According to reports, NFL running back Adrian Peterson has a short list of teams he's considering if the Vikings don't resign him - and the Giants are on that list.

Peterson said he'd prefer to stay in Minnesota, but if the team chooses not to offer him a deal, he was looking to go to a team with a good chance to compete for a championship, "a team with a good defense, good offensive scheme, and a great coaching staff."

There's a couple teams out there that I've thought about. ... New York was one of them that popped up, Tampa Bay, lot of different teams. Houston would be a good spot... I'll stop right there. ... I'm just throwing random names out there."

Peterson had surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee in September. He came back in three months, beating doctors' timetable for his return by a month, to appear in one game but did not play in the Vikings' final two games of the season. Despite the injuries, Peterson said he believes he has five more years as a premier running back.

The other obvious controversy surrounds Peterson's off-the-field issue. Peterson missed all but one game of the 2014 season due to child abuse charges after repeatedly hitting his 4-year-old son with a switch, leaving cuts and bruises on the boy’s legs and scrotum. Peterson defended it as corporal punishment, saying that's just how he was raised. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault, paid a $4,000 fine and agreed to perform 80 hours of community service. The 15 miss games cost him $4.2 million in salary.

As a Giants fan, I would have a hard time rooting for this guy if he was on my team. It's a choice that most sports fans have to make at some time - do you root for the player, or the jersey? It's a simple dismissal to just say "hey, I want the Giants to win, if the running back gets 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, I don't care about the last name on the uniform", but I don't really like that line of thinking. Just because a guy is good at sports doesn't mean he can beat his wife or girlfriend or child with impunity. Ray Rice was blacklisted after his video surfaced (rightfully) so why does Peterson get another chance?

 

Giants fans, what do you think?

 

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