Except for a few trade rumors, it's been a quiet offseason for Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. He's still on the NFL commissioner's exempt list, but that could be changing soon. Peterson is scheduled to meet with league officials Tuesday to discuss his potential reinstatement, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Adrian Peterson nearing an NFL return?
The Vikings running back is scheduled to meet with NFL officials Tuesday to discuss his reinstatement.
The meeting comes one week before the April 15 deadline that would be the soonest Peterson can be reinstated by the NFL. He’s on the exempt list for an offseason child abuse incident in which he hit his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. In November, he agreed to a plea deal knocking the charges down from felony abuse to a single reckless assault misdemeanor.
Peterson was officially suspended by the NFL in November. He appealed that decision, and it was overturned by a federal judge on the grounds it was improperly applied between the league’s old and new personal conduct policies. The NFL appealed the decision and put Peterson back on the exempt list.
Reinstatement would clear up Peterson’s situation and likely spur a new round of trade rumors. The Vikings are reportedly split on whether to keep him, but Peterson reportedly wants out of Minnesota. He still has three years left on his contract, a deal that would pay him more than $12 million this season while carrying a cap hit of more than $15 million. Restructuring that deal may be a precondition for any team that trades for the running back.
A handful of teams have been linked to the Peterson trade talk by the rumor mill. The Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals are considered by most to be the likely frontrunners in acquiring the veteran running back.
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