Unsurprisingly, there were no earth-shattering revelations from commissioner Roger Goodell during his press conference at the league’s annual meetings today in Arizona. However, Goodell did answer questions about a number of pertinent issues, so let’s check out his answers on a few of those topics, with all links pointed toward the Twitter accounts of reporters in attendance:
- The NFL isn’t necessarily focused on getting a team (or two) to Los Angeles in time for the 2016 season, but if that happens, it would have to be in temporary stadium. Goodell expects more discussion about L.A. possibilities at the league’s May meeting, adding that there’s “a great deal of work being done.”
- The league’s relocation window is typically January 1 to February 15, but the NFL has discussed the possibility of moving that window forward, with the race to L.A. heating up. As Albert Breer of the NFL Network notes, there’s a good chance the Los Angeles situation crystallizes by the fall, in which case moving up the deadline for relocation could help to allow an L.A. stadium break ground by year’s end.
- The NFL still appears to be handling Adrian Peterson‘s situation as if the league’s original suspension of the running back is in place. Goodell says he expects to meet with Peterson by April 15 to make a “determination on his status,” which is the same timeline initially announced by the league, before a judge ruled that the suspension should be overturned.
- Asked if Ted Wells‘ DeflateGate investigation needs to be finished by the draft, Goodell said there’s no timetable for its completion. Obviously, if the Patriots were to lose a 2015 draft pick for the incident, the NFL would need to announce that within the next few weeks.
- The Browns’ TextGate investigation appears poised to conclude sooner. Goodell said today that Troy Vincent is heading that case, and the commissioner expects to be brought up to speed on it within the next few days. The fact that GM Ray Farmer was reportedly texting his opinions to the team’s sideline may be a mitigating factor when determining discipline for the franchise, per Goodell.
- Goodell said today that the league is looking into the pre-free-agency actions of “several” teams to determine if the NFL’s tampering rules were violated. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com hears that more than 20 teams are being investigated, though there’s no word on potential penalties for those clubs.
- A decision on Greg Hardy‘s discipline – or lack thereof – is expected in the “near future.”