Path Is Clear For Adrian Peterson To The Dallas Cowboys

“He’s key to our plans. He’s central to us. He was told that. We count on him going forward. He was told we were in no position to trade him”. “It would not be something we would consider doing … we are not looking for offers”. This quote is not from the Minnesota Vikings in 2015 regarding running back Adrian Peterson. This quote is from Cincinnati Bengals President Mike Brown regarding Carson Palmer in January 2011.

“We’re planning on him being back. We have no plans to trade Adrian” said Minnesota Vikings owner Mark Wilf to Tom Pelissero of USA Today regarding the embattled Peterson. During the recent owners meeting, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said to a pool of reporters, “we expect him (Peterson) to be here”.

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When studying what both sides say in the Peterson saga it is amazingly similar to what was being said at the time in the Bengals standoff with Carson Palmer. Palmer was eventually traded to the Oakland Raiders. Top tier players like Palmer and Peterson have made so much money in their careers, the owners have lost their leverage in these situations.

Mike Brown is regarded as one of the league’s most stubborn and old school owners. After all, there is a franchise named after his famous father, Paul Brown. Even Mike Brown gave in when all the voices at the time were pounding the table that there was no way he would trade Palmer.

Eventually a team comes to the realization that they could have other players and the salary cap space by wiping their hands clean of the player and moving on. All the teams know this and the Vikings cannot admit they will part ways with Peterson. To do so would destroy any chances of gaining high draft picks in exchange for Peterson. They have to claim they want him back.

It did take until October for the Brown to give in. Don’t expect the Vikings to wait that long.

There is no surprise that Peterson has been quiet himself. His agent gradually leaving hints about Peterson’s true feelings about not wanting to don a Vikings uniform ever again.

If Peterson were to make too much noise it could further damage his image. It could also give the Vikings evidence to claim Peterson was being “detrimental to the team”. That would give the Vikings leverage to force Peterson to stay.

There are two good reasons for the Cowboys to be completely silent on Peterson. Number one it would be tampering. A possible punishment by the NFL is taking away draft picks.

The other reason being the hand slap the Dallas Cowboys received from the NFL regarding Peterson and his phone conversation last year with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones is walking on thin ice with the league regarding Peterson.

So how could we see Adrian breaking long runs for the Dallas Cowboys? It is actually not that complicated.

There is a well-documented market price for players relative to their worth in draft picks. It is much cheaper than the Vikings want to believe.

There is much speculation but the closer it gets to draft day the better the deal for the Peterson recipient. Don’t look for it to be until draft week or even draft day.

What about the money? It would require Peterson to restructure his current deal. There is so much noise from Peterson’s family about how badly he wants to be a Cowboy and come home to Texas that it would be a non-issue for Peterson to restructure.

For the Cowboys it would require a restructure of quarterback Tony Romo’s contract. The Cowboys would rather not do anything with Romo’s contract but it is an ace card the front office has up its sleeve. Pederson is the type of once in a generation player that they could play that card for.

Is Peterson worth a first round pick? The question becomes would you rather have Peterson, who is destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and has plenty left in the tank for three or four seasons or an unproven running back out of college that you would have for the same amount of time if he is successful?

Is Peterson worth the money? Football fans tend to have a short memory when it comes to players. Adrian Peterson is one of most amazing athletes in sports history.

What he did in 2012 was nothing short of a sports miracle. Coming off a serious knee injury in record time, Peterson averaged 6.0 yards per carry consistently facing nine man fronts. Peterson takes care of his body in Emmitt Smith like fashion.

There is a solid history of once in a generation backs that have had success after the age of 30. Marcus Allen and Emmitt Smith just to name a few.

Don’t be surprised to see Peterson a Cowboy. The path to Dallas for Peterson is not that difficult to navigate. Count on one thing. Peterson is getting out of Minnesota, just like Carson Palmer got out of Cincinnati.

Next: The Adrian Peterson Cowboys Mock Draft

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