Adrian Peterson will likely be playing football in 2015 after he at some point gets reinstated by the commissioner, but it sounds more and more like Minnesota will not be that place. Peterson admits he loves the new coaching staff that he was only able to play one game under, but it’s the front office and numerous other people that he no longer trusts within the organization. Vikings fans are nervous and fans of other teams can have a glimmer of hope to see AP wearing their team colors.
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Peterson told ESPN on Thursday night he is “still uneasy” about the prospect of returning to the Vikings in 2015, saying the organization working with the NFL to put him on the commissioner’s exempt list last September made him question how much support he had from the team for whom he has played his entire career. The 2012 NFL MVP called that decision an “ambush,” adding, “There were people (in the organization) that I trusted, who knew exactly what was said, that weren’t heard from” in the decision-making process.
“It’s hard to say (what my future will be). I love Minnesota. There are people that have had my back, and supported me. Last year, with the things that took place, had a lot of fans that supported me through everything. For the fans, I would definitely love to come back, but then again, it’s a business, when it comes down to business, you can’t get caught up in the loyalty to fans or to a team or anything like that. You know how it is in the NFL. I learned a lot through this process. I’m still uneasy, to be honest with you. I’m still uneasy about a lot of things that took place within the organization. Of course those guys ultimately supported me, and I’m grateful for that. But ultimately, with me being able to be on the inside and see how cards were dealt, how things were worded, this, that and the other, it’s about protecting your brand, your organization, what you have built. In the (grand) scheme of things, not one person counts over that. I get that.”
He has been complying with the NFL’s requirements for reinstatement, adding he talked with Dr. April Kuchuk — the New York University psychiatry instructor with whom commissioner Roger Goodell ordered Peterson to meet — to set up a counseling and treatment plan. He has to meet the requirements of his probation in Texas, as well as a child protective services order in Minnesota, after pleading no contest to reckless injury Nov. 4, but Peterson said he has been doing all the work and plans to play somewhere in 2015.
He’s just not sure yet if it will be with the Vikings.
“It shows you can have all the loyalty toward someone and toward an organization, a fanbase, but when things really shift and it’s you or the empire, they’re gonna put you out on a leash,” he said. “I said, ‘Of course (I would love to come back to the Vikings, after a court hearing in Minneapolis on Feb. 6).’ I said it. But my emotions, as far as those things I feel, those are for players like (linebacker) Chad Greenway, those guys that play the game just like me, that have the same passion I have, the same goal I have, to win a championship. That’s where it comes from. It don’t come from the organization. I’m not in a good place when it comes to that.”
AP is technically under contract with the Vikings for 2015, but he says he knows they will grant him a release if he really does not want to be there. The best running back in the NFL could be a free agent in a few months and there will be a frenzy if that happens.
