Yahoo! Sports’ Robinson: Cardinals, Buccaneers and Jaguars in running for Adrian Peterson

A report surfaced Tuesday that if the Minnesota Vikings did not trade running back Adrian Peterson by the conclusion of next week’s NFL Draft, they would end up holding on to their star.

A guest of Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Wednesday, Yahoo! Sports NFL columnist Charles Robinson said he is 100 percent confident that if the Arizona Cardinals called up the Vikings and offered their first-round pick for Peterson, Minnesota would listen.

But are the Cardinals — or any team, for that matter — willing to surrender their top draft choice and more for a 30-year-old running back?

That remains to be seen, but one team Robinson said is not in the running for the six-time Pro Bowler’s services is the Dallas Cowboys.

“Whoever says otherwise is 1,000 percent wrong,” he said. “The Cowboys have not spoken to the Minnesota Vikings about Adrian Peterson. It has not happened. They haven’t offered a draft pick, they have not picked up the telephone to talk to the Minnesota Vikings about Adrian Peterson. It simply has not happened.”

Of course, just because the Cowboys many not be in the running does not mean the Cardinals are likely to swing a deal for Peterson. They are one of a handful of teams to have been linked to the running back, but assuming the Vikings ultimately decide to acquiesce to their star’s request, it would then be up to Arizona to come up with the best offer.

According to Robinson, the three teams left in the race are the Cardinals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jacksonville Jaguars, though he would not rule out the Atlanta Falcons.