NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Ravens have unofficial agreement with Trent Richardson

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) ? Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh says the team has an "unofficial agreement" with free-agent running back Trent Richardson.

Harbaugh told reporters at the NFL owners' meetings he's been exchanging texts with Richardson and expects to sign him. Richardson worked out for Baltimore last month and is working on getting in better shape.

The 25-year-old Richardson has been a disappointment since he was selected No. 3 overall in the 2012 draft out of Alabama. He was traded from Cleveland to Indianapolis just two games into his second season. Richardson was released by the Colts following the 2014 season and didn't play last year after he was cut by Oakland in training camp.

Richardson has averaged just 3.3 yards per carry and has run for 2,032 yards and 17 touchdowns in 46 career games.

Justin Forsett led the Ravens with 641 yards rushing in 2015. He played only 10 games because of injuries.

 

Chiefs star LB Houston had knee surgery in February

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Pro Bowl pass rusher Justin Houston could miss the upcoming season for the Kansas City Chiefs after having surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee that bothered him in the playoffs.

Houston hurt his knee in a game against Buffalo last November, and at the time it was diagnosed as a hyperextension. He missed the remainder of the regular season but returned wearing a brace for the playoffs, playing 44 snaps in a win over Houston, but just eight in a loss to New England.

Still feeling discomfort in the knee, Houston visited orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for an arthroscopic procedure during the first week of February. Andrews realized that the ligament was not functioning properly.

After discussing his options with the Chiefs, Houston had surgery to repair it on Feb. 16.

"As you know from past, those are six-to-12 month recoveries," Chiefs trainer Rick Burkholder said Tuesday, "so it's too early to tell where he's at right now, but he's on the road to recovery."

 

Only "agreement" I'd want with Trent Richardson would be an agreement to keep the fvkc away from my football team.

 

7 rule changes for upcoming year.

1. Permanently moves the line of scrimmage for Try kicks to the defensive team's 15-yard line, and allows the defense to return any missed Try.

2. Permits the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth.

3. Makes all chop blocks illegal. (The majority of all chop blocks were already illegal, though until Tuesday, two players aligned next to one another on the line of scrimmage were still allowed to utilize the technique.) From my understanding, this doesn't effect cut blocks.

4.Expands the horse collar rule to include when a defender grabs the jersey at the name plate or above and pulls a runner toward the ground. (This is reviewable, instant replay etc.)

5. Makes it a foul for delay of game when a team attempts to call a timeout when it is not permitted to do so.

6. Eliminates the five-yard penalty for an eligible receiver illegally touching a forward pass after being out of bounds and re-establishing himself inbounds, and makes it a loss of down.

7. Eliminates multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession.

 

New stat technology will be available to NFL teams in May

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) ? NFL teams soon will be breaking down a whole new set of stats.

The information from the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips players wore during the 2015 season will be available to teams in May. An NFL spokesman said each club will receive data for its own players.

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie is among those eager to have his staff analyze the information.

"That's going to revolutionize the sport in the long run," Lurie said Tuesday at the NFL owners' meetings. "You're going to have live biometrics measurements of players in the stadium on the field. How you deal with all the statistics that are available through scouting is extraordinary. How you integrate sports science with peak performance... That's evolving so quickly."

RFID chips ? similar to the technology used to make credit cards more secure ? are nickel-sized transmitters that wirelessly communicate location data, measure speed and how much space is between players at a given moment.

Each player wore a chip in his shoulder pads during games for the first time last season. Teams have used tracking devices on players during practices for a few years.

The signals from the RFID chips were sent to small receivers positioned around stadiums, and data was immediately available to broadcasters. They were able to use the information to tell viewers the exact location and speed of every player on the field.

Teams who figure out how to use all the information best will certainly have a competitive advantage. It can change the way front offices are structured, and statistical analysis experts may soon become integral hires.

"It's no longer about watching tape, figuring out who to draft and that kind of stuff," Lurie said. "It's extraordinarily collaborative, it's information-intensive and you may have all the right things and if a player is going to be potentially injury-prone, what are you basing it on? Are you basing it on sports science and really doing the analysis or are you basing it on some gut feeling that a guy had a few injuries in college. No, you have to play the odds a lot better.

