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          NFL Nation

          Mailbag Part 2: Chad Greenway/Gerald Hodges, Marcus Sherels, Adrian Peterson

          • Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff WriterApr 26, 2015, 08:00 AM ET
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            • Previously covered Vikings for St. Paul Pioneer Press
            • Also covered Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Wild and Washington Nationals
            • Twin Cities native and University of Minnesota graduate
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          MINNEAPOLIS — Thanks to all of you who submitted questions for this week’s Minnesota Vikings mailbag. You can submit them at any point during the week on Twitter, using the hashtag #VikingsMail.

          @GoesslingESPN: Good morning, everyone. Hope you're having a great weekend. We'll kick things off here. Mike Zimmer said in a radio interview during the NFL combine that Chad Greenway is still the best weakside linebacker the Vikings have. That would include Gerald Hodges, and I don't think the Vikings would have kept Greenway at a $5.575 million cap number if they weren't planning for him to start. That said, Hodges played well last season, and it wouldn't surprise me if the Vikings have him pegged as the starter of the future at that spot. Could Hodges push Greenway for the spot this season? Sure. But I don't think the Vikings are in a rush to move on from Greenway. He's a smart player who understands their system, and if they were planning to put him out to pasture, they wouldn't have worked as hard as they did to restructure his contract. If I had to bet now, I'd expect Greenway will begin the season as the starter.

          @GoesslingESPN: The Vikings talked with Kansas State wide receiver Tyler Lockett at the Senior Bowl, and he had a great week down there. I'm not sure I see them needing a pure slot guy like that -- they have a number of players who can line up in that spot as it is -- but if they liked Lockett enough, they have the flexibility with their other receivers to move them around and make Lockett an inside receiver. He can certainly fly, and he's got plenty of experience as a return man. I guess I wouldn't put him at the top of my list of players to watch, but I could see an argument for taking him. Speaking of return men ...

          @GoesslingESPN: I certainly appreciate the aim to discuss something different -- we tend to get a little one-dimensional in these mailbags, especially around draft time. Marcus Sherels has been a solid punt returner for the Vikings; he had some dubious decisions on fair catches in the middle of last season, but generally makes good decisions, is sure-handed and has a pair of punt returns for touchdowns in his career. He's also one of the more technically sound cornerbacks the Vikings have. They don't use him often, but they are not afraid to employ him in a pinch. I get what you're getting at -- the Vikings could free up a roster spot if they had a punt returner who also does something else -- but Sherels has the trust of special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, and I don't think the Vikings have any urge to replace him. There is also something to be said for having a punt returner who is not one of your main contributors elsewhere, just for the sake of avoiding injury. At this point, I'd be surprised if Sherels isn't the punt returner in 2015.

          @GoesslingESPN: We'll wrap up as we often do, with an Adrian Peterson question. Now, there's a chance I'm being naive on this -- it certainly wouldn't be the first time. But since I talked to Peterson in February, and he said there were bigger things on his mind than which team could pay him the most, I haven't believed money is his chief concern in this whole thing. He's always been a guy who puts a high value on loyalty, and whether you agree with him or not, he felt the Vikings distanced themselves from him in a politically charged moment last year (the team's lukewarm statements about Peterson during the season didn't sit well with his camp, either). That said, the easiest way to show somebody you're sincere in the NFL is to guarantee part of their salary. Would that help assuage Peterson's concerns? Quite possibly. But I still don't believe his chief aim is to get more money here. If anything, I think he'd take less if it helped facilitate a trade. The Vikings' stated plan is to keep Peterson, and if they do, they will wind up paying him $12.75 million for 2015. That's a handsome sum of money for a 30-year-old running back, but I don't think that's all that's on Peterson's mind.

          We'll wrap things up here for the week. Thanks for all the great questions, everyone. Like the rest of ESPN's NFL Nation reporters, I'll be en route to Bristol later today, for our live NFL Nation Mock Draft show on ESPN2 this Monday. I'll post more details tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy your Sunday.