NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Rob Ninkovich expected to announce retirement

Rob Ninkovich is going out on a high note.

The Super Bowl champion is expected to announce his retirement today after 11 seasons, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports. Ninkovich has been discussing his possible retirement with head coach Bill Belichick for some time.

Ninkovich, 33, signed with the New England Patriots as a rather anonymous figure in 2009 after stints with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins. Since then, he's been in the thick of it.

Ninkovich never made a Pro Bowl, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more consistent, reliable player during his run in New England.

For his career, Ninkovich earned 460 tackles, 46 sacks, and 88 QB Hits in 131 games (101 starts). Since 2010, Ninkovich is one of two players in NFL with 400-plus tackles and 40-plus sacks, per NFL Research. Ninkovich: 420 tackles, 45.0 sacks; Calais Campbell: 425 tackles, 49.5 sacks.

Ninkovich retires with the fifth-most sacks in Patriots history, behind only Andre Tippett (100), Willie McGinest (78), Chris Slade (51), and Mike Vrabel (48).

In 2016, Ninkovich had 31 tackles, earned four sacks -- which was tied for third most on the Patriots -- and five QB hits in 12 games. He also walked away with the second Lombardi Trophy of his career.

 

Damn good career.

 

Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes signs $70 million extension

The Minnesota Vikings continue to lock down their home-grown talent.

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday morning the Vikings agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension worth $70 million for corner Xavier Rhodes. Rapoport adds the deal includes $41 million in guarantees along with a $12 million signing bonus.

The team later confirmed the signing.

The 2013 first-round pick entered the season set to earn $8.026 million in the final year of his rookie contract.

 

Chargers WR Mike Williams expected to miss camp

Mike Williams won't see the field during training camp.

The Los Angeles Chargers announced Sunday the rookie receiver is not expected to practice during training camp after being placed on the active/physically unable to perform list. Williams met team doctors on Saturday.

Williams has yet to catch a single pass from quarterback Philip Rivers during workouts since being selected No. 7 overall in the draft.

Williams has progressed after dealing with a herniated disc suffered earlier this offseason with GM Tom Telesco saying on Thursday that Williams was "responding well."

 

Ravens sign veteran tight end Larry Donnell

As injuries pile up in Baltimore, the Ravens added tight end depth.

The team announced Sunday it signed Larry Donnell. Baltimore waived receiver Tim Patrick in a corresponding move.

The Ravens' tight end position has been a mess all offseason. Baltimore lost tight end Dennis Pitta to another hip injury earlier this summer. Crockett Gillmore is reportedly dealing with a potentially serious knee injury. Darren Waller is suspended for at least a year. Benjamin Watson and Maxx Williams are both coming off injuries.

Donnell spent the past four seasons with the New York Giants, compiling 110 receptions for 969 yards and nine touchdowns. Donnell is an intriguing athlete who has dealt with neck and concussion issues throughout his career.

 

Steelers CB Senquez Golson was carted off the field with a foot injury at training camp Sunday.

Golson has missed each of his first two seasons due to shoulder and Lisfranc injuries. The Steelers were hoping he would finally compete for a role.

 

Browns FS Ed Reynolds will miss "significant time" with a knee injury.

He went down at Sunday's training camp practice. Reynolds made seven starts last year and was in contention for the Browns' starting free safety job.

 

Eric Ebron hurt hamstring on Sunday

Lions tight end Eric Ebron missed a big chunk of time last summer with an ankle injury and his 2017 training camp got off on the wrong foot as well.

The Lions held their first practice of the summer on Sunday and Ebron wasn’t able to make it through the entire session before he injured his hamstring. Ebron did no team drills as a result and coach Jim Caldwell gave no indication about when Ebron might be able to return to action.

“He got a little bit of a tweak but we’ll see, see how bad it is,” Caldwell said, via the Detroit Free Press.

 

Brandon Albert announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday, John Oehser of Jaguars.com reports.

Albert's decision to hang up his cleats comes as a surprise, as the 32-year-old was just acquired from the Dolphins this spring. The two-time Pro Bowler was on the field for the Jaguars' opening days of training camp and was expected to start at left tackle this season, but his sudden retirement will force Jacksonville to look elsewhere to protect the blindside. Rookie second-rounder Cam Robinson seems the most likely candidate to fill Albert's absence, but his promotion to that role now comes a bit earlier than expected.

 

And the likelihood of a Blake Bortles exodus probably just moved up a few percentage points.

 

From what I heard the Jags were only going to keep Albert for this one season until Robinson would be ready without just being thrown into the fire. In the end if Robinson does well it could be better to just move on now. Albert probably knew this was his last year of relevance and just couldn't get himself motivated for another season instead of just getting on with his life. As for how this will effect Bortles, it probably does move the percentages up a bit to them moving on but the team should be much better running the ball this year to help him. Albert leaving probably improves the run as well, but likely hurts the pass protection short term.

