Pay Peterson and he'll play as if possessed

Our guy Sid insists the Wilfs plan to handle the Adrian Peterson situation by "paying him the money.'' Sid also added "that comes straight from the horse's mouth,'' which presumably would be principal owner Zygi Wilf.

If that's the case, then the mystery of Peterson's whereabouts for the 2015 season would seem to be more hype than reality.

Peterson can suggest in his rare interviews that his doubts are not based on money, and his agent Ben Dogra can indicate the same, but it's almost always about the money …

Particularly, when a player has lost three game checks totaling $2,203,125, and there's a strong possibility that could be doubled before he's reinstated.

The Purple Faithful preach that Peterson got paid for not playing last season, but he wasn't paid in full … not once arbitrator Harold Henderson's decision came down in the NFL's favor on Dec. 12.

Peterson missed the last three checks, and if you say, "Who cares … he got paid for 12 games while he wasn't playing?'' the answer would be: "Adrian cares, and if Adrian cares, his agent cares.''

Judge David Doty threw out Henderson's preposterous decision and sent it back to the arbitrator for a more-reasonable verdict. The NFL appealed, and from what I've been reading, there's a very good chance the NFL will get its way because even idiotic arbitration decisions are seldom reversed by the court.

Does Zygi want to calm the Adrian waters? All he has to do is to state publicly the same thing that apparently he has been telling Sid:

"Once Adrian Peterson's dispute with the NFL is resolved, the Vikings plan to pay him the full $12,750,000 that he is due for the 2015 season under his current contract.''

General Manager Rick Spielman has made a few comments as to how the Vikings want to have Peterson – and are planning to have Peterson – for the season ahead.

Spielman hasn't said that he plans to make certain of this by honoring Peterson's contract in full for 2015.

Coach Mike Zimmer has said he wants Peterson back, with the disclaimer that it has to be a "two-way street.''

The way I read the interview with ESPN.com's Ben Goessling, Adrian expected Vikings fans and the media here to look at the whipping of his 4-year-old son as a horrible mistake by a good person, rather than a horrible mistake that made him a horrible person to many.

I'm sure that hurts him, but my opinion is strong that his unwillingness to embrace a return to the Vikings, and Dogra's alleged comment in a private argument that Peterson would never again play in Minnesota -- that it's part of a pre-emptive strike by the Peterson camp against the expectation the Vikings are going to ask him to take a pay cut.

Peterson has a contract, and if the Vikings pick it up in full for 2015, he'll be here, and he'll play like a man possessed, knowing it's the only way he can get anywhere near the $32 million total in non-guaranteed money this contract calls for in 2016 and 2017.

You want to resolve this brouhaha, Zygi? Just order somebody in the organization to say publicly that this is coming straight from the horse's mouth: