HEADLINES

2016 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Extra Points: Mexico City, Randle, Saunders

November 11th, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Luke Adams

A group of league officials will be in Mexico City through Wednesday to determine if Azteca Stadium is prepared to host an NFL game in 2016, tweets Albert Breer of NFL.com. Back in 2005, the Cardinals and 49ers faced off at Azteca in front of a crowd of 100K+, so the league knows that the interest is there.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:

  • One team that had been interested in free agent running back Joseph Randle is no longer pursuing him now that he has received a four-game suspension, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com.
  • Bears practice squad wide receiver Jalen Saunders has been suspended four games for violating an undisclosed league policy, according to a source that spoke with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Saunders, a fourth-round pick in 2014, was one of several draft choices for the Jets under former GM John Idzik that did not pan out.
  • Another wideout, Clyde Gates, has also been suspended four games by the NFL, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Gates, currently a free agent, is also a former Jets receiver, though he started his career with the Dolphins after being selected in the fourth round of the 2011 draft.
  • Despite his stellar season so far, TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin will likely transition to the wide receiver position for the NFL draft, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) reports.
  • In a piece for CBSSports.com, former agent Joel Corry take a look at players in contract years who are helping or hurting their respective values as they approach free agency.
  • Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap also looks forward to free agency, examining a few quarterbacks who could hit the open market this winter, and identifying some potential trade candidates at the position.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC West Notes: Lockette, Goff, 49ers

November 5th, 2015 at 6:28pm CST by Zachary Links

Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette was released from the hospital on Thursday and took to Instagram to share the good news. “Thanks for all the support. I’ve just been released from the hospital and the road to recovery has started!!! God did it,” Lockette wrote. After taking a scary hit on Sunday that knocked him out of the Seahawks’ game against the Cowboys, Lockette underwent surgery to stabilize ligament damage in his neck. Fortunately, Lockette now has some positive news after what could have been a much worse situation.

Here’s more from the NFC West..

  • Cal’s Jared Goff should be the 49ers‘ quarterback of the future, Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group opines. Under general manager Trent Baalke, the 49ers have drafted 48 players since taking Colin Kaepernick in the second round in 2011 and only one – B.J. Daniels, who now plays wide receiver – was a quarterback, but 2016 might change that. Still, there’s no guarantee that Goff, a junior, will go pro. He also operates out of a spread, no-huddle offense and there are questions as to whether he’ll be able to adapt quickly to the NFL.
  • 49ers fans aren’t too optimistic about what Blaine Gabbert can do at quarterback but offensive coordinator Geep Chryst sees some potential in the former first-round overall pick. “When we got Blaine on board here, there were some similarities to what Alex Smith went through,” Chryst said, as Cam Inman of the Mercury News writes. “Alex came here, was very young and played, and had to slug out a lot of tough situations. We felt like Blaine had all this talent, and as a young player, maybe all this change of scenery would be good for him. He’s really applied himself well in the classroom. He’s engaged and active. He’s a really bright guy.”
  • The Cardinals worked out kicker Randy Bullock, kicker Billy Cundiff, punter Brandon Fields, and punter Spencer Lanning during their bye week, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets.

Extra Points: Jack, Johnny Football, Bucs

September 23rd, 2015 at 9:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Two-way UCLA star Myles Jack has a $5MM insurance policy that pays out if he’s not a first-round pick, Matt Miller of Bleacher Report tweets. Jack, who is done for the season after suffering a torn meniscus, might have an easier time entering the draft this year with that financial security backing him. Prior to the injury, Jack was widely considered to be a top ten prospect. Now, his stock is very much up in the air. Here’s more from around the NFL..

