Adrian Peterson will return to the Vikings and make history

Jarrett Bell | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption Impact of Adrian Peterson's NFL reinstatement USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell discusses what Adrian Peterson's reinstatement means for the running back's future.

He's baack. Finally.

To mark the long-awaited, official reinstatement Friday of one Adrian Lewis Peterson to the NFL ranks, it's time for an All-Day Prediction.

2,000 yards.

After all of this drama – the exempt list, no-showing for a disciplinary hearing, a secretly-taped phone call, a suspension overturned on appeal, an NFL appeal of the appeal, and enough trade speculation to create a reality TV series with – Peterson cannot come back and have some ho-hum season.

Although some people may never forgive Peterson for the manner in which he whipped his then-4-year-old son with a switch, fueling the child abuse charges that resulted in probation from a Texas court and the hotly-contested NFL suspension, he has indeed paid a stiff price for that.

Endorsements gone. Reputation in need of major repair. Scrutiny intensified.

Yet I'd suspect there's a huge part of Peterson that wants to remind everyone why he's so special as a football player. Bet he's already raised the bar of expectations pretty high himself.

Which, by the way, is exactly why the Minnesota Vikings would be out of their minds to trade Peterson about now.

The last time Peterson's flow was interrupted, when he blew out his left knee at the end of the 2011 season – a torn ACL compounded by a torn MCL -- he defied the odds and became a poster child for modern medicine and rehab by making it back by opening day the next season.

Then he ended his classic 2012 as the NFL's MVP, putting the Vikings on his back for a playoff berth. He wound up just nine yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards – while coming off reconstructive knee surgery.

That type of comeback doesn't happen without the internal edge that has always been in Peterson's DNA. Having now experienced hard lessons that include how quickly the fall from grace can be with an off-the-field misstep – which in Peterson's mind was tough-love in disciplining a child, as it was taught to him -- I would imagine he will see the football field as a perfect place to unleash any pent-up frustration lingering from his case.

Now watch Peterson, one of seven players in NFL history to crack 2,000 yards in a season, make history by becoming the first to twice rush for 2,000 yards.

Maybe this time, he'll indeed break the mark Dickerson set in 1984.

That would be quite a statement to complement the bold stand that Peterson took to fight the NFL over the discipline process – which to a large degree seemed to be as much about carrying the NFL Players Association banner in another skirmish against Roger and Co.

Sure, he just turned 30 on March 21, and that milestone birthday for NFL running backs has traditionally been a marker that signals a decline.

Just know that one size does not fit all. Look at what Emmitt Smith, and before him, Walter Payton, accomplished after 30. Both rushed for more than 5,000 yards after 30. Sometimes, age is nothing but a number.

Besides, we're talking about Peterson, his edge, and well, the fresh legs that he'll surely have after missing essentially an entire season of NFL wear-and-tear.

Still, it's natural to wonder whether Peterson's heart will be fully engaged if the Vikings don't comply with the wishes expressed recently to USA TODAY Sports by agent Ben Dogra, who maintained that he wanted to get his high-profile client out of Minnesota.

This could play out with Peterson not opting to show up to voluntary offseason workouts, and with buzz about whether Minnesota would even give Peterson a new deal that replaces and exceeds the three years remaining on his existing deal. One thing for sure: The football field is an even more dangerous place if your heart is not in it.

Nonetheless, landing spots have been much discussed. The Dallas Cowboys, with Tony Romo's recently restructured deal, have $12.823 million in salary cap room, according to NFLPA figures on Thursday – just enough to squeeze in Peterson's $12.75 million base salary before theoretically needing to find other ways later to create cap-operating room.

Peterson would look good in the Arizona Cardinals backfield, too. In the words of Cardinals star receiver Larry Fitzgerald, such a prospect would be a "game-changer." No doubt.

Don't bet on it. The Vikings have consistently maintained – from GM Rick Spielman and coach Mike Zimmer, to players in the locker room -- that they want Peterson back. Barring some unforeseen offer they simply can't refuse, there's no better alternative for fielding a team thinking it can compete for a playoff spot. Plug Peterson back into a suddenly better-balanced Norv Turner scheme that just added burner Mike Wallace to complement the developing Cordarrelle Patterson, and has a load of promise with second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

After paying the bulk of Peterson's $12 million salary last year while he was parked on the commissioner's exempt list, the Vikings owe it to themselves to reap the rewards of the big return.

Now let's see if Peterson can indeed redefine what it means to have a breakout season.

***

Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell