Adrian Peterson's hefty contract complicates Vikings' roster decisions

Adrian Peterson potentially could return from knee surgery this season, though an even larger decision looms over his long-term future with the Vikings.

General Manager Rick Spielman said Tuesday he has evaluated his roster for next season, but declined to get into specifics about the 31-year-old running back. Peterson is under contract for one more year, an expensive $18 million option the team can decline to exercise before the next league year begins in March.

"I have looked a lot at what our 2017 roster is going to look like and some of the significant contracts we may have coming up and some of the guys we may not be able to afford to keep," Spielman said.

The Vikings likely wanted to address Peterson's lofty cap number for 2017 even before his September knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. An offensive approach shifting to more shotgun formations, orchestrated now by quarterback Sam Bradford, also complicates matters.

Before the Sept. 18 tear of his meniscus, Peterson was struggling to find room behind a retooled offensive line. The NFL's reigning rushing champion had gained only 50 yards on 31 carries. And the Vikings running game hasn't done much better without him as their 2.5 yards per carry ranks last in the NFL through five weeks.

"Adrian was kind of getting back into it," Spielman said. "I think because we had adjusted some things offensively and our offensive line, I think, was still trying to jell early. When he played those first couple games and usually Adrian becomes strong as the season goes and goes."

Peterson is eligible to return from injured reserve in mid-November.

Don't anticipate any more roster moves this week after the Vikings signed tackle Jake Long on Tuesday. The team's salary cap situation won't allow much wiggle room, after the team needed a "magic wand" from Rob Brzezinski, the vice president of football operations, to sign Long.

Spielman said the Vikings didn't need to restructure any contracts to create room. But creative money managing was necessary because $33 million of the Vikings' cap is inactive on injured reserve or non/football-injury lists, according to Spielman, with Peterson, Matt Kalil, Andre Smith, Teddy Bridgewater on IR.

"I read a lot of things and, you know, it's funny, it's 'We'll trade for this guy or trade for that guy,' I think last week we're under $50,000 in cap room," Spielman said. "I think Rob, with his little magic wand, was able to create some cap room so we can get Jake Long done. We're pretty much strapped against the cap right now with the amount of money we have on IR."

Spielman did not gloat about quarterback Sam Bradford, whom he acquired last month from Philadelphia for a 2017 first-round draft pick and conditional 2018 fourth-round pick. Bradford has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes for 990 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in four starts.

"We still have a long season left," Spielman said. "But right now, I would say we're pretty happy with the returns we've got at this point. You're not going to know honestly until the end of the year."