"Information processing with all that's all available and how you interject RFID is pretty crucial. You have to take advantage of all the information."

 

Darren Sharper likely to get 15-20 years under new plea deal in rape case

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- A federal judge Tuesday formally accepted Darren Sharper's plea deal in a drug and rape case, making clear to the former NFL star that she could sentence him to 20 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo had earlier rejected a deal that could have meant a nine-year sentence. Attorneys say federal sentencing guidelines call for a sentence in the range of roughly 15 or 16 to 20 years. Prosecutors said in court Tuesday that they may recommend a lighter sentence, based on Sharper's cooperation in related cases.

Sentencing was set for June 16.

In addition to his federal guilty plea, Sharper has pleaded guilty or no-contest in state courts to charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted women in Arizona, California, and Louisiana.

Those charges involve nine victims, but Milazzo said in court earlier this month that there may be as many as 16.

Sharper has been sentenced to nine years in Arizona but still awaits formal sentencing in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and in state and federal courts in New Orleans.

Sharper, shackled and in orange prison garb, said little other than to answer basic, yes-or-no questions from Milazzo about whether he understood the implications of his plea deal. Asked if was entering the plea because he was, indeed, guilty, he replied, "Yes, ma'am."

There are two co-defendants in the Louisiana state and federal cases.

Still set for trial May 16: Brandon Licciardi, a former sheriff's deputy in the New Orleans suburb of St. Bernard Parish, and Erik Nunez.

Like Sharper, Licciardi and Nunez both face charges involving distribution of drugs with the intent to commit rape. Licciardi also is charged with witness tampering and Nunez is charged with damaging a cellphone that is considered evidence in the case.

Sharper was selected All-Pro six times and chosen for the Pro Bowl five times during a career that included stints with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. He played in two Super Bowls, one with the Packers as a rookie and one with New Orleans Saints when they won in 2010.

He ended a 14-year career in 2011. He was working as an NFL network analyst when women began telling police in several cities similar stories of blacking out while drinking with him and waking up groggy to find they had been sexually abused.

 

49ers sign guard Zane Beadles to three-year deal

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) ? The San Francisco 49ers have landed an experienced left guard who could fit right in and replace departed Alex Boone.

San Francisco signed Zane Beadles to a three-year contract Tuesday after he was released March 3 by Jacksonville in a move to create salary cap space.

Beadles is a durable offensive lineman who has started all 16 games in each of the past five seasons ? the last two with Jacksonville after he spent his first four seasons with Denver and started all but two games his rookie year.
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I wonder who the QB will be that he blocks for...

 

Saints coach Sean Payton agrees to 5-year contract

Payton had two years remaining on his current deal at about $8 million per season. He hasn't signed the new contract yet, but had it in his briefcase at the NFC coaches' breakfast Wednesday morning during the NFL owners' meetings.

Payton is 87-57 in nine seasons in New Orleans. He has led the Saints to five playoff appearances and one Super Bowl title. They've finished 7-9 the past two years.

Payton, who missed the 2012 season while suspended for the team's bounties program, is tied with Mike McCarthy for third-longest tenured coach in the league behind Bill Belichick and Marvin Lewis.

 

NFL approves ejection proposal for 1-year trial

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) ? NFL owners have approved as a one-year trial ejecting a player who draws two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties from specific categories.

Those categories include throwing a punch at or kicking an opponent; taunting; and using abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures.

"Sportsmanship is important to the membership," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday as the owners' meetings concluded. "We all have standards. They have two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties before they're ejected. The message from the membership, our clubs and the coaches is they're going to be held to those high standards."

Also approved Wednesday as a one-year trial was placing the ball at the 25-yard line after touchbacks on kickoffs instead of at the 20. The league is seeking ways to reduce injuries on kickoff returns, which it says statistically are the most dangerous plays in the game.

Most proposals on expanding video replay in officiating were dismissed. A suggestion by Baltimore that would simplify the language in replay rules to make clearer what is reviewable has been tabled.

