The Minnesota Vikings slammed the door shut on a possible Adrian Peterson return on Thursday, with general manager Rick Spielman giving a definitive statement on the matter.
Rick Spielman said Adrian Peterson definitely won't be back with Vikings
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 16, 2017
#Vikings GM Rick Spielman says on a conference call that Adrian Peterson “will be moving on.” Difficult & emotional 24 hrs for all involved
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 16, 2017
This isn’t shocking at all.
Minnesota signed running back Latavius Murray on Wednesday night, all but signalling the team’s decision to move on from the soon-t0-be 32-year-old running back.
Peterson remains in limbo as free agency rolls into its second week, which is also not that surprising given the trend we’re seeing for veteran running backs who can’t contribute in the passing game (more on that here).
While things are barren right now for Peterson and other veteran running backs, we do expect him to land on a team at some point. However, it might take a bit longer than he anticipated, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s still looking for a landing spot after the upcoming 2017 NFL Draft.
Throughout his career, Peterson has rushed for 11,747 yards and 82 touchdowns. He’s a seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time First-Team All-Pro.