Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson won his appeal Thursday when Judge David S. Doty granted a petition to vacate the indefinite suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

The NFL then appealed the decision and returned Peterson to the commissioner’s exempt list, where he spent most of the 2014 season.

Doty wrote that Goodell imposed the suspension retroactively under a policy created after the incident and that the Ray Rice arbitration case had established that the policy could not be applied retroactively.

The NFL’s statement said: “We believe strongly that Judge Doty’s order is incorrect and fundamentally at odds with well-established legal precedent governing the district court’s role in reviewing arbitration decisions. As a result, we have filed notice of appeal to have the ruling reviewed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the interim, Adrian Peterson will be returned to the Commissioner Exempt List pending further proceedings by appeals officer Harold Henderson or a determination by the Eighth Circuit Court.”

The Vikings said: “Adrian Peterson is an important member of the Minnesota Vikings, and our focus remains on welcoming him back when he is able to rejoin our organization. Today’s ruling leaves Adrian’s status under the control of the NFL, the NFLPA and the legal system.”

— In the wake of Judge David Doty’s ruling in the Adrian Peterson case, Carolina Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy reportedly will seek immediate reinstatement.

Hardy and his attorneys met with representatives of the NFL Players Association on Thursday, USA Today reported, and could file a grievance against the NFL. The Charlotte Observer reported that Hardy will seek prompt reinstatement.

Hardy has been on the Commissioner’s Exempt List since last September due to a domestic-abuse case, and the league is still investigating whether he violated the personal-conduct policy.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Charlotte Observer that, unlike Peterson, Hardy had not been suspended.

“He hasn’t been disciplined,” McCarthy said. “There is nothing for him to seek reinstatement from at this point.”

— Defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois signed a three-year, $9 million contract with the Washington Redskins.

The deal includes $4 million guaranteed and could be worth $11.25 million, according to Jean Francois’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Jean Francois was released by the Indianapolis Colts on Monday and had been pursued by several teams, including his former club, the San Francisco 49ers.

The Redskins had not confirmed the signing of Jean Francois on Thursday evening, but they did announce the hire of former NFL quarterback Dave Ragone as offensive quality control coach.

— The St. Louis Rams released defensive lineman Kendall Langford.

Langford was scheduled to make $6 million in the final year of a four-year, $22 million contract, and the Rams need to create room under the salary cap before the league year begins March 10 — they were projected to have just $1.3 million in space before releasing the 29-year-old.

Langford became expendable because rookie Aaron Donald became a star after displacing him from the starting defense after four games last season.

Langford, a third-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2008, signed with the Rams in 2012. He started every game in 2012 and 2013, tallying 49 tackles and five sacks in 2013.

— The Kansas City Chiefs released tight end Anthony Fasano.

The move will save the Chiefs close to $2 million under the salary cap. Fasano was scheduled to make $2.8 million in 2015. The Chiefs had around $4.6 million in space before the move.

Fasano, 30, spent two seasons in Kansas City, catching 48 passes for 426 yards and seven touchdowns.

A second-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in 2006, Fasano also played in Miami from 2008 to 2012. In nine seasons, he has 253 catches for 2,799 yards and 31 touchdowns.

— The Jacksonville Jaguars released veteran cornerback Will Blackmon.

Blackmon, 30, started 11 games in two seasons with the Jaguars.

In 2013, he tallied 40 tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception. Last season, he had 28 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble but missed the final eight games with a broken finger.

Blackmon, a fourth-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2006, has played nine years with the Packers (2006-09), New York Giants (2010-11) and Jaguars, who picked him up after he was one of the final cuts by the Seattle Seahawks in 2013.

— The Arizona Cardinals re-signed offensive tackle Bradley Sowell to a one-year contract and also signed cornerback Damond Smith.

Sowell, a three-year veteran, started 12 games at left tackle in 2013 and moved back to a special-teams and reserve role in 2014.

Smith was released by the Kansas City Chiefs in final roster cuts last September. In 2013, he was on the practice squad of the B.C. Lions in the Canadian Football League.

— The Buffalo Bills — short on quarterbacks — reportedly are close to signing 35-year-old Josh McCown.

The 12-year veteran, released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Feb. 11, also has talked with the Chicago Bears, New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. But, according to the Buffalo News on Thursday, he could sign with the Bills by Friday.

McCown, a third-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2002, has played for six teams in 13 seasons. He started 11 games for Tampa Bay in 2014, completing 56.3 percent of his passes for 2,206 yards, 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

The Bills lost veteran Kyle Orton to retirement this offseason, and the only quarterback on the roster at the moment is 2013 first-rounder EJ Manuel.

— Tennessee Titans left tackle Michael Roos retired from the NFL at age 32.

He started only five games in 2014, the end of a six-year deal he signed in 2008. Roos was placed on injured reserve in October with a knee injury.

Roos was a 2005 second-round pick (41st overall) from Eastern Washington and started the first 119 games in his career. He missed a game for the first time in 2012 because of an emergency appendectomy. Roos was named All-Pro in 2008 and helped block for 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson in 2009.

The Titans prepared for Roos’ departure by drafting Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan with the 11th overall pick last May.

—Offensive guard Todd Herremans was expected to be released by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Herremans played guard and tackle for the Eagles, with 124 starts in 10 seasons.

He attempted to play through a biceps injury last season but wound up on injured reserve on Nov. 5.

—Brandon Bostick authored a first-person account of the botched onside kick in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game that gave the Seattle Seahawks the chance to send the game to overtime and eventually send the Green Bay Packers home with a crushing loss.

Bostick, who was released by the Packers earlier this month and signed with the Minnesota Vikings, wrote for TheMMQB.com that he received many death threats in the aftermath of the defeat. The fourth-quarter onside kick hit a leaping Bostick in the hands and helmet before Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews recovered.

“I messed up in the NFC Championship Game, and trust me, it hurts,” he wrote. “I’ll probably think about my role in the botched onside kick every day for the rest of my life. It haunts me like a recurring nightmare.”

Bostick, 25, said he was told by the Packers the onside kick did play a role in the decision to place him on waivers. He was claimed by the Vikings.

— The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired assistant defensive line coach Paul Spicer, reuniting him with line coach Joe Cullen.

Spicer, a former defensive lineman, assisted Cullen with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 and 2012. Spicer had helped coach NFL prospects in the East-West Shrine Game the past three years.

Spicer started his pro career with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League (1998-99) before joining the Detroit Lions in 1999. He spent most of the next decade with the Jaguars, from 2000 to 2008, and won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints in his final season (2009).