Expanding the use of video on sideline tablets, which many expected to pass easily, also was tabled until the May meetings in Charlotte.

"There was really good discussion from the coaches and some concerns on the technology side and the ramifications of using video," said Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee. "We will use the Microsoft Surface (tablets) with photos on the sideline and will continue to discuss this."

In other changes, teams no longer will be required to designate the one player allowed to return from injured reserve as soon as he is placed on that list. Instead, they will have until the day before the player returns to practice during the season to designate him. That player must have sat out at least six weeks in the regular season.

Goodell said reports of substantial progress in talks with the players' union about reducing his role in player discipline were inaccurate.

"We are not close to an agreement by any stretch of the imagination on making changes on that," he said. "But we are open to it and keeping an open dialogue with the union."

 

Goodell: Patriots won't get 'Deflategate' draft picks back

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) ? Roger Goodell will not be returning the draft picks stripped from the New England Patriots for the use of deflated footballs in the 2014 AFC championship game.

The NFL commissioner said Wednesday at the owners' meetings that he responded to a letter from Patriots owner Robert Kraft seeking reinstatement of the first-round selection in next month's draft and a fourth-rounder in 2017. Goodell told Kraft he "considered his views and didn't think there was any reason in there to alter the discipline. There will be no changes."

New England also was fined $1 million and quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for four games for his role in what has been dubbed "Deflategate." That suspension was overturned in court and the NFL has appealed.

Goodell says of reports of a pending settlement with Brady, "I am not aware of that."

 

So only the dumbest of the dumb get ejected if it involves language, gestures, kicking and punching. Ridiculous dirty hit or facemasks or whatever don't count. If you did any of the ejectable offenses one it would take a real act of brainlessness to do one of the listed ones again.

 

This is T.J. Ward' opinion on the ruling...

 

I understand kicking, throwing punches, but fowl or abusive language is ridiculous.

"and using abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures." Seems to leave a lot to the discretion of the officials who havnt been all that great as it is.

 

Eagles sign wide receiver Rueben Randle to 1-year deal

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? The Philadelphia Eagles signed former New York Giants wide receiver Rueben Randle to a one-year contract Wednesday.

Randle had 57 catches for 797 yards and a career-best eight touchdowns last season. He had 188 receptions for 2,644 yards and 20 TDs in four seasons in New York.

Randle had career highs in receptions (71) and yards receiving (938) in 2014. He also has averaged 7.8 yards on 44 punt returns.

Randle joins a receiving group that includes Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Josh Huff and recently signed Chris Givens.

 

Nose tackle Ian Williams signs one-year deal with 49ers

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) ? Free agent nose tackle Ian Williams signed a one-year contract Wednesday with the San Francisco 49ers that could pay him up to $6 million.

On March 9, Williams reached agreement on a five-year deal that was restructured once his doctors in Miami shared findings about an undisclosed injury with the 49ers medical staff. His status is unclear heading into the team's first offseason program under new coach Chip Kelly.

 

Indianapolis firms up secondary by adding Patrick Robinson

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Free-agent cornerback Patrick Robinson relied on a gut feeling to find his next NFL team.

After having one good lunch conversation with Colts coach Chuck Pagano in Florida, Robinson landed in Indianapolis late Tuesday, spent most of Wednesday at the Colts' complex and then quickly agreed to terms with a team that could quench his thirst for winning.

Contract details were not immediately available.

 

From NBC sports an article on the new rule for ejections and what impact it would have had last season

 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on...hake-up-the-entire-draft-with-a-bold-qb-trade

could the eagles trade the 8th pick to cleveland for carson wentz ?

 

Anyone think that the new touchback rule to the 25 yd line will backfire? Some are predicting fewer kicks out of the end zone and more shorter higher kicks between the 1 and 10 causing returners to make a run from there. Most certainly would create situations for concussions they;re trying to prevent.

 

I think they ought to eliminate the kickoff altogether, (put the ball on the 20). Or, they should allow the game to be played as it has for a century+. The kick return can be one of the most exciting plays in a game.

Otherwise, I agree that this rule change could result in more return tries. And, that is in direct conflict with the objective for the change.