NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Ooops, sorry about that. I need to pay attention... just cant afford it.

 

No problem. I just thought it was funny.

 

What will be really interesting is if teams decide to only spend up to the official cap prior to the settlement. Then we will read that the NFLPA is suing for collusion again.

 

Nonprofits to NFL: Stop pushing fantasy sports on kids

BOSTON (AP) ? Nonprofit groups are calling on the National Football League to stop offering fantasy sports competitions to children because they're concerned the games could lead some young sports fans down the path of gambling addiction.

In letters being sent to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday, the National Council on Problem Gambling and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood complain the NFL "aggressively marketed" a fantasy sports game on "NFL Rush," its website and smartphone app for children, as well as on SIkids.com, Sports Illustrated's website for children, and through an elementary school curriculum based on the contest.

The weekly "NFL Rush Fantasy" games ran throughout the football season and were open to children ages 6 to 12. Each week, an Xbox One console and Madden NFL 2016 video game was awarded to the contest's top performer.

The two contest participants with the highest number of points at the end of the 17-week promotion also won a $5,000 check ? which the league called a "scholarship" ? plus a four-night trip to Hawaii to attend the Jan. 31 Pro Bowl game with up to two guests.

"The high value of the prizes may send a message to children that playing fantasy sports is a good way to earn money for education," wrote Keith Whyte, executive director of the Washington, D.C-based National Council on Problem Gambling. "Even worse, it may encourage children to spend excessive amounts of time trying to win these prizes, thus planting the seeds of addiction."

Josh Golin, executive director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a Boston-based group that opposes child-targeted marketing, called the league's education curriculum based around the fantasy sports contest "particularly egregious."
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Well hell, lets not have any fun.

 

Maybe someone can set up a gaming site for kids called chance your lunch money? Get them in early so they don't have a learning curve when they get older.

 

I wonder if that money not being spent would just factor somehow into the calculation to make the cap larger than it would be the following year. It isn't technically new revenue or anything.

 

Eagles release DeMeco Ryans. Saw this coming a while ago despite being thin at 4-3 LB.

His 2016 cap hit was set to be $4.5 million. The Eagles save $3.5 million by releasing him now. More to come in about an hour after Pederson's combine interview.

 

Somebody had an embarrassing moment and didnt like it...

NEW YORK (AP) ? Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul filed a lawsuit Wednesday against ESPN and reporter Adam Schefter for posting his medical records last summer.

The lawsuit, filed in Miami Dade County in Florida, alleges that Pierre-Paul's privacy was violated ? as was the state's medical records statute ? by the report after the player severely injured his right hand in a fireworks accident on July 4.

The New York Post first reported the lawsuit Wednesday night.

The lawsuit doesn't specify how much money Pierre-Paul is seeking, other than it "is an action for damages in excess of $15,000."

 

British lawmakers write to NFL about Redskins nickname

LONDON (AP) ? Two British lawmakers have written to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to complain about the nickname of the Washington Redskins ahead of the team's visit to London next season.

Ruth Smeeth and Ian Austin, who are members of the Labour Party, wrote in a letter dated Feb. 2 that the NFL "should consider changing the name of the Washington franchise or, at a minimum, send a different team to our country to represent the sport, one that does not promote a racial slur."

The NFL said it received a letter co-authored by Smeeth and Austin.

"A team's name is a club decision," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "We recognize there are strong views on both sides of this."

The NFL has been playing regular-season games in London since 2007. Washington is scheduled to play the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 30 at Wembley Stadium.

The letter from the lawmakers said that there is "deliberate insensitivity and apparent hostility to a prominent minority group" by using the Redskins name. It said the "exportation of this racial slur ... directly contravenes the values that many in Britain have worked so hard to instill."

Many Native Americans and other groups have called for the team to do away with its name. The team has maintained that it is meant to honor Native Americans, and Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he will never change the nickname.

 

Breaking - Police: Manziel's domestic violence case going to grand jury

DALLAS (AP) ? Dallas police say a they are taking their domestic violence case against Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel to a grand jury to decide whether he should be charged.

Police said Thursday that they had completed their investigation into a Jan. 30 incident in which the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner's ex-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, alleged he attacked her. Manziel has not been arrested.

Crowley has alleged that the former Texas A&M star accosted her several times at a Dallas hotel, then later struck her when they drove back to her apartment in Fort Worth.

She said she tried to escape a car Manziel was driving, but that he dragged her back into the vehicle. She says Manziel hit her so hard that she temporarily lost hearing in one ear.

 

If he serves any time maybe he can ask to be transferred to Tyrrell Prison Work Farm. Then he can play pitch and catch with Rae Carrouth (at least until 2018).

 

Guarantees 2 quarterbacks drafted in the top 7 if Colin is moved.

 

My thoughts exactly Tim. It will be really interesting if the Eagles move on from Bradford. You can seriously see them trying to work something out with Baltimore to trade up if 2 QBs are gone by then. Would have to involve their 1st, a 3rd and something else.

 

Unless he's moved to Cleveland *NO*

I would be shocked beyond belief if that happened though...I am also not convinced the Browns take a QB at #2, with an absolute certainty...most likely, but no guarantees.

 

Maybe Colin or RGIII land with the Eagles.

 

Carson Wentz climbs the board despite lesser competition

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? North Dakota State won the NCAA FCS championship in each of Carson Wentz's five seasons on the roster, the last two with him as a starter.

He's a 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback with 10-inch hands, ideal sizes in the eyes of NFL scouts.

Accuracy is one of his strengths, and mobility is not a weakness. He's affable and confident, without any hint of off-the-field trouble. His team ran an offense that translates better to the professional game than the read-option and spread schemes that have proliferated throughout the college game.

Yet there's still skepticism that Wentz, fair or not, will continue to face until he takes his first snap because his competition didn't take place in a power conference. How can teams trust that this prospect is worth such a high draft pick and not too good to be true?

Well, he gave the first answer at the Senior Bowl last month.

"It showed I can handle that game speed. Obviously there's still going to be a big jump going forward, but that was probably the big question everyone wants to know: Can he adjust? He was playing FCS ball. All these guys are FBS guys," Wentz said. "I think I went in there and proved that I could handle it."

With the draft two months away, Wentz has clearly become its hottest commodity despite his limited experience, including a broken right wrist that kept him out for seven games last season. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. called the choice the Cleveland Browns could face with the second overall pick a "flip of the coin" between Wentz and California quarterback Jared Goff. NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock compared Wentz's ceiling to Indianapolis Colts star Andrew Luck.

That reference made Wentz blush a bit during his interview with reporters at the annual scouting combine.

"Those guys have already proven themselves. We're all just college kids coming out trying to make a name for ourself," Wentz said.

Goff and Wentz, interestingly, have been training together this winter in Irvine, California.

 

I can't see a team with a true need at starting quarterback going after Colin. If he doesn't want to play for Chip, which might be the best fit for him in the league with a team that needs a starting QB, then where is he going to end up? The only team I see right now that may make that decision is the Bills but I'm not putting a high percentage on that.

 

The Baltimore Ravens have placed the Franchise Tag on Kicker Justin Tucker. It is expected to be worth around $4.5M.