NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Raiders releasing former first-round CB Damon Arnette

The Las Vegas Raiders are cutting ties with another former first-round pick following off-field incidents.

The Raiders are releasing corner Damon Arnette, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported. General manager Mike Mayock confirmed the move Monday afternoon.

The move comes after a video of Arnette went viral over the weekend. In the video, Arnette is seen brandishing a gun and threatening to kill someone.

"Very painful decision," Mayock said, per ESPN.com. "We spent significant time, effort and resources trying to help him in all aspects of his life. ... We cannot stand for the video of Damon with a gun, threatening to take a life."

The No. 19 overall pick in 2020 out of Ohio State has been on injured reserve since Week 4 and played sparingly before the injury. His career in Vegas will end after just 13 games played and three total passes defensed over two seasons.

Mayock acknowledged there was "significant concern" regarding Arnette before the draft. "Obviously, we missed. That is 100 percent on me," he said, per ESPN.com.

Additionally, Arnette reportedly faces multiple lawsuits, including one filed in Oct. 2021 alleging Arnette of a hit-and-run on Oct. 14, 2020, that caused bodily harm to a woman. The corner was allegedly running late for a meeting at the team facility and continued to his destination, fleeing the scene after the accident.


A second lawsuit alleges Arnette had an altercation with a valet worker at the Aria Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The suit claims Arnette spat on the worker and poked him in the chest.

The release of Arnette comes after the Raiders cut former first-round receiver Henry Ruggs III following felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and reckless driving.

NFL.com

 

Was the ref sleeping when the bears OT was false starting on every play that the bears ran their last two drivers? Yes the tackle blocking Watt false started every play of the go ahead TD and the FG attempt drive. But the refs only benefited the Steelers. Go back and watch the last 3 minutes of the game.

 

Im not incinuating anything or taking sides. My post were not meant to be offensive towards Steelers nation, just a point of conversation. Im pretty sure without seeing the game, calls screwed both sides at one point or another... its just part of the humans being human.

I do appologize if i seemed biased towards the Bears over the Steelers... didnt really intend that to be the case.

 

Stuff like this is why no one takes you seriously man. Putting aside all the other bugling, there's a 7point swing down purely to the officials in a game won by 3. But you wanna talk about a couple of 5 yard false starts ha.

Laughable imbecile.

 

Don't apologise for shit. There's nothing biased about what you shared, gideon is just a sally. Everyone with a brain knows that was a new low for NFL officiating last night and thats what pisses me off the most. The result doesn't hurt the Bears at all long term, if anything its a good outcome. But officials are trashing the rep of this game in 2021 and thats bad for all of us.

 

That call was an absolute outrage, this official should never work another game again. This needs to be investigated and him kicked out for good.

That wasn't the normal incompetence, that was an official intentionally initiating contact so that he could throw a flag for the contact. At best its an abuse of power, at worst its corrupt. I never usually go in for conspiracy theories about the game being rigged/Vegas etc, But stuff like this is extremely hard to defend.

 

According to him the contact had nothing to do with the flag. He was reaching for the flag before Marsh bumped him. The spinning kick was celebration enough then standing out there for another 10 seconds staring down plus whatever he said. No way was he not saying anything. Even so, still not a good look. I’ve already said this one feels a little tainted, but I also know the Steelers have been on the other side of calls like that as well.

 

Cassius Marsh should be flagged every single play he’s on the field 15 yards for excessive being Cassius Marsh

 

Thats what he says, but if that was true then why move in Marsh's way and initiate contact like that? And lets keep this clear, Marsh didn't bump the official, the official bumped Marsh. That happened. Personally i think he was gonna flag him for the bump but then realised how far into deep water he was and bailed out. There was plenty of time to throw that flag before Marsh ever got near him, why wait so long if what he's saying is true? We'll never know for sure, but not sure why we should just accept the word of a person who would behave this way.

As for the "taunt", ive watched the replays, he actually doesn't say anything to the bench or the punter or anyone. I saw no pointing or gesticulating, no shouting or even talking, they literally flagged him for looking. Thats where we are with the taunting rule now. You can't look at people.

And down the rabbit hole we go.

 

Not a couple. Every fucking play the Bears ran on their last 2 drives was a false start not called once. It should have been like first and 60 yards to go on that TD drive to take the lead. I'm not denying the bad calls on the Bears just saying the refs decided that it was ok for your Left Tackle to false start every play down the stretch at least 10 plus plays in a row he false started and the refs didn't call even one.

 

If you go on the Steelers web site there's a press conference with TJ Watt and he said something about every play by the Bears offense the Tackles would false start. He still managed 3 sacks even with the cheating going on.

 

Do you take TJ Watt Seriously? Because he said the refs refused to call the false start, so everything even outs in the end.

 

Please just drop this argument. Does the fact that the Bears OTs were getting a little head start have anything to do with the taunting call? I think everyone can agree the refs sucked and the Steelers benefited a lot more than the Bears did.

