Tom Brady - Pro Football Rumors

AFC Notes: Foster, Brady, Colts, Nicks

August 7th, 2015 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

As we inch close to the start of the NFL’s preseason schedule, let’s round up a few of the latest updates from around the AFC….

Texans running back Arian Foster underwent successful surgery on his groin this morning in Philadelphia, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that there’s some hope Foster’s recovery period will be less than three months. The star running back still appears to be a strong candidate for the club’s IR-DTR slot to open the regular season.
The settlement conference between the NFL and NFLPA is scheduled to take place at 11:00am eastern time next Wednesday, tweets Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and commissioner Roger Goodell will both attend the meeting in Judge Richard M. Berman’s courtroom.
The Colts snagged cornerback Tevin Mitchel off waivers from Washington this week, despite the fact that he’s expected to miss the season with a shoulder injury, writes Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star. As Holder explains, the Colts were targeting Mitchel in the draft this year before Washington grabbed him in the sixth round, and the club now has the opportunity to stash him on its IR for the season.
Teresa M. Walker of The Associated Press examines Hakeem Nicks‘ efforts to earn a roster spot in Tennessee after signing a one-year deal with the Titans this offseason.

AFC Notes: Brady, Patriots, Hunter, Texans

August 4th, 2015 at 9:54pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, a mammoth 457-page transcript of Tom Brady‘s testimony was released. As Jimmy Golen of The Associated Press writes, the Patriots quarterback denied under oath to Roger Goodell that he tampered with footballs before the AFC title game. Meanwhile, investigator Ted Wells apparently never warned the Brady he would be punished if he didn’t turn over his cellphone. Brady denied discussing air level with the ballboys or even thinking about how inflated the footballs were when he selected them. He also said he’s never asked anyone from the Patriots to tamper with footballs. While we wait to see how that all shakes out, here’s more out of the AFC..

The transcript also contains confirmation that the Ravens tipped off the Colts on the Patriots‘ alleged doctoring of footballs, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe tweets.
The NFLPA filed its counterclaim and amended answer in federal court in