Adrian Peterson is making an effort to accelerate his legal process and get a trial date set in 2014 for the child abuse charges he currently faces, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. Peterson's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, had previously said that he expected to go to trial in 2015.
If Peterson is able to get a trial sooner rather than later, it would increase his chances of returning to action as soon as possible, and do so with the Minnesota Vikings. While ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported on Sunday that the Vikings are likely through with Peterson, if the running back can clear himself of the charges in a way that is satisfactory of the team and the NFL's personal-conduct policy, that could feasibly change.
Currently, Peterson is on the exempt/commissioner's permission list after he was indicted on Sept. 12 for reckless or negligent injury to a child. The charges were filed after Peterson's four-year-old son came home to his mother with bruises and injuries caused by a switch that was allegedly used to discipline the child.
Peterson was indicted for reckless or negligent injury to a child dating back to the incident on May 18. Originally a grand jury decided not to indict him on Sept. 4, but just over a week later, he was indicted in Montgomery County. Peterson was deactivated for Week 2 by the Vikings, and was subsequently placed on the exempt list after Peterson's actions were criticized by several parties, including Peterson's own sponsors and the Governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton.
More information regarding the trial date of Peterson is expected this week, according to Florio.