Oakland Raiders In Adrian Peterson Sweepstakes?

Now that controversial running back Adrian Peterson has been placed back into the league by the NFL, the market has heated up for one of the best players of his era in the wake of Peterson’s suspension for child abuse in addition to his displeasure with the Minnesota Vikings. A situation that has teams lining up to try to get a player who while suspended in an ugly scandal last season, has a few years left in his prime as a player who likely will end up in the Hall of Fame when all is said and done as one of the best rushers of the 00’s.

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One of those teams could be the Oakland Raiders as rumblings have surfaced in league circles that the team could be trying to join the race for Peterson. A race that has the Dallas Cowboys in the forefront in trying to replace DeMarco Murray with Peterson, a move that would keep owner Jerry Jones team as Super Bowl contenders in 2015 in getting another elite running back to run behind their talented offensive line in Texas.

However according to at least one NFL general manager, there is a belief that Peterson could be getting targeted by the Raiders in a trade with the Vikings before or during the 2015 NFL Draft. Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report dropping a bombshell on Friday by reporting that one NFL general manager (who asked not to be identified for obvious reasons) believes that Oakland are very much in the running for Peterson. Something that makes sense given their reported interest and willingness to pay DeMarco Murray to come to the Bay Area back in March during the height of 2015 NFL Free Agency.

From Freeman’s Peterson column:

"When he returns, can he still be productive? At 30 years old, will we still see the old Peterson?My guess: We will see the same bullying, nasty, tornadic on-field punisher that we saw before. My guess: We will see see that force in a Vikings uniform, though there is a definite chance it’s a Cowboys one instead.I asked two general managers about Peterson’s return, and they told me they believe three teams are in play for him: the Cowboys, the Cardinals and the Raiders.“The Cowboys are the front-runners,” one said, “but I actually believe the Raiders are right there.”"

It is interesting to note that the Raiders will be competing with two NFC playoff teams from last year that would be offering Peterson the opportunity to contend for Super Bowls, but as the running back is under contract that won’t overly matter as general manager Reggie McKenzie would have the chance to ensure that a superstar talent would be coming to Oakland through a trade after missing on the likes of Murray during free agency’s open market. It would come at the price of a trade for a high draft pick, but with the Raiders wanting to get to the next level after three years of rebuilding it may just be worth the price to get a player who could be a 1500+ yard rusher wherever he goes based on his reputation as one of the game’s brightest talents.

It does need to be said that there is the baggage that Peterson would come with following his child abuse charges and the suspension that came with it along with his discontent with the Vikings that followed. Those are things that the Raiders would consider before pursuing Peterson, but if they are truly interested in making a deal with Minnesota this is a move that would make a statement that the franchise want to get back to competing in the AFC West right away. With a new head coach in Jack Del Rio and emerging young talents, it wouldn’t be a surprise that the Raiders could be willing to pay the price to acquire Peterson for the 2015 season.

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