National Football League News and Rumors
Brady fave WR Gaffney heading back to PatsMike Reiss, ESPN.com Jabar Gaffney is heading back to the New England Patriots. |
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Saints, Brees still making no progressMay 2, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com At a time when Saints fans desperately need some good news, they’re not going to be getting it any time soon from quarterback Drew Brees. Brees and the team are no closer on a new contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Now that the offseason prog… |
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QB Young in good shape during workout for BillsMay 2, 2012
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson described free agent quarterback Vince Young as looking in great shape during his workout for the team on Wednesday. |
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Evan Silva, profootballtalk.com The NFL doesn’t get much sleep. On Friday — less than a week after the start of the NFL draft’s first round — nine teams will convene for rookie minicamps. 22 more teams open rookie camp the following week. The NFL released on Wednesday schedule d… |
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Organized Team Activities and minicamp datesMay 2, 2012
Evan Silva, profootballtalk.com * = rookies only. Arizona Cardinals OTAs: May 22-24 and 29-31, June 4-7. Minicamps: May 11-13*, June 12-14. Atlanta Falcons OTAs: May 29-31, June 5-7 and 12-15. Minicamps: May 11-13*, June 19-21. Baltimore Ravens OTAs: May 22-24 and 29-31, June 4-7. Min… |
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Roseman expects to start signing Eagles rookiesMay 2, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman joined PFT Live on Wednesday to touch on so many salient subjects that we saw fit to transcribe the entire session. Not long before the show began, the Bears had signed receiver Alshon Jeffrey, a second-round pick five days ago… |
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Public Fury and Penalties for Saints' BountiesMay 2, 2012
Andy Benoit, nytimes.com Albert Haynesworth was suspended for five games for stomping on an opponent's face. What's wrong with this picture? |
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Governor: Push for Vikings' stadium a 'fiasco'May 2, 2012
Associated Press, ESPN.com Gov. Mark Dayton pronounced the monthslong state push to help build a new Minnesota Vikings stadium a "fiasco" on Wednesday, as the Legislature's Republican leaders proposed a significantly smaller state contribution to the project. |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has confessed to administering a bounty system, accepting without appeal his indefinite suspension. When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell considers Williams’ request for reinstatement after the season, … |
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Associated Press, ESPN.com Jurors have ended two days of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the fatal hit-and-run trial of Amy Senser, the wife of ex-Minnesota Viking Joe Senser. |
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Junior Seau, who died Wednesday in an apparent suicide, was one of the greatest linebackers in NFL history. But Seau's legacy extended far beyond the football field, says Jim Trotter. |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com By denying the NFL’s findings regarding the Saints’ bounty system, the NFLPA has attempted, wisely, to create a he said/she said dynamic as to whether players were involved, notwithstanding the admissions made by the coaches involved in the bounty pro… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com As a friend of Junior Seau, Lorenzo Neal said that when he learned of Seau’s death today, his reaction was, “We lost a great man.” But as a player who had a lengthy career before recently retiring, Neal had another reaction to the news that Seau’s… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Former Cowboys offensive lineman Torrin Tucker, who last month joined the ranks of former players suing the NFL for concussions, now has a much different involvement with the legal system. Tucker has been arrested in Tampa on felony drug and weapons cha… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Joining Saint linebacker Jonathan Vilma, Saints defensive end Will Smith has issued a statement regarding the suspension imposed on him for involvement in the team’s three-year bounty system. The league’s announcement of the suspensions says that Smit… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Unlike the suspensions imposed against various non-players involved in the Saints’ bounty system, each of whom admitted to their involvement, it’s impossible to assess whether the punishment of the current and former Saints players is fair without kno… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com … |
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Maggie Hendricks, yahoo.com As Doug Farrar pointed out, remembrances of Junior Seau filled Twitter from the moment the news of his death broke. Most came from his contemporaries, the men who knew Seau on the football field and in locker rooms. But one came from an unlikely source… |
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Pat Shurmur: Fujita “a valued member” of BrownsMay 2, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Browns linebacker Scott Fujita was suspended for three games by the NFL as a result of their bounty program investigation. Fujita reportedly plans to appeal and there’s talk of further legal actions, so the Browns might not know whether or not they’ll… |
