Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson entered a no-contest plea Tuesday to a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless assault and avoided jail time in his felony child abuse case.

Peterson received probation, 80 hours of community service and a $4,000 fine as part of the agreement. He appeared in a Montgomery County, Texas, courthouse before Judge Kelly Case.

Peterson, who could have been sentenced up to two years in jail, maintained he was not trying to injure his 4-year-old son when he allegedly whipped the boy with a tree branch, inflicting visible wounds that surfaced before the arraignment.

Peterson was placed on the NFL’s Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list in mid-September and is being paid his full salary of $11.25 million for the 2014 season. The wheels are now set in motion for Peterson’s return to the Vikings. Commissioner Roger Goodell would need to reinstate Peterson before he could play again.

“We would review the matter, including the court record, and the commissioner would make a determination,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. “We cannot provide a timetable.”

—The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without injured safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker Ryan Shazier for Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.

Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Polamalu sprained his right knee in the second quarter of the Steelers’ 43-23 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night when he got caught underneath Ravens running back Justin Forsett on a tackle by Steelers teammate Stephon Tuitt.

Shazier, a rookie from Ohio State, has a sprained right ankle. He missed four earlier games with a sprained right knee. Sean Spence will replace Shazier on defense.

—The Indianapolis Colts activated defensive back LaRon Landry off the suspended list after he sat out four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances.

The 30-year-old Landry has 23 tackles in four games this season. He’s in his second season with the Colts after spending five years with the Washington Redskins and one with the New York Jets, totaling 583 career tackles and six interceptions.

The Colts also announced Tuesday that they activated offensive tackle Xavier Nixon from injured reserve and waived cornerback Jalil Brown and offensive lineman Jamon Meredith to clear roster space.

—Quarterback Tony Romo was not an active participant in the Dallas Cowboys’ walkthrough practice in London on Tuesday as he works through ongoing discomfort in his surgically repaired back.

“I think it continues to get a little bit better incrementally every day and you just reassess it every day,” Romo said.

The Cowboys expect Romo to be ready to start against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL’s third game at Wembley Stadium this season. He missed last week’s game with a back contusion, the result of taking a knee in the Monday night loss Oct. 27 to the Washington Redskins.

—Safety Jordan Kovacs was added to the Miami Dolphins’ 53-man roster on Tuesday. Kovacs spent training camp with the Dolphins and was signed off of the Philadelphia Eagles’ practice squad.

Kovacs replaces Michael Thomas, who was placed on injured reserve Monday with a chest injury suffered Sunday against the San Diego Chargers.

Thomas was a core special teams player, and Kovacs could be pushed into that role immediately. But Thomas also served as a starter in the nickel and memorably ended last season’s victory over the New England Patriots with an interception in the end zone.

—The four receptions in three games Greg Little recorded since joining the Cincinnati Bengals aren’t likely to earn him much publicity ahead of Thursday’s AFC North meeting with the Cleveland Browns, the wide receiver’s original team. But comments from the former second-round pick, including criticizing general manager Ray Farmer and coach Mike Pettine, make Little a big point of conversation.

“Everything about this game is personal for me and I’m going to treat it that way,” said Little, who signed with the Bengals on Oct. 14 after being released by the Browns in May and cut again by the Raiders. “And I’m going to put my team in the best position to win.”

Little said it was likely Farmer who pushed for his release, despite the team learning of wide receiver Josh Gordon’s then-pending suspension. But most of his barbs were directed at Pettine, whom Little said “never spoke to anybody.”

—Of the 25,040 players and 8,924 relatives sent concussion settlement notices by the NFL, approximately 200 opted out of the league’s proposed $765 million deal which is pending approval.

The New York Times reported a small number of additional players attempted to opt out but missed a filing deadline. Players who opt out retain the right to file individual suits but would likely need to prove culpability of teams and doctors.

A fairness hearing is set for Nov. 19, and the previous proposal was rejected based primarily on concerns that the funds were insufficient to cover the collective needs of all impacted players and families.

—Upon closer review, Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden still wants to see improvement from quarterback Robert Griffin III.

“The jury is still out on that position,” Gruden said. “We feel good about Robert’s progress so far and we’ve just got to continue to build and see how he does from week to week. Hopefully we can see that here at the end of the season. That’s what we have to see and what we have to find out.”

Griffin missed six games with a dislocated ankle and didn’t show much rust early in the game, completing six of his first seven passes. But he was 12 of 18 the rest of the game and responsible for a few of the five sacks, most of which came as a result of pressure right up the middle, where Griffin should sense — if not see — the defenders closing.

—The Redskins activated activated wide receiver Leonard Hankerson from injured reserve on Tuesday and waived cornerback Chase Minnifield.

The Redskins also released offensive tackle Terren Jones from the practice squad.

Hankerson tore the ACL and LCL in his left knee last November in a game against the San Francisco 49ers and had surgery to repair the damage. He returned to practice on Oct. 15 after a yearlong rehab.

—The Seattle Seahawks signed veteran tight end Tony Moeaki amid a flurry of moves Tuesday that also included re-signing wide receiver Bryan Walters.

The Seahawks have been juggling their tight end depth chart with Zach Miller recovering from ankle surgery. Among Tuesday’s moves, the Seahawks released tight end Brett Brackett from the practice squad.

The team also released linebacker L.J. Fort and waived safety Terrance Parks with an injury settlement. Wide receiver Chris Matthews was waived from the practice squad while signing safety Dion Bailey and wide receiver Jalen Saunders to the unit.

It was also announced that cornerback Eric Pinkins will stay on the reserve/non-football injury list, ending his season. The sixth-round rookie has been recovering from a foot injury.

—The San Francisco 49ers waived tight end-defensive tackle Demarcus Dobbs on Tuesday and signed cornerback Chance Casey to the practice squad.

Dobbs had 10 tackles in six games this season. He came to the 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and logged 57 tackles in 45 career games. Casey was released by the Oakland Raiders on Aug. 30, signed with the 49ers’ practice squad on Sept. 1 and then was released by San Francisco on Sept. 15.

—The New York Giants received confirmation that cornerback Prince Amukamara is done for the season with a torn biceps.