By Sean Wagner-McGough The Minnesota Vikings and Adrian Peterson have agreed to restructure the final three years of his contract. The move was announced by the Vikings on Tuesday, and statements from both Peterson and the team were released. "I appreciate the Vikings for working together on this restructured contract, which provides additional security for me but also allows opportunities for me to further prove my value to the team and within the NFL," Peterson said. "It was important for me to continue my career in Minnesota, and I cannot wait to get on the field in front of Vikings fans again." Vikings general manager Rick Spielman echoed Peterson's thoughts, saying the contract is a win for both sides. "This agreement is a win for both Adrian and the Vikings and is a positive step toward Adrian finishing his career as a Minnesota Viking," Spielman said. "As we have consistently said, Adrian is a valuable part of the Vikings organization and we look forward to his return to the field." Here are three things to know about the deal. 1) Financial security Adrian Peterson wanted more financial security, and now it appears the Vikings have granted his wish. Before the two sides agreed to redo his deal, Peterson was scheduled to earn $45 million in the next three years, but none of that money was guaranteed. Now, it appears that Peterson will be guaranteed at least something. 2) A long battle Peterson has been chasing guaranteed money for a while now. His struggle for guaranteed cash reached its peak back in May, when he embarked upon a lengthy Twitter rant about the nature of NFL contracts. 3) Not going anywhere Peterson might have considered retiring at some point, but now the issue is a dead one. Peterson probably isn't going anywhere, at least for three seasons. And that's probably good news for the Vikings, even if Peterson has hit the dreaded age of 30. Peterson missed pretty much all of last season, but in 2013 he played in 14 games and managed to put up over 1,200 yards on the ground and 10 touchdowns. And, in his career, Peterson has rushed for more than 10,000 yards and has averaged a tremendous five yards per carry. It's not unreasonable to think that Peterson is going to decline in the years to come, but then again, he hardly played in 2014, so his legs should be fresh for this upcoming season. With quarterback Teddy Bridgewater entering his second year in the league, with Mike Wallace now onboard, and with a young core on defense, it's not unreasonable to think the Vikings have built a playoff contender for the next few seasons. Despite his age, Peterson should play a role in getting the Vikings back to the postseason.
read about AP and the redo of his contract..i'm just glad they got it done so its out of the way,its nice to see the Vikings starting to have a Offense it been a loooooong time when its not all on AP shoulders,the Defense has to step up and help the Offense...i checked out how the stadium is proceeding it look like its going to be very nice
The Vikings have lost Jabari Price for the first two games of the regular season after the cornerback was suspended Friday for violating the NFL's Policy and Program on Substances of Abuse, the team announced. Minnesota's seventh-round pick in 2014, Price will miss games against the 49ers and Lions before returning for a home tilt with the San Diego Chargers. Price, 22, pleaded guilty in April to careless driving after following his December arrest for DWI. "I sincerely apologize to my family, my teammates, the Vikings organization and Vikings fans for the mistake I made last winter," Price said in a statement released by the team. "I can assure you that it will never happen again. I look forward to returning to helping my team on the field in Week 3." The second-year defender appeared in 14 games last season but played a mere 47 snaps. Price was mostly a help on special teams, but he won't be helping anyone out of the gate in 2015. By Marc Sessler Around the NFL Writer
[h]Vikings' Norv Turner believes Teddy Bridgewater is a top-5 quarterback[/h] It's July in the NFL, which means quarterback rankings are everywhere. At least one coach in the NFL, Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner, doesn't put much weight into the various rankings that currently exist. Turner does, however, know the ranking of Vikings' second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. According to Turner, Bridgewater belongs in the top-five among all quarterbacks in the league. Here's Turner's full quote, via NFL.com: "The one evaluation we care about is ours. And based on where we got to last year and where we think we're going, I think we have a top-five quarterback." That's quite the bold claim coming from Turner, and it's one that will most likely be ridiculed by everyone outside of the Vikings' organization. Here are Bridgewater's numbers from his rookie campaign: 2,919 passing yards 14 touchdowns 64.4 percent of passes completed 85.2 quarterback rating Clearly, those numbers aren't anywhere near top-five status. However, considering 2014 was Bridgewater's rookie season, I think we can forgive the numbers Bridgewater posted in the first half of his first year. So, what happens when you look at Bridgewater's second half, or more specifically, how did Bridgewater