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Doug Farrar, yahoo.com As much as we've covered the news of Junior Seau's passing, it's probably best to step aside and let the men who knew him, played with him, and considered him a mentor and friend do the talking. This is just a sample of the avalanche of emotion coming f… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com We already found out that Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma found out about his suspension for the entire 2012 season while watching television. Thanks to a statement released through his attorney on Wednesday afternoon, we found out what his thoughts we… |
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Dom Cosentino, deadspin.com Rachel Bird of Kingsley, Iowa, didn't have a date for her prom on Saturday. She really wanted to go with Tim Tebow. She tried asking him to go via Twitter. She tried contacting his agent. She also tried the Jets. Nothing. |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com The addition of Dre Kirkpatrick in the first round means that the Bengals now have a glut of cornerbacks on the roster. They’ll need to pare down the group at some point and Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer points to Nate Clements as a guy who could… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Filmmaker Sean Pamphilon, who injected himself into the Saints bounty scandal by releasing, over the objection of Steve Gleason, audio from former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams that Pamphilon recorded the night before the Saints lost to th… |
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Ex-NFLer Seau found dead; cops probe suicideMay 2, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com Former NFL great Junior Seau, who played most of his career at linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, has died. He was 43. |
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The recent player suspensions won't bury the 2012 Saints. What they will do, however, is finally help the league turn the page on one of its ugliest chapters ever, Don Banks writes. |
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Junior Seau: The Lightning BoltMay 2, 2012
Mjd, yahoo.com For 13 years, there was a lightning bolt on the side of Junior Seau's helmet. As the logo for the San Diego Chargers, the bolt was there to symbolize energy, electricity, and light. The bolt decal seemed to fade when it was on Seau's helmet, though, bec… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Today’s sad news that Junior Seau has died at the age of 43 is another tragic story about the star-crossed San Diego Chargers of 1994, a Super Bowl team that has now seen eight of its players die before reaching the age of 45. Six months ago we noted th… |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Back in February, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said that the team was going to have Joe Webb work only as a quarterback this season. With offseason workouts in full swing, the plan is being put into place. Webb is only working as a quarterback and the t… |
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Bucs sign paralyzed ex-Rutgers lineman LeGrandMay 2, 2012
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Paralyzed defensive tackle Eric LeGrand has been signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. |
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Toni Monkovic, nytimes.com The Saints' Jonathan Vilma reportedly learned that he was suspended for the season by seeing it on TV. The union quickly rejected the decision. |
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With players finally being suspended in the bounty saga, we now know the full discipline against the Saints. Dwarfing Spygate, these sanctions are staggering, Peter King writes. |
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The NFL Suspended Some Of The Saints Defense For 2012, But, On The Bright Side, They Weren't Good AnywayMay 2, 2012
Jack Dickey, deadspin.com The word came down not so long ago from Roger Goodell's mountaintop: Saints middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma will sit out the whole season, and end Will Smith misses four games. Ex-Saint tackle Anthony Hargrove, now with the Packers, gets eight games, a… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com The players who have been suspended for their roles in the bounty program reportedly intend to fight, on multiple fronts. The first fight will arise via the appeal process. Actually, the first fight before the first fight could be whether the NFL has d… |
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Erik Malinowski, deadspin.com Roger Goodell handed down the suspension of four Saints today for their involvement in the bounty program that initially led to multiple suspensions among the coaching staff and front office. Most notably, linebacker Jonathan Vilma is out for the year, … |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma is suspended for the entire 2012 season, and his season-long suspension actually begins right now: He’s banished from the team’s facilities effective immediately. But he didn’t find out about that from the NFL. He fo… |
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Sam Borden, nytimes.com During a conference call, Eli Manning talks about being the host of "Saturday Night Live"--and about the the penalties given to Saints players for the team's bounty program. |
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Timothy Burke, deadspin.com On a day when we learn of the lengthy suspensions handed down to New Orleans Saints players amidst the bounty scandal, here's a palate cleanser of sportsmanship (or, as they like to call it in the soccer world, Fair Play) that took place yesterday in Du… |
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ESPN columnist claims that Robert Griffin III will struggle … because it rains in D.C. Huh?!?!?May 2, 2012
