(USA TODAY Sports)
The Minnesota Vikings placed Adrian Peterson on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list early Wednesday morning. With that decision, Peterson is now barred from all team activities as he faces child-abuse charges. The 29-year-old has an arraignment scheduled for Oct. 8. If found guilty, Peterson could be sentenced to up to two years in prison.
The Vikings’ announcement comes on the heels of several league sponsors, including Budweiser, admonishing the NFL for its handling of domestic violence.
“After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian,” Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf said in the statement. “We are always focused on trying to make the right decision as an organization.”
The right decision would have been to remove Peterson from the team on Monday. Instead, the Vikings allowed the star running back to return to the team this week after sitting out Week 2’s loss to the New England Patriots. When team sponsor Radisson temporarily severed ties with the Vikings, and a new surge of outrage began to collect, the Wilf’s made the only decision they could.
It wasn’t the right decision. It was the only decision.
(USA TODAY Sports)
It also likely signals the end of Adrian Peterson’s 2014 season, and his time in Minnesota.
He’s on the fourth year of a seven-year, $100 million contract but it’s no secret that Peterson had been eyeing a way out of Minnesota before his child abuse charges. In August, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., shared an anecdote from a profile on Jerry Jones in which the Dallas owner and Adrian Peterson discussed a scenario where Peterson played for the Cowboys.
Peterson made similar statements to Scott Van Pelt in December.
“Being from Texas, I’ve always wondered … it would be cool to play in Dallas, to play back home. Or to play in Houston.”
In December, the notion of Peterson playing the last leg of his career in Dallas was fun diversion for sad Cowboys fans coming off another season without a berth in the playoffs.
Now in September, that far off distant future seems awfully close. Minnesota has made it clear they want nothing to do with Peterson at least until his legal troubles are over – if not longer. Some might say he could return. But regardless of whether Peterson is found guilty, his relationship with the Vikings appears to be increasingly untenable.
If he is able to return to the NFL – and that’s a big if – it won’t be in Minnesota. The question then becomes whether it will be anywhere else? Unlike Ray Rice, Peterson is still performing. Unlike Ray Rice, Peterson hasn’t been convicted. At 29, Peterson is old for a running back. There might not be more than another year or two left in his legs.
Would Jones be willing to take a chance on a 30-year-old Peterson? Would anyone? The only thing that seems certain is the Vikings are not.
