NFL reinstates Vikings' Peterson

Adrian Peterson
Adrian Peterson signed a poster for a fan as he left the federal courthouse in Minneapolis, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015.
Brian Peterson / The Star Tribune via AP file

Updated 1:40 p.m. | Posted 1:12 p.m.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will be reinstated Friday as an active NFL player and may participate in all scheduled activities with the Vikings, the NFL said Thursday.

Peterson was suspended without pay last fall for the remainder of the 2014-15 season over ongoing concerns about domestic abuse.

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He was indicted in Texas in September on a felony charge of injury to a child for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son. He avoided jail time by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault.

Peterson continued to fight his suspension from the NFL. In February, a federal judge sided with Peterson and overturned an arbitrator's decision upholding Peterson's suspension, ruling the arbitrator exceeded his authority.

The NFL on Thursday said Commissioner Roger Goodell told Peterson in a letter that the one-time league MVP would be expected to fulfill his remaining legal obligations as well as commitments made to the NFL to an "ongoing program of counseling and treatment."

The NFL also warned that further violations of the league's conduct policy "would result in additional discipline, which could include suspension without pay or banishment from the NFL."

The Vikings said in a statement that the league had informed the team of Peterson's reinstatement and "we look forward to Adrian re-joining the Vikings."