City Of Los Angeles - Pro Football Rumors

Rams Owner Plans To Build Stadium In L.A.

January 5th, 2015 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

Just over two weeks after we learned that commissioner Roger Goodell informed teams no franchises would be relocating to Los Angeles for the 2015 season, Sam Farmer and Roger Vincent of the Los Angeles Times have a major update on the possibility of the NFL returning to L.A. According to the Times duo, Rams owner Stan Kroenke has joined forces with Stockbridge Capital Group and intends to build an NFL stadium in Inglewood.

Farmer and Vincent write that Kroenke, who purchased 60 acres of land adjacent to the Forum a year ago, has joined forces with Stockbridge Capital Group, the owners of the 238-acre Hollywood Park site. The plan for the group is to build an 80,000-seat NFL stadium, along with a 6,000-seat performance venue.

“We are excited to unveil an expanded plan that will bring a world-class sports and entertainment district to Hollywood Park,” Stockbridge founder Terry Fancher said in a statement. “We are committed to working with [the Kroenke Group] to build a project that will put Inglewood back on the map as home of the truly great sports and entertainment venues.”

While we’ve heard rumblings about the NFL’s potential return to Los Angeles for the last two decades, this is the first time that an existing team owner has held a space large enough to accommodate a viable stadium – with parking – and announced plans to move forward with the project.

Of course, this doesn’t make it a sure thing that the Rams will move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, but it turns it into a very real possibility, particularly since the club can begin a year-to-year agreement in St. Louis as of the end of this month — that would give the franchise the flexibility to leave after the 2015 season, assuming arrangements for a temporary home in L.A. can be finalized as the new Hollywood Park stadium is built. The announcement forces St. Louis’ hand, with the city now under pressure to come back with a strong offer for the Rams within the next few weeks in order to try to keep the club in Missouri.

The Chargers and Raiders have also been mentioned as candidates to move to Los Angeles, so it will be interesting to see how the ownership of those clubs responds to Kroenke’s announcement. Farmer notes in a Q&A with Peter King of The MMQB.com that the concept of moving two teams to Los Angeles at once is “very difficult,” and that he wouldn’t expect to see more than one team move to L.A. initially. As of today, it looks like the Rams are the clubhouse leaders to be that team.

Goodell: No Teams To L.A. For 2015

December 20th, 2014 at 12:37pm CST by Ben Levine

Fans hoping to see a Los Angeles franchise will have to wait a bit longer. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that the Chargers, Raiders and Rams were notified by Roger Goodell that they will not be relocating to the City of Angels for the 2015 season. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com writes that the league wants to first secure a stadium site, with three locations leading the way: Hollywood Park, the city of Carson, and AEG’s site in downtown LA. The league could ultimately choose a pair of sites, as Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com notes the general belief that two teams will eventually move to the city.

We heard earlier this week that the Chargers and Rams were in a “race” to secure a franchise in Los Angeles, but the optimism about a switch waned as the week continued. The Chargers revealed yesterday that they would not be terminating their lease in San Diego, and the Rams were expected to make a similar announcement. Rapoport notes that the Rams have until the end of January to make a decision regarding their lease in St. Louis.

Meanwhile, Raiders owner Mark Davis previously told Rapoport that the organization is focusing it’s energy on staying in Oakland. ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson believes the team will now sign a one-year lease to stay at the Coliseum, but will pursue a move to Los Angeles for the 2016 season (Twitter links). Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweets that Davis is “open” to being one of two teams to relocate to the city.

Extra Points: L.A., 49ers, Draft, Daniels

December 19th, 2014 at 9:23pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Chargers recently confirmed that they’ll continue to play in San Diego for the 2015 season, and it sounds as if the Rams could be the next team to make a similar announcement. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link) and Albert Breer of the NFL Network both indicate that officials in Missouri are expected to present the franchise with a plan containing “substantial public funding” soon, which will make it difficult for the club to justify leaving for Los Angeles in the short term. While there have been plenty of whispers about the possibility of one or two teams making the move to L.A., the smart money says it probably won’t happen in 2015, according to Breer.

Let’s round up a handful of other items from around the NFL….

