Texans’ Derek Newton Accepts Pay Cut
Texans offensive tackle Derek Newton has restructured his contract, as Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle writes. Newton has already been ruled out for 2017 thanks to torn patellar tendons suffered during the 2016 season. Now, he’ll remain with the team at an adjusted rate while he rehabs. 
The deal will lower Newton’s base salaries in each of the next three seasons. Newton was originally due $4.75MM in base salaries each year, but he’ll now get a base of just $1.75MM this year (guaranteed) and $2.25MM (non-guaranteed) in 2018 and 2019.
for 2018, 2018 and 2019. Newton is now due a guaranteed $1.75 million base salary this year and non-guaranteed base salaries of $2.25 million and $2 million in 2018 and 2019. Newton is now looking at a three-year, $10MM deal over the next three years the rest of the way in a modification of his original five-year, $26.5MM deal inked in 2015. If the contract plays out in full, he’ll carry salary cap figures of $3MM in 2017, $5.5MM in 2018, and $3.75MM in 2019.
Bills Host WR Rod Streater On Visit
Former Raiders wide receiver Rod Streater is visiting the Bills today, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
Streater, 29, spent last season with the Niners. As a member of one of the league’s worst offensive units, he caught 18 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
Once upon a time, Streater appeared to be on the verge of big things with the Raiders. Unfortunately, after catching 60 passes for 888 yards in 2013, he was derailed by injuries. After appearing in just four games for Oakland between 2014 and 2015, he wound up with the Niners on a one-year deal.
Back in March, the Vikings, Colts, Seahawks, Browns, and incumbent 49ers were all said to have some degree of interest in him. For one reason or another, Streater did not sign with any of those clubs.
NFL To Allow Two Players To Return From IR
NFL owners have passed a resolution allowing two players to return off of the Injured Reserve list, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Previously, the league only allowed teams to activate one player from IR.
The Redskins have been pushing this change for years now and the league has finally come around to their proposal. The IR-DTR (Injured Reserve-Designated To Return) rule has gone through multiple changes over the years, giving team’s additional flexibility with each tweak. Initially, teams had to declare their one IR-DTR player in advance and could not move the tag to another player after that point. Then, teams were allowed to consider all IR players for return without calling it first, but the rule still limited teams to just one returning player. Now, two players may come back midseason if they are healthy enough to do so.
Other regulations pertaining to the IR-DTR rules are presumably still in place. As it stands, IR-DTR players may return to practice only after six weeks spent on IR and return to game action after eight weeks on IR.
In related news, the NFL has passed a rule change moving overtime from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, according to a league official who spoke with Rapoport (Twitter link).
Cowboys Considering LB Daryl Washington
Edge rusher David Irving is facing a four-game ban and the Cowboys might replace him with a player who knows all too well about suspensions. The team is doing its homework on recently released linebacker Daryl Washington, according to a team source who spoke with Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter). 
[RELATED: Cowboys DE David Irving Facing Four-Game Ban]
Washington was suspended indefinitely in 2014 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy and has not played since Week 17 of the ’13 campaign. The linebacker was reinstated by the league in late April, but the Cardinals were not interested in keeping him – at least, not at the salary that was dictated by his contract.
The linebacker was a Pro Bowler in 2012 after recording an eye-popping 134 total tackles with 9.0 sacks. He was productive again in 2013, but he has now been out of the game for three straight NFL seasons. The Cowboys may see Washington as a low-risk, high-reward type of player since he’ll be hard pressed to find a big money deal at this juncture.
For his part, Washington claims that he is a changed man who will not run afoul of the league’s rules.
“Obviously, from a standpoint I’ve grown and matured over the years of being able to kind of really appreciate life and appreciate the game that I took for granted at one point,” Washington said recently. “When you feel like you’re on top of the world. When you’re on that pedestal, you feel like everything is easy and nothing would happen. But once it’s taken away from you, you really feel that much more grateful for the opportunity to just say, you know what, I really took these things for granted so when I get back now it’s time to go even harder. At this point in my life, I feel much better mentally, physically, spiritually and I’m in that right mind frame.”
The Cowboys are first known team to consider Washington since he was released roughly one month ago.
NFL Eliminates 75-Man Cutdown
Fans everywhere are rejoicing over the league’s Tuesday morning decision to allow players more leeway in their touchdown celebrations. Meanwhile, a vote that is garnering less attention on Twitter is cause for NFL coaches to celebrate. The league will be doing away with the 75-man cutdown, as Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets.
Previously, teams were mandated to trim their rosters from 90 to 75 in late August or early September. Days later, the final cut would be made from 75 to a 53-man roster. Now, there will be only one cut as teams go from 90 to 53.
This decision will give coaches additional time to evaluate players as they try to put together the best Week 1 roster. The vote probably also sits well with the NFLPA. For at least a few extra days, roughly 480 players that would have been released otherwise will be under NFL employment.
Prior to today’s ruling, teams would have had to get down to a 75-man roster by August 30. Now, teams only have to worry about the 53-man date on September 3.
Cowboys’ David Irving Fails PED Test
Cowboys defensive end David Irving has failed a test for performance enhancing drugs, according to Mike Fisher of 105.3 The Fan (on Twitter). The news has been confirmed by Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole (Twitter link). The ban stems from a supplement that Irving had a marketing deal with, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.
[RELATED: NFL Still Investigating Ezekiel Elliott]
Irving may be serving a suspension to start the year, depending on the nature of the failed test. A positive test for a diuretic or masking agent without a banned substance detected calls for a two-game ban. A positive test for an anabolic agent, however, would mean a four-game suspension. Irving has evidence that could help him fight a four-game ban, but a four-game ban is the most likely outcome at this time, according to Cole (on Twitter).
Irving emerged as a viable pass-rusher for the Cowboys down the stretch last season and finished out the year with four sacks and 17 tackles. Three of those four sacks came in Week 13 against the Bucs and Week 14 against the Lions. The Cowboys won both of those games on their way to a 13-3 season and an NFC East title.
Latest On Jaguars’ Branden Albert
The Jaguars have touched base with Branden Albert, but they’re not expecting things to get patched up overnight. The team is not anticipating the arrival of Albert as OTAs get underway on Tuesday, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. 
[RELATED: Jaguars Touch Base With Albert]
Meanwhile, the Jaguars do not sound inclined to do anything about Albert’s contract, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears. Albert is seeking a deal similar to what Russell Okung and Andrew Whitworth received in free agency this offseason, but Jacksonville has no intention of meeting those demands. For now, Albert is slated to play out the 2017 season at an $8.9MM cap number. Next year, that figure jumps to $9.6MM, but there is zero guaranteed money left on the deal he initially signed with the Dolphins.
Albert cannot be fined for his absence until next month when mandatory camp gets started. Disgruntled players usually buckle by that point in June, but it’s possible that Albert will hold the line in an effort to get Jacksonville to give him what he wants.
Reggie Bush Still Wants To Play
Reggie Bush isn’t done yet. At least, he hopes he isn’t. The former No. 2 overall pick says that he intends to play in 2017. 
“That’s my plan,” Bush said (via NFL.com). “Going into year 12, I still feel like I have a lot left to prove, a lot left to give this game before I’m done. I don’t want to put a number on how many years I have left. I think once you get past year 10, you just gotta take it one year at a time and go from there. I’m still excited, still looking forward to playing football again this season, still staying in shape, still working out. I plan to be somewhere in September.”
Bush, 32, appeared in 13 games for the Bills last year, but he didn’t do a whole lot. He finished out the season with seven catches for 90 yards plus 12 carries for negative three yards and one rushing touchdown. Bush doesn’t have anyone beating down his door after that performance, but he says that he has “spoken to a few teams.”
For what it’s worth, Bush understands that he won’t be receiving the kind of lucrative offers that he was getting as a free agent prior to the 2013 season.
“I think it depends. If you’re in it for the money, then it’s possible,” Bush said. “But I started playing football when I was eight years old, and it’s always been a strong passion, and it’s always been a passion that’s never gonna leave. For me at this point, I’ve made plenty of money and it’s not about the money for me. I want to get a chance to go out there on the football field and just continue to play the sport that I love to play. I’m so passionate about football and I love it, and I’m not ready to hang it up yet. I want to make sure I exhaust everything before I hang it up so I don’t have any regrets once I do hang it up.”
Extra Points: Raiders, Carr, Bengals, Bernard
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has “complete faith” that a deal will get done before training camp, as Anthony Galaviz of the Fresno Bee writes.
“I have an agent who is in charge of that and I am confident that he and [GM Reggie McKenzie] will work it out. I am only focused on becoming a better football player and helping my teammates become better players,” Carr said. “These things take time. The Raiders know I want to be here; this is my family, and I know they want me to be their quarterback.”
Recently, McKenzie also expressed confidence in a deal getting done this summer. If both men are to be believed, then it might not be long before we see Carr sign on the dotted line.
Here’s more from around the NFL:
- Bengals running back Giovani Bernard is expected to be a limited participant at OTAs, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Bernard suffered a torn ACL in November and is still on the mend. In ten games last year, Bernard ran for 337 yards off of 91 carries and added 39 receptions for 336 yards.
- Free agent tight end Gary Barnidge says that he’s in a holding pattern since a lot of teams are waiting to evaluate their rosters in OTAs and minicamp (Twitter links via SiriusXM), but he says he has no problem with waiting. He added that while he would like to be the No. 1 tight end wherever he signs, he’s also OK with a mentor type of role. We learned on Monday that Barnidge has been contacted by some of his former coaches who are now with the Broncos. He previously visited with the Bills and he has also heard from the Jaguars and Panthers.
- On Tuesday, the league will vote on whether to permit a team to negotiate with a head coach candidate during the postseason before his season ends, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). The league will also vote on whether to change the anti-tampering policy definition of a GM to the team’s main football exec, even if he doesn’t have control of the 53-man roster.
Cecil Shorts III Eyeing 2018 Return
After suffering a series of gruesome knee injuries last year, Cecil Shorts III won’t be able to take the field in 2017, he tells SiriusXM (on Twitter). He’ll take the year off and work towards an NFL return in 2018. 
Shorts suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and PCL along with a dislocated knee midway through his season with the Buccaneers. That was just the latest setback for Shorts who missed 19 regular season games between 2011 and 2015. Shorts managed to gut his way through some hamstring issues, but this is the toughest challenge he has ever faced.
Even before the injury last winter, Shorts wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. In nine games, he had just eleven catches for 152 yards.
Shorts will turn 30 in December, so he’ll be looking to get back into football on the verge of his age-31 season.