Peterson's timeline

2004: Set an NCAA freshman record by rushing for 1,925 yards at Oklahoma, becoming a unanimous first-team All-America.

2007: Selected seventh overall by the Vikings; scouts questioned his durability after he suffered shoulder, collarbone and ankle injuries during his three seasons at Oklahoma.

Nov. 4, 2007: Set an NFL record for rushing yards in a game (296) against San Diego. Finished his rookie season with 1,341 rushing yards, winning Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP honors.

2008: Led the NFL in rushing with 1,760 yards; his 30-game total of 3,101 yards trailed only Eric Dickerson and Jim Brown.

December 2009: Was cited for speeding by Edina police, who clocked him at 109 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone.

2009: After the arrival of Brett Favre, Peterson's rushing yardage dropped to 1,383, but he caught a career-high 43 passes for 436 yards.

Brian Stensaas — ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP, Star Tribune

Oct. 17, 2010: Went over the 5,000-yard rushing milestone — he was the fifth-fastest to that mark in history — in a 24-21 victory over Dallas at the Metrodome.

Sept. 10, 2011: Signed a $96 million, seven-year contract, making him the highest-paid running back in NFL history.

Dec. 24, 2011: Suffered a serious knee injury against Washington that required surgery; he failed to reach 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career, playing in only 12 games.

July 2012: He was charged with resisting arrest outside a nightclub in Houston, not far from his offseason home. Peterson and his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, disputed the Houston police's version of events, and a grand jury declined to indict him.

2012: Eight months after major knee surgery, Peterson started in Week 1 and went on to win NFL MVP honors, rushing for 2,097 yards. He finished 9 yards short of breaking Dickerson's NFL single-season rushing mark of 2,105 yards set in 1984.

October, 2013: Tyrese Ruffin, a 2-year-old son Peterson did not know about until a few months before, was killed in Sioux Falls, S.D. Joseph Robert Patterson, the boyfriend of Ruffin's mother, awaits trial for murder next month.

2013: Ran 78 yards for a TD on his first carry but saw his rushing yardage drop to 1,266 while playing in only 14 games.

Sept. 13, 2014: Peterson surrendered to Montgomery County, Texas, authorities after being charged with child abuse. The Vikings had ruled the previous day that the star running back would be inactive and not play against New England.

Monday: The Vikings announced that they were reinstating Peterson and that he would play in this Sunday's game at New Orleans.

Wednesday: With corporate sponsors, politicians and fans voicing outrage over Peterson's return, the Vikings reversed field and announced that Peterson had been placed on the exempt/commissioner's permission list. In short, Peterson is banned from contact with the team while he focuses on his personal problems but will get paid.