Adrian Peterson Next Up For An Extension?

Now that Chris Johnson‘s contract is out of the way, the attention turns to Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson who is set to become a free agent following the 2011 season.

ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert mentions that there isn’t much urgency from the team to address their start player at this point which could indicate that they’re looking to their franchise tag on Peterson at the end of the season rather than paying him right now.

While it would make some sense from a business perspective, the Vikings would run the risk of upsetting Peterson which could damage their relationship and force him to look else where.

Seifert writes that Johnson current deal appears to be a good basis for an extension.

“Other than having one additional year’s worth of wear and tear, Peterson lines up pretty squarely with Johnson in terms of market value,” writes Seifert. “So for the first time, we in the public have a decent idea of what it will take for the Vikings to lock up Peterson.”

One issue of note, Johnson deal averages out to $9.3 million per season and Peterson’s current deal is paying him $10.7 million so there is already a discrepancy with the average salary as Peterson would essentially be taking a pay cut by signing a similar deal to Johnson’s.

We have Peterson listed as the No. 3 best available player in our Top 50 Free Agents list. Our readers voted Peterson as the best available player overall.