Zimmer: Vikings not planning to trade Peterson

When Mike Zimmer sat down for breakfast with national reporters at the NFL owners meetings Wednesday morning, he had to figure he would be asked about his disgruntled running back before he finished his cup of coffee.

As the league huddles up down in Arizona, Adrian Peterson remains one of the hottest topics of the NFL offseason, with new trade rumors seemingly being brewed every morning. But the Vikings continue to insist that the running back is going nowhere before the 2015 season.

And on Wednesday, their head coach said it perhaps most emphatically.

"We have no plans to trade Adrian," Zimmer said without hesitation.

He also clarified a comment he made earlier this offseason by saying, "I never once said I would accommodate him" by trading or releasing Peterson if he were to formally request it.

Zimmer's comments came two days after Peterson's agent, Ben Dogra, told reporters in Arizona that he thought it would be in Peterson's best interest to play somewhere other than Minnesota.

It's unclear whether money or a combination of other factors is Peterson's true motivation for possibly wanting out of town, but the Vikings have no intentions of budging.

Peterson has three years left on the six-year, $96 million contract extension he signed in 2011. He has a base salary of $12.75 million in 2015 and can make $45 million total over the final three seasons. But there is no guaranteed money beyond this season, which is noteworthy because Peterson just turned 30.

Peterson remains in limbo with the league, too, after being placed back on the commissioner's exempt list. But at his annual news conference from the owners meetings, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said April 15 is still the relevant date when it comes to Peterson's reinstatement.

Peterson had been suspended by the NFL after the resolution of his child-abuse case, with April 15 being the first day he would be eligible for reinstatement. But when a federal judge overturned Peterson's suspension last month and Goodell placed him back on the exempt list, the NFL did not say when Peterson might be eligible to return.

Goodell also said Wednesday that he plans to meet with Peterson sometime before April 15 to discuss whether Peterson has met the terms he set for his reinstatement.

Zimmer said Wednesday that he expects the Vikings to sign free-agent cornerback Terence Newman, another of his former players.

Zimmer coached Newman for four seasons in Dallas after the Cowboys drafted him fifth overall in 2003. After being selected to a pair of Pro Bowls there, Newman in 2012 signed with the Bengals, whose defense was coordinated by Zimmer. Newman was a starter for the Bengals the past three seasons.

The Vikings need more capable bodies at cornerback despite finishing seventh in pass defense last season. Their depth wasn't tested with Xavier Rhodes, Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Robinson each playing all 16 games. Behind them on the depth chart were return specialist Marcus Sherels and 2014 seventh-round pick Jabari Price.