NFL-National Football League roundup

Nov 18 (The Sports Xchange) - Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will be suspended without pay for the rest of the season and will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15, 2015, for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. The league announced the highly anticipated decision Tuesday, and the players' union responded by vowing to appeal immediately. - - Joshua Cribbs agreed to a contract with the Indianapolis Colts, who moved running back Ahmad Bradshaw to injured reserve and signed tight end Weslye Saunders. Cribbs, 31, worked out for the Colts last week. He has been out of the NFL for one year, last playing with the New York Jets in a six-game stint last season. - - Running back LeGarrette Blount, unhappy with his role as a backup in Pittsburgh, was released by the Steelers on Tuesday. Blount signed a two-year, $3.85 million contract with the Steelers as a free agent on March 28 and played in all 11 games this season, rushing for 266 yards and two touchdowns on 65 carries. He might have sealed his fate when he left the field before the end of the Steelers' 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. - - Wide receiver Jason Avant questioned the Carolina Panthers' play-calling after a 19-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday and two days later he's looking for a new employer. Avant was released Tuesday, with the Panthers activating fullback Mike Tolbert from short-term injured reserve, where he had been since suffering a leg injury on Sept. 21. - - Ten games into a two-year, $6.2 million contract, running back Ben Tate was waived Tuesday by the Cleveland Browns. Tate, a backup to Arian Foster before reaching free agency in March 2014, signed with the Browns and opened the season as the starter. But he left the Week 1 game after four carries with a knee injury and never found his footing as rookies Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell carved their own niche in a committee backfield that Tate said he didn't like. - - The Arizona Cardinals placed rookie tight end Troy Niklas on season-ending injured reserve and added tight end Matthew Mulligan, a six-year NFL veteran, to the roster. - - Jonas Gray's impressive rushing performance on Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts got a little better on Tuesday. After a review of the game, the NFL and the Elias Sports Bureau determined that the New England Patriots running back rushed for 201 yards on 37 carries rather than 199 yards on 38 attempts. - - Quarterback A.J. McCarron has been sidelined since training camp with a shoulder injury, but the rookie from Alabama was cleared Tuesday to resume practicing this week with the Cincinnati Bengals. McCarron has not practiced since he suffered the injury and was placed on the non-football injury list. The Bengals will have three weeks to evaluate McCarron before they decide whether or not to activate him for the final weeks of the season. (Editing by Frank Pingue)