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The Minnesota Vikings didn’t surprise many NFL observers when they let former MVP Adrian Peterson go on Tuesday morning.
The team announced it was not up the option on Peterson’s contract for next year, making the veteran running back an unrestricted free agent next week.
“Adrian is an important part of the Minnesota Vikings organization,” Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in a statement. “We will continue to have conversations with his representatives and leave our future options open while determining what is best for both parties moving forward.”
Peterson played in only three games for the Vikings last season after sustained a season-ending knee injury against Indianapolis. He produced a career-low 72 yards on 37 carries for an anemic 1.9 yard-per-carry average. Injuries and an NFL suspension have limited him to 20 games over the last three seasons, although he did rush for 1,485 yards — one of seven 1,000-yard seasons he’s produced — as recently as 2015.
At 31 with 2,418 carries in his NFL career so far, the Vikings made the decision that Peterson isn’t worth the $18 million for next season that he would have commanded.
The real question will be which team will take a chance on the former Oklahoma standout.
Some team will no doubt think he can still help them.
Peterson, for his part, is already dropping hints on where he could resurface.
He dropped a hint of interest in one NFC East team in a tweet two weeks ago.
The Giants been making some interesting moves.
And he mentioned the Giants, Texans and Buccaneers as other intriguing teams during an ESPN interview several days before that tweet.
On ESPN, Peterson tabbed his hometown Texans, Bucs and Giants as teams he has interest in. Currently under contract for unrealistic $18M
Some Cowboys fans see him as an ideal complimentary bank to Ezekiel Elliott because of his rushing and receiving abilities.
But he likely will opt to bounce to a place where he can command more carries and potentially earning playing time as a featured back.
Tgriffin@express-news.net
Twitter: @TimGriffinBig12
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