Mike Zimmer believes Adrian Peterson will return to the Minnesota Vikings when he's reinstated from his suspension.

"I think Adrian wants to be back here," Zimmer told ESPN. "You have to ask him. I don't know. But I know he does have an awful lot of people here who have supported him, and I don't know who he's speaking of who doesn't.

"All I know of Adrian is that he's always been great with me, always done what I've asked him to do, and I kind of go by what I see."

Peterson hinted in an interview that the Vikings haven't been supportive and that a fresh start with a new team might make sense.

"I know there's people in the organization that support me and there's people that I know internally that has not been supporting me," Peterson told USA Today Sports. "Maybe it's best for me to get a fresh start somewhere else."

League sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter that Peterson was referring to Vikings general counsel Kevin Warren as the individual who wasn't in favor of his return.

Sources familiar with the case also told Schefter that that Warren and the NFL have been working together to make sure Peterson does not return this season.

Adrian Peterson expressed remorse in injuring his four-year-old son with a switch.

"I won't ever use a switch again," Peterson said. "There's different situations where a child needs to be disciplined as far as timeout, taking their toys away, making them take a nap. There's so many different ways to discipline your kids."

Peterson is under a suspension and his future with the Minnesota Vikings is unclear.

"I would love to go back and play in Minnesota to get a feel and just see if my family still feels comfortable there," Peterson said. "But if there's word out that hey, they might release me, then so be it. I would feel good knowing that I've given everything I had in me."

Adrian Peterson has officially appealed his season-long suspension.

The argument is that the NFL did not act in a way consistent with the CBA's due process, per Ian Rapoport.

Peterson remains on the Commissioner's Exempt List during the appeal process. If the suspension is not overturned upon appeal the running back cannot be considered for reinstatement before April 15, 2015.

The Minnesota Vikings have claimed Ben Tate off waivers.

Tate signed a two-year, $7 million contract in the offseason with the Cleveland Browns, but was released this week.

Tate has 333 yards on 106 carries and four touchdowns this season.

Tate gives the Vikings depth with Adrian Peterson suspended for the season.

The Minnesota Vikings do not plan on releasing or trading Adrian Peterson, according to a report by Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

The Vikings will re-evaluate Peterson's future with the club in the offseason.

Peterson was suspended Tuesday for the remainder of this season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Peterson pleaded no contest to child abuse charges in Texas earlier this month. He will appeal the suspension.

Arbitrator Shyam Das ruled in favor of the NFL on Tuesday evening, saying the league can keep Adrian Peterson on the commissioner's exempt list, effectively ending any chance the

Earlier Tuesday, Peterson was suspended without pay for at least the remainder of this season. Das' ruling was in reference to a grievance Peterson had filed arguing he should have been reinstated from the exempt list as soon as there was a resolution in his child abuse case, which came with his no contest plea on Nov. 4. Das' ruling was not connected to the suspension.

A source told ESPN's Andrew Brandt that Das ruled that Peterson "failed to establish on this record that the NFL violated either the letter agreement or the CBA."

The NFL has suspended Adrian Peterson for the remainder of the 2014 season without pay.

The Minnesota Vikings running back will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15, 2015, for violating the league's personal conduct policy.

Peterson was indicted in September on a felony charge of injury to a child for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son earlier this year.

The NFL Players Association has already released a statement, announcing that it will appeal Peterson's suspension because "the discipline imposed is inconsistent."

Adrian Peterson denied that he backed out of a scheduled disciplinary hearing with the NFL on Friday, saying the league is trying to "impose a new process of discipline on me" and circumvent the collective bargaining agreement.

"The report that I backed out of a meeting with the NFL is just not true. When Roger Goodell's office asked that I attend the 'hearing' on Friday, I consulted with my union and learned that this 'hearing' was something new and inconsistent with the CBA," he said in a statement released Sunday morning.

Peterson claims that the NFL was late to respond to questions about the nature of Friday's hearing in connection to his child-abuse case in Texas despite the NFL Players Association's repeated attempts to gain clarity from the league.

"On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this past week, my union sent emails, letters, and had conversations with [Goodell's] office on my behalf asking about the nature of the hearing, how it was to occur, who would participate, and its purpose," Peterson said. "We repeatedly asked them to respond quickly to my questions because I want to cooperate and get back on the field, but they didn't respond until late Wednesday evening, and even then they didn't answer important questions about their proposed 'hearing.'

"After consulting with the union, I told the NFL that I will attend the standard meeting with the commissioner prior to possible imposition of discipline, as has been the long-term practice under the CBA, but I wouldn't participate in a newly created and non-collectively bargained pre-discipline 'hearing' that would include outside people I don't know and who would have roles in the process that the NFL wouldn't disclose."

Peterson says the NFL is acting unfair in his case.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Adrian Peterson declined to show up to a disciplinary hearing on Friday that he had said last week he was willing to participate in.

Peterson has been on the Commissioner’s Exempt List since he was indicted for injuring his 4-year-old son.

With his no contest plea and legal issue resolved, Peterson wants the NFL to let him play.

The NFL says no determination will be made until the league has had the opportunity to weigh whether Peterson’s no contest plea means he should be suspended for violating the personal-conduct policy.

NFLPA spoksman George Atallah criticized the league for its handling of Peterson.

“The League office seems more focused on creating an arbitrary disciplinary process for Adrian instead of honoring a signed agreement to remove him from the Commissioner’s list,” Atallah emailed Schefter. “They are simply making stuff up as they go along. They should commit their efforts to meeting us at the table to collectively bargain a new personal conduct policy.”

Adrian Peterson will have an appeal hearing on Monday.

The NFL Players Association on Monday filed an expedited, non-injury grievance on behalf of Peterson that seeks immediate reinstatement for the Minnesota Vikings running back.

On Nov. 4, Peterson pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor reckless assault. He was placed on probation and was issued a $4,000 fine and 80 hours of community service in addition to enrollment in parenting classes.

"I'm sorry for my actions," Peterson said on Nov. 4. "I love my son more than any one of you can even imagine. I'm looking forward to and I'm anxious to continue my relationship with my child. I'm just glad this is over, I can put this behind me and me and my family can move forward."

Rapoport said on Sunday's NFL GameDay Morning that while Peterson is facing a six-game suspension under the league's personal-conduct policy, his punishment would likely be shorter than that with a compromise based on time served and loss of pay. 

"The big problem, one big problem, is that there is an internal battle with the Minnesota Vikings," Rapoport said. "Some of their executives are divided on whether they want Adrian Peterson back immediately."