The 49ers have already begun the process of researching potential head coaching candidates from other organizations, writes Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter). Cole writes that this is further proof that the organization will move on from Jim Harbaugh this offseason.
Georgia outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins announced (via Twitter) that he’ll return to school for another season. Meanwhile, Alabama safety Landon Collins is viewed as a lock to enter the draft, sources tell Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
As NFL executive Troy Vincent points out (via Twitter), the requests for early evaluation from NCAA underclassmen dipped from 214 last year to just 147 this year. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggests that perhaps this means the number of early entrants will decline by a similar rate this year, but as Rand Getlin and Dan Wentzel of Yahoo! Sports write, the NFL instituted new limits this year on the information the league will provide potential early entrants. Only five underclassmen per college program can receive info, and the league will only tell those players if they’re first- or second-round picks.
Seahawks backup quarterback B.J. Daniels had his salary increased from the practice squad rate up to an active roster rate, reports Brian McIntyre of NFL.com (via Twitter).
The Patriots had three defenders – defensive end Cam Henderson, defensive lineman Antonio Johnson, and edge defender Rufus Johnson – in for tryouts this week, tweets Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com.
Washington is staring at the possibility of a second consecutive three-win season, and the team hasn’t even shown signs of trending upward, according to John Keim in his mailbag for ESPN. With issues between the coach and quarterback, Washington is having a season to forget.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Chargers To Stay In San Diego For 2015

December 16th, 2014 at 8:16pm CST by Zachary Links

The Chargers announced tonight that they will not terminate their lease at Qualcomm Stadium for 2015.

“On February 1st of every year since 2007, the Chargers have been eligible to terminate the team’s lease for Qualcomm Stadium. And each year since 2007, the Chargers have announced that the team will not exercise the termination clause and instead continue to work toward a permanent stadium solution in San Diego.

Today, the Chargers are making the same announcement that the team has made each year since 2007: The team will not be exercising the lease termination clause and will keep working to find a publicly acceptable way to build a Super-Bowl quality stadium in San Diego. Calendar year 2015 will constitute the team’s fourteenth year of work on a San Diego stadium solution,” read the statement from Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani.

With the Bolts staying in San Diego through next season (at least), that eliminates one team in the 2015 race to Los Angeles. The Rams and Raiders could still potentially make the leap, though with each passing day it sounds less and less likely that any team will relocate to L.A. in time for the 2015 season. Last night, Peter King of The MMQB echoed similar thoughts, terming an L.A. launch “unlikely” in ’15.

Extra Points: JPP, Cameron, Gruden, Locker

December 15th, 2014 at 9:47pm CST by Zachary Links

Jason Pierre-Paul’s walk year spike may cost the Giants, writes Paul Schwartz of the New York Post. After performing solidly but not spectacularly for the bulk of the season, Pierre-Paul is putting on a great show down the home stretch, just in time to increase his worth. “That’s one of those things that go unnoticed, but I think people are starting to realize he gets tremendous sack numbers but his sack numbers, just because they went down, they don’t realize how much of a hustle player he is,’’ said second-year defensive end Damontre Moore. More from around the NFL..

Not everyone is looking strong heading into free agency. Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap looked at three players who hurt their stock with their play on Sunday, including Browns tight end Jordan Cameron and Ravens running back Justin Forsett.
Jon Gruden openly wonders if the Bears should have kept Josh McCown and ditched Jay Cutler, as Mike Sando of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) writes. While Cutler has struggled, I would note that McCown hasn’t exactly shined in Tampa Bay.
Given his issues with durability as well as the fundamentals of the position, Jake Locker will have to settle for a backup job as a potential reclamation project in 2015, writes Chris Wesseling of NFL.com. The Titans quarterback was placed on IR earlier today.
With many issues still to be settled, it sounds unlikely that the league will put a team in Los Angeles in time to play in 2015, writes Peter King of The MMQB.
In an interview on WBBM-AM 780, Bears GM Phil Emery spoke about last week’s controversy involving offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer. Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune has the goods.
In case you were worried, the Super Bowl will go on, despite the failure of Congress to renew the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes.

Rams, Chargers “Race” To Los Angeles

December 14th, 2014 at 9:24am CST by Rob DiRe

SUNDAY, 9:24am: Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes that Eric Grubman, the NFL executive overseeing the relocation process, “acknowledged that there were multiple teams with the intent of moving to Los Angeles as soon as next season.” Grubman, speaking at last week’s owner’s meeting in Dallas, added that there were a number of options as to when and where those teams might relocate within the Los Angeles region. The most significant part of Grubman’s statement, however, was his reaffirmation that the NFL will have complete control over the process. As La Canfora writes, “it will be the league’s decision which team or teams, and on which timeline, they move to Los Angeles.” La Canfora adds that Rams officials are the most frustrated with the current pace of the process.

SATURDAY, 7:37pm: The NFL says it’s unclear if there will be an application for relocation to L.A. for 2015, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link). The window for those applications is January 1st through February 15th, which is right around the corner.

SATURDAY, 9:54am: As reports surface about which teams could potentially find a new home in Los Angeles, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report took to Twitter to clarify the situation. In a series of tweets, Cole writes that the Rams and Chargers are essentially in a race to get to L.A. first (via Twitter).

The belief is that two teams will eventually make their way to Hollywood, but even though the Rams and Chargers are the top choices to get there first, it doesn’t mean those two will go together. The Raiders are trying to find a way to be the second team to move into the market. Although the team has a strong connection to the city, they cannot afford to move there themselves (via Twitter).

The Raiders have explored moving to Los Angeles and using the Rose Bowl and/or the Coliseum through UCLA and USC, respectively, but were told there is no interest in hosting the franchise on an interim basis (via Twitter). Since neither venue will take the Raiders while a new stadium is being built, the team needs someone else to build an NFL stadium in the city (via Twitter). The Raiders would need either the Rams or Chargers to move there first, saving the Raiders the time and money needed to build for themselves.

The Chargers were at one point considered the favorite to move, but Cole writes that the team does not want to leave San Diego (via Twitter). However, management realizes the team will not be able to remain at Qualcomm Stadium long term.

The Rams have their own holdups, as Cole writes that owner Stan Kroenke is hesitant to spend the money needed to invest in the move (via Twitter). The Rams have had the most discussions about moving, particularly in Inglewood.

Another option is an AEG Project the NFL is pushing, but neither the Chargers nor the Rams seem interested in the option (via Twitter). That deal would focus on bringing in only one team, so the Raiders wouldn’t draw much interest either (via Twitter).

Extra Points: Conduct Policy, L.A., Playoffs

December 10th, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Ben Levine

The NFL owners approved a new conduct policy earlier today, but there are still plenty of question marks surrounding the guidelines. As Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com explains, many players and owners are questioning the specifics of the “paid-leave” protocol.

Most players have incentive bonuses/escalators built into their contracts, but that portion of money would be impossible to earn if a player is suspended. As Florio writes, many of these bonuses are based on playing time or compiled stats, and a player won’t be able to reach any of those milestones if he’s sitting at home.

Meanwhile, Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo tweets that there’s also concern from the owner’s side, as the check-writers don’t want to be paying money for zero production. Furthermore, the teams currently get no cap relief for their suspended player, which is an added concern of the owners.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello briefly spoke about the issue with Florio:

“That is the type of issue we would be prepared to discuss with the union if the union were interested in engaging in discussions. They had no interest in discussing anything at the last meeting.”

Let’s check out some more notes from around the league as we wrap up this Wednesday night…

Garafolo tweets a remark from commissioner Roger Goodell, who says there’s been “progress” on a Los Angeles franchise, but nothing’s “imminent.” “We continue to work to see if there’s a solution,” Goodell said.
The owners will not discuss playoff expansion during this week’s meeting, but PFT’s Michael David Smith writes that Goodell plans on addressing the subject during March’s gathering. The league is reportedly interested in adding a seventh team from each conference.

Extra Points: Goodell, Raiders, JPP, Browns

December 10th, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Luke Adams

On the same day the NFL announced that its owners have approved a new personal conduct policy for the league, Outside the Lines reporter Don Van Natta Jr. of ESPN.com has published a story suggesting commissioner Roger Goodell‘s testimony during Ray Rice‘s suspension appeal hearing was inconsistent with his public statements.

On September 10, Goodell wrote a memo to the league’s 32 owners in which he said that “on multiple occasions, we asked the proper law enforcement authorities to share with us all relevant information, including any video of the [Rice elevator] incident.” However, the 631-page transcript of Rice’s appeal hearing, a copy of which was obtained by Outside the Lines, suggests that the NFL never actually formally requested the elevator video from the one law enforcement agency that actually had it, the Atlantic City Police Department.