 

Hopefully by trade and not on a cart during a game...

 

although i am not a Packer fan, i am going golfing in Appleton, Wi in Sept and just got endzone seats for Lambeau Field for a Thursday night game vs the Bears! Never been there before! I'm pumped! It's one of the bucket lists of sports stadiums with Fenway, Wrigley, the old Yankee Stadium etc.

 

Congrats, Cat... that's a great game to see. One of the best rivalry's ever.

 

^^yeah Will all the guys I'm going with are Bears fans. haha. These are my college buddies from Illinois. I actually don't even care about the golfing. I really wanna see Lambeau Field !

 

My in-laws take each grand kid on a vacation of their choice when they turn 13..one went to Cali, my youngest daughter swam with dolphins in Florida and went to a Florida Gators vs. Alabama softball double header...

My son, out of all choices, chose to go to Green Bay WI, he is a huge Packers fan. They got him a private tour of the stadium, in which he got to go in the visitors locker room and the press box. He was in awe!

We hope to get him to a pre-season game at the very least in the near future, but both were on Thursday night this year.

We are taking him to the Browns v. Packers in Cleveland this year...his first Browns game as well!

Enjoy the game!

 

thanks dawg!!! can I be a grand kid of your family? those trips sound freaking awesome. the tour sounds great too. im a Philly native and Eagles fan, but as a sports fan, seeing Lambeau is all i care about. I've been to Fenway, the original Yankee stadium, Wrigley Field, ND stadium and even the famed Joe Louis Arena. Seeing Lambeau Field is another bucket list moment for me.

 

Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi is being evaluated for a concussion after making an early exit from Monday's practice session, coach Adam Gase said.

More details when available...

 

No decision on Ezekiel Elliott expected this week

A panel of independent advisers are reviewing the Ezekiel Elliott case and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is waiting for their work to be complete before making a decision on potential discipline, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday, per a source informed of the process.

The four independent advisers, which Goodell is allowed to consult under the terms of the NFL's personal conduct policy, were present when Elliott met with league officials in New York earlier this month, Pelissero added.

"The personal conduct policy has a clause in it that allows Commissioner Roger Goodell or whoever the disciplinary officer is to consult expert and independent advisers as part of the disciplinary process," Pelissero told Andrew Siciliano on NFL Network's Inside Training Camp Live on Monday. "What I was told today is that there was a panel of four who were in on the hearing, the meeting rather, with Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, which occurred in the past few weeks."

The personal conduct policy specifically states that "to assist in evaluating a potential violation, expert and independent advisors may be consulted by the disciplinary officer, the Commissioner, and others as needed. Such advisors may include former players and others with appropriate backgrounds and experience in law enforcement, academia, judicial and public service, mental health, and persons with other specialized subject matter expertise. Any experts or advisors consulted in this respect may provide advice and counsel or testimony as appropriate, but will not make any disciplinary determinations."

Pelissero stressed there is no firm timeline for a potential disciplinary decision by Goodell other than it's expected to come before the start of the regular season.

"So where we stand is Commissioner Goodell is waiting for the opinions of those expert advisers to be done, for them to complete their work, let the NFL know what they think. Until that work is done, until they make it known to the NFL what they believe should be done in this case, there will be no decision. Nothing is anticipated in terms of a decision on Zeke Elliott this week, still anticipated, Andrew, before the season, which of course is something the Dallas Cowboys are hoping will happen."

 

Report: NFL formally offers to study marijuana as pain management option with NFLPA


It’s been clear for some time that the NFLPA believes in the potential of marijuana as a therapeutic tool for players’ recovery. The NFL has been less open to the idea with commissioner Roger Goodell calling it “addictive” and “unhealthy” as recently as April.

However, the NFL appears ready to at least explore the possibility of marijuana use as a medical tool with the help of the NFL Players Association.

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the NFL sent a letter to the NFLPA offering to work jointly to study the possibility of marijuana use as a pain management tool.

“We look forward to working with the Players Association on all issues involving the health and safety of our players,” said Joe Lockhart, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications.

The NFLPA has been looking into the feasibility of its use already, believing it could be a safer option than opiates to combat the physical pounding players take on a weekly basis. They have yet to respond to the NFL’s request for possible cooperation at this point.

Both Jerry and Stephen Jones of the Dallas Cowboys said they wanted the NFL to begin re-examining its stance on marijuana use earlier this year. That process now appears to be taking hold, at least in an exploratory fashion.

Ultimately, the decision on how to proceed as a league would be the result of a collective bargaining process with the players’ union. At least both sides appear open to exploring the feasibility of marijuana use and the idea of a change in policy on the topic moving forward. (NFL.com)
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The lunatics are on the grass... going to have a League full of Pot-heads.