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Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson trade and the Bucs as a landing spot

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Minnesota Vikings will owe Adrian Peterson a whopping $12.75 million in 2015 if they are unable to find a trade partner this offseason, but they’ve made it abundantly clear that they aren’t interested in trading a man who is still presumably the NFL’s best running back at a discount. With the Dallas Cowboys seemingly no longer interested in grabbing AP (my money is on Melvin Gordon), the Vikings have one less team they can potentially suck a deal out of.

In fact, Pro Football Talk’s Darin Gantt writes that AP’s list of suitors is dwindling, as Yahoo! Sports’s extremely plugged-in Charles Robinson recently told Arizona Sports 98.7 GM that the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Arizona Cardinals are the three teams interested. The Atlanta Falcons are still reportedly in the mix, but it doesn’t seem like they are a likely landing spot for Peterson at this moment in time.

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Per Gantt, the Vikings are “clearly content” with keeping “All Day” around at that $12.75 million base salary, and every report we’ve heard has been about how the Vikings believe both sides will smooth over their issues with time. Even if that doesn’t happen, Peterson is determined, talented, and the kind of player who could push the rising Vikings into the playoffs.

Of the three teams Robinson mentioned, the only team that I think would make absolutely zero sense as a trade partner with the Jaguars, simply because there’s just no logical reason for them to trade a high pick and spend $12.75 million.

In that piece, I listed the Cardinals as a logical landing spot, because they need a workhorse back to pair up with Andre Ellington, who is an elite change-of-pace back but has shown that he isn’t an ideal feature guy due to his size and playing style. The Cardinals need offensive talent, particularly on the ground, and are contenders who need to pounce while Carson Palmer (and, to a lesser extent, Larry Fitzgerald) still has a window of success.

But let’s take a look at the Buccaneers as a possible destination point for Peterson, because I think they fall somewhere between the Jaguars and Cardinals as far as likely landing spots go. Ultimately, I don’t see anybody trading for Peterson unless if they are completely sold on the idea of trading for him, because a high pick and a high amount of cap space constitutes a significant investment, especially for last year’s worst team in the NFL.

That said, the Buccaneers are in need of more playmakers, and while their biggest need on offense after drafting Jameis Winston (though Winston isn’t a 100% guarantee right now) will be upgrading the offensive line, they could view AP as a piece who, in combination with Winston, could make the Buccaneers a worst-to-first team in the NFC South.

As we saw with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans in the past two seasons, it isn’t unrealistic for the team holding the No. 1 pick to sneak into the playoffs (or at least contend for the postseason). While the Buccaneers have massive holes on defense, perhaps upgrading the quarterback position, trading for Peterson and watching those two new pieces on offense go to work with Vincent Jackson, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and Mike Evans will put them over the top.

While nobody will want to take on Adrian Peterson’s contract, the Buccaneers do have plenty of cap space and could even get Peterson to take a lesser deal to facilitate a trade. If AD is really that upset with his situation in Minnesota and likes the Buccaneers chances (and Lovie Smith at head coach) enough, then that could be a possibility.

Of course, there are plenty of moving parts here, including the Bucs potential affinity for Charles Sims, who is a well-rounded back that the organization has always gone out of its way to praise. He received Matt Forte comparisons coming out of college, so I have a feeling that carries some weight with Smith. I wonder how much the Bucs believe in a potential bounce-back from former rookie sensation Doug Martin, but I have a gut feeling that Jason Licht and Co. would be more than happy to part ways with him. Given that the Bucs have high picks and Martin, perhaps there are enough pieces there to get a deal done.

Dec 22, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) runs the ball in the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati Bengals beat the Minnesota Vikings by the score of 42-14. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowksi-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings are slowly running out of legitimate trade partners, and I wonder if the Bucs are the only other strong option besides from the Cardinals. With the Falcons interest still unclear and the Jaguars interest puzzling at best, it’s fair to wonder if Adrian Peterson will actually play somewhere else next season.

The Buccaneers are an intriguing option because of their high picks, Martin’s bounce-back potential in a different offense, and the fact that they may be high on their ability to make a leap in 2015 after drafting a QB and adding an elite difference-maker like AP.

It’s probably unrealistic to expect a Buccaneers team that is theoretically rebuilding to pull this kind of a boom-or-bust blockbuster, but the new regime was incredibly aggressive in its first offseason before dramatically cutting their losses (Michael Johnson and Anthony Collins) after just one year.

Perhaps they have a different mindset this offseason, but with the list of interested parties narrowing, the Vikings will have to look to the Bucs as one of their best trade partners.

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