With Goodell and the NFL once again under scrutiny for questionable handling of investigative and disciplinary matters, let’s round up a few other notes from around the league:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the Raiders have “a much better chance” of moving to Los Angeles in 2015 than he had realized, adding that the possibility of the team relocating from Oakland to L.A. is “very legitimate.”
While NFL teams rarely let their starting quarterbacks reach the open market, the early returns for the teams that locked their QBs up this year haven’t been good, writes Jason McIntyre of The Big Lead. The Bears (Jay Cutler), Bengals (Andy Dalton), Chiefs (Alex Smith), and 49ers (Colin Kaepernick) likely aren’t thrilled with the new deals for their respective signal-callers, considering all four teams project to finish with worse records in 2014 than 2013.
Asked about his impending free agency, Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said he’d “love to be a Giant for life,” but isn’t sure yet how things will play out (Twitter link via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News).
Although Browns kicker Billy Cundiff missed another key field goal on Sunday against the Colts, head coach Mike Pettine says Cundiff remains the team’s kicker, but “he knows he has to pick it up” (Twitter link via Jeff Schudel of the News-Herald).
Adrian Peterson is still awaiting arbitrator Harold Henderson’s decision on his suspension appeal, and the Vikings running back continues to hold out hope that he’ll be able to return the field this season, NFLPA executive George Atallah tells Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion will be represented by Athletes First agents Andrew Kessler and Dave Dunn for the 2015 NFL draft, tweets Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal.

West Notes: L.A., Kaepernick, Workouts

December 9th, 2014 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Broncos could clinch the AFC West with a victory in San Diego this weekend, the race over in the NFC West is getting more interesting by the week. The 10-3 Cardinals head to St. Louis this Thursday as underdogs against the 6-7 Rams, and an Arizona loss, combined with a Seahawks win over the reeling 49ers, would set up a huge Week 16 battle between the two division leaders in Arizona.

As we look forward to seeing how this week’s games play out, let’s round up a few items out of the NFL’s two West divisions….

No major developments involving Los Angeles are expected at this week’s NFL owner meetings, and a source tells Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter link) that the league isn’t anticipating movement on the L.A. front until the new year.
In an Insider-only piece, Mike Sando of ESPN.com takes a closer look at Colin Kaepernick‘s future in San Francisco. Sando notes that moving away from Kaepernick quickly likely isn’t an option for the 49ers, but suggests making changes to the club’s coaching staff and offensive system could help get the young QB back on the right track.
The Broncos tried out former Dolphins quarterback Seth Lobato today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). The club is likely considering him for a potential reserve/futures contract at season’s end.
The Rams, who recently extended punter Johnny Hekker, also recently worked out punter Michael Palardy, tweets Wilson. Of course, with Hekker – one of the league’s best specialists – locked up for several seasons, the Rams were likely looking at Palardy because he’s a left-footed kicker, rather than because they have interest in signing him.

Rose Bowl Could House NFL Team In LA

November 23rd, 2014 at 3:15pm CST by Dallas Robinson

If an NFL franchise does relocate to Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena is a viable option to act as a temporary home stadium, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Both the Raiders and the Rams are reportedly considering a move to L.A. for the 2015 season, but according to La Canfora, Pasadena officials would only approve the use of the Rose Bowl for a single NFL club. The Rose Bowl, of course, is the home of the UCLA Bruins, and the site of the eponymous NCAA bowl game each January.

While the Pasadena government has made concessions that would allow more games to be played at the Rose Bowl, those changes wouldn’t be enough to permit two NFL franchises to use the site as their home stadium during the same season. La Canfora notes that some league insiders believe that an ideal scenario would see two clubs move to Los Angeles at once in order to defray the risk and cost of financing and building a new stadium. However, one of those two teams would need to play its home games at a less-than-ideal spot, likely the Los Angeles Coliseum.

The Raiders and Rams are both operating on year-to-year leases with their current stadiums, a setup that Raiders owner Mark Davis recently deemed untenable. Clubs interested in relocating currently have until February to announce their intentions, although that date could be pushed back.

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