Not surprisingly, Adrian Peterson and the people around him were paying attention to how the Minnesota Vikings reacted as he was handling an incident in which he injured his 4-year-old son with a switch.
The story has been playing out this month, and it is complicated. The Vikings, at every turn lately, have expressed that they want Peterson back, but with careful words because he is still suspended by the NFL. It might not be that easy.
in the last week, Peterson has said he is "still uneasy" about returning to the Vikings and Peterson's agent reportedly had to be separated from a Vikings official during a heated confrontation in Indianapolis with the agent making it clear Peterson wouldn't play in Minnesota again. Peterson's father told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that his son hasn't ruled out playing for the Vikings again, but in the same article mentioned people with the Vikings "kicking him when he was down."
If there's a reconciliation coming, it'll take some work.
Peterson had an interview with ESPN.com in which he seemed to waffle a bit. He said loves the Vikings fans and his teammates and coach Mike Zimmer, but said he knew of some in the organization that didn't want him back and took exception with media reports that looked into his past, things that "weren't even relevant" to the incident with his son. This quote sounded a bit ominous:
"I learned a lot through this process," Peterson told ESPN.com. "I'm still uneasy, to be honest with you. I'm still uneasy about a lot of things that took place within the organization."
Then in Indianapolis, a confrontation between Peterson's agent and Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski got a lot of attention. CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora reported that former Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik had to separate the men, and La Canfora quoted a source close to Peterson saying he'd never play another game in Minnesota.
Nelson Peterson, Adrian's father, said that's not the case. He hasn't demanded a trade or closed the door on playing for the Vikings, Nelson Peterson told the Pioneer Press. But there seems to be some angst over chief operating officer Kevin Warren and his role in Peterson not playing last season.
"Kevin Warren was a major player in the push last year to not have Adrian reinstated," Nelson Peterson said according to the Pioneer Press. "We had our sources that we knew that Kevin wasn't working for Adrian to get him back on the field and was working to keep Adrian off the field."
A witness to the Dogra-Brzezinski argument told the Pioneer Press that the confrontation centered around Warren. Peterson's came seems especially irked by Warren's promotion to COO earlier this year.
And not that the situation needed to get messier, but there's Peterson's contract. He has a $15.4 million cap hit this season, which is high for any running back in today's era, even one that won an NFL MVP award in 2012.
Money is usually the root of any disagreement between a player and team. Given the conflicting feelings between all parties, Peterson's salary seems well down the list. It appears a lot needs to be worked out if Peterson is going to return to his first and only NFL team.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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