Adrian Peterson agrees to plea deal for child abuse charges

HOUSTON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has agreed to a deal in which he will plead no contest to a misdemeanor reckless assault in exchange for serving no prison time for allegedly abusing his son.

The 29-year-old east Texas native initially faced a felony charge of reckless or negligent injury to a child for allegedly disciplining his 11-year-old son with a switch, or small tree branch -- a punishment he said he received as a child.

Sources familiar with the case told Pro Football Talk and ESPN Peterson will plead no contest to the misdemeanor reckless assault charge, which does not include a mention of violence against a family member or minor.

Should Judge Kelly Case accept the plea, Peterson will pay a $4,000 fine, be put on probation and serve 80 hours of community service.

Peterson had originally intended to plead not guilty to the charge, his spokeswoman said in early October.

"If the court asks for a plea tomorrow [and we do expect that to happen], it will very definitely be NOT guilty," Mary Flood said.

The NFL has not said if it plans to suspend Peterson more than the eight games he's already missed due to the ongoing investigation. After news of his indictment came out, Peterson was suspended from the NFL, but still received his $11.75 million salary.