JULIAN PETERSON THE NEXT VETERAN TO BE CUT?

The purge of high-priced veterans that began roughly a month ago still continues. KJR-AM in Seattle reported Friday that the Seahawks soon will release linebacker Julian Peterson. Signed through 2012, Peterson is due to earn $6.5 million in base salary this year, $7.5 million in 2010, $8 million in 2011, and $8.5 million in the final year of the deal. Per Mike Sando of ESPN.com, Peterson has declined to reduce his salary. The team’s alternative offer isn’t known, but Peterson’s agents would be wise to find out whether someone else would pay Peterson more than that before telling the Seahawks to stick it. So, basically, that seven-year, $54 million contract that Peterson signed amid much fanfare three years ago is, in the end, a three-year, $23.5 million deal. And that’s precisely why league insiders typically focus on the three-year payout when assessing the real value of a contract.