The Dallas Cowboys have been watching the dance that is going on between Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings with great interest. Peterson wants to play in Dallas, and Jerry Jones covets Peterson both as a productive, star player and a ticket seller. Could the latest move by the Cowboys be paving the way for AP to end up in Big D?

Adrian Peterson Trade Not Worth It For Dallas?

According to Yahoo! Sports, Dallas has decided to restructure Tony Romo's contract, and it will free up $12.8 million for the upcoming season. The Cowboys had previously indicated that they did not want to redo Romo's deal in order to have cap flexibility in the future, so what changed their mind? Most of the big-name free agents have already signed, and the team let DeMarco Murray walk away and join the Eagles. The team had already worked out a deal for Greg Hardy, so why did they need the extra space?

One possible answer is that they want to front-load a long-term extension for Dez Bryant. It would not be the worst move, although the team could have just left Romo's giant cap hit alone and signed Bryant to a more conventional deal. On the surface, the most obvious reason for restructuring Romo's contract is that the team wants to make a move for Adrian Peterson.

DeMarco Murray Joined Eagles Because Romo Wouldn't Take Pay Cut?

The restructure gives Dallas enough wiggle room to fit Peterson's cap hit ($12.75 million), and the thought of AP running behind the league's best line has to terrify almost everyone.

Still, Minnesota has maintained that they want Peterson to remain with the team despite his stated desire to play elsewhere. That could make a Dallas-Minnesota deal problematic.

The Romo move is more interesting still after news broke that Dallas would not redo the quarterback's deal in order to keep Murray, which raises questions about whether the team ever really wanted him to stay, or whether they were targeting Peterson the entire time.