Arizona Cardinals Should Not Pursue Adrian Peterson

The suspended Minnesota Vikings running back had a good day in court this week

With suspended Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson winning a court battle against the NFL this week to vacate his suspension, speculation arose again about his future.  He’s now back on the NFL commissioner’s list but it is only a matter of time before he’s off that list pending appeal from the NFL.

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Peterson is suspended until April 15th at this point but many believe he’ll be back much sooner than that.  The question is do the Minnesota Vikings want to keep him.  The bigger question around here is do the Arizona Cardinals want him and if so, should they pursue him?

My simple answer to whether the Cardinals should pursue him is no.  It isn’t a question of whether he can be productive.  I think we all know he can still produce positive results at his age.  If it was purely a football decision, in my mind its a no-brainer.  The fact is it isn’t and that’s why we even have the chance to debate it.

I’m a character guy.  I know a lot of people don’t care about what happens off the field.  I do.  Why are we cheering for a guy just because he can run with a football better than most?  It’s football.  It’s a game.  No doubt he’s one of the best running backs in the game.  What he did though to his child to me is something that needs to be taken seriously.

Surely it was taken seriously and the Vikings suspended him after pressure from sponsors.  The NFL would have made the move anyway.  Peterson has now had his case resolved in a court of law.  Now he has to deal with the court of perception.

The Cardinals immediately put running back Jonathan Dwyer on the commissioner’s list after his arrest for domestic violence.  At that time head coach Bruce Arians said he was surprised by his actions.  He said that Dwyer would be welcomed back if charges ended up not true.  He said he would be gone otherwise.  Well, we know he’s been sentenced.  He’s had his day in court.  He is still on the commissioner’s list but I fully expect the Cardinals to eventually release him.

I don’t know how you sign a guy like Peterson after comments made by the team after Dwyer’s arrest?  I know people are going crazy over the idea the Cardinals could go after him but I prefer to live in reality and reality is this man hurt his child.  Many call it discipline.  I call it abuse.  I respect whatever your opinion is on the subject but this is mine.

The Vikings will probably never outright release Peterson so he’d have to come in a trade.  He also comes with a hefty price tag.  I have a better option for Cardinals fans.  How about DeMarco Murray?  He also isn’t cheap.  If we are dreaming big though, I’d rather go down his path.