3:07pm: Speaking to reporters today in Minnesota, Zimmer said that the Vikings had no conversations about trading Peterson this offseason (Twitter link via Tom Pelissero of USA Today). The former MVP himself also addressed the media. Here are a few highlights from his comments:
- Asked about his reported desire for a trade or to retire, and comments made by agent Ben Dogra, Peterson said Dogra was “doing his job” (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). For his part, Peterson insists he didn’t know what he wanted, tweets Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
- While he may not have known where he wanted to be earlier in the offseason, Peterson says he’s happy now being in Minnesota and being a Vikings, per Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune (Twitter link).
- “I’m definitely not the victim, and I haven’t tried to play the victim in this role,” Peterson said (Twitter link via Goessling). Some of his comments and actions earlier in the offseason make that a dubious statement.
- Peterson confirmed that Zimmer played a major role in getting him back to Minnesota. “Maybe even moreso than he knows,” the running back said (Twitter link via Vensel).
2:25pm: As we learned this morning that he would, Adrian Peterson returned to Minnesota and reported to the Vikings’ OTAs today for the first time this spring. At the time, reports indicated that, even though the running back was willing to get back on the field for the Vikes, his contract hadn’t been modified at all, and the two sides hadn’t even recently discussed a restructured deal.
Here are the latest updates on that contract situation, along with a note on Peterson’s participation in the club’s offseason program:
- A league source tells Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Peterson hasn’t been given any assurances about his contract. However, Goessling expects something to eventually get done.
- Peterson’s attendance today won’t be a one-time thing — the 30-year-old will be at the rest of the club’s OTAs and the June minicamp, tweets Goessling. I expect Peterson to report to training camp as well, though perhaps that could hinge on whether or not the two sides have worked out a contract agreement by that point.
- Everything the Vikings have done with Peterson this offseason suggests they plan on keeping him around beyond the 2015 season, writes Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports. As such, it makes sense for the team to address the running back’s contract soon to avoid having this same situation play out next year.