Thought Experiment: Vikes put AP on the trade market

[gswhoops]

I know how unlikely/implausible this scenario is, but I was debating this with some family members over Thanksgiving and wanted to see what other opinions were out there.

Scenario: Minnesota decides (or realizes, take your pick) that they're not in a position to contend in the near future, so they decide to explore trading Adrian Peterson. What could they get for him? Who would pursue him? Would it be worth trading a top-10 all time RB in his prime? How does this hypothetical trade change the NFL landscape?

[El Turco]

No more than two seconds for a rb with this much mileage and cap hit

[gswhoops]

Interesting. I feel like if that's the case then the Vikings wouldn't even consider trading him. I don't think they can justify giving him up for less than Trent Richardson went for (and he probably set the bar artificially high)

[El Turco]

Yea he is more valuable to Vikings than any other team. Doesn't make sense for rebuilding team to take him on and contenders have bigger problems than rb to spend their picks and money on. Maybe saints but they should know better than giving up the farm for a rb by now.

[Icness]

I concur with the el pony. All those miles on his surgically repaired knees really limit his trade appeal. Aside from that, what contender is really "just" a RB away? (Insert Colts joke here)

[Worm Guts]

You could make the argument that the Vikings should trade him and just take what they can get. History says he only has 1 or 2 more elite seasons left and unless Peyton Manning decides to demand a trade to the Vikings they probably won't be contending in the that period.
At the same time I'm a Minnesota sports fan and we've traded a lot franchise players over the last decade (Moss, Garnett, Santana) and I don't think it's ever turned out to be beneficial. As a fan I think I'd prefer to just keep him and enjoy the fact that I get to watch one of the greatest runners in NFL history every week. The Vikings would probably be unwatchable without him.

[gswhoops]

I concur with the el pony. All those miles on his surgically repaired knees really limit his trade appeal. Aside from that, what contender is really "just" a RB away? (Insert Colts joke here)

The Jets and Patriots were the two teams that we kept circling back on. Dallas was in there too although their cap situation makes it basically impossible for them to bring him in.

[gswhoops]

You could make the argument that the Vikings should trade him and just take what they can get. History says he only has 1 or 2 more elite seasons left and unless Peyton Manning decides to demand a trade to the Vikings they probably won't be contending in the that period.
At the same time I'm a Minnesota sports fan and we've traded a lot franchise players over the last decade (Moss, Garnett, Santana) and I don't think it's ever turned out to be beneficial. As a fan I think I'd prefer to just keep him and enjoy the fact that I get to watch one of the greatest runners in NFL history every week. The Vikings would probably be unwatchable without him.

That's a pretty fair assessment.

[Higga]

If a team is willing to give up a 1st for the awful Trent Richardson, I'm sure some dumb team will give up a 1st if not more for Peterson.

[NeedsMoreCheese]

If a team is willing to give up a 1st for the awful Trent Richardson, I'm sure some dumb team will give up a 1st if not more for Peterson.

The bigger issue is the cap though. Sure teams could offer a bundle of picks but they wouldn't be able to get his salary to fit in their cap
http://overthecap.com/cap.php?Name=Adri ... am=Vikings

Hard to just squeeze 14 mil into your cap

As for Richardson the most hes counting against the cap at any point is just over 3 mil
http://overthecap.com/cap.php?Name=Tren ... Team=Colts

So any team that could afford AP would be lacking somewhere else and they'd be in a similar situation to where the VIkings have been with AP likely being their best player by far. Unless theres some team with young good players that are still under their rookie deals, theres not a good fit.

Hes worth more than a 1st to MIN, and hes not worth all the picks plus the cap space for the team that would acquire him.

[I_AM_KING_585]

Dallas Cowboys go get AP by any means


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[NeedsMoreCheese]

Dallas Cowboys go get AP by any means


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A) impossible

B) even were it possible, wouldn't be worth it considering cost.

[hermes]

another thing to consider is that the nfl is sort of moving away from the need to have a big time franchise back who can be a focal point, you can get away with snatching up a couple guys in the 3rd-6th rounds and having a committee of guys who can all do different things and give you flexibility

[therealbig3]

Well, what good teams could really use an elite RB right now, and might make sense for them to give up a pick?

Maybe the Pats? They have a bunch of solid RBs (Ridley, Vereen, Blount, and Bolden), but nobody all that great. Imagine them with Adrian Peterson?

I'm just spitballing, I have no idea how it would work out capwise, or if the Pats would even consider giving up serious assets for Peterson considering his age and contract.

BUT, it also might be worth exploring, because of losing Gronk for the year. They need to replace his offensive production somehow if they want to make a run this year, and Peterson might be able to do that.

[hermes]

i don't think one pick would do it, richardson went for a first and he's not great. i know ap is older but the vikings would have to ask for more than that