NFL: Report, Adrian Peterson Will Be Reinstated By Next Week, Could Play This Season

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Adrian Peterson’s appeal for his suspension from the NFL until next year is scheduled to conclude today and there are reports that Peterson is likely to win his appeal and would be reinstated early next week. That would then allow him to play this season as long as the Vikings wanted him to play. The Vikings could choose to just not play him since it will only be a few weeks left in the season by that point and the Vikings are going nowhere fast. The Fact that AP is looking like he might win the appeal is big news however because it will be another black mark on Roger Goodell’s term as commissioner when it comes to player punishment.

Peter King of The Monday Morning Quarterback reports that Peterson is “likely” to be reinstated by league appeals officer Harold Henderson next week. While King notes that Peterson is not certain to win his appeal, the longtime SI.com writer speculates that the odds are in AP’s favor.

As you know, Peterson was suspended for the remainder of the 2014 season after he reached a plea agreement to avoid being charged with criminal child abuse.

While Henderson rarely ever sides with players over the league, there have been some unusual circumstances surrounding the handling of Peterson’s case. Earlier this week, the NFL Players Association submitted a recording of a conversation between Peterson and NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent that allegedly features Vincent telling Peterson his time served on the Commissioner’s Exempt List would count toward his punishment.

Vincent supposedly told Peterson that he would be disciplined with time served and an additional two-game suspension if he attended a disciplinary hearing with Roger Goodell on Nov. 14. AP declined to attend the hearing because he reportedly felt that there were too many “unanswered questions” about the process.

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