Appeals court upholds Adrian Peterson's suspension in 2014 case

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s power to freely punish Adrian Peterson has prevailed, two seasons after the Minnesota running back became embroiled in a child-abuse case that heightened the dispute over league discipline.

A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that an NFL arbitrator acted within his rights by upholding Goodell’s six-game suspension of Peterson in 2014. That came under the personal conduct policy the league toughened up following a brutal act of caught-on-video domestic violence committed by Baltimore running back Ray Rice.

The 8th Circuit ruling overrode the decision issued Feb. 26, 2015, by U.S. District Judge David Doty that found NFL arbitrator Harold Henderson overreached his authority in handling the NFL Players Association’s appeal on behalf of Peterson.

Appellate judges James Loken, Diana Murphy and Steven Colloton heard the league’s arguments Oct. 19, 2015.

“The dispositive question is whether the arbitrator was at least arguably construing or applying the contract, including the law of the shop,” Colloton wrote for the panel. “The arbitrator here undoubtedly construed the Rice decision in reaching his decision. Disagreement with his conclusion is not a valid ground on which to vacate the decision.”

The NFL had no immediate comment on the ruling, issued about 27 months after the injuries to Peterson’s then-4-year-old son were reported.

The NFLPA issued a statement of resignation.

“Our union pursues all claims because we believe in due process, fundamental faiess and in the spirit of collective bargaining agreements. While the NFLPA disagrees with the decision, we accept this loss,” the union said. “When negotiation or collective bargaining fails to resolve our differences, we will always fight and pursue every recourse for our players’ rights.”

Waiting game

The Dallas Cowboys are in no rush to get a veteran quarterback behind Tony Romo, even though executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones has said they want to add one after Kellen Moore broke his right ankle in training camp.

Dallas was in on the pursuit of free agent Nick Foles a day after Moore’s injury in practice Tuesday, but the former NFC East rival in Philadelphia agreed to a deal with Kansas City.

For now, the Cowboys will give longer looks to a pair of young players with no NFL experience: rookie fourth-round pick Dak Prescott and second-year player Jameill Showers, who spent most of last season on the practice squad.

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Prescott ran the first team in practice Thursday while Romo took the day off.

Ravens rookie out

Baltimore Ravens rookie defensive end Bronson Kaufusi will miss the 2016 season after breaking his left ankle during practice.

The injury occurred when another player fell on Kaufusi’s leg during a non-live drill. Kaufusi could not put any weight on the leg and left the field on a cart midway through the practice.

Kaufusi, a third-round pick out of Brigham Young, was competing with veterans Lawrence Guy and Brent Urban for playing time at defensive end after Chris Canty was released in the offseason.

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Kaufusi was the 70th overall pick in the draft. He played in 50 games at BYU, starting 37, and finished with 26 sacks.

New deal for Bowman

The San Francisco 49ers signed linebacker NaVorro Bowman to a four-year contract extension through the 2022 season.

The 28-year-old Bowman missed the 2014 season after a devastating left knee injury during the NFC championship game, then retued last year and led the NFL with 154 total tackles. He also had 2 1/2 sacks and two passes defensed, eaed first-team All-Pro honors and was a Pro Bowl selection.

The 6-foot, 242-pound linebacker was drafted in the third round in 2010 out of Penn State.

Giants add DB

The New York Giants have signed coerback Leon Hall, giving them a veteran who knows how to play in the slot in passing situations.

A first-round draft pick of Cincinnati in 2007, Hall played all nine of his seasons with the Bengals, starting 109 of 125 games, including the playoffs. He had two interceptions last season, giving him 26 in his career. The Michigan product had 470 tackles, three interceptions retued for touchdowns, 112 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

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