 

Packers fined $300K, Aaron Rodgers, Allen Lazard fined $14K for violation of COVID protocols

The NFL has concluded its review into the Green Bay Packers' COVID-19 protocols implementation and fined the franchise $300,000 and quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazard $14,650 each for violations of the league and NFL Players Association protocols, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Tuesday night.

The team was also notified that future violations could be subject to more severe discipline, such as lowered or lost draft picks, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported.

ESPN first reported the news.

Rodgers and Lazard's fines are a result of attending a team-sanctioned Halloween party, Garafolo reported. As both are unvaccinated, they are prohibited from attending gatherings outside team facilities. Per the NFL/NFLPA protocol guidelines, gathering outside of the club facility in a group of more than three players is subject to a $14,650 fine.

The Packers' team fine was brought forth by the NFL's review determining the team should have penalized both players, Garafolo reported.

The review also found that there were a few instances in which Rodgers and Lazard were not wearing face coverings inside the team facility, which is a violation of protocol. However, the league found the team was otherwise compliant and there was no widespread or systematic mask-wearing violations, Garafolo reported.

"We respect the League's findings and we recognize the importance of adherence to the COVID protocols to keep our team and organization safe and healthy," Packers president Mark Murphy said in a statement to NFL Media. "We will continue to educate the team regarding the importance of the protocols and remain committed to operating within the protocols."

The NFL announced Wednesday it was conducting a review into the Packers organization's COVID-19 protocol enforcement in the aftermath of Rodgers testing positive for the virus.


Lazard was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Oct. 26 as a close contact of Davante Adams, who had a positive test for COVID-19. Lazard has since been activated, while Rodgers has not and remains in a mandatory 10-day window away from the team.

Rodgers missed the Packers' Week 9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and his status for Sunday's Week 10 game against the Seattle Seahawks remains undetermined.

NFL.com

 

Other teams are “outraged” by league’s handling of Packers, Aaron Rodgers



Jeff Pash and Mark Murphy must be pretty good friends.

That’s the conclusion some in the league are reaching after the NFL boiled multiple blatant and ongoing violations of the COVID protocol down to a single $14,650 fine for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and $300,000 for the team, a publicly-traded corporation that can simply tuck the punishment onto one of the lines in the balance sheet, without it ever really hurting any one person.


Rodgers repeatedly violated COVID protocols by not wearing a mask during press conferences in the facility; the NFL now admits that. But the league claims the Packers should have been enforcing the protocols, and the league refuses to regard multiple violations as “repeat” violations. The Packers never fined Rodgers for the violations, and it presumably won’t do it now.

As one source put it on Tuesday night, “That’s bullshit.” If, for example, someone engages in shoplifting twice a week every week for eight weeks, the person has committed 16 violations of the shoplifting laws. There should be 16 penalties.

Rodgers, however, got one penalty — for attending the team’s Halloween party. And the prior violations will go unpunished. Given that multiple teams faced multiple punishments last year (the Saints eventually lost a 2022 sixth-round draft pick), it comes off as favoritism for the Packers.

It’s also potentially an effort by the league to brush under the rug that fact that it knew or should have known that Rodgers repeatedly was violating the press-conference mask protocol and doing nothing about it. Ultimately, it became an issue only because he tested positive for COVID, and his true status came to light.

The league insists that the team has the primary obligation to enforce the COVID protocols. The COVID protocols aren’t nearly that specific; the league has the power to do it, too. As evidenced by the fact that the league, not the team, fined Rodgers for attending the Halloween party.

What if he hadn’t tested positive at all in 2021? He would have violated protocol a couple of times per week, every single week, and nothing ever would have been done about it.

Other teams don’t benefit from that kind of lenience. Thus, other teams are pissed about what has happened. And they should be.

PFT

 

If i was other unvaxed players Id be pissed too. Why even bothr if this is the punishment.

 

It's been pretty clear for years that the NFL gives the Packers favorable treatment, and it was plain to see why, over the last decade or so. They've consistently been one of the top earning teams re: merchandise and the like, and were the perfect team for the new, casual fan. Their star players were non-threatening white guys, and the league constantly pushed them in any league-related promotional material. The NFL has done everything they can for the Packers, and it's benefitted both of their bottom lines. It should come as absolutely zero surprise to anyone that Rodgers and the Packers have gotten special treatment, here, because they always have.

 

You really want to complain about the refs after that game?

How about the helmet to helmet against Fields and then the roughing the passer when he was hit in the back after a throw? Or the weak taunting call? Or the ref hip checking a player? Or the phantom illegal block when the blocker didn't even touch the defender and wasn't outside the tackle box to begin with? Or how about the Steeler lined up in the neutral zone on the game ending field goal miss? Or the really weak PI call that favored the Steelers?

Tell me which of these you want to discuss and we can talk about the false starts afterwards.