Secret Suitors for Peterson? 

With Adrian Peterson officially reinstated on Friday, the race is underway to pry him away from the Vikings before the NFL Draft kicks off at the end of the month. The Cowboys and Cardinals are the lead horses in that race, but there are other teams who are eager to throw their hats in the ring, as well.

Perhaps the most interesting alternative landing spot is Indianapolis. The Colts already addressed their running back position this offseason by swiping Frank Gore from the 49ers with a three-year deal. But as Chip Kelly reminded us all earlier this offseason, sometimes one running back is not enough.

The Colts are clearly going all-in this offseason, signing Andre Johnson, Kendall Langford, Trent Cole and Nate Irving. Adding Peterson would put that strong free-agent class over the top. The Colts may be a bit hesitant to give up meaningful assets for a veteran running back after the Trent Richardson deal blew up in their faces, but rolling the dice on an extremely motivated A.P. is the kind of move that could catapult the Colts all the way to the Super Bowl,

If Peterson is not shipped to the country’s heartland, there is always a chance he could wind up on an indirect route to Los Angeles. That’s because the three teams eying a spot in the nation’s second biggest media market — the Rams, Raiders and Chargers — are all looking to upgrade the running back position.

The Rams have a solid running back in Tre Mason, but Peterson is in another tier altogether. St. Louis has been just a quarterback away from contending over the last couple seasons. Now that Nick Foles is onboard it would make sense to add a dominant running back who can keep the offense on schedule and turn Foles into more of a game-manager.

The Raiders have made no secret of their interest in upgrading their running back position. Oakland went hard after DeMarco Murray, only to see him sign with the Eagles, and is in no way done after taking a flier on Richardson. The Raiders also have plenty of room under the cap, so they can absorb Peterson’s massive contract as-is without asking him to restructure (he still has about $59 million in cap hits coming over the next four seasons).

The Chargers are also squarely in the running back market. GM Tom Telesco has been busy this offseason, strategically replacing each of his free-agent defectors with the exception of Ryan Mathews. But the Chargers are in limbo — both politically and practically — so it is tough to tell what they could do. San Diego could make a trade for Peterson and instantly establish itself as a serious contender, or it could swap Philip Rivers for Marcus Mariota and enter full-on rebuilding mode.

The Vikings insist their is another option, as well, as indicated by this statement on Friday: “The Minnesota Vikings have been informed by the NFL that Adrian Peterson has been reinstated. We look forward to Adrian re-joining the Vikings.”

However, given the noise that’s come out of Peterson’s camp over the last couple months, a return to Minnesota seems as likely as a Hilary Clinton appearance in Playboy.

Manziel Offers Up Timely Apology

Speaking of disingenuous statements, Johnny Manziel released one of his own on Friday. Manziel issued a public apology after being released from rehab last week, vowing to keep his nose to the grindstone and win back the trust of his teammates.

“I take full responsibility for my actions and it’s my intention to work very hard to regain everyone’s trust and respect,” he said. “I understand that will take time and will only happen through what I do and not what I say.”

The timing of Manziel’s carefully crafted statement is a bit suspect. The draft is less than two weeks away and the Browns — who own two picks in the first round — have expressed interest in making a play for Mariota. This could be seen as Manziel pleading for the Browns to give him another chance to prove he can still become a quality starter.

Cleveland is not counting on anything from Manziel after a disastrous rooking season in which his selfishness and immaturity prevented him for making any meaningful contributions. When he was finally given a chance to play late in the season, he looked unprepared and overwhelmed. His passer rating (42.0) was less than half that of Rams third-stringer Austin Davis.

There is still a chance Manziel can turn things around and justify Cleveland’s steep investment in him. But the Browns have already covered themselves by signing Josh McCown and may add even more insurance on draft day — no apologies needed.

Patriots Knew of Hernandez’s Issues

Former Patriots senior football adviser Floyd Reese, who was with the team when it drafted Aaron Hernandez back in 2010, told TheMMQB.com’s Greg Bedard that New England was well aware of Hernandez’s issues before selecting him in the fourth round.

“When we structured his first contract, his rookie contract, we probably had 75 percent of the money in the contract set up so that he would only make it if he stayed out of trouble, didn’t miss meetings, was always there doing the right thing,” Reese said. “And for the period of the original contract, he lived up to every bit of it. So it turned out well. Of course, after that, after he signed [his $40 million contract extension], things kind of went awry.”

“Went awry” might be the understatement of the century. “Went on a killing spree” would be more accurate. Hernandez is a thug (sorry, that’s not a racial term when applied to a convicted killer), something the Patriots were well aware of when drafting him. Head coach Bill Belichick was told by then-Florida coach Urban Meyer that Hendandez’s issues would not be an issue in the NFL. It turns out it was a dumb thing for Meyer to say and a dumb thing for Belichick to believe, but both men win championships, so personal accountability is not a concern for them.

Floyd’s statement confirms what most people suspected from the jump. The Patriots knew Hernandez was a bad egg, but in the fourth round his talent was simply too great to ignore. And for what it’s worth, Hernandez gave New England three extremely productive seasons before his career went of the rails. He helped his team to a lot of wins, and in New England, the end result is all that matters. And with that, the Patriots’ transformation into the 1980’s Raiders is now complete.

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