Hartman: Peterson's return clouded by obstacles

No doubt Adrian Peterson is not only one of the most popular players among his teammates but is loved and respected by the Wilf family, owners of the Vikings, General Manager Rick Spielman and other people connected with the team, even after his child abuse charge.

Those named above and most everybody involved with the Vikings admired the running back as a good person and felt the media was blowing the accusations against Peterson out of proportion.

That admiration for Peterson was one reason the Wilfs initially decided to bring Peterson back on the playing roster, a move the front office eventually reversed because of external pressure. Peterson was put on the exempt/commissioner's permission list, which allowed him to continue drawing his $11.75 million salary but not play.

I have a feeling that everyone connected with those personnel decisions was hoping a quick trial would be held, Peterson would be given some slight penalty such as community service and he would be playing again this season.

Another consideration why the owners kept Peterson on the payroll was because if they couldn't renegotiate his contract, which they want to do because it has $44.25 million in non-guaranteed money left after this season, they would still hold his rights and be able to get a first-round draft pick or more in a trade and draft a running back that could replace him to some degree.

Peterson's contract, the 11th-highest in the NFL this season, is by far the highest salary for a running back. For comparison's sake LeSean McCoy, the second-highest-paid running back in the NFL, makes $7.65 million, 30th overall.

You wonder if Peterson complicated his chances to come back with the Vikings when he admitted to previously smoking marijuana before a drug test Wednesday in Texas.

Under NFL rules, Peterson would not be suspended by the NFL if it is his first violation of the league's substance abuse policy. Players who are in the league's program for substance abuse have their names kept confidential, however, so it is not known whether he is already in the program.

Another thing the Vikings might consider at is that Peterson's production slowed down last season, after he posted one of the greatest rushing seasons in NFL history in 2012 when he gained 2,097 yards. In 2013 he gained 1,266 yards, the second-lowest total of his career, trailing only his 2011 season when he gained 970 yards and battled significant injuries.

Still, in considering Peterson's future as a Viking, don't give up on him playing here again, because if everything can get worked out legally, all that counts is winning and he could still mean a lot to the Vikings' future.

The Northwestern-Minnesota football rivalry goes back to some great matchups during the Gophers' championship years in the late '30s and early '40s, when the Gophers were coached by Bernie Bierman and the Wildcats were coached by Pappy Waldorf. And it could resume again Saturday when the two teams meet at TCF Bank Stadium in a crucial game for both teams.

In 1935, when the Gophers won their second national title and finished 8-0, they had one of their stiffest contests of the season at home against the Wildcats when they won 21-13. The next season, while the Gophers won their third national title, the Wildcats certainly had a claim to the No. 1 spot after they beat the Gophers 6-0 in Evanston, Ill., and handed them their lone loss of the season.

In 1938 the Gophers were undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the country when they traveled to Evanston to face No. 12 Northwestern. The Gophers lost 6-3, but they would go on to win the Big Ten title with a 4-1 record. The Gophers won the 1940 and 1941 national titles, but Northwestern pushed them to the limit in both season as the Gophers won 13-12 in 1940 and 8-7 in 1941.

• Northwestern linebacker Collin Ellis told the Chicago Tribune this week that a players-only meeting after their loss to Northern Illinois helped turn their season around. "We hashed it out. Guys who have never spoken before stood up," he said. Wide receiver Kyle Prater added: "From that meeting to right now, we've had a great turnaround. Everything has changed and intensified in practice."… Northwestern's great play of late can also be credited to Godwin Igwebuike, who was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after grabbing three interceptions last week against Wisconsin. That's the first time a Wildcats player received that honor since Ellis earned it last season.

• Nick Leddy, the former Eden Prairie and Gophers defenseman who was traded by the Blackhawks to the Islanders, will join former Gophers winger Kyle Okposo there. … Eriah Hayes, a former MSU Mankato hockey player and La Crescent, Minn., native, has made the 2014 roster with the San Jose Sharks.

• This has been a special season for former Wayzata standout A.J. Troup at Michigan State, where he is a fourth-year walk-on. The junior wide receiver, who graduated from Wayzata in 2010, has had three ACL surgeries and hadn't logged a single regular-season snap until the season opener against Jacksonville State, when he made his first reception a 17-yard touchdown in a 45-7 victory. For the season, Troup has six receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

• Former Twins reliever Pat Neshek is having a great postseason with the Cardinals, who are into the NLCS, posting a 2.45 ERA over four relief appearances with three strikeouts and two hits allowed. Since leaving the Twins in 2011, Neshek has posted a 2.55 ERA over 152 innings of relief with 133 strikeouts during the regular season. … What a nice break for former Twin Josh Willingham, who was traded to the Royals and is now doing some pinch hitting as the team starts the ALCS on Friday. Willingham has only two postseason at-bats so far, but he is 1-for-2 and that lone single led to a big run in the Royals' ALDS victory over the A's. … Willingham will be going up against the Orioles and former Twins Delmon Young and J.J. Hardy. Hardy signed a three-year, $40 million extension Thursday and will be the starting shortstop, while Young will continue to be a key pinch hitter.