When Adrian Peterson skips this week's organized team activities for the Minnesota Vikings, he will attempt to send an unmistakable message to the franchise: He wants to be traded.
That's what a source within the star running back's inner circle told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night. Despite months of overtures by the Vikings, Peterson has not wavered privately about his wish to continue his career with another franchise. Indeed, the source said Peterson believes he already made ownership and the Vikings' front office aware that he wanted a trade in face-to-face meetings this offseason.
The source, who has been a longtime Peterson confidant, told Yahoo Sports that the running back intends to sit out all of the team's offseason workouts, an act that would cause him to forfeit a $250,000 workout bonus. The longtime confidant said Peterson has not yet made a decision about sitting out of the team's mandatory minicamp in June or training camp in late July.
As it stands, Peterson does not have remaining guaranteed money on his deal. But Peterson's confidant told Yahoo Sports that this has evolved into a far more personal issue between the player and the team and is not a matter of finances. The source said that for Peterson it has "never been about the money," and that the running back is adamant about playing elsewhere.
Throwing out his one-game season in 2014, Peterson never finished outside of the top 6 on a per game basis in standard formats (or outside the top 11 in PPR) in his previous seven seasons. He's now on the wrong side of 30, but his legs should be fresh after taking a full season off to deal with his criminal case last season. He and the Vikings have had a tumultuous relationship over the past eight months, and Peterson has made inferences that he'd like to play somewhere else in 2015. For their part, the Vikings say they want him back, and his contract makes him a very difficult player to trade. This is a situation to monitor closely heading into the summer, but Peterson should be a first round pick no matter where he lands.
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