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In case you haven't been following along, the Vikings and superstar running back Adrian Peterson are at a stalemate. Resolution of this one is something fantasy football owners have great interest in.

I mean, we're talking about the best running back of our -- and arguably any -- era coming off a full year of rest, not rehabbing from off-season surgery for the first time in three years, reportedly working out harder than ever and packing a man-sized chip on his shoulder.

So where do things stand?

After Peterson told ESPN.com that he's "uneasy" about playing for the team, his agent spent an hour holding court in the lobby of the hotel where NFL owners were gathered for the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix last week, but Ben Dogra would allow just one comment for the record.

"We want out of Minnesota," Dogra told USA Today Sports.

As USA Today's Jim Corbett suggests, "It was surely a line-in-the-sand type of position that reiterates the tone that has been coming from Peterson's camp."

As adamant as Peterson's agent was on Monday, Vikings GM Rick Spielman seemed equally committed to his position. "Adrian's a member of our football team," Spielman said. "He's under contract with us. We are focused on the 2015 season and expect Adrian to be a part of that. Our whole focus is getting ready for that season with Adrian."

Asked point-blank about a trade, he said, "We're not going to deal in hypotheticals. ..."

The battlefield is prepped. Look for things to heat up with the NFL Draft in Chicago just a little over three weeks away.

As Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio put it this morning, "If -- and that’s still a fairly large 'if' -- the Vikings plan to trade Peterson, the best move at this point would be to get a deal down quietly, and then to implement it when the team to whom Peterson will be dealt is on the clock, with the first pick the Vikings will be receiving.

"That approach allows the Vikings to swoop in and grab a guy they want, without having to worry about someone jumping over them."

Florio went on to suggest the strategy makes even more sense if the Vikings get a low first-round pick or a high second-round choice and intend to select a running back like Todd Gurley or Melvin Gordon. If the Vikings obtain that spot in line before the draft begins, anyone else interested in either guy will know that they need to leap the Vikings to get Gurley or Gordon.

So. ... Who would give up as much as a low first-round pick or a high second-round pick for Peterson?

The Cardinals have been most prominently mentioned.

But if Arizona is interested, head coach Bruce Arians wasn't spilling the beans.

Asked at the NFL Meeting about the chances of trading for Peterson, Arians deep-sixed the question right out of the gate. "You're trying to get me fined? That's tampering, dude!" Arians joked with a reporter. "I ain't gonna talk about another player."

Also worth noting, the Cowboys -- where owner/GM Jerry Jones loves nothing better than making a splash -- cleared $12.8 million in cap space this past week by restructuring Tony Romo's contract. That clearly puts them in position to absorb Peterson’s $12.75 million salary.

Whatever the case, the ball is in the Vikings' court.

Unless they trade or release him (the latter being quite unlikely), Peterson will get $13 million to play for the Vikings this year or he can retire and pay back $2.4 million in unearned signing bonus money.