There will be a familiar face at the Minnesota Vikings OTAs on Tuesday. Disgruntled running back Adrian Peterson reversed course and decided to report to the team’s offseason practice this week. This is the first time he’s been with the team since Sep. 12, 2014, prior to his suspension and stint on the commissioner’s exempt list in the wake of child abuse charges in Texas last year.
Adrian Peterson returns to the Vikings
Peterson reversed course and showed up at Vikings OTAs this week.
Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
“I decided to come back just to get around my teammates and the coaching staff,” Peterson told Josina Anderson of ESPN. There’s never been any love lost with those guys. Basically it’s time for me to come in and test the waters and re-familiarize myself with our offense and the direction they’re trying to go in.”
Relations between Peterson and the Vikings have been frosty since last September. Since then, there’s been a string of reports that Peterson was seeking a trade because he felt the team did not do enough to support him during the child abuse case. Trade talk died down in the wake of the draft. Peterson and his agent, Ben Dogra, have been adamant about a new contract with the team, one that would “secure his future” there.
He skipped previous spring OTAs, citing a family commitment as well as taking the usual course for a veteran player seeking some leverage in contract talks with his team. Peterson made his feelings clear in long string of tweets last week expressing his frustration, a frustration echoed by many NFL players, about non-guaranteed contracts.
The Vikings wouldn’t budge throughout the ordeal. Head coach Mike Zimmer delivered the final ultimatum last week, telling the press that Peterson could either play with the Vikings or not play this season at all. Peterson has three years and about $45 million left on his deal with the Vikings, most of which is not guaranteed.
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