running back market, which is at an all-time nadir. In 2015, the average running back salary will be $1.3 million. Peterson would be one of only two running backs making as much as $8 million.I can’t say for sure that Peterson has contemplated that scenario yet, but I would bet the house that his advisers have. Peterson grew up in Texas, and if there is any owner who would overpay an aging running back for entertainment value, it’s Jerry Jones. Whomever put Peterson and Jones on the phone, however reckless it might have been, surely understood those dynamics as well."

Petesrson rushed for 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns on 279 carries in 14 games for the Vikings last season and the seventh-overall pick of the 2007 draft has gained 10,115 yards and 86 touchdowns on 2,033 rushes in his career.