HEADLINES

Todd Jones

NFL Notes: L.A., St. Louis, Preseason, Arrests

October 9th, 2015 at 9:56pm CST by Rob DiRe

Here are a few other stories of note from around the NFL this Friday night:

  • While no decisions have been made about the Los Angeles market, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report says that he has spoken to five NFL owners, and the preferred situation would be for the Rams and Chargers to join forces there. The Raiders could still get back into the conversation, but Cole says that owner Mark Davis would make it easier for himself if he sold part of the team to relieve financial constraints, which would make the other owners more comfortable with the move.
  • While the Rams are pushing to move to Los Angeles, the city of St. Louis is making its efforts to keep the team in town, but City Comptroller Darlene Green questions the financing the most recent stadium proposal, writes David Hunn of St. Louis Today. “Taxes will increase,” Green said. “And that’s not what was promised to our citizens.”
  • At the recent meetings, NFL owners discussed the idea of reducing the preseason from four games to three, as Cole tweets. The owners also discussed expanding the regular season beyond 16 games, but those two ideas are not tied together.
  • Arrests among NFL players is down 35% since the league expanded its policies and programs from last year, and future NFL chief disciplinary officer Todd Jones is encouraged by the early results, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. He adds that the NFLPA is protesting Jones’ appointment as a direct violation of the collective bargaining agreement.

Zach Link contributed to this post.

Extra Points: RFAs, Goodell, Bush, Taylor, Colts

March 23rd, 2015 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

As Mike Wilkering of Pro Football Talk observes, while most of 2015’s top unrestricted free agents are off the board, there are still plenty of intriguing restricted free agents available. 20 of this year’s RFAs remain unsigned and received the low-end tender from their respective clubs, meaning a rival suitor wouldn’t have to give up a draft pick to sign them away.

Often, restricted free agents won’t draw a ton of interest and will simply return to their previous teams, but that’s not always the case. A year ago, RFAs like Andrew Hawkins and Rafael Bush signed offer sheets with other teams — Bush’s sheet was matched by the Saints, but the Bengals didn’t match Hawkins’ offer from the Browns.

This year, low-end RFAs like Ravens safety Will Hill, Eagles running back Chris Polk, Raiders wideout Andre Holmes, and Washington kicker Kai Forbath remain on the market. A handful of players – such as Browns safety Tashaun Gipson and Ravens kicker Justin Tucker – also received second-round tenders, but rival teams aren’t likely to give those players big contracts and surrender a second-round pick for them.

As we wait to see whether any restricted free agents change teams, let’s check in on a few more notes from around the NFL….

  • Roger Goodell didn’t reveal much to Peter King of TheMMQB.com during his sitdown with him, but the commissioner did strongly suggest the extra point will undergo some changes before next season, and added that the DeflateGate investigation is nearing an end.
  • As King hinted at in his column, Goodell informed owners at this week’s league meetings in Phoenix that Todd Jones, former Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, is joining the NFL as as special counsel for conduct, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Jones will pair with Lisa Friel as the league’s new personal conduct czars.
  • After running the 40-yard dash in 4.91 seconds at this weekend’s veteran combine in Arizona, Michael Bush admitted that his NFL career is probably over, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk details.
  • Free agent cornerback Ike Taylor isn’t seeking out offers from teams to continue his playing career, and while he hasn’t made the decision to retire quite yet, the longtime Steeler is exploring potential television opportunities, writes Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  • Michael Silver of NFL.com takes a look at the roster-building approach employed by Colts GM Ryan Grigson, as Indianapolis enters win-now mode by signing several veteran free agents like Andre Johnson, Frank Gore, Trent Cole, and Todd Herremans.