Jarryd Hayne - Pro Football Rumors

NFC Notes: Peppers, Hayne, House, Vikings

October 15th, 2014 at 8:19pm CST by Dallas Robinson

During a Sunday Night Football broadcast early last month, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth stated that Julius Peppers had been set to reunite with the Panthers over the offseason after being released by the Bears. While Carolina head coach Ron Rivera did acknowledge that his team was interested in signing the the 34-year-old, Peppers himself doesn’t seem to have viewed the Panthers as a serious suitor. “I was never over there for a visit,” Peppers said, according to David Newton of ESPN.com. “I never talked to any of the coaches. It didn’t get very far for me personally.” Of course, the North Carolina alum ended up inking a three-year deal with the Packers, and is playing quite well, grading out as the 10th-best 3-4 OLB among 46 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Here’s more from the NFC:

We learned yesterday that rugby star Jarryd Hayne is attempting to make the jump to the NFL, and the Seahawks are one possible landing spot for the 26-year-old. Hayne took a visit with the team in September, and while head coach Pete Carroll was “coy” when asked about Hayne, it appears that the club does have some interest in signing him, according to Terry Blount of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Packers fourth-year cornerback Davon House will be an unrestricted free agent come March of 2015, and he’s set himself up to earn a significant amount of money on his second contract, writes Rob Reishcel of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. As Reischel notes, fellow corner Tramon Williams will also be a free agent after the season, and given that Green Bay already signed Sam Shields to a gaudy extension, the club might have to choose only one of House or Williams.
The Vikings probably won’t make a deal before the October 28 trade deadline, writes Bo Mitchell of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, but the two most likeliest candidates to be sent out are probably Christian Ponder and Adrian Peterson. Ponder could appeal to teams in desperate need of a quarterback, and while Peterson probably won’t offer any value in 2014, he could be of interest to a club who hopes the star running back returns to the field in 2015.

Extra Points: Hayne, Los Angeles, Smith

October 14th, 2014 at 10:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Australian rules football star Jarryd Hayne is leaving his team to pursue his NFL dream, writes Cameron Tomarchio of News.com.au. While there were rumors circulating that Hayne had a deal with the Seahawks, the 26-year-old said that he doesn’t have a pact with any NFL team. Hayne says that he has a 12-month plan to make it in the NFL and the 26-year-old is likely eyeing a future as a running back and/or special teams player. Hayne must be serious about playing in the NFL, because he was on the verge of becoming the AFL’s highest paid player. More from around the NFL..

The Los Angeles City Council has given developer AEG another six months to bring the NFL back to the nation’s second-largest city, as The Associated Press writes. Los Angeles hasn’t had an NFL franchise since losing the Rams and Raiders after the 1994 season.
In a memo to players, NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith said the union huddled with the NFL for four hours today on revising the personal conduct policy, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. The two sides agreed to meet again soon.
The NFLPA has put together a group of eleven outside experts from a variety of industries who will provide recommendations on how to tackle domestic violence and other issues facing the league, writes Pelissero. While both sides have the same stated goal on the issue, there’s still a fair amount of chippiness between the league and the union. “This was designed to get it right,” Smith said. “We took those names to the league. We’re waiting to see who they want to be a part of it. But that’s the way we’re going to move forward.”