Tom Pelissero

USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Vikings plan to pay quarterback Sam Bradford the $4 million roster bonus he’s due on the fifth day of the new league year in March and fully expect him to be on the team in 2017, people with knowledge of the team’s thinking told USA TODAY Sports.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the team doesn’t discuss contracts publicly.

The plan makes sense since the Vikings are still a long way from knowing when, or if, fellow quarterback Teddy Bridgewater could play in 2017 as Bridgewater rehabilitates from a devastating knee injury suffered in practice Aug. 30.

The Vikings were already thinking beyond this season when they paid a big price – a first-round draft pick in 2017 and a conditional pick in 2018 that’ll likely be a fourth-rounder – for Bradford in a cutdown-day trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s always possible Bradford, 29, could be traded again. (Nearly every player in the NFL has a price.) But Bradford has helped the Vikings stay in the playoff hunt at 7-6 by playing some of his best football under difficult circumstances, including a lack of offseason work to learn the Vikings’ scheme and his receivers, injuries that decimated the o-line, virtually no running game and offensive coordinator Norv Turner’s surprise resignation Nov. 2.

Five matchups that will define NFL Week 15: Can Broncos thwart Tom Brady again?

The Vikings could get a lift starting Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts by the return of running back Adrian Peterson, who was activated from injured reserve Saturday after missing 11 games because of a torn meniscus in his right knee that required surgery.

Peterson also has a big payment due in March: a $6 million roster bonus on the third day of the league year. But that was set up as a renegotiation trigger in the deal, with his scheduled $11.75 million base salary and $18 million in total compensation clearly prohibitive. The Vikings figure to approach Peterson in February about a pay cut that includes guaranteed money, and Peterson could opt to test the free agent market a couple weeks before his 32nd birthday instead.

Bradford is on track to hit a $1 million escalator by playing 90% of the snaps this season. That would increase his 2017 base salary to $14 million – including $4 million fully guaranteed and another $4 million guaranteed for injury – for a total of $18 million in compensation before incentives. His contract’s $17.5 million average per year ranks 19th among QBs.

In 12 starts this season, Bradford has thrown 14 touchdown passes with just three interceptions, exceeding career highs for completion percentage (71.2%) and passer rating (98.2). The Vikings offense has relied heavily on a short passing game under interim coordinator Pat Shurmur – who also coached Bradford in St. Louis and Philadelphia – but struck more downfield in last week’s road win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.