Refuting a portion of last night’s report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has in fact not asked for a trade. Cole had indicated that Peterson prefers to play for the Cowboys, but sources tell Tomasson that isn’t the case. Perhaps more interestingly, Tomasson reports that the Vikings have not approached Peterson about taking a pay cut from his 2015 $12.75MM base salary. The 2012 NFL MVP recently said he was “uneasy” about a return to Minnesota, but Tomasson writes that Peterson is willing to return to the club.
Here’s more from the NFC:
- The Packers have not yet begun talks with free-agent-to-be Tramon Williams, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com. The 32-year-old cornerback is coming off a season in which he started all 16 games and earned $6.9MM. In a thin CB market, he’s near the top of the list of available options. But sources tell Demovsky that general manager Ted Thompson is more focused on retaining two other pending Packers FAs, receiver Randall Cobb and tackle Bryan Bulaga.
- The Falcons will enter free agency with more than $25MM in cap space to work with, and as GM Thomas Dimitroff explains to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the club is ready make upgrades. Specifically, Dimitroff noted that Atlanta could add several free agent pushers that would fit new coach Dan Quinn’s scheme.
- Dez Bryant is a prime candidate for the franchise tag, and while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t expect the star pass-catcher to sulk if he is tagged, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk outlines how Bryant could turn the situation in his favor.
- The free agent receiver class will be exceptionally strong this offseason, leading Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times to examine how market factors could affect the Bears’ decision on Brandon Marshall.