AP to AZ insider article

[Arizona_Sting]

If anyone with ESPN insider could post that article for me that would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure it's garbage speculation since it's just ESpin but I want to give it a lot. Thanks.

 

[Bunkamania]

Iowajerms usually shares that stuff. Maybe he will see your request and grant it.

 

[gordontrue]

The longer the saga involving star running back Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings goes on, the more likely it seems that the 30-year-old could be playing for a new team in 2015.

To be clear: Peterson could return to Minnesota. He has public support from multiple members of the organization, but his agent recently declared that he believed it to be in the player's best interest to run the football for another team next season.

Among the teams that have been speculated upon the most as trade fits for Peterson are theDallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. Given that the Cowboys just saw DeMarco Murray depart for Philadelphia because his price tag surpassed their budget, the idea of trading for Peterson and the three years and nearly $45 million remaining on his contract might be a stretch.

The story is a bit different for Cardinals -- a team that not only can but should make a play for Peterson as the missing link to their already strong roster. Here's why.


Revisiting 2014

The Cardinals dropped five of their final seven games during the 2014 season (including a 27-16 wild-card loss to Carolina), but that's not telling the full story. The team stormed out to a 9-1 record last year before a litany of injuries derailed its chances to advance deep in the playoffs. Quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL, followed by backup Drew Stanton suffering a knee injury that shelved him. The team was forced to start Ryan Lindley in the playoff game.

"They were on a roll until their quarterback got hurt, and they showed if you don't have any kind of quarterback, it's going to be hard in this league," one NFL personnel man said. "At least if you've got [an elite] running back, when your quarterback goes down, you've at least got a chance. You saw when Palmer went down, it was a huge deal."

That personnel man has a favorable view of running back Andre Ellington, but he too ended the season on injured reserve after absorbing a heavy workload during the season (247 touches in just 12 games). Ellington -- who is just shy of 200 pounds -- would be an even better player if he were playing alongside a workhorse back.

But the addition of Peterson would not just be a security blanket in the event of an injury to Palmer, who continues to rehab his torn ACL this offseason. The fact of the matter is that Peterson is an elite player and perhaps the best running back in the game.

"You can kind of get the sense that they know this is their time," a personnel man remarked about the Cardinals. "They've got the defense, some receivers, they got [free-agent guard Mike Iupati]. They were 9-1 with Palmer [to start last year]. If they had AP and Carson comes back and to have him play at half the level he was playing at last year, they're going to be a tough team to beat."

Palmer turned 35 this past December, though he showed that he remains a good player when he is healthy. Last fall he signed a three-year extension through 2017, which happens to coincide with the duration of Peterson's contract. While Arizona has a nucleus of young talent that includes the likes of left tackle Jared Veldheer, cornerback Patrick Peterson and safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Tony Jefferson, the team's best window to compete is right now.

While there are teams around the NFL that have a running back need and the financial resources to afford Peterson (i.e. the Raiders), trading for him at this stage of their roster-building process makes little sense. Arizona is already a contender. Adding Peterson would only fortify that status.

The fit and division

Peterson is a fit for any system. He's physically superior to any running back in the NFL and a boon to any offense. But Arizona is a particularly good fit for a power back who can handle a heavy load. While the Cardinals struggled running the ball in 2014 (they had the lowest yards-per-carry mark in the NFL at 3.3), a personnel contact wisely noted that coach Bruce Arians "has got that Steeler background that likes to run the ball." (Arians had hoped for an improved running game entering the 2014 season). Iupati, it should be said, is among the pre-eminent run-blocking guards in the league. The line has been beefed up for a stud back to run behind it.

The first step for the Cardinals to return to the playoffs is to try to win their division, one that happens to be filled with vaunted pass-rushers and front sevens. "[That's a] hard-nosed, tough division, lot of impressive defensive fronts," another personnel man said. "And a guy that takes pressure off the quarterback -- it's hard to find a guy like that." The NFC West looks to be as physical of a division as there is in the NFL. A back like Peterson is a tailor-made fit to play in it.

The cost, cut two ways

What remains to be seen with a potential Peterson trade is the cost it would incur. ESPN Front Office Insider and soon-to-be Hall of Fame GM Bill Polian has suggested he would look for two first-round picks to acquire Peterson. That might be too rich for Arizona's blood, but if the price dropped to a single pick in a later round, perhaps the deal is more plausible. But that's a bridge Minnesota will have to cross if it aggressively fishes for a trade.

The other factor is that a team would need to be able to absorb Peterson's large contract. Amid the rapidly moving news cycle of free agency, news of Palmer restructuring his contract to create more than $7 million of space for Arizona seemed to fly under the radar. While there are other ways Arizona can spend this cap space (and some of it can go to draft picks), it's a maneuver that at least merits a note when examining a possible path to acquire Peterson.

The Cardinals were close to being a contender without a running back on Peterson's level in 2014. GM Steve Keim has shown himself to be an aggressive and successful team builder, and acquiring the six-time Pro Bowler would immediately vault them into the elite tier of the NFC for the 2015 season.

Notes
• Compensatory picks: The NFL handed out compensatory picks Monday, and just a few guidelines to serve as a reminder regarding them: A total of 32 are awarded each year based on unrestricted free-agent activity from the previous offseason. These picks cannot be traded. Players who were released from their contracts prior to the expiration of them and sign with a new team do not factor into the compensatory formula (thus, Darrelle Revis did not come into play for the Patriots, who were awarded the highest pick).

• Bucs' draft plans: Count me among those who envision the Buccaneers taking quarterback Jameis Winston with the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. That's why I think this tweetfrom colleague Matt Williamson is a very smart one, as part of developing a rookie quarterback is ensuring that he has the resources around him to be successful. If Tampa Bay goes with Winston at No. 1, loading up on linemen thereafter in the draft would be wise.