Doug Farrar, yahoo.com We didn't want to do this ... but you made us, Gregg Easterbrook. We didn't want to insert you into one of our blog posts, given as you are to the Gladwell-esque life assertion that anything in the world can be summed up and solved with a few half-baked… |
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Mario Williams can’t have #90, says Chris KelsayMay 2, 2012
Mjd, yahoo.com Big-time free agents usually get their way. If Mario Williams wanted the Bills to manufacture him a brand new shoehorn made of solid gold before every game, he probably could've gotten it. One thing he can't have though, is his preferred jersey number, … |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Tucked into the NFL’s full announcement on suspensions for four Saints players for the team’s bounty program is the launching of a new initiative aimed at making it crystal clear to every NFL player and coach that bounties — and all bonuses not incl… |
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NFL bans four players for Saints' bounty rolesMay 2, 2012
ESPN.com news services, ESPN.com The NFL suspended four players for their roles in the New Orleans Saints' bounty system, including linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the entire 2012 season. |
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Giants round up nine undrafted rookiesMay 2, 2012
Evan Silva, profootballtalk.com The Giants are one of the teams withholding disclosure of their 2012 undrafted rookie class. But the league’s official website has a list of nine Giants UDFA signings. More may be revealed at upcoming rookie minicamps. The Giants’ undrafted signings, … |
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Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com Bears General Manager Phil Emery just wrapped up his first draft in the job and he wasted almost no time signing the first of the players he picked up in the process. The Bears announced Wednesday morning that they have already agreed to terms with thei… |
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Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Giants quarterback Eli Manning will host Saturday Night Live this week. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was invited to do it this year, but he passed. Rodgers didn’t decline because he isn’t interested. “I was a given a few dates this offseaso… |
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Ravens sign Ma’ake KemoeatuMay 2, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com The Ravens are giving nose tackle Ma’ake Kemoeatu a shot at resuming his NFL career. The team announced that they have signed Kemoeatu, who broke into the NFL with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He spent four years with the team before joi… |
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Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com The relationship between Giants General Manager Jerry Reese and defensive end Osi Umenyiora may be strained, but Reese points to another player on the Giants who would be justified in wanting more money, but is handling everything the right way. Victor … |
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NBC Sports leads the way with nine Emmy winsMay 2, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com Looking back at my story list from Tuesday, there’s one fairly significant item (at least as it relates to my ongoing employment) that I forgot to mention. NBC Sports emerged from Monday’s Sports Emmys with nine trophies, six of which came from the ne… |
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Wednesday morning one-linersMay 2, 2012
Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com Signing QB Vince Young would make sense from the perspective of Bills coach Chan Gailey, who has always liked mobile quarterbacks. Here’s a look at how much the Dolphins will pay their rookies. New Patriot Jonathan Fanene on the difference between the a… |
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Robert Meachem recovering well from knee surgeryMay 2, 2012
Josh Alper, profootballtalk.com On the list of things you want to hear about your new free agent signing at wide receiver, the fact that he had knee surgery a few months ago is pretty low on the list. That’s just what the Chargers had with Robert Meachem, although it doesn’t seem li… |
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Giants, Jets and a Few Final Words on the DraftMay 2, 2012
Matt Waldman, nytimes.com The Giants scored with their receiver selections. And if you're going to gamble on future greatness, the Jets' Stephen Hill was one of those picks that fit the bill. |
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First look at Eli’s turn on SNLMay 2, 2012
Mike Florio, profootballtalk.com On Saturday night, Giants quarterback Eli Manning will follow in his brother’s footsteps once again, hosting Saturday Night Live. A series of promos featuring Eli have been posted at the NBC website. While we aren’t contractually obligated to give you… |
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Dallas Clark, O.J. Atogwe visit the ChiefsMay 2, 2012
Michael David Smith, profootballtalk.com With the draft over, the Chiefs are turning their attention back to free agency, with a couple of veterans visiting on Tuesday. The Kansas City Star reports that tight end Dallas Clark and safety O.J. Atogwe visited the Chiefs on Tuesday. Clark has draw… |
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Harbaugh and Mangini on Spying and TellingMay 2, 2012
Toni Monkovic, nytimes.com The spy scandal involving the Patriots lives on. Eric Mangini says he wishes he hadn't pointed the finger. And Ravens Coach John Harbaugh probably wishes he didn't mention the subject. |
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Which NFL Teams Got Worse This Offseason?May 2, 2012
Yesterday, we stopped lamenting the end of the NFL's acquisition season by detailing how 10 teams had sufficiently upgraded their weakest spots in the... |