  • When asked if he’s still the team’s quarterback of the future, Johnny Manziel said, “From everything I’ve heard, whether it’s our GM or owner, that’s still the case [as] far as I know,” according to Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer (on Twitter). On Wednesday, the Browns announced that Josh McCown will resume his duties as starting quarterback in Week 3 against the Raiders.
  • The Buccaneers tried out cornerback Tay Glover-Wright, wide receiver Donatella Luckett, defensive back Ryan Murphy, wide receiver Evan Spencer, and safety Pierre Warren, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Jordan Raanan of the Star-Ledger (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised if cornerback Josh Gordy resurfaces with another team this year. The Giants cut the cornerback from IR with an injury settlement on Wednesday.

Extra Points: Bradshaw, QBs, Jennings

June 23rd, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

A day after word broke that free agent running back Ahmad Bradshaw will face a one-game suspension to open the 2015 season, agent Drew Rosenhaus tweets that his client is “back to full health and totally cleared” after fracturing his ankle last season. Bradshaw’s injury history and his suspension will diminish his market, but he has continued to be effective when he’s played, averaging 4.6 yards per rush on 352 carries from 2012 to 2014.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:

  • It’s no surprise that Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers show up in Jason Fitzgerald’s piece at OverTheCap.com identifying the three most team-friendly veteran quarterback contracts in the NFL. However, Fitzgerald’s third choice, a certain Bengals signal-caller, is somewhat unexpected.
  • Getting a headstart on 2016’s draft, Mel Kiper of ESPN.com (Insider-only link) identifies his top 10 quarterback prospects for next year. Kiper names Michigan State’s Connor Cook as the top senior QB and California’s Jared Goff as the No. 1 underclassman.
  • Admitting that the comments he made after leaving the Packers for Minnesota were “very unprofessional,” veteran wideout Greg Jennings suggests to Ben Goessling of ESPN.com that that experience helped him better deal with being released by the Vikings this offseason.
  • Former National Sports Agency rep Kevin Omell is headed to Relativity Sports to work with his longtime friend Ben Dogra, according to a SportsBusiness Journal report.

Tom Brady Handed Four Game Suspension

May 11th, 2015 at 4:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL announced that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been suspended for four games for his involvement in the DeflateGate scandal, as Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. The Patriots have also been stripped of their first-round pick in 2016 and fined $1MM, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (on Twitter) adds. The Pats will also lose the fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Tom Brady (vertical)

Jason Wilde of ESPN.com (on Twitter) passes along the full statement. It reads, in part:

The New England Patriots were notified today of the following discipline that has been imposed for violations of the NFL Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules relating to the use of under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game of this past season:

For the violation of the playing rules and the failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation, the New England Patriots are fined $1 million and will forfeit the club’s first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. If the Patriots have more than one selection in either of these rounds, the earlier selection shall be forfeited. The club may not trade or otherwise encumber these selections.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised Commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th. Neither of these individuals may be reinstated without the prior approval of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent. If they are reinstated by the Patriots, Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day.

Quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. Brady may participate in all off-season, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games.

Commissioner Goodell authorized the discipline that was imposed by NFL Executive President Troy Vincent, pursuant to the commissioner’s disciplinary authority under the NFL Constitution and Bylaws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association.

“We reached these decisions after extensive discussion with Troy Vincent and many others,” Commissioner Goodell said. “We relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and the thoroughness and independence of the Wells report.”

The letter also notes that there was no evidence found to prove that head coach Bill Belichick or any Patriots’ staff member besides Jastremski and McNally took part in the deflating of footballs. One has to imagine that the Patriots will be quick to cite that as they dispute the penalties levied against them.

The NFL also made Vincent’s letter to Brady available to reporters (including Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe on Twitter) and his words are rather scathing. He reprimands Brady for his failure to cooperate in full with the NFL’s investigation and calls his conduct “detrimental to the integrity” of the game. Vincent adds that “While [the evidence] cannot be certain when the activity began, evidence suggests that 1/18 was not the first and only occasion.” The league’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations also referred back to the SpyGate scandal to illustrate that the organization has a history of misconduct.

The suspension of Brady ostensibly leaves backup Jimmy Garoppolo as the team’s starter for the first month of the season. The 23-year-old (24 in November) completed 19 of 27 passes in his rookie season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.