NFL - NEWS & NOTES

...and now the Jags lose rookie DE 7th rd pick Jonathan Woodard to an Achillies for the year. Underwent surgery today. Might not be the impact of Ramsey (if he misses any time) but still...damn!

 

NFC East News - top 3 good and bad things per team...

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...iew-3-good-things-3-bad-things-for-each-team/

interesting read...

 

Except the Eagles did not get a 3rd for Murray, they swapped 4th rounders and then used it in the Wentz trade.

 

faulty CBS reporting as usual...

 

The fault is usually reading CBS reporting in the first place. Fixt.

 

Saints add veteran receiver Vincent Brown​

METAIRIE, La. (AP) ? The agent for NFL veteran Vincent Brown says the receiver has signed with the New Orleans Saints.

Ken Sarnoff confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday that his client had signed with the Saints. Brown had participated in the Saints' rookie camp earlier this month on a try out basis.

The 5-foot-11 Brown has played in parts of four NFL seasons since 2011, when he was drafted by the San Diego Chargers out of San Diego State.

His best season was 2013, when he caught 41 passes for 472 yards and a touchdown.

The 27-year-old Brown had 12 receptions in seven games with the Oakland Raiders in 2014. Last season, he returned to play in one game for the Chargers, catching one pass for 22 yards.

 

Brian Hartline released by Cleveland Browns​

After selecting four receivers in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns cut ties with a veteran.

The Browns released wideout Brian Hartline on Monday, the team announced.

The move shouldn't be a surprise. The 29-year-old receiver struggled to gain separation the past several seasons and was a below-replacement-level wideout on one of the shallowest pass-catching groups in the NFL. Hartline compiled 523 yards on 46 receptions, with two touchdowns in 12 games last season, his only year in Cleveland.

Hartline could latch on with a team searching for a veteran No. 3 or 4 receiver to round out a depth chart.

Cutting Hartline creates a clear pathway for the bevy of rookie pass-catchers to see more time as the Browns completely overhaul their downtrodden roster.

First-round pick Corey Coleman is in line to be the team's leading receiver, with Andrew Hawkins the remaining veteran. Draft picks Ricardo Louis (fourth round), Jordan Payton (fifth round) and Rashard Higgins (fifth round) should battle for playing time. As he has been his entire pro career, converted quarterback Terrelle Pryor remains the wild card of the group.

Shedding Hartline was the most logical move for the rebuilding Browns. Cutting bait early in the offseason will allow more reps for the young wideouts throughout the summer. It also cements Coleman's place atop the depth chart (and in fantasy football drafts). (NFL.com)

 

Some Fitzpatrick stuff...​

As the messy contract stalemate has played out between the Jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick this offseason, we've heard next to nothing from the man at the center of the storm.

On Monday, Fitzpatrick resurfaced at a charity golf outing hosted by former Jets teammate Willie Colon. Fitzpatrick told SiriusXM NFL Radio that he couldn't put a percentage on his chances of returning to the Jets, but made it clear he fully intends on continuing his career coming off his best season.

"I'm playing," Fitzpatrick said, via ESPN.com. "I'm playing football next year."

Is Fitzpatrick surprised that he remains unsigned?

"It's just been a process. I think the good thing about it is a lot of it has happened, discussions and everything, behind closed doors," he said. "We'll keep it that way, and just try to get something worked out. I think both sides have done a good job at not necessarily airing grievances to the public."

Fitzpatrick set a Jets single-season record for touchdowns in 2015 and guided New York to a surprise 10-win season. The veteran journeyman hoped that success would parlay itself into a big payday, but the Jets have yet to budge off their initial contract offer, widely believed to be in the $8- to $10-million annual range.

Fitzpatrick told SiriusXM that you can drive yourself crazy looking at other quarterback contracts around the league, but clearly the quarterback and his representation are using the QB landscape as a sticking point in their negotiations. In a league where Kirk Cousins will make $20 million next season, you can perhaps understand why Fitzpatrick has dug in his heels.

"I had a lot of fun playing last year. I want to continue to play," he said. "I'd love to continue to play with the guys that I played with last year. In terms of the dollars and cents, that's not really something I'd like discussing right now. There's a negotiation going on, and we'll keep it behind closed doors.

On the surface, Fitzpatrick doesn't sound angry or bitter. That's a good sign, seeing as a return to the Jets remains the most sensible option for both sides. (NFL.com)

 

Fitzpatrick has come out and said he expects to sign and return with to the Jets according to CBS.......

 

If he wants a ring for the league minimum he can back up Ben!

