Even though it was expected, it still came as a shock to me. The Minnesota Vikings made a big decision this offseason with their star player.

On February 28, I looked at my phone and saw an update about Adrian Peterson, now ex-running back for the Vikings, saying the team will not exercise the 2017 option on Peterson’s contract.

When I saw this notification, I felt miserable for the rest of the day. Losing a player like this is always hard to process. But maybe it was needed.

Peterson has only played in 20 games in the past three seasons out of 48 possible games. He has also always had a problem holding onto the ball whether it’s with catching the ball out of the backfield or fumbles.

His problems on the field isn’t everything. In 2014, Peterson was suspended for the rest of the year after his first game of the season. He was charged for abusive discipline on his 4-year-old child.

Maybe Peterson’s time is done. Maybe it’s time for him to retire.

With all those negatives, Peterson was still a huge asset to the team in his first seven years. After the Vikings selected Peterson with the seventh overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, he has played in 123 games in his career with the Vikings.

Over that time, he ran for 11,747 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry, and 97 touchdowns. He leads the league in yards and touchdowns in the past 10 years, according to Sports Illustrated.

Having Peterson on the Vikings made all the games so much more interesting to watch.

I loved watching him be such a threat throughout the whole game. It was awesome to see him consistently break tackles and destroy defences. Something I definitely will miss is hearing Paul Allen’s voice yelling “He’s loose,” over and over again.

Peterson has always been a big impact on this team and the loss will be detrimental. I feel Peterson was a huge part to the team’s success even when he wasn’t touching the ball.

He was so feared by other teams that they would place extra defenders in the middle of the field to try and stop him. This would allow the passing game to open up. With Peterson gone, defenses don’t have to pay extra attention to the back field which will make the passing game even more harder than it is.

Peterson will hit the market on March 9. Some possible teams he could go to are: Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders, Houston Texans and sadly, the Green Bay Packers.

With his past three seasons, Peterson’s value has gone down. Peterson is already 31 years old and turns 32 on March 21. Stat, provided by ESPN, show that after the age of 27, running backs stats’ tend to drop. After one year it drops 15 percent, 25 percent after two and 40 percent after three years.

I think Peterson could go to the Raiders. The Raiders have a very strong offensive line and that has been something holding Peterson back on the Vikings.

I would like Peterson to go to a team where he can win a championship. That could mean staying in Minnesota or leaving, but he has been such a dominant player that he deserves to win a Super Bowl.

Hopefully, by the start of next season, the Vikings will still have their star running back leading the way.