This June, ESPN sportswriter Don Van Natta Jr. was following Jerry Jones around to get a better understanding of Jones’ life when he became privy to a curious conversation between Adrian Peterson and the Cowboys owner.
While the two were together, Jones received a phone call, reportedly from Adrian Peterson during which Peterson supposedly told Jones that he’d love to play for the Cowboys.
“Well, I understand, Adrian,” Jones told Peterson during the call. “I’d like that, too … Well, I love your story. I love your daddy’s story. I’ve always respected what you’ve been about. I’ve always been a fan of yours.”
…
“Well, we’ll see what we can do, if we can make that happen,” Jones, who is also the Cowboys’ general manager, told Peterson. “Hmm hmm … I’d like that, too … Well, we’re talking pig Latin here, but let’s see if we can do that … We’re talking pig Latin here, but let’s see what we can do about that. OK, Adrian, thanks.”
Could this be considered tampering? Maybe. NFL rules state that if a player contacts a team who he is not under contract with, the contacted team must inform the team who the player is contracted under immediately or face “severe” penalties from the NFL.
For his part, Jones stated that he hasn’t been in contact with Peterson since the phone call but he also did not reach out to the Minnesota Vikings following his chat either. The fact that he was willing to have this conversation with a journalist present is fairly odd as well. You would think this would be the sort of conversation that one would want to have privately.
Peterson is currently playing out the fourth year of his seven-year $100 million contract with the Vikings, so he’ll have a plenty of time to brush up on his pig Latin.
