AD contract issues ahead

[A.E]

Report: Contract confrontation coming for Peterson, Vikings

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson missed a mandatory minicamp this offseason but later insisted that any problem he had with the team was "over with."

But a new report suggests that the big problems between Peterson and the Vikings are just about to start. Michael Lombardi of NFL.com reports that Peterson will be the next NFL player to complain about his contract.

We noted last month that the Vikings can expect problems with Peterson. In three NFL seasons, Peterson has averaged nearly 1,500 rushing yards and more than 13 touchdowns a season. Players who produce at that level just aren't content to play out their rookie contracts and wait to become free agents.

So it's no surprise that Peterson isn't satisfied with his contract. And it shouldn't be a surprise if he soon takes his dissatisfaction public.

I've been fearing this since the end of his rookie year and I used to cringe at thinking about the day he'd bolt for free agency. I am at a point now where I'm pretty torn & it's going to take this season for me to come to an ultimatum. The Vikings were a phenomenal passing team last season, should be this season, and AD's habit of putting the ball on the carpet and disappearing the entire 2nd half of the season...all make me want to dump him while his value is still pretty high. At the same time, the minute Favre finally calls it "quits", our passing game won't be as great and his ground game is going to be what gets us to at least 10 wins per again. Even on top of that, the amount of carries he's already had & his bruising style of play equal a short-ass career.

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out b/c if this season goes down the same or close to last season, I can see a scenario where the Vikings end up trading him before his current deal expires. Toby Gerhart is the "x-factor" in all this too. Gerhart is going to have to shoulder some of those tougher carries, produce, and allow the Vikings to cut back on using AD as much in a season. We can't have anymore seasons where Peterson is getting 25-30 carries a game or else his knees are going to go out quick.

 

[cruzg24]

I knew when I first Adrian playing in college that he was going to be an NFL star, but we all know that his running style is very volatile and it will eventually catch up with him. Maybe this could turn into another Portis-Bailey type trade, that would be sick lol.

 

[Mooche]

The Vikings are going to do everything in their power to re-sign Adrian. I mean, this guy is the face of the franchise, I don't think it'll be like a Portis-Bailey type deal, being the Vikings, I wouldn't make any deal like that.

 

[A.E]

The Vikings are going to do everything in their power to re-sign Adrian. I mean, this guy is the face of the franchise, I don't think it'll be like a Portis-Bailey type deal, being the Vikings, I wouldn't make any deal like that.

Don't be so sure of that. Randy Moss once meant more to our franchise than Peterson could ever & we traded his unhappy his ass for a sack of footballs. Granted it happened during the Red McCombs era, I am not all that confident in Zygi making the right moves. At the same time, the NFL is a different kind of animal. You can be the face of the franchise all you want but this is a "what have you done for me lately" business. If Peterson can't be trusted to hold onto the ball during game winning drives...his jersey sales won't matter.

 

[Mooche]

Don't be so sure of that. Randy Moss once meant more to our franchise than Peterson could ever & we traded his unhappy his ass for a sack of footballs. Granted it happened during the Red McCombs era, I am not all that confident in Zygi making the right moves. At the same time, the NFL is a different kind of animal. You can be the face of the franchise all you want but this is a "what have you done for me lately" business. If Peterson can't be trusted to hold onto the ball during game winning drives...his jersey sales won't matter.

As much as I love my Longhorns and hate OU with a passion - I always loved AP. He is one of those guys, who is great for your community and overall the feel of your franchise. I think AP is going to overcome the stages of fumbling that he went through. It is just going to take practice for him and over this off-season, being the hard worker he is, he has to be working on it. As for Randy Moss, hell yes he meant a lot to that team, but you think it is the same situation? No, it really isn't in the sense that the attitudes of two players are completely different. Adrian doesn't seem at all like a "me, me, me" type of guy while Randy is most certainly that way. You don't see Adrian not taking all of his hand offs and not trying like Moss did with his pass patterns. That's just two completely different mentalities.

