The guy the Vikings got in the most infamous trade in Minnesota sports history says it’s time for the team to trade the best running back in team history.

Herschel Walker, acquired in a mammoth deal that helped build the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 1990s, said Thursday that keeping Adrian Peterson when he clearly doesn’t want to be here is a mistake.

“It makes no sense just to hang on to him just to hang on to him,” Walker said. “I don’t think that’s right if you’re not getting along.”

Peterson, reinstated from a long NFL suspension last week, is by all accounts ready to move on, disgruntled because he doesn’t believe Vikings officials did enough to get him back on the field last season after a felony child abuse arrest.

“They should trade him because I think Adrian has lost his love for the Vikings with everything that went on last year,” Walker said in a phone interview with the Pioneer Press. “There is a lot of bad blood right now. I think Adrian feels that (the Vikings) should have supported him throughout his tough time, and I think they should trade him if they can.”

Since the NFL combine in February, the Vikings have publicly supported Peterson’s return to the NFL, and figures on the team, from co-owner Mark Wilf to coach Mike Zimmer, have been proclaiming how eager they are to get their star player back on the field.

Still, Peterson and his agents have made it clear he wants out. Agent Ben Dogra posted a selfie on his Facebook page in which he is sitting in front of a Peterson jersey while wearing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers hat.

A source this week told the Pioneer Press that if the Vikings are considering a trade, they likely would do it before or during next weekend’s NFL draft. Teams in the mix, the source said, are Arizona, Atlanta, Dallas, Jacksonville, San Diego and Tampa Bay.

In October 1989, the Vikings acquired Walker in one of the most notable trades in NFL history, a deal that ultimately involved 18 players and draft picks and helped the Dallas Cowboys build the team that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.

Walker said the Vikings should part with their star running back because his presence would be disruptive.

“You want to get that harmony together with everybody rather than have inner dissension between any players,” Walker said. “Adrian is such a big part of the team that you like him to be happy. If they keep him, I think Adrian will go out and play as hard as he can, but it will be very difficult.”

The Walker deal was a bust for Minnesota — he never rushed for 1,000 yards as a Viking — but a bonanza for Dallas, and there has been talk that Minnesota could orchestrate a similar deal with Peterson as the centerpiece.

Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards and was the NFL most valuable player in 2012 and has rushed for 10,190 yards in eight full seasons.

“I don’t think a deal like that will ever happen again,” Walker said. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. It would be very difficult to do now because of how valuable players (and draft picks) are.”

Also, Peterson is 30 years old. Walker was 27 when he was traded to Minnesota and had just rushed for 1,514 yards. Peterson played in one game last season.

Walker said he couldn’t speculate about what the Vikings might be able to get for Peterson, but he said the team that acquires the running back should already be a contender.

“If you’re a general manager and you’re a team that is right on the verge of being an elite team, a Super Bowl contender, I wouldn’t go out and draft a young (running back),” he said. “I think Adrian is somebody I’m going to go out and get because he can put you over the top.”

If the Vikings do trade Peterson, Walker suggested they pick Todd Gurley with the 11th overall pick. The 6-foot-1, 222-pound tailback is one of the best prospects to come out of Georgia since Walker won the Heisman Trophy in 1982.

“There’s no doubt in my mind they should take Gurley,” Walker said. “I’ve seen him grow and I’ve seen him mature. I’ve seen what he can do. He’s a big guy. I told everybody in college that Todd Gurley would be a better pro than a college guy.”

But Gurley is coming off surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered last November. If not Gurley, or if he already has been drafted when it’s Minnesota’s turn, Walker said the Vikings then should draft Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon.

He said either back would be a good replacement for Peterson, on and off the field.

Follow Chris Tomasson at twitter.com/christomasson.