What's on the road ahead for the Vikings and Adrian Peterson?

The Minnesota Vikings say they've decided to do what they say is the right thing by suspending their star player, Adrian Peterson. But even as the controversy over whether he should play ends, more questions remain for the one-time MVP and his team. Here's some of what's coming.

Q:Where do the Vikings go from here?

A: The first place they're going is New Orleans. They kick off against the Saints at noon. They're 10 point underdogs.

This is not the story they wanted to tell this season. It was supposed to be a turn-around year for the Vikings. Besides the Peterson case, they've got more off-the-field drama ahead. The Minneapolis Audubon Society is planning a protest outside the new stadium next Saturday. They want the team and the state to use bird-safe glass to stop birds from flying into the new building. Five weeks after that, the Washington Redskins are coming to play at TCF Bank Stadium, where U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum has already vowed to lead protests against that team's nickname.

• Two more NFL players benched over domestic violence
• Vikings owners admit 'mistake,' bar Peterson from team

Q:What's next for Peterson?

A: The sponsors are continuing to retreat. Castrol, Special Olympics Minnesota and Nike suspend their marketing partnerships with him. Target stopped selling his merchandise. He is under indictment on felony child abuse charges in Texas and the Vikings say he won't play at least until his legal case is resolved.

Peterson is considered a home town hero north of Houston, but even if he can find some understanding with a jury, I talked to the prosecutor down there yesterday, and he said it could be a year before a verdict. That's beyond a 2015 training camp and nearly a quarter of the way through the Vikings next season. In that time he'll have turned 30 and spent a long time away from the game. Peterson wasn't off the field for even eight months when he tore his ACL in the last game in 2011.

Q:Can he speed up his case?

A: He has a couple of options other than waiting for a trial. He could simply plead guilty to the charges and hope that he could get perhaps a short jail stay and probation as a first time offender. The prosecutor in Texas also told me yesterday that they have an alternative resolution program, like many other jurisictions. It's called deferred adjudication. It's not a pre-trial diversion program like the one that Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice got, but it could put Peterson on probation and spare him from having a felony conviction. That said, Peterson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said yesterday that he anticipates a trial in the case, which may rule out a deal, at least for now.

Q:And what about the NFL? Won't he face some consequences there?

A: That's not out of the question. The NFL has said that they've opened an investigation of Peterson's case under their Personal Conduct policy, but they haven't said whether they'll use the new, tougher standards they adopted in August. They've also assigned Lisa Friel to handle the case. She's one of three women hired by the NFL to advise the league on domestic violence and sex assault cases, and she used to head the Sex Crimes unit for the New York County District Attorney's Office.

Q: What else is the NFL dealing with?

A: The NFL Players Association has appealed Ray Rice's indefinite suspension for his domestic assault charges, which is going to keep this debate alive for the league. And yesterday, another running back, the Arizona Cardinals Jonathan Dwyer, was arrested in Phoenix for suspected domestic assault at his home in late July. And the NFL also put Carolina defensive end Greg Hardy on the same exempt list as Adrian Peterson yesterday. He's appealing a domestic assault conviction from July, and will be back in court in November. All this means that the debate and controversy -- and consequences -- over these cases may very well continue, and continue to evolve, for much of this football season.