 

[A.E]

As much as I love my Longhorns and hate OU with a passion - I always loved AP. He is one of those guys, who is great for your community and overall the feel of your franchise. I think AP is going to overcome the stages of fumbling that he went through. It is just going to take practice for him and over this off-season, being the hard worker he is, he has to be working on it. As for Randy Moss, hell yes he meant a lot to that team, but you think it is the same situation? No, it really isn't in the sense that the attitudes of two players are completely different. Adrian doesn't seem at all like a "me, me, me" type of guy while Randy is most certainly that way. You don't see Adrian not taking all of his hand offs and not trying like Moss did with his pass patterns. That's just two completely different mentalities.

Peterson already had fumbling problems, Tiki Barber worked with him to fix it, and now the problem has come back. I will blame the Vikings' O-Line for a lot of it but Peterson can't statistically fall off the face of the earth after Week 7 again too.

Peterson is the much better character player than Moss but by we're talking about not letting go franchise players b/c they're franchise players. Moss was always made out to be more of a "bad guy" than he really was but I do these situations are the same. Both players are/were the biggest "attention-getters" for the franchise, both All-Pro talent, and both put asses in the stands. On top of that, being a "nice guy" doesn't get you anywhere in this world.

 

[Mooche]

Oh come on. Moss was an attention whore from the beginning, let's get real here. He always wanted to be in the spotlight and he said/did a lot of outlandish things, such as say the Marshall incident didn't "matter to him". That's a load of trash. As for being a nice guy in this world, it does get you a lot of places. Even in a business world like the NFL, guys like Drew Brees and Troy Polamalu earned respect for being the type of great guys they are, but you must have the killer instinct on the field. That is what sets players from other players apart most of the time.

 

[A.E]

Oh come on. Moss was an attention whore from the beginning, let's get real here. He always wanted to be in the spotlight and he said/did a lot of outlandish things, such as say the Marshall incident didn't "matter to him". That's a load of trash. As for being a nice guy in this world, it does get you a lot of places. Even in a business world like the NFL, guys like Drew Brees and Troy Polamalu earned respect for being the type of great guys they are, but you must have the killer instinct on the field. That is what sets players from other players apart most of the time.

Shaun Alexander is one of the nicest guys in the World but where did that leave him? Same can be said about Tomlinson. Tomlinson does a ton for underprivileged youth but when his body started to crumble, San Diego was done with him. Being the nice guy doesn't land you any sort of job security in the NFL.

I never said Moss didn't seek attention, all I said was he wasn't as much of a villain as the media always made him out to be. Moss ran his mouth too much but he never got into any trouble while he was in the NFL, nor did any Minnesota Viking ever accuse him of being a horrible teammate. Fans loved him, he put up the numbers, he put on a show, and he sold a lot of tickets and a lot of merchandise. Adrian Peterson does exactly the same for the Vikings now and he's heading down that same "unhappy with my contract" road Moss did.

 

[Mooche]

Shaun Alexander actually had an amazing few years there down the stretch, he already had some mileage being at the age he was and that was what it ended it for him. As for LT, he's been LT? What else is there to say, he is and was one hell of a back for San Diego. I'm not trying to say every nice guy makes it big in the NFL and just because you are nice you will be on the team. With that said, some players are more loyal than others and in the end, I just get that vibe from AP. If the Vikings come out and offer him a weak offer, he may be done with them, but I don't see why they would. They would have to try and make something work, he is such a damn good player.

As for Moss, yes he was looked at by many fans as a villain near the end and right or wrong, some fans did want him gone after some of the bull<Censored> publicity he put up. Of course looking back on it, it wasn't all fans who felt that way, and really I don't agree with the Vikings getting rid of him. I am just saying, Randy does have an attitude and throughout his career many have questioned him as a team player.

 

[Oiler35]

I know it's not happening, but could you imagine AD in a Colts uniform?

 

[Mooche]

No, I don't even want to imagine. That would be nice to see Peyton and AP in the same backfield.

