National Football League

Garafolo: Peterson likely to leave Vikings, suit up for another team

Published Feb. 20, 2015 9:28 a.m. ET

foxsports

Adrian Peterson's days with the Minnesota Vikings are likely over, FOX Sports NFL Insider Mike Garafolo reported Friday.

Garafolo points to Peterson's recent comments in an ESPN interview as a sign that the star running back has bitter feelings toward the franchise and hopes to play for a different NFL team. Peterson told ESPN on Thursday that he's "still uneasy" about returning to the Vikings.

"That kind of uncertainty eventually turns into a player being adamant that he doesn't want to return to an organization that he believes did not stand by him in a time of need," Garafolo said.

Garafolo adds that Peterson's goal of moving up his reinstatement date before March 10 — the start of the league year — is a strong indication that he's working on placing himself in a better position to force the Vikings to trade him. Currently, the 29-year-old Peterson, who has three years left on his contract, can't apply for reinstatement until April 15.

In the ESPN interview, Peterson said that the Vikings' willingness to put him on the exempt/commissioner's permission list in September felt like an "ambush."

"My wife [and I], we've had several conversations about me returning to Minnesota, what the best options are," Peterson told ESPN.com. "If I left it up to her, I'd be somewhere else today, and that's with her weighing everything. It's a lot for me to weigh; she understands that. But there are some things that I'm still uneasy about."

Peterson, who pleaded no-contest to misdemeanor reckless assault after being arrested on suspicion of injuring his son while disciplining him, has spent his entire eight-year career with the Vikings, rushing for 10,190 yards and 86 touchdowns. In 2011, he rushed for 2,097 yards and was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.