Adrian Peterson tweets about New York Giants ‘interesting moves’
Adrian Peterson may not be back with the Minnesota Vikings next season, and he seems to have his eye on the New York Giants.
The Minnesota Vikings are unlikely to retain running back Adrian Peterson once the new league year starts, barring a surprising contract restructuring and substantial decrease in salary. Peterson is unwilling to take a pay cut to stay in Minnesota, which he more or less confirmed during an ESPN appearance in January while naming three teams he would like to play for.
The New York Giants were one of the three teams Peterson named, or more precisely was steered toward naming by First Take host Molly Qerim. With the league’s 29th-ranked rush offense in 2016 (88.3 yards per game), the running back position is an offseason need for the Giants.
On Monday, the Giants cleared some salary cap space by cutting wide receiver Victor Cruz. They soon followed that by cutting running back Rashad Jennings. A couple of notable moves, to be sure, and Peterson has clearly noticed.
The Giants been making some interesting moves.
— Adrian Peterson (@AdrianPeterson) February 16, 2017
Until the Vikings make a decision to cut Peterson, any potential interest from the Giants is a moot point. That doesn’t mean Peterson’s agent is not aware of their interest on some level, despite what looks like a very bad offensive scheme fit as the Giants operate from the shotgun a lot and rarely have a fullback on the field.
Peterson has previously expressed a lack of comfort taking hand-offs out of the shotgun, as well as a preference for running behind a fullback. In today’s NFL, that lack of adaptability and functionality limits Peterson’s appeal.
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Peterson can express veiled interest in the Giants all he wants, and they could look to add a veteran running back, particularly since the team cut Jennings. But when it comes down to it, a better fit for both sides will probably be found elsewhere.