 

[A.E]

Shaun Alexander actually had an amazing few years there down the stretch, he already had some mileage being at the age he was and that was what it ended it for him. As for LT, he's been LT? What else is there to say, he is and was one hell of a back for San Diego. I'm not trying to say every nice guy makes it big in the NFL and just because you are nice you will be on the team. With that said, some players are more loyal than others and in the end, I just get that vibe from AP. If the Vikings come out and offer him a weak offer, he may be done with them, but I don't see why they would. They would have to try and make something work, he is such a damn good player.

As for Moss, yes he was looked at by many fans as a villain near the end and right or wrong, some fans did want him gone after some of the bull<Censored> publicity he put up. Of course looking back on it, it wasn't all fans who felt that way, and really I don't agree with the Vikings getting rid of him. I am just saying, Randy does have an attitude and throughout his career many have questioned him as a team player.

Shaun Alexander was 2 years removed from winning the rushing title when he found himself out of a job. I'm not saying injuries weren't responsible but I use him as a point that being a nice guy in the NFL doesn't grant you any sort of immunity.

I would like to think AP is a loyal guy but in the NFL (more than other pro leagues), that loyalty fades fast with bad offers, slow offers, or no offers from teams. I really think that if the Vikings don't make AP an offer to be the highest paid back in the league & he's still ring-less, he's gone.

To close-out the Randy discussion, I can't remember many within the Vikings' fanbase that wanted the guy gone. Though he was growing disgruntled with the franchise, him leaving signaled the end of an era where he was the posterboy for a Super Bowl caliber team...and most of us were afraid to see that end. I really don't think he did all that much to garner a bad image in the NFL; probably could of kept him mouth shut to the media a few more times, but so can most athletes. I also don't count the pretend "mooning" of Packer fans to be anything close to as obnoxious as Joe Buck made it out to be.

 

[Mooche]

The whole mooning incident was awesome in my opinion. That was just simply a taste of your own medicine, and the only PEOPLE obnoxious in that situation were the Green Bay fans who would do it to the opposing bus.

 

[A.E]

The whole mooning incident was awesome in my opinion. That was just simply a taste of your own medicine, and the only PEOPLE obnoxious in that situation were the Green Bay fans who would do it to the opposing bus.

I still blame Joe Buck. Green Bay fans knew what that was all about & it's not like players on the sidelines don't say or signal much worse to fans. Buck's immediate reaction turned the gesture into a huge ZOMG! incident.

 

[elcheato]

If the Vikings don't want to re-up him, we'll take him in Cleveland..

 

[Mooche]

Again... I told you what kind of player he is.

Adrian Peterson insisted Wednesday at the ESPY's that "you can put to rest" the rumors that he's unhappy with his contract.
The fallout from absences during OTAs appears to have blown over as well. Relatively speaking, Peterson has no room to complain about his contract. He's due close to $7 million this year and $11-13 million next year (after incentives) before the final year voids in 2012 at age 27. At that time, he should have at least one more shot at a mega-deal with guaranteed money. Jul. 16 - 10:35 am et
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune

They might try and make a nice deal when he is 27, but the way he plays I think it would only be smart to lock him up for 3 years before he hits that 30 wall.

 

[Blake]

If the Vikings don't want to re-up him, we'll take him in Cleveland..

For some reason I thought you said Oakland, I was about to LOL.

Cleveland at least is attempting to make a great team thorough the draft.

Nevertheless, Peterson should stick around, they're building a team around him and he'd be a fool to leave.

 

[A.E]

Again... I told you what kind of player he is.




They might try and make a nice deal when he is 27, but the way he plays I think it would only be smart to lock him up for 3 years before he hits that 30 wall.

Mooche, I know Peterson is a nice kid, you're not telling me anything I don't already know.

 

[.infamous]

The Vikings will never get rid of AP until he gets to the point of LT or Shaun Alexander which will probably be around 32 years old.

 

[Blake]

It's not a matter of getting rid of him, they'd be foolish to get rid of him.

If they can't re-sign him, it's then up to him to be a Viking or test the free agent market.