Cook receives not guilty verdict in domestic assault case. Now what?

Now, the ball is back in the hands of the Minnesota Vikings.

Moments ago, at the Hennepin County Government Center downtown, cornerback Chris Cook received a not guilty verdict in his trial for domestic assault.

Cook was found not guilty on two felony charges: domestic assault by strangulation and assault in the third-degree. The jury also found him not guilty of two lesser charges: domestic assault with intent to cause fear and domestic assault with intent to inflict bodily harm.

Moments after leaving the court room, Cook embraced David Valentini, one of his two defense attorneys.

"Welcome back to the NFL!" Valentini proclaimed.

What Cook's future with the Vikings is remains to be seen.

You can bet the team is ecstatic about the final verdict. Having stuck with Cook since his arrest last October, the Vikings were determined to take a wait-and-see approach with the hope that the now 25-year-old cornerback would be cleared and able to return to the field.

As for potential NFL punishment with Cook's arrest last October seemingly putting him in violation of the league's personal conduct policy, there doesn't figure to be any reprimand.

In an e-mail to the Star Tribune, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "We will review the facts, but we do not expect league discipline in this matter."

Cook missed the Vikings' final 10 games of 2010. He was in jail during the team's Week 7 loss to Green Bay and suspended the next weekend when the Vikings won at Carolina. But the Vikings then reinstated him to their active roster and gave him what equated to a paid leave of absence for the second half of the season and beyond.

The Vikings issued this statement: