A three-step guide to surviving the Adrian Peterson saga

A guide to surviving the Adrian Peterson saga that might be helpful for fans, media, front office personnel, emotional agents and a certain former NFL MVP …

Step 1: Breathe.

Decisions, conclusions and reactions are so much better when made with a calm brain, not a hyper heart. It's why Teddy Bridgewater seems to have a future and Christian Ponder does not.

Just when everyone appeared to be thinking that Peterson will definitely be returning to the Vikings, Peterson told ESPN.com that he was "uneasy" about returning to the Vikings. Then CBSSports.com reported that Peterson's agent got into a spat with Rob Brzezinski, the Vikings' lead contract negotiator and salary cap wizard, and concluded said spat by saying Peterson will never play for the Vikings again.

That reported statement seems to be all that was needed for everybody to now assume that Peterson will definitely never, ever return to the Vikings.

I'd caution people against assuming that a decision of this magnitude became final in the heat of an argument at the scouting combine. I've been through enough of these kinds of things to know that there is always an out for the team and the agent when a definitive statement like this is made or, in this case, reportedly made: BLAME THE MEDIA.

If the two sides patch things up, the media will be blamed for blowing things out of proportion. Unfortunately, that's become an all-too easy sell.

I remember the Vikings telling us that reports of Randy Moss being traded in 2004 were ludicrous. I also seem to remember that they told us that about a month before they traded Randy Moss.

2, Pay the man

If the Vikings want Peterson, they should just pay him what his contract states. Give him his $12 million. Take the $15 million cap hit. If Jared Allen was worth $17 million at the end of his contract, Peterson is worth at least $15 million.

If the Vikings didn't want to pay Peterson that much, they should have released him last year. Why pay the down payment and then not move into the house?

And let's all stop trying to shoehorn Peterson into the box where all the other 30-year-old running backs reside. The last time we jammed him in a box built for the typical human being, he ran for 2,097 yards the year after his left leg essentially fell off at the knee.

Yeah, the running back position has been de-valued. But greatness hasn't been. Peterson came into the league in 2007. There have been eight MVPs awarded since then. Only one time did a quarterback not win the award. That was in 2012 when Peterson won it. When healthy, he's as valuable as any non-QB in the league and more valuable than a lot of the QBs.

Pay the man.

3, Stay humble, Adrian

When Peterson says he's "uneasy" about returning to the Vikings, he should try to view the situation from the other side as well. The Vikings were uneasy with him last year. Heck, even his staunchest supporters were uneasy with what he did. Even the people who believe in corporal punishment as a way to raise children were uneasy with Peterson going too far with his 4-year-old son.

To say it was uneasy all the way around would be an understatement. The Vikings had every right to sit down as an organization and talk this thing through before taking a public stance. And if you've ever been in a meeting at work, you know there are differing views before the ultimate direction is chosen.

The bottom line all these months later should be: