Tom Brady - Pro Football Rumors

East Notes: Galette, Wayne, Brady, Ryans

August 25th, 2015 at 12:41pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s “a feeling” in Washington that the team will learn this week whether or not veteran pass rusher Junior Galette will face a suspension for any off-field incidents, writes John Keim of ESPN.com. Washington didn’t waste much time picking up Galette after he was released by the Saints, suggesting the front office wasn’t expecting a significant penalty. According to Keim, the club is hopeful that any Galette suspension would be for two games or less.

Here’s more from out of the NFL’s two East divisions:

Josina Anderson of ESPN.com provides a couple specific figures on Reggie Wayne‘s new contract with the Patriots, tweeting that has a maximum value of $2.8MM and features a $450K signing bonus. According to Wayne, he fielded “a lot of serious calls from some good teams,” but decided New England was the best fit for him, per Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Attorneys for the NFL and NFLPA met yesterday for another settlement conference regarding Tom Brady‘s case, but – as expected – the session didn’t lead to an agreement, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. The next hearing in Judge Richard Berman’s court regarding the Patriots quarterback is scheduled for August 31.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links) wonders what the Mychal Kendricks extension means for Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans. As McLane explains, he heard earlier this year that Kendricks would likely only play one more season in Philadelphia, so the apparent change of heart from the team may be related to Ryans, who turned 31 last month.
E.J. Manuel acknowledged during training camp this year that he knows his days with the Bills may be numbered if he doesn’t play well. However, as Sal Capaccio of WGR550 details, Manuel says he loves playing in Buffalo: “I want to stay here.”

NFC East Notes: Brady, Giants, Hardy

August 20th, 2015 at 8:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s a look at the NFC East..

Giants co-owner John Mara has respectfully declined to participate in settlement discussions between Tom Brady and the NFL, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com. There are currently conflicting reports on whether Brady would be open to accepting a suspension of any kind. League lawyers, who sources say were reluctant about the idea, communicated Wednesday to the judge that Mara cited an obvious competitive conflict of interest.
Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy still hasn’t made a final decision about suing the NFL to reduce his suspension, but every passing day reduces the chances of that happening, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets.
Giants quarterback Ryan Nassib told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post that he’ll have to assess his options if the Giants decide to give Eli Manning a new multi-year deal. “Yeah, that’s something we would look into once the season’s over,” Nassib said. “We’ll see when the decision’s made or whatnot. [Unless it happens], that’s something I can’t really speculate on.” The 2013 fourth-round pick is signed through 2016 at a cap-friendly total of $1.26MM over the next two seasons.

Extra Points: Weddle, Chancellor, Brady

August 19th, 2015 at 10:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Adam Jones will probably go down as one of those “what-if” history stories in sports and the Bengals cornerback is well aware of that. “If I would have never gotten suspended, I would have $100 million right now,” Jones said, according to Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. Still, Jones says that he tries not to live with regrets and that he hopes to make the most of the remainder of his career. Here’s more from around the NFL..

Eric Weddle‘s agent David Canter confirmed (via Twitter links) that he would like to see the Chargers safety land with the Dolphins. However, he made it clear that he and Weddle “have never and will never ask for a trade from San Diego.” Teams typically don’t trade their best players, Canter notes, and he says that Bolts fans can rest assured that he won’t be going anywhere, at least in 2015.
Agent Alvin Keels told ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (on Twitter) that everything is status quo with his client, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor. “Nothing has changed. He will not report without his contract being addressed this season. The team and I have been in contact, but we haven’t been able to agree on any compromise,” Keels said.
Right now, there are no more settlement talks planned between the NFL and NFLPA until the August 31st court appearance, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
Brandon Meriweather‘s deal with the Giants is a one-year pact worth $870K and no guaranteed cash, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets.
During practice Sunday, Raiders‘ WR Andre Holmes fractured his hand and now is expected to be out 3-4 weeks, sources tell ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter).
New Jets quarterback Matt Flynn says that there’s no timetable on when he’ll recover from his hamstring issue and added that he is not guaranteed a roster spot with Gang Green, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com tweets.
Guard-center Josh Samuda, former Dolphin and Viking, worked out today for the Chiefs, according to a source who spoke with Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (on Twitter).

Latest On Tom Brady’s Suspension Appeal

August 19th, 2015 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

1:38pm: While Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) heard from a source this morning that Schefter’s report on Brady (detailed below) was “dead on,” some contradictory reports have surfaced since then. Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald writes that Brady isn’t getting ready to accept a suspension, while Ian Rapoport of NFL.com says (via Twitter) that Brady’s stance hasn’t changed and that he isn’t willing to accept any suspension at this point.

Unless Schefter and Freeman were entirely off base, it’s possible that today’s hearing in New York played a part in Brady’s continued reluctance to agree to any form of suspension. According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (Twitter links), Judge Berman was “very critical” of the NFL today, grilling the league’s lawyers and making observations on his own that boosted the credibility of the NFLPA’s arguments. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (TwitLonger link) and Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk detail a few specific points made by Berman as he poked holes in the NFL’s arguments.

Per Schefter (via Twitter), Judge Berman continued to push today for a settlement, asking the two sides to return to court on August 31 if there’s still no agreement in place. It’s still not clear which way Berman would rule if the two sides can’t reach a compromise, but given the way he has grilled the NFL so far, it looks like there’s more pressure on the league to reach a settlement — especially since, as Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole reports, team owners want resolution in the matter, and would accept a reduced suspension for Brady.

8:04am: Throughout the appeal process for Tom Brady‘s case, a settlement has been viewed as extremely unlikely, since the NFL is pushing for some form of suspension for Brady, while the Patriots quarterback has appeared unwilling to agree to more than a fine. A settlement still doesn’t appear imminent, with the two sides returning to court today, but there may be a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel.

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Facebook link), Brady is open to the idea of accepting a suspension, but only for failing to cooperate with the NFL’s investigation — not for admitting to anything in Ted Wells’ report’s findings. Of course, the suspension would have to be reduced from its current four games, in that scenario. Per Schefter, the NFL has been adamant that Brady admit to the report’s findings, which the Super Bowl MVP doesn’t seem willing to ever do.

A penalty that results in perhaps a one-game suspension and a fine for Brady has always seemed like the most logical compromise, if the two sides are going to reach an agreement. That would allow the NFL to uphold its suspension, while allowing Brady to significantly reduce the number of games he’d miss. We’ll see if Judge Richard M. Berman can cajole the two sides any closer to such an agreement today.

Mike Reiss of ESPN.com has a primer on what to expect from today’s hearing.

Tom Brady Settlement Talks At Standstill

August 18th, 2015 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we heard that Tom Brady was headed to New York in order to be present for Wednesday’s federal court hearing with Judge Richard M. Berman. However, now it seems that Brady’s time in New York will be brief, and won’t include attending tomorrow’s meeting.

According to Tom Pelissero of USA Today (via Twitter), Brady was in New York today to participate in settlement discussions regarding his case, but no progress was made. Pelissero suggested (via Twitter) that Brady had made the decision to rejoin the Patriots rather than sticking around New York, but Albert Breer of the NFL Network tweets that the Super Bowl MVP was told by Judge Berman that there’s no need for him to be there tomorrow, with settlement talks at a standstill.

Throughout the process, Judge Berman has encouraged the NFL and NFLPA to try to find common ground and reach a settlement, but that outcome always looked like a long shot. The league wants Brady to serve a suspension of some sort, even if it’s not his full four-game penalty, while the Patriots signal-caller is reportedly unwilling to accept more than a fine.

With a settlement looking increasingly unlikely, Judge Berman figures to eventually make a ruling on the case. Tomorrow’s hearing, which will take place without Brady, should help to provide a timeline for when Berman’s decision could come.

East Notes: Brady, Cooley, RGIII, Eli, Manuel

August 18th, 2015 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

Multiple reporters in attendance at Patriots‘ practice today have indicated that Tom Brady is absent, and Tom Pelissero of USA Today offers a likely explanation, tweeting that Brady plans to attend tomorrow’s federal court hearing in New York. The session in Judge Richard M. Berman’s courtroom is optional for Brady and commissioner Roger Goodell, but the fact that the Patriots quarterback will attend in person could score him some points with Judge Berman.

