Peterson says he’d consider a pay cut

Adrian Peterson declared himself fit to play several more seasons in the NFL, even if that’s elsewhere from Minnesota, though the running back did say he’s consider a pay cut to stay.

Adrian Peterson declared himself fit to play several more seasons in the NFL, even if that’s elsewhere from Minnesota.

The 31-year-old Peterson finished with only 72 yards on 37 rushes over three games, a torn meniscus in his right knee responsible for an abbreviated 10th season with the Vikings that might well have been his last. He acknowledged savoring the fans and his teammates more than usual the past few days.

“I’d be lying to you to say that I haven’t thought about, ‘Well, what if we’re not able to work things out?”’ Peterson said Monday in the locker room as players packed up for the winter.

Peterson returned for the Dec. 18 game against Indianapolis only to be sidelined again the last two weeks after aggravating his knee. Carrying an $18 million salary cap hit on his contract for 2017, Peterson is uncertain to come back at his age with the team’s other needs.

He said he’d consider a reduced salary to return, which would probably be the only way for that to happen.

“There’s the reality that there comes a point in time where, yeah, the best thing to do is take a pay cut, and it might be in the best interest of the team as well,” Peterson said, adding: “I guess with the number being so high you could speculate and say that’s the case, but in due time I think we’ll cross that bridge.”

Kubiak steps down

Eighteen years after Gary Kubiak tried to talk John Elway out of retiring, the roles were reversed. The result was the same. “He put up his hand and said, ‘Remember when you did that to me?” Elway recounted. “I said, ‘Yeah, OK.”’

With that, Kubiak, 55, left the NFL pressure cooker over season-long health concerns, stepping down from his dream job with two years left on his contract, a grateful family and a Super Bowl 50 ring.

Kubiak had another health scare in October when he suffered a complex migraine and had to take a week off work. He lightened his load for a while but he’s just not wired that way. Anyway, Kubiak said that was just one episode in a season-long grind that convinced him it’s time to move on.

“I’m doing great, I’m OK,” he said at a news conference where he choked up several times. “But coaching is a very demanding business, a tough business and I’ve struggled big-time this year. I’m going to find something else to do.”

Culture change

Two years after asking to be held accountable if his San Francisco 49ers fall short of winning the Super Bowl, team CEO Jed York was back on stage having fired two more coaches, a general manager, and seen his team post a 7-25 record.

York apologized for a 2-14 record this season that he called embarrassing, and repeatedly said the organization needed a “clean slate” in order to re-establish a “championship culture.”

But one thing that won’t change after the firing of coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke on Sunday: York will be the person leading the search for new leadership team after getting rid of Jim Harbaugh in 2014 and then firing Jim Tomsula and Kelly after one-year runs as coaches.

“I own this football team,” York said. “You don’t dismiss owners. I’m sorry that that’s the facts and that’s the case, but that’s the facts.”

Browns on the clock

A 1-15 record earned the Cleveland Browns the top pick in April’s NFL draft.

Since returning to the league as an expansion franchise in 1999, the Browns twice have used the No. 1 overall selection.

San Francisco (2-14) will pick second, followed by Chicago and Jacksonville, both 3-13.

The Rams (4-12), Jets and Chargers, both 5-11, Carolina (6-10), Cincinnati (6-91) and Buffalo (7-9) close out the top 10.

The draft will be April 2729 in Philadelphia.

Payton speculation

After a third straight losing season, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton limited discussion about his future to the offseason work he expects to begin this week with his current team.

Payton didn’t outright deny he might wind up coaching elsewhere. He did not say he had no interest in coaching another team. But he did assert that some recent published reports about him contained factual errors. He emphasized that the reason he often allows speculation to fester is because he does not want to dignify with responses those reports he views as incorrect and based on unaccountable, unnamed sources.

“We’re not going to address rumors,” Payton said on an end-of-season conference call with media, a day after a season-ending 38-32 loss at Atlanta. “If we answered those every time, it would be silly.”