Mike Zimmer: Vikings will not trade Adrian Peterson

By Evan Massey | Mar 25, 2015

Sep 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) looks on during the second half against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. The Vikings defeated the Rams 34-6. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer made it very clear that the team does not plan to trade superstar running back Adrian Peterson.

The NFL offseason has already been a whirlwind with a ton of big names moving teams, but one big name that isn’t likely to move is Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. There have been trade rumors swirling with his name attached all offseason long, but Mike Zimmer made it clear that trading their superstar running back is not in the teams plans.

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“I’m not going to speculate on what he wants or doesn’t want,” Zimmer said. “Adrian’s under contract for three more years with us and that’s why you sign those contracts. That’s why you get these big bonuses, you know? We have no plans to trade Adrian.”

It doesn’t come as much of a surprise to those that have been following the situation all offseason long. Peterson has major concerns about the way that the Vikings worked with the NFL to suspend him, and has had multiple meetings with ownership to try to work things out. Minnesota, on the other hand, has been very consistent in their belief that Peterson will be their starting running back next season.

There is no doubt that Peterson fits well into what the Vikings are trying to do. Second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is going to have a lot of pressure lifted off of his shoulders with Peterson in the same backfield with him.

Throughout Peterson’s eight-year career with the Vikings, he has played in a total of 104 games. In those 104 games, he has run for 10,190 yards and 86 touchdowns on 2,054 carries. He has been the NFL’s undisputed best running back for the past few seasons, and is still more than capable of putting up huge numbers when he comes back.

At 30 years old, Peterson still has a few good year of football left in him. The Vikings are hoping that he can put them on his back once again in 2015 and help lead them back to the playoffs.

Needless to say, making the playoffs is going to be a very tough task for the Vikings to accomplish. They have upgraded their team in a big way over the past couple years, but they still have quite a few holes to fill. That being said, simply having their superstar running back and franchise leader back on the field is going to be a big step in the right direction.

H/T ESPN

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