Peterson situation exhausting but Vikings shouldn't budge

Vikings should tell Peterson to play or sit

March 24, 2015 at 3:39PM

I have a serious case of Peterson fatigue.

Anyone else?

The rift between the Vikings and Adrian Peterson and his camp continued to grow wider Monday when agent Ben Dogra told reporters at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix that he doesn't feel it's in Peterson's best interest to play in Minnesota.

"Why would it be?" he asked.

Peterson's camp continues to offer up tough rhetoric with the hope that he can force his way out of Minnesota. If I'm the Vikings, I sit and do nothing.

It's clear that Peterson and his camp are floating his unhappiness at every opportunity because they want to create that fatigue. They want the Vikings to get to a point where they see no alternative but to trade him as soon as possible.

They're trying to back the Vikings into a corner to a point where the organization throws its hands up and says, "This situation is hopeless. Let's just move on."

The Vikings shouldn't budge UNLESS a team comes in and blows them away with a trade offer. That apparently hasn't happened yet so why rush into a bad deal?

The Vikings hold all the leverage in this situation. Peterson is under contract for the next few seasons. He's scheduled to make nearly $13 million this season.

Make him honor his contract for one more season.

Peterson might return disgruntled but I don't think he would give a half-hearted effort on the football field. That's not his nature.

He cares too much about his legacy in the game and he's too competitive to just go through the motions because he's mad at the Vikings.

He might pout in the locker room or boycott the media, but I'm guessing he has too much respect for Mike Zimmer and his teammates to give less than his best on game day.

Nobody wants an unhappy star player, but the Vikings have to do what's best for their organization, too. They shouldn't make a dumb, hasty trade just because Peterson's camp is trying to orchestrate his exit.

Both sides look like their digging in their heels. This situation could become even uglier and more bizarre than it already is, but unless another team brings an attractive trade offer too good to refuse, the Vikings should give Peterson two options: Play this season or sit.

about the writer

about the writer

Chip Scoggins

Columnist

Chip Scoggins is a sports columnist and enterprise writer for the Star Tribune. He has worked at the Star Tribune since 2000 and previously covered the Vikings, Gophers football, Wild, Wolves and high school sports.

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