NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Dallas Cowboys, Adrian Peterson Rumors back from the dead

By Kevin Parvizi

facebooktwitterreddit

It’s unclear how confident the Dallas Cowboys are in their running back quartet of Darren McFadden, Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar, and Ryan Williams, but it is clear that the offseason doldrums have caused their potential pursuit of a running back to be the second-biggest story behind an impending suspension for New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. I’d prefer to focus on football-specific stuff (which I find to be infinitely more interesting), so all of the rumors surrounding the Cowboys have certainly piqued my interest.

Adrian Peterson has made it known that he would be interested in heading back to the Dallas-area to play with a blue star on his helmet, but the Cowboys never showed any mutual interest before the draft. Although there were plenty of rumors linking Jerry Jones to the big-name back, the Cowboys prudently held off on shipping a king’s ransom of draft picks and spending a copious amount of cash on a player who will make $12.75 million next season.

More from Dallas Cowboys

After seeing what Rick Spielman did to the Seattle Seahawks in the Percy Harvin trade, teams have to be wary about trading for Minnesota Vikings star players. AP is a much safer and better player than Harvin was, and while he carries less injury risk, he’s also 30 and even more expensive. And with the Vikings clearly all-in on a playoff run, they’d prefer to keep Peterson, who is locked in as the unquestioned feature back.

Of course, the Vikings would be open to a trade if somebody gives them that giant haul they are looking for, and that’s where the Cowboys rumors have surfaced. Teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Arizona Cardinals, and Atlanta Falcons have been linked to trades for Peterson at some point in the offseason, but literally none of them showed significant interest. And after the Jags drafted T.Y. Yeldon, the Cards took David Johnson, and the Falcons took Tevin Coleman, there just isn’t anything there anymore.

According to CBS Sports’s John Breech, Jones recently told Dallas’s 105.3 the Fan that he would be willing to move the team’s 2016 first-round pick for a running back. The Cowboys have been linked to Khiry Robinson in a very round-about way, but it’s obvious that the implication here is that Jones is teasing the possibility of trading for Peterson. I mean, which other player available on the trading block would be worth anything close to a first-round pick?

Jones, who calls trading a first-round pick a “bitter pill to swallow”, understands the importance of keeping picks and building for the future. It’s been the successful drafts that have made the Cowboys a top team again, and it’s these drafts that have allowed them to build an all-time great offensive line that could be capable of supporting strong seasons for the likes of McFadden and Randle on the ground.

But Jones also understands that Tony Romo is 35, and while that aforementioned line will tack on some years to his career, the Cowboys might only have a few years left to compete for that Super Bowl ring.

Adrian Peterson is a future Hall of Famer and is the favorite to win the rushing crown next season due to his talent and the fact that he’ll most likely be back with a vengeance. He’ll help the Cowboys win-now, and that isn’t really up for debate. I mean, could you imagine what he would be capable of behind La’el Collins, Zack Martin, Travis Frederick, Doug Free, and Tyron Smith? Insane.

The problem is that it might be even more insane to trade for Peterson, because there are so many negatives. He’s an incredible player who would be an enormous upgrade at a position of need and could take them over the top, yes. We get that. But he’s 30, and while he’s good enough to be productive for a few more seasons, trading for him mortgages for the future. Even though “the future is now” for the Cowboys, that’s only to a certain extent, because you can’t completely mortgage the future on Peterson. Not when that first-round pick could go for a younger and cheaper player in 2016 who can also help the team out.

Furthermore, Peterson is way too expensive. He’d have to take a paycut in order to join the Cowboys, because $12.75 million is just a crazy total. The good news, though, is that he won’t be owed any guaranteed money after this season, so the Cowboys can get out of paying him even more in 2016 and 2017.

Of course, the cost goes beyond the pay, since a first-round pick is indeed a “bitter pill to swallow”, and it might not even be enough to pry Peterson away from the seemingly determined Vikings. They’ve made it clear that they want to keep him, and the Vikings are a darkhorse team with the elite back in tote.

Nov 3, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) runs with ball prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

But if the Dallas Cowboys go all-in on AP, then they would be more than just a darkhorse, they would be one of the Super Bowl favorites. DeMarco Murray was the NFL’s leading rusher last season, so you do have to wonder just how good this team will be in 2015 without him.

McFadden has bounce-back potential despite averaging less than 3.5 yards per carry in each of the past three seasons, and Randle has real breakout potential. Dunbar and Williams are pieces in the mix as well, so the Cowboys can be productive on the ground.

The difference between productive and elite is enormous, so I can see why Peterson is such an enticing option for a team that wants to win badly in the near future.

However, would they be better off spending a late-round pick on a cheaper option who could break out in Robinson? Would they be better off spending a few dimes on veteran Chris Johnson in the hopes that the Cowboys offensive line can revive him?

It’s amazing how these Peterson rumors have been resuscitated after they were seemingly dead forever, and this might all just be coy talk from Jones, who, like any NFL decision-maker, is smart enough to avoid ruling anything out.

But in my eyes, this scenario was ruled out about a month ago, and this is just an offseason talking point at this moment in time. It’s something fun to keep us occupied, but it’s something that I highly doubt would materialize into anything of substance.

Next: Cowboys Draft Report Card

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Dallas Cowboys