It looks like the Dallas Cowboys are in the clear when it comes to tampering with Adrian Peterson.
It makes all the sense in the world that Peterson — who was reinstated by the league Thursday — will land in Dallas at some point as there seems to be mutual interest, but for the time being, he’s a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
The fact that Peterson is still a Viking had some wondering if the Cowboys were tampering with a story on the team’s official website “Point: Reinstated Peterson Would Make Cowboys Serious Contenders” on Thursday night. However, as ProFootballTalk.com points out, the story doesn’t appear to be tampering as it’s defined by the NFL.
“Articles that appear on the website of a club that identify prospective free agents that the team might be interested in, or that rate prospective free agents, shall not be considered violations of the Anti-Tampering Policy unless they include a direct quote or expression of interest by an employee of the club (other than the author of the article) about a specific player,” the NFL’s policy reads.
There’s nothing in the article that states any sort of official interest from the Cowboys in Peterson — on or off the record — so the Cowboys seem to be OK this time around.
ESPN reported in August that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Peterson spoke briefly about the running back joining the Cowboys at some point. Peterson reportedly told Jones he wanted to play for the Cowboys, though Peterson has since denied the report.
Thumbnail photo via Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports Images
