Sports shorts Vikings release Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota’s all-time leading rusher, will be an unrestricted free agent when the market opens next week.

As expected, the Vikings declined to exercise their option for next season on Peterson’s contract. Peterson was scheduled to make $18 million in 2017.

Peterson has played 10 seasons with the Vikings, who drafted him seventh overall out of Oklahoma in 2007.

The Chiefs have released four-time Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles, clearing more than $6 million in salary cap space, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press.

Charles missed the start of last season after having surgery to repair a second torn ACL. He returned to play in three games, carrying 12 times for 40 yards with a touchdown, before having additional surgery on his knees forced him to miss the rest of the year.

Punter Britton Colquitt has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Browns.

Colquitt set a singleseason record for net average (40.3 yards) in his first year with Cleveland in 2016. A Super Bowl winner with Denver, Colquitt also placed 22 punts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.

Colquitt said he’s thrilled by the deal and called the Browns “a class act.”

The 31-year-old is entering his eighth season in the NFL after kicking at Tennessee. He was originally signed by Miami as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Colquitt spent six seasons with the Broncos before he was released last year.