Adrian Peterson: 5 free agency destinations
By John Buhler
The Minnesota Vikings are not going to exercise their team option on running back Adrian Peterson. Here are the five best fits for him in free agency.
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they will not exercise running back Adrian Peterson‘s contract for the 2017 NFL season. Peterson is one of the greatest players in Vikings team history, having been their bell-cow back since the 2007 season.
Minnesota could have interest in bringing the 32-year-old tailback back for another season, but the Vikings will have to do so for a smaller contract. The Vikings are poised to have a very difficult offseason. They are in the bottom-10 in available salary cap space at roughly $253,153,209 and do not have a first-round pick thanks to the Sam Bradford trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.
It seems that Peterson’s time in the Twin Cities has come to an end. If he does continue to play football with the hopes of winning a Lombardi Trophy, here are five other teams that could make sense for the future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back.
Indianapolis Colts
AFC, South
Are the Indianapolis Colts a serious contender to reach Super Bowl LII ironically in Minneapolis? Not really, but the Colts do have Andrew Luck at quarterback and play in a very winnable AFC South division.
Indianapolis has been down and out for the last two years, but could be trending in the right direction under new general manager Chris Ballard. The key for the former Kansas City Chiefs front office executive is to surround Luck with more talent and veteran leadership to help get this team back into the AFC playoffs.
Indianapolis has been a dismal running team, even after acquiring another future Pro Football Hall of Fame running back in Frank Gore a few years ago. Peterson doesn’t have to be the bell-cow back for the Colts, but could be a huge boost for them as a solid rotational back at this point of his career.
With the Colts, Peterson would again get to play in a dome, which will allow him to be more explosive on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf. Add in that the AFC South franchises are in warmer climates over the NFC North cities and we could see a resurgence from Peterson in some capacity on the ground. Indianapolis isn’t the best fit for him, but it’s not all that far away from Minneapolis. Peterson is more likely to have success with the Colts than the Vikings anyway at this point.