Peterson is not pleased with the way the Vikings handled business throughout his legal problems.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is not happy. Peterson, who is currently serving an indefinite suspension for beating his 4-year-old son with a switch, reportedly is disenfranchised with the Vikings, according to Chris Tomasson and Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The tension between Peterson's camp and the Vikings boiled over at the NFL Combine, when agent Ben Dogra and Minnesota's vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski began yelling at each other at an Indianapolis restaurant on Friday night, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
Despite this, Nelson Peterson, Adrian's father, claims that his son is still willing to play for the Vikings, contrary to what Dogra was asserting:
"He is open to returning to the Vikings," Nelson Peterson said. "He hasn't closed the door (and said), 'I won't play for the Vikings.' He hasn't demanded a trade."
Nelson stated that much of Adrian's problem with the franchise stems from chief operating officer Kevin Warren's position last season, along with his subsequent promotion.
"Kevin Warren was a major player in the push last year to not have Adrian reinstated," Nelson Peterson said. "We had our sources that we knew that Kevin wasn't working for Adrian to get him back on the field and was working to keep Adrian off the field."
Peterson was put on the commissioner's exempt list following a Week 1 win over the St. Louis Rams when he was indicted on a felony abuse charge for beating his child. Peterson ultimately was found guilty of reckless misdemeanor assault on Nov. 4. Commissioner Roger Goodell then suspended Peterson for the remainder of the 2014 season and said the star could not apply for reinstatement until April 15.
Currently, the NFLPA is suing the league to get Peterson reinstated effective immediately. A judge's ruling is expected to come sometime in early March.
Publicly, the Vikings have been supportive of Peterson. Owner Mark Wilf, general manager Rick Spielman and Warren have all stated in the past month that they would welcome Peterson back.
Peterson spoke last week about a potential return to Minnesota and talked about his love for the fans and teammates, per Ben Goessling of ESPN.com. Yet, Peterson also stated he is uneasy about going back because of certain rifts between he and the organization.
"Adrian was referring (in the ESPN.com article) to people that were kicking him when he was down," Nelson Peterson said to the Pioneer Press. "It's not the fans of Minnesota; it was people like Kevin Warren and those type of people, the Cris Carter-type of person, those type of people that he felt could have came to him (and) helped him."
Minnesota also has plenty of reasons to want to move on from Peterson and the oncoming circus. Should the Vikings release Peterson, they would save $13 million in 2015 before recouping a combined $32 million over the next two years. With Peterson turning 30 years old this offseason and the upcoming NFL Draft loaded with top-tier talent at the running back position, perhaps Minnesota moves on.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1BlpsWd
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire