MINNEAPOLIS -- A month from today, when the 2017 NFL year begins at 3 p.m. CT, the Minnesota Vikings will need to have finalized a decision about whether they'll pick up Adrian Peterson's $18 million option for 2017.
And from where we sit now, it appears to be a virtual certainty that the Vikings would require a restructured contract for Peterson to return to Minnesota. That has been clear for some time, since Peterson's 2015 restructured contract placed the 2017 option (and its attendant $6 million roster bonus) in the deal as a kind of trigger for both sides to return to the bargaining table with Peterson about to turn 32, and both sides seem to know it. Peterson talked in a NFL Network…