As we wait to see what – if anything – comes of tomorrow’s hearing on the Brady case, let’s check in on several more items from around the NFL’s two East divisions….

Former Washington tight end Chris Cooley admits he is “literally begging” to join his old team, explaining that he has offered to play on “the most minimum deal possible” if Washington signs him, per J.J. Regan of CSNWashington.com. Cooley’s proposal to Washington includes no bonuses or incentives, no guaranteed money, and a promise that he’d give $50K of his salary to charity.
Robert Griffin III is currently under contract through the 2016 season, but he’d like to remain in Washington beyond that, telling CSNWashington’s Chick Hernandez that he hopes to stay with the club for his “whole career.”
Despite John Mara‘s comments about wanting to get Eli Manning locked up to an extension before the season begins, there’s no rush or deadline for the Giants, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com, who writes that a new deal will happen sooner or later. We heard yesterday that Manning wants to become the league’s highest-paid player, and while that was met with disbelief by some, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains why it’s not as outrageous as you might think.
As he competes for the starting job in Buffalo, quarterback E.J. Manuel acknowledges that his days with the Bills may be numbered if he doesn’t earn that No. 1 role, writes John Wawrow of The Associated Press. Wawrow suggests that Manuel is behind both Tyrod Taylor and Matt Cassel in the race for the Bills’ starting job, but the former first-round pick remains confident in his NFL future. “At the end of the day, if I play well, it should take care of itself,” Manuel said. “Whether it’s here or whether it’s somewhere else, I don’t know.”

East Notes: Powell, Giants, Eli, Brady

August 17th, 2015 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Bills added another one of Rex Ryan‘s ex-Jets, signing cornerback Ellis Lankster to their roster. That’s just one of today’s stories out of the East though, so let’s round up the latest from around the league’s two East divisions….

Ty Powell, who was a reserve linebacker and a special teams contributor for the Bills last season, may have a torn ACL, Ryan said today (Twitter link via Joe Buscaglia of WKBW). If that diagnosis is confirmed, it would end Powell’s season.
There’s still a chance that the Giants could pursue a free agent offensive lineman like Jake Long or Evan Mathis, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. However, as Graziano suggests, it’s not as simple as making a contract offer, since there are concerns about Long’s health and Mathis’ asking price.
With Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers having signed new contracts this offseason, a pair of New York reporters believe the other notable quarterback from the 2004 draft class should get an extension of his own. Steve Serby of the New York Post and Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News both make cases for why Giants signal-caller Eli Manning should get a new deal before the season begins.
Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explains why Patriots quarterback Tom Brady shouldn’t sue investigator Ted Wells for defamation, like former Dolphins offensive line coach Jim Turner is doing.
Before the Cowboys break training camp, owner Jerry Jones has several objectives he’d like to see the team meet, including deciding how to proceed on defense without Greg Hardy and Rolando McClain early in the season. David Moore of the Dallas Morning News has the details.

Latest On DeflateGate

August 16th, 2015 at 6:37pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While most hope the fight between the NFL and the NFL Players Association regarding Tom Brady’s DeflateGate case will conclude prior to the season, it doesn’t appear likely. Attorneys for both the league and Brady requested a verdict from US district judge Richard Berman on Brady’s lawsuit by Sept. 4, according to the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin, but his decision probably won’t be the end of it.

Berman encouraged both sides to reach a settlement last week, saying, “The average life of a suit with appeal is two years, not two months. I think it’s fair to say that no one here wants to wait that long.”

Unfortunately, though, an appeal seems inevitable because neither side has shown a willingness to move from their respective stances. The league – which originally handed Brady a four-game suspension in May – wants the quarterback to sit at least one game, but Brady won’t accept anything more than a fine.

