Who is the NFL's best running back? Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings? Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans? The argument could easily be made for either talented back. There is one key point of distinction though between Peterson and Johnson -- one is willing to play out the contract he signed while the other is making an organization nervous by holding out from training camp for a new deal.
Peterson has been in Vikings camp while CJ remains a no-show in Nashville. How Johnson's situation plays out remains to be seen, but I like Peterson's approach much better. Peterson knows he'll be paid handsomely when his rookie contract expires, and frankly, this gesture of good faith on his part probably will only help him when the time is right for his agent and the Vikings to hammer out the terms of a new long-term deal.
In a Wednesday interview with 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Peterson explained his thought process concerning his contract situation and how he's more interested in helping Minnesota get back to the playoffs after last year's disappointing 6-10 season:
Matt Forte, Frank Gore and Chris Johnson have all had holdouts, why didn't you do the same?:
"I'm pretty much in a good position right now. I'm kind of in the driver's seat, so I just decided, hey, it's my last year of the contract, I'll stay faithful to it and I'm going to go out and focus on doing what I can do to help this team win a championship. ... Everything else will work out on its own."
How closely are you following the Chris Johnson talks to see what kind of money he gets?:
"I'm really not following it too much. To be honest, I wish him the best. I hope he gets as much as possible. But I don't feel like whatever he brings in will affect my contract at all."
How nice is it to not be having to talk about Brett Favre?:
"I guess it feels good in a sense because that wasn't my number one question this offseason: ‘Is Brett coming back? Is Brett coming back? Is he coming back? Is he coming back?' But not having him around the locker room, he was a great person ... so I'm going to miss his company."
Is he coming back?:
"I don't know. That's a good question. You never know with Favre, man. He likes to pop up midseason."