 

Jaguars' Ramsey has surgery, should return for training camp​

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) ? The Jacksonville Jaguars will gladly take the latest injury update regarding rookie cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Ramsey, the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft, had surgery Tuesday to repair torn meniscus in his right knee. But he's expected to return in time for training camp, a welcome relief for a franchise that already is dealing with a rash of injuries.

"That's great news," coach Gus Bradley said. "That's what we had hoped for. We knew all the scenarios."

Ramsey hurt his knee last week, becoming the team's second rookie to go down in voluntary, offseason workouts. Seventh-round draft pick Jonathan Woodard tore his right Achilles tendon the previous week and had season-ending surgery.

Starting right tackle Jermey Parnell also will miss time after breaking a bone in his left hand during practice Monday. He was placed in a cast. And backup center Luke Bowanko tore the labrum in his right hip and will have a scope to repair the damage. He will be placed on the team's physically unable to perform list.

Ramsey, meanwhile, got a second opinion Monday from renowned specialist Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola and opted for surgery. Ramsey injured the same knee in high school and had surgery to repair cartilage.

"It sounds like come training cap he should be ready to go, full go," Bradley said. "I'm grateful that it turned out the way it is. ... I think we all appreciate the news that we got."

 

Buffalo Bills sign 2nd-round pick, linebacker Reggie Ragland​

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) ? The Buffalo Bills have signed their second-round draft pick, linebacker Reggie Ragland.

The Bills traded up eight spots in the draft to select the Alabama prospect and 2015 SEC defensive player of the year with the 41st pick. Ragland was two-year starter and was a unanimous All-American, leading the Crimson Tide with 102 tackles last year, including 60 solo.

At 6-foot-1 and 247 pounds, he's a hard-hitting player who is being counted upon to win a starting job as part of coach Rex Ryan's revamped defense this season.

The signing was announced Tuesday.

The Bills have now signed five of their seven draft picks, with the exception of first-round selection Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson and quarterback Cardale Jones, a fourth-round pick out of Ohio State.

 

5 reasons the Dallas Cowboys will win the NFC East in 2016​

I just thought this was interesting...

From; FOX Sports...

After finishing 12-4 in 2014 and coming within a Dez Bryant catch of the NFC Championship game, the Dallas Cowboys did a complete 180-degree turn in 2015. They ended the year 4-12 in what was one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Dallas was 31st in points per game and 29th in point differential.

The main reason for that? Injuries to Bryant, Tony Romo and Orlando Scandrick. No one in their right mind predicted the Cowboys to go 4-12 last season. Why? Because all three of those stars were expected to be healthy, just as they will be this season.

As a result, the will Cowboys go from worst to first in the NFC East and become Super Bowl contenders.

1. The return of Romo, Bryant and Scandrick

2. Ezekiel Elliott

3. The rest of the NFC East is untrustworthy

4. The offensive line

5. The defense will be better than expected

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...&_rid=362153.12303.110969&cmpid=emc:fscom:nfl

 

It's a major bummer that Shaq got hurt, but the Bills never expected him to be available at #19. The Bills were expecting to take Reggie in the first. I hope he's half as successful as their last highly touted Bama LB (Cornellius Bennett) then he'll be a star.

Good to have him signed.

 

Steelers RB Bell believes Bengals targeted him​

PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Le'Veon Bell considers the first injury of his NFL career ? a sprained foot in a preseason game three years ago ? a freak accident.

The last two? Not so much.

The Pittsburgh Steelers running back took the field with his teammates Tuesday for the first time since tearing the MCL in his right knee last November against Cincinnati. Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict twisted Bell awkwardly as the two tumbled out of bounds just a few yards away from where Bell's 2014 season ended after taking a shot to the same knee from Cincinnati's Reggie Nelson.

Burfict celebrated openly as Bell writhed in pain, a memory that lingers even after Burfict reached out on social media in March to express support as Bell worked his way through rehab.

"Obviously it looked like they were happy about it," Bell said. "I'll take the liberty of just thinking everybody plays just football to love the game. But people aren't out here playing like that. People are playing to take people out. Obviously I know that now."

Bell didn't single out Burfict specifically, calling the play symptomatic of life in the AFC North.

"I feel like there's a lot of teams that do that, try to take me out of the game," Bell said. "I don't think it was just him. I feel like the whole team was trying to twist my ankle and do dirty stuff between the piles."

Burfict was not penalized for the tackle, which rendered Bell a bystander for Pittsburgh's run to the playoffs. That run ended with a loss to Denver in the divisional round, a game in which Fitzgerald Toussaint served as the primary ball carrier with both Bell and backup DeAngelo Williams sidelined.