Should Berman’s decision end up in Brady’s favor, he’ll be permitted to play immediately. However, a subsequent appeal to the Second Court from the league might spell disaster for him in the future. If the Second Court rules in favor of the league, Brady could end up missing time later in the regular season or, worse, the playoffs. The chance of that happening is slim, though, as Volin notes that the appeals process moves slowly and likely wouldn’t be completed during the upcoming season.

If Berman sides with the league, on the other hand, Brady will ask Berman for a motion to stay the suspension pending appeal, per Volin. If that fails, Brady will opt for a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order from the Second Circuit. That would enable him to play until his appeal is heard.

Regardless of what ultimately happens, DeflateGate has owned headlines for months and could cast a pall over the upcoming season. Some owners across the league have grown weary of it, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote Sunday, and are hoping the two sides reach a settlement soon. Conversely, Florio reports that certain “hard-core, old-school owners” don’t want the league to budge because it would mean conceding power to the NFLPA. Bad blood between the owners and the union is a key reason DeflateGate will continue to be a dominant story.

NFLPA Issues Motion In Brady Case

August 14th, 2015 at 6:43pm CST by Dallas Robinson

As lawyers for both the NFL and NFLPA continued to meet in New York earlier today to discuss Tom Brady‘s appeal, the union has issued an opposition to the league’s Brady motion. The 19-page document is available here, and Sports Illustrated legal expert Michael McCann has been providing his analysis via Twitter.

The documents levies specific charges at investigator Ted Wells, noting that Wells said Brady would not punished for not disclosing his text messages. Furthermore, the filing highlights that Wells did indicate that the analysis of halftime PSI measurements was based on “uncertain” data, per McCann.

Per McCann, the new filing is “the most direct attack on [Roger] Goodell yet,” opining that because the memo is so scathing, the chances of a settlement between the two parties no appear slim. Furthermore, says McCann, the NFL appears to have lost the public relations battle, arguing that even if a judge rules in the league’s favor, one “could argue that Goodell has already lost DeflateGate.”

Indeed, in perhaps the harshest language used by either side during the entire squabble, the NFLPA’s filing calls the Wells report “a propaganda piece written for public consumption…to validate a multi-million-dollar ‘independent’ investigation.”

East Notes: Brady, Giants, G. Smith

August 13th, 2015 at 5:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Lawyers for the NFL and NFLPA are meeting today for more settlement talks regarding Tom Brady‘s situation, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Judge Richard M. Berman wants the two sides to compromise and reach a settlement, but Brady can’t concede to the NFL’s terms without committing perjury, argues Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports.

As Robinson explains, the league wants the Patriots quarterback to admit guilt, but Brady testified under oath that he was innocent. So if a settlement is to be reached, the NFL will likely have to give more ground than Brady and the NFLPA to make it happen.

Here’s more on the Brady situation, along with several more notes from out of the East divisions:

Judge Berman has made next Wednesday’s settlement conference optional for Brady and commissioner Roger Goodell, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks the judge may be trying to discern whether Goodell and Brady view the case as sufficiently important to attend the meeting.
Free agent guard Evan Mathis may be on the verge of signing with an NFL team, according to a recent report, but Dan Graziano of ESPNNewYork.com (on Twitter) says he doesn’t think it’ll be the Giants, since he doesn’t believe they’re interested.
Graziano (on Twitter) also doesn’t see Jason Pierre-Paul staying with the Giants beyond 2015.
Geno Smith and IK Enemkpali are both to blame for the unrest in the Jets‘ locker room, Kristian Dyer of Metro NY writes. Meanwhile, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) suggests there’s a belief that Smith lacks respect within the Jets organization and may have been on his way to losing the starting job even before his injury. The quarterback underwent surgery today and had plates and screws put in, though his jaw won’t be wired shut, per Brian Costello of the New York Post (Twitter link).
Don’t blame Jets coach Todd Bowles for the Smith-Enemkpali smackdown and the recent Sheldon Richardson transgressions, but start judging him now, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. How Bowles handles the team’s latest road bumps will determine what type of coach he becomes for the Jets.
Undrafted center David Andrews out of Georgia is a top candidate among the Patriots‘ four UDFAs to land a roster spot, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com tweets.

Zach Links contributed to this post.