Colts cornerback Chris Lammons has been suspended three games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Lammons was suspended at the same time as Saints running back Alvin Kamara. Both Lammons and Kamara were arrested for assaulting a man in Las Vegas in 2022, just before the Pro Bowl. Lammons will stay with the Colts through training camp and the preseason and then be away from the team for the first three weeks of the regular season. He can return to the Colts on Monday, September 25, after the Colts’ Week Three game against the Ravens. Lammons signed with the Colts last week after previously spending time with the Bengals, Chiefs, Dolphins, Saints and Falcons. He has played in 42 games in his NFL career, with no starts, and he is not a lock to make the Colts’ regular-season roster.
Da BEARS The Big Dog is a Bear. The Chicago Bears are finalizing a deal with veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis, NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero reported Friday, per sources informed of the deal. The team later announced Lewis has agreed to a one-year contract. Lewis is entering his 18th season, which will break a tie with Jason Witten and Tony Gonzalez for the most ever played by a tight end. The 2006 first-round pick played 12 seasons in Jacksonville before spending the past five years in Green Bay. Now he flips to rival Chicago for the 2023 campaign. Lewis reunites with Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who was on Green Bay's coaching staff for three years (2019-2021) before joining Chicago. The 39-year-old is the latest former Packer to join Getsy's offense in Chicago. The Bears inked fellow TE Robert Tonyan earlier this offseason and have offensive lineman Lucas Patrick and receiver Equanimeous St. Brown on the roster. Despite pushing 40, Lewis remains among the best blocking tight ends in the NFL, a skillset that has allowed him to continue his career well past most at his position. The Big Dog's blocking ability gives the Bears a diverse tight end room with Tonyan and Cole Kmet, who signed an extension this offseason, as the pass catchers. NFL.com
Rams OC Mike LaFleur: Cooper Kupp day to day with hamstring injury, will 'be back in the right time' Cooper Kupp left Tuesday's practice with a hamstring injury, but Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur isn't fretting about the star receiver's status. LaFleur noted Thursday that the medical staff will determine when Kupp can return to practice, but the OC doesn't expect an elongated absence. "Yeah, I don't know the total medical stuff with it," LaFleur said Thursday, via the team's official transcript. "He's day to day. He'll be back in the right time and stuff like that. So he is just going through the rehab process, but he's day to day. He'll be alright." It's good news for Kupp, who missed the final eight games last season due to an ankle injury. Given how hamstring issues can linger if not adequately healed before returning, we don't expect the Rams to push the wideout back onto the practice field too soon. But LaFleur's update offers optimism that Kupp will return before the season starts. "That's a question for the medical people," LaFleur said when asked how cautious the club would be with Kupp. "I try to stay in my lane with that stuff when they tell us, 'Hey, he's ready, full go.' Coop knows his body. He's a professional. The guys working with him are professionals. They'll get it right when the time is right." With more than a month before the Rams kick off the 2023 campaign against the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 10, getting Kupp back on the field will be a boon for the revamped L.A. squad. NFL.com
The Cowboys have agreed on a contract extension with another member of their secondary. According to multiple reports, safety Malik Hooker has agreed to a three-year extension with the team. The contract is worth $24 million with $16.5 million guaranteed and an $8 million signing bonus.
Colts sign Kenyan Drake The Colts don’t have Jonathan Taylor or Zack Moss on the field right now, so they added another running back to the roster on Friday. Kenyan Drake’s agents announced that their client has signed with the AFC South team. The Colts also signed undrafted rookie Toriano Clinton this week. Drake ran 109 times for 482 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games for the Ravens last season. He’s also played for the Raiders, Cardinals, and Dolphins since entering the league as a 2016 third-round pick in Miami. Taylor is on the PUP list and has asked the team to trade him because there has not been progress toward a new contract. Moss broke his arm in practice this week, so Drake, Clinton, Evan Hull, Jake Funk, and Deon Jackson are the current backs in Indy. NBC
Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu has been suspended for six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, the league announced on Friday afternoon. Omenihu was arrested in January on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence. He was a member of the 49ers at the time. As a free agent, Omenihu signed a two-year deal with the Chiefs in March. A Texans fifth-round pick in 2019, Omenihu was traded to the 49ers midway through the 2021 season. Last year, he played 54 percent of San Francisco’s defensive snaps. He recorded 4.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, and 16 quarterback hits in the regular season. He added 2.0 sacks in three postseason games. Omenihu is eligible to participate in the rest of Kansas City’s preseason practices and games before his suspension begins. _______ _________________ Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith said that wide receiver Dee Eskridge is set to do some good things for the team in 2023, but none of them will come in the first six games of the season. The NFL announced that Eskridge has been suspended for the first six games of the Seahawks season under the Personal Conduct Policy. The reason for the disciplinary measure is not publicly known. “We are aware of the situation involving Dee Eskridge and have followed league and law enforcement protocol,” the Seahawks said in a statement. Eskridge was a second-round pick in 2021 and he has 17 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in 20 career games. NBC _______ ________________ Whole lotta suspensions activity today. Get you suspenders on !!!!!!!
