MINNEAPOLIS -- We're continuing our position-by-position look at the Vikings' roster this morning, with a glimpse at what might be the team's most intriguing situation this offseason: running back.
RUNNING BACKS
2015 free agents: Jerome Felton (can opt out of 2015 contract), Matt Asiata (restricted)
The good: With no Adrian Peterson for 15 games, and despite issues with a normally consistent offensive line, the Vikings coaxed serviceable production out of a group that had virtually no significant NFL experience before this season. Asiata and Jerick McKinnon combined for 1,108 rushing yards and 1,555 yards from scrimmage, and all but 16 of those yards came in the 15 games the Vikings played without Peterson. Felton had an impressive season as a blocking back (albeit in a limited role), and the group fumbled just once all season. With as many constraints as the Vikings had this season, to finish 14th in the league in rushing was no small feat.
The bad: It's impossible not to wonder about how different the Vikings' season might have been had Peterson played more than one game. His absence from the team during his legal proceedings -- and then the suspension the NFL handed Peterson after a spat with the NFLPA -- was the story of the season. What's more, his departure took a significant big-play element away from the ground game; the Vikings had just 11 carries of 20 yards or more, and six of those 11 came from receivers or safety Andrew Sendejo, who gained 48 yards on a fake punt against Chicago.
The money -- 2015 salary-cap numbers: Peterson ($15.4 million), McKinnon ($648,750), Joe Banyard ($585,000), Zach Line ($585,000), Henry Josey ($435,000). If the Vikings decide to part ways with Peterson -- or if the two sides can't come to an agreement on a restructured contract -- the team will have little money committed to the position. It's enough to make one wonder if the Vikings could bring Peterson back at his current cap figure for one more year, and with the cap expected to be in the neighborhood of $140 million next season, the Vikings probably could make it work. Continuing to make Peterson the highest-paid running back in the league at age 30 might not be the most prudent use of cap space, especially when the Vikings got decent production at a fraction of the cost, and the state of the relationship between player and team is at a tenuous point. But there's only one Adrian Peterson, and the Vikings know as well as anyone what he can do when he's motivated to prove people wrong (see: his 2012 MVP season after ACL surgery). Perhaps the possibility of getting another transcendent year from the running back will be worth the premium the Vikings would pay to bring him back under his current deal.
Draft priority: Medium. It depends on Peterson, and even if he is back in 2015, the Vikings could find reason to select a player from a deep running back class. It's probably not a bad idea to stockpile young, cheap running backs, and with or without Peterson in purple next year, the Vikings might decide to plan for their future at the position.
