Adrian Peterson Said He'd Be Interested Playing For The Giants, Texans, Or Bucs Next Year. Wait WHAT?!?
Barstool Confession: Making Peterson a Giant in Madden just for this screenshot may or may not have given me a boner
ESPN- Vikings running back Adrian Peterson says he sees himself remaining with Minnesota next season but mentioned the New York Giants, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as teams he might consider in free agency. “I see myself in purple. A lot has to take place,” Peterson said on First Take on Thursday. “I see myself finishing off in purple. It is a business at the end of the day, so with that, things could end up differently. … Hopefully we can work things out.”
The 31-year-old, a seven-time Pro Bowler and the league’s MVP in 2012, has spent 10 years with the Vikings. Peterson said if he were to enter free agency that he would want to go to a team with an opportunity to compete for the Super Bowl. He said he would want to play for a team with a good defense, a good offensive scheme and a great coaching staff. “There’s a couple teams out there that I’ve thought about. … New York was one of them that popped up, Tampa Bay, lot of different teams. Houston would be a good spot,” Peterson said. “I’ll stop right there. … I’m just throwing random names out there.”
The Vikings have a team option on the running back for 2017 that includes an $11.75 million base salary and $6 million roster bonus. They have to decide on Peterson’s 2017 option by the start of the league year and would owe him the $6 million roster bonus if he was on the team by the third day of the league year. A restructured deal would need to be completed sometime before the new league year begins March 9.
GIMME GIMME GIMME!!! First off I will admit that I wrote most of this blog before realizing Adrian said “I’m just throwing random names out there.” Please excuse my excitement, but most of my daydreaming for big name free agents comes in the form of Knicks rumors and Photoshops that always end in heartbreak or the Wilpons politely declining star players even at a discount because their proverbial asses still hurt from Bernie Madoff’s proverbial cock.
Now I know the Giants already have a hard enough offseason ahead of them with JPP and Jonathan Hankins as free agents with other decisions on the roster. DRC also makes a shitload of money but we saw what the Giants secondary looked like in Green Bay after he went down on the second play of the fucking game (yeah I’m still kinda pissed about that). But just allow me a minute to fantastize about Adrian Peterson playing on the same team as Odell Beckham. Purple Jesus becomes Big Blue Jesus. That’s a wet dream that I don’t think even Ereck Flowers could fuck up. Sure Peterson is coming off a season where he tore his meniscus and shut it down again after a brief appearance against the Colts. But it’s still Adrian Peterson we are talking about. The man with the knees of a newborn baby (in a good way). Paul Perkins proved he can play in the NFL but he’s still a 2nd year player and Adrian Peterson is still Adrian Peterson. Regardless of what happens with Peterson, I truly think it is time to move on from the Rashad Jennings era. He handled his demotion like a man and even helped close out a few games that the Giants would usually find a way to lose or give their fans a coronary during a win. But if I have to watch Jennings act like a slower, much less athletic, and frankly just not very good Le’Veon Bell any longer, I am going to lose my fucking marbles. Especially when Ben McAdoo runs it on first down EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. And I knowwwwww just as much as anybody that “aging star goes to New York” usually doesn’t lead to many happy endings these days unless it’s maybe with the Yankees. But this just seems like such a good fit for both sides.
Obviously the Vikings still have to figure out if they are going to release Peterson if he refuses to take a pay cut. And if he does get released, he’s still going to want good money to play a sport that can fuck up your entire body and/or brain in an instant. But is Peterson REALLY going to want to play for the Texans if there is even a chance Brock Osweiler starts next season after all those years of shitty Vikings quarterbacks? And I don’t know if the Bucs are as interested in the running back market like the Giants will be with Charles Sims and Doug Martin. It’s also probably way to early to get excited about this stuff and I’m sure other teams will be added to AP’s wish list if/when he gets cut. But with only three NFL games left this season and exactly 0 Giants games left, it’s nice to dream a little of what this team could become with a real running game and an upgrade at left tackle. Plus we would have Peterson and Perkins on the Giants by default in Madden, which along with Odell and Shepard would have to be the most fun Giants team in Madden ever.
In Jerry We Trust (I think we can say that again, right?).