Bengals, Logan Wilson agree to four-year contract extension Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson will remain a part of the defense in Cincinnati for years to come. The Bengals and Wilson agreed to a four-year extension worth “up to” $37.25 million, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The 27-year-old Wilson was a third-round pick of the Bengals in the 2020 NFL draft and was heading into the fourth and final year on his rookie contract. Wilson started 15 games last season and the Bengals see him as one of the key players they want to be part of their nucleus for years to come, although they’ll likely have more expensive contracts coming for Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. NBC
Patriots give Matthew Judon a pay raise Patriots pass rusher Matthew Judon has mostly stayed to the side while his teammates practiced during training camp, amid talk that he was unhappy with his contract. Now the Patriots have made Judon happy. New England has given Judon a pay raise, guaranteeing him $14 million this season with the chance to make up to $18 million if he hits all his incentives, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Under his old contract, Judon could make at most $12.5 million this season, of which only $2 million was guaranteed. No years were added to Judon’s contract, so this is just a straight pay raise and not an extension. Judon is heading into his third season with the Patriots and is coming off a good year in which he had a career-high 15.5 sacks. It’s not surprising that Judon thought his good year was worthy of more money, and now the Patriots have shown that they agree. NBC
Yannick Ngakoue’s moved around a lot over the last few seasons and his newest spot is on the edge of the Bears defense. Ngakoue signed a one-year deal with the Bears this week and said at a press conference that he feels it will be an “easy transition” to his sixth team in the last five seasons. He also shared why he thinks this stop might have been one he’s always been destined to make. “I feel like it was meant for me to be here,” Ngakoue said, via the team’s website. “I actually have a bear tatted on my hand. I feel like that was a sign to me that I was always meant to be a Chicago Bear. I just wanted to go somewhere I feel like I fit in, and I feel like I fit in here. t’s a great culture, great history. It’s a great place to play football.” Ngakoue’s continued movement around the league hasn’t been because he’s been unproductive as an edge rusher. He has recorded at least eight sacks in each of his seven NFL seasons and the Bears will be hoping he can keep that streak alive in 2023.
New Personal Conduct Policy expands reporting obligation for players The recent changes to the Personal Conduct Policy don’t arise completely from the NFL’s misadventures in the Deshaun Watson case. One change arises in part from receiver Antonio Brown’s short-lived stint with the Patriots in 2019. After Brown finagled his release from the Raiders, the Patriots signed him. Then, after only one game, Brown was sued for sexual assault and rape. It later came to light that Brown knew of the threatened litigation before signing with the Patriots, but that he did not disclose it to them. The Personal Conduct Policy now imposes an obligation on all players to disclose potential violations to teams before signing contracts with them. “In addition, active and prospective players have an obligation to promptly disclose any such incidents to their club or the league office before signing a contract with a club,” the revised policy states. The Patriots gave Brown a $9 million signing bonus. He was cut after only 11 days, after the lawsuit led to additional reporting, including allegations he attempted to intimidate an alleged victim. The Patriots then declined to pay the first installment of the signing bonus. The ensuing grievance filed by Brown against the Patriots was later settled. Which implies that the Patriots paid something. Per a league source, the revisions did indeed result from the Brown case “and a few others.” The new language of the Personal Conduct Policy will be aimed at ensuring, in the future, any failure to disclose a potential Personal Conduct Policy violation before the signing of a contract would become a conclusive defense to owing the player a dime, if he’s cut after the truth comes to light. PFT ___________ ___________________ Seems like a no-brainer, but the question I have is, what is the Personal Conduct Policy exactly and do the jerks who violate them even know?
The Steelers got an important piece of their defense back on the practice field Saturday. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick spent a week away from the team because of a personal matter, but he returned to camp and took part in practice on a limited basis. He thanked head coach Mike Tomlin for telling him “go be there for your family” and that he was happy to be back with his teammates at training camp. “It’s good to get back to it,” Fitzpatrick said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Even if it’s only a few days, you definitely realize how much you love the game, how much you care about the game, but obviously you want to be there for family and for your people. It’s good to be back.” Tomlin said he expects Fitzpatrick to be back to “full capacity” in a short period of time and now the team will wait for safety Damontae Kazee to make his return from an ankle injury. NBC