National Football League

Report: Vikings want first-rounder, starting CB for Peterson

Published Apr. 18, 2015 12:38 p.m. ET

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Now that Adrian Peterson has been reinstated by the NFL, it will be interesting to see if he is successful in his quest to force his way out of Minnesota. Given the terms of his current contract and the value the Vikings want in return, Peterson may be stuck.

ESPN’s Adam Caplan reports that the Vikings would be seeking “at least” a first-round pick and “more compensation” if they were to deal Peterson. In addition to the first-rounder, Caplan says Minnesota would want a starting cornerback.

The Vikings consider cornerback to be their greatest position of need, and they believe they could draft a starting corner in the second round. In other words, they are looking for either a first-round pick plus a viable starting corner or a first-round pick and a second-round pick.

Unless Peterson is willing to restructure his contract with a new team, that seems unlikely to happen. Peterson is set to count a whopping $12.75 million against the salary cap next season and still has nearly $50 million remaining on his contract through 2017. Would a team really be willing to give up a first-round pick and a second-round pick to take on a 30-year-old running back that is the highest-paid player at his position?

We know at least one NFL team that Peterson would likely be willing to take less money with. And Peterson’s agent made it very clear with some recent remarks that AP wants a fresh start. At this point, the price just makes it seem unrealistic.

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