It's a scenario the 24-year-old Bell wants to avoid in 2016. While he is one of the league's most versatile and dynamic backs when healthy, he's missed 15 games (including playoffs) in three seasons. He understands concerns about being injury prone will linger, though he attributed his problems to a couple of "nasty tackles" more than anything.

"I feel like my luck probably, hopefully, should change this year and I'll be on the field, nothing freaky," Bell said. "Just take care of my body, do the little things right, and if I do that I'll be OK."

 

Mark Sanchez a surprise participant in Broncos OTAs​

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) ? Mark Sanchez wasn't about to let a weight room mishap keep him from running the Denver Broncos' offense when the Super Bowl champs began OTAs.

Sanchez donned a black wrap on his surgically repaired left thumb and got in plenty of work Tuesday, defying the odds and enjoying some cachet among his teammates.

"That's what you like to see in a competitor," cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said.

Sanchez tore a thumb ligament on his non-throwing hand on May 13 and underwent surgery 48 hours later. He was originally expected to miss the start of organized team activities this week, which might have stalled his quest to win the starting job ahead of first-round draft pick Paxton Lynch and second-year pro Trevor Siemian.

Instead, he led the way during individual and 7-on-7 drills before giving way to Lynch and Siemian during the team periods.

"Anytime you're not in there full go, you're just itching to get back into the swing of things," Sanchez said. "But this was better than nothing and we'll just take it smart, slow and steady."

Coach Gary Kubiak said it was obviously important for Sanchez to lead the offense during Denver's first practice since the Broncos hoisted the Lombardi Trophy back on Feb. 7.

"Oh, I thought it was huge," said Sanchez, who termed his injury a "minor setback" and "no big deal" and soon he'll look back on it and "it will be nothing."

This was the first real opportunity for Sanchez to face the league's top defense, the one that throttled Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers in the Super Bowl.

 

Patriots joins 'Deflategate' battle in court for first time​

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) ? The New England Patriots joined the latest "Deflategate" appeal to support Tom Brady on Wednesday, taking sides with their star quarterback in court for the first time in his fight against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

In an eight-page friend of the court brief filed with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals , the Patriots said they "stand to lose their All-Pro quarterback for 25 percent of the upcoming regular season based on a severely flawed process." They also raised the stakes in an effort to convince the entire circuit to overrule the 2-1 decision that reinstated Brady's four-game suspension last month.

"The impact of the majority opinion is not limited to professional football," the brief said. "It threatens to undermine vital principles governing arbitration of collective bargaining agreements throughout the national economy."

The Patriots have never wavered in their defense of Brady as he fights the penalty for being "at least generally aware" of an illegal scheme to deflate footballs. But having failed to earn his freedom with a public relations blitz or through backroom dealings within the league office, the team finally joined the court case that threatens to stretch into its third NFL season.

Though not surprising from a football perspective ? after all, Brady did lead New England to four Super Bowl titles ? the decision by Patriots owner Robert Kraft to take sides against Goodell is a further step toward fracturing his once-solid relationship with the commissioner.

Other owners have fought the league in court ? most famously the Raiders' Al Davis ? but Kraft had been one of the most reliably loyal soldiers in the commissioner's camp. The Patriots have also maintained a website designed to point out the flaws in the league's case against Brady.

The NFL declined a request for comment in response to the filing.

Brady was suspended last May four games for what Goodell said was an illegal scheme to use improperly inflated footballs in that January's AFC championship game, in which New England defeated the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 before going on to win the Super Bowl.

The suspension was overturned by a federal judge on the eve of the 2015 regular season, but a circuit court panel ruled 2-1 last month that Goodell was within the rights granted to him by the collective bargaining agreement.

Brady has appealed to the full 2nd Circuit for a re-hearing ? called "en banc;" and the Patriots' brief was in support of that appeal. Less than 1 percent of en banc appeals are granted; if Brady's request is rejected, his only chance of avoiding a suspension would be to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the odds of obtaining a hearing are even slimmer.

The Patriots were also penalized by Goodell: a $1 million fine and the loss of two draft picks. At the time, Kraft accepted the punishment, saying he was just one member of a group and had to consider what was best for the league.

 

http://phi.247sports.com/Bolt/Report-Cowboys-OG-Ronald-Leary-requests-trade-45471308

Dallas OG Ronald Leary requests trade out of Big D!

 

Dallas was entertaining offers for Leary during the draft.