With many in the media slamming the Patriots over the Deflategate scandal, owner Robert Kraft stood in front of the media on Monday night to defend his team. “If the Wells investigation is not able to definitively determine that our organization tampered with the air pressure in the footballs,” Kraft said, according to John Kryk of the Toronto Sun , “I would expect and hope that the league would apologize to our entire team, and in particular coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady for what they have had to endure this past week.” More from around the NFL..
- Ian Rapoport of NFL.com spoke with CSNChicago.com about a number of Bears-centric topics, including quarterback Jay Cutler. At this point, he says, there’s a much better chance of Chicago keeping Cutler than dealing him.
- Mike Wells of ESPN.com feels that the Colts should prioritize re-signing safety Mike Adams. Adams wants to return to Indianapolis, but he also learned last offseason that the business of the NFL doesn’t always allow for a reunion. Adams waited around for the Broncos to re-sign him before finally joining up with the Colts in June. Upon joining the Colts, Adams became a vocal leader in the secondary and their best defensive back not named Vontae Davis this season.
- Panthers tight end Greg Olsen and middle linebacker Luke Kuechly are both set to hit the open market after the 2015 season and are in line for big pay bumps, as Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer writes. The Panthers can keep Kuechly, the No. 9 pick in the 2012 draft, by exercising their fifth-year option on him. Meanwhile, Olsen said he and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, have yet to have any substantial contract talks with the Panthers, but he hopes something can get done before the start of the season. “We’ll see how the offseason goes. There haven’t been any really major developments on that front,” Olsen said. “Of course, I would love to finish my career there. I’d love to be able to get something done going into this season and know that I’ll be a part of the team for a while.”
- In Monday night’s presser, Belichick expressed gratitude to Patriots owner Robert Kraft for hiring him as head coach many years ago, as Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald tweets. “Mr. Kraft gave up quite a bit in order to work out the trade for me to be part of this organization after I resigned from the Jets,” the coach said.