finish in his final five games? In those five games, his completion percentage hovered above 71 percent, he averaged nearly 250 yards per game, compiling roughly 8.8 yards per attempt in the process, and he threw for eight touchdowns. Those five games are probably what Turner is using when he's ranking his quarterback against every other signal caller in the league. "He was much more decisive," Turner told USA Today Sports earlier this month, speaking about Bridgewater's strong finish to the season. "We were very specific in terms of what we were doing. I think we had a good feel for what we did best as a unit. We had so many changes early: a culmination of obviously playing three quarterbacks over a period of time, the offensive line shuffling in and out, the backfield situation. I don't care if you had a veteran quarterback -- it was going to be a challenge." Despite Bridgewater's promising end to the season, there's work to be done if he wants to be known as a top-five quarterback by people other than his offensive coordinator. Even Bridgewater knows this, as earlier this month he made it a point to say that the Vikings aren't "as good as what we think." Still, Bridgewater seems to have won over the team's star player, Adrian Peterson, who didn't get to play with Bridgewater last season. The comments coming from Turner and Peterson might not vault Bridgewater into the top tiers of most quarterback rankings, but it perhaps demonstrates that Bridgewater might not be too far off from the top of those lists. If he picks up and improves from where he left off in the final five games of the 2014 season, Turner's argument might make a little more sense next July. By; By Sean Wagner-McGough
that's pretty high praise from Norv...he just put the pressure on Teddy and the Vikings to take there game to the next level,is Teddy a top 5 QB? don't know about that..they got a good test against a good and tough Steelers football team in the HOF game it's just a few weeks away GO VIKINGS
When the young QBs take over the league I could see Teddy right on the bubble of the top 5. It's not out of the realm of possibility that he could be in the top 3 in 7 years.
i hope he doesn't get hurt..i want the Vikings to get the O-line in shape cause Teddy Bridgewater after watching him getting crushed last year,i don't want him to get hurt he does seem to be a accurate passer
Vikings in the HOF..Chris Carter Fran Tarkenton Alan Page Paul Krause Bud Grant Jim Finks Mick Tingelhoff finally Ron Yary Carl Eller Randle McDaniel Gary Zimmerman John Randle Chris Doleman,where is Ed White David Dixson ( sp ) Joey Browner Keith Millard Jim Marshall and Randy Moss better be a first ballot HOF
Watched Smith with the Buckeyes and Vikings. He was great. Never the same after damage to the knee, tho. He was explosive when he found a hole.
wow a blast from the past Jimi Hendrix experience...i was pissed that Robert Smith quit at first but i understand why now he had nothing to prove to anybody,better to walk away then limp away,i kinda hope AP does the same thing he's going to be in HOF he is a bad azz RB..better to walk away with your health you got nothing to prove just like Robert Smith
I was pissed too and im surprised i remember that. He was an intelligent man and i think he new he could, with just one more hit, spend the rest of his life on crutches or worse.
The Minnesota Vikings kickoff the 2015 NFL season in the Hall of Fame Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday, August 9th. Kickoff is set for 7:00 pm CT at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. It will be the 4th time the Vikings have participated in the Hall of Fame Game and the first time since 1997. The game will be nationally televised on NBC as well as being radio broadcasted nationally on Westwood One and locally on KFAN 100.3.
oh man i thought nobody got hurt last night,looks like the Steelers kicker tore his ACL and is out for the year ( what a bad thing ) training camp and practice is tough enough..its a miracle if you survive the very dangerous pre-season
I didnt know if it was season ending or not - terrible thing. So even if they cut the amount of preseason games he still would have been hurt, but just reducing the odds of potentially a bunch more happening makes sense.
i was on LRT the other day US BANK STADIUM is starting to look like its going to be very nice,wow Geno Smith got his jaw jacked and broken this is so stupid he could have paid the money back!,the injury bug is just like a wildfire jumping from training camp to training camp,GO Vikings and let's hope the injury bug stay's away
According to Ben Goessling of ESPN, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson suffered a leg injury at the team's training camp and left the practice field on Tuesday. "He got tangled up," teammate Jerick McKinnon said, per ESPN. "A defender fell on him, but he said he was alright. Everybody knows Adrian's got a cape on. He'll be back out here tomorrow. I don't think anybody's worried about him." ___________________ Adrian Peterson doesn't practice Wednesday but says he's fine...
according to Norv and Jerick McKinnon they say its no big deal about the injury hope there telling the truth about AP,now go away injury bug be a headache to some other team..GO VIKINGS!
