The Minnesota Vikings announced on Tuesday that they would not pick up the option on running back Adrian Peterson, essentially making a free agent come March 9.

Related Adrian Peterson open to playing for New York Giants

At the 31 years old, the accomplished veteran is bound to interest several NFL teams in need of improvement at the position. And despite initial suggestions to the contrary, it’s apparent that the New York Giants will be one of those teams.

Peter King of Sports Illustrated reports that Big Blue has already expressed a quiet interest in Peterson and will likely reach out to his representation at the start of the free agency period.

Most likely landing spots? I hear the Giants are interested, and I have not heard the same about the Packers, but if the money’s realistic, Green Bay makes so much sense.

For his part, Peterson has repeatedly expressed an interest in the Giants, previously noting that he finds their offseason moves, including the release of fellow running back Rashad Jennings, “interesting.” He had also named the Giants as one of the teams he feels would be a good fit.

“I see myself in purple. A lot has to take place,” Peterson told ESPN in mid-January. “I see myself finishing off in purple. It is a business at the end of the day, so with that, things could end up differently. … Hopefully we can work things out.

“[If not], there’s a couple teams out there that I’ve thought about. … New York was one of them that popped up, Tampa Bay, lot of different teams. Houston would be a good spot.”

Even if the Giants are in on Peterson, it will all boil down to numbers. If a bidding war is created and his price is jacked up, there’s little chance general manager Jerry Reese will waste cap space on an aging, recently injured running back. But the hope is that the presence of Jamaal Charles and others will keep the numbers down.