National Football League

Report: Vikings might trade Peterson but won't release him

Published Sep. 16, 2014 5:36 a.m. ET

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The Minnesota Vikings may trade Adrian Peterson if the child abuse accusations against him grow worse, but they won't release him, a source told the New York Post.

Hours after the Vikings reinstated Peterson on Monday, and the star running back released a statement insisting he is "not a child abuser," a report alleged that he faced a separate accusation of injuring one of his children in a previous incident.

The Vikings told the media Monday that they will let the legal process play out before they make another move with Peterson. But mounting public pressure could change their minds.

Minnesota deactivated Peterson for Sunday's loss to New England and could do so again, or it could suspend him without pay for conduct detrimental to the team for up to four games. But then it would have to reinstate him or release him.

Houston TV station KHOU, citing sources, reported Monday that the mother of another of Peterson's 4-year-old sons filed a report with Child Protective Services over an incident alleged to have occurred "last June."

The report notes that the result of any alleged investigation by Child Protective Services is "unclear," and no charges were filed in the incident.

KHOU's reporting on the incident, which it says is alleged to have occurred while the child was visiting Peterson at his Houston home, includes a string of photos and text messages obtained by the station's investigative team. The station reports that the texts show Peterson said he was disciplining the boy for cursing at one of his siblings.

Per KHOU's report:

The text messages also describe an exchange about what happened. They contain numerous misspellings and shorthand:

Mother: "What happened to his head?"

Peterson: "Hit his head on the Carseat."

Mother: "How does that happen, he got a whoopin in the car."

Peterson: "Yep."

Mother: "Why?"

Peterson: "I felt so bad. But he did it his self."

One of the photos obtained by KHOU shows a scar above the boy's right eye. In other text messages obtained by the station in the alleged incident, the mother asks Peterson what he hit the child with.

The texted responses don't directly address that question, but go on to say "be still n take ya whooping. ... He aight."

Citing "sources close to the investigation," TMZ reports that the child in this case "accidentally hit his head on a carseat while Adrian was punishing him" and was not directly struck in the forehead by Peterson.

In a statement, Peterson's lawyer dismissed the second allegation.

Peterson already is charged with a felony in Texas in a separate incident, accused of using a wooden switch to spank one of his 4-year-old sons, causing unspecified injuries. If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.

After news broke Friday of those accusations, the Vikings benched Peterson for Sunday's 30-7 home loss to the New England.

Peterson returned to the team Monday and released a statement, insisting he is not a child abuser and wanting "everyone to understand how sorry I feel about the hurt I have brought to my child."

The Vikings released a statement Monday evening after the latest accusations surfaced:

"As part of the information we have gathered throughout this process, we were made aware of an allegation from 2013 in which authorities took no action against Adrian. We will defer any further questions to Adrian's attorney Rusty Hardin."

Also on Monday, Peterson's arraignment on the charges that came to light Friday was delayed to Oct. 8, as Hardin is out of the country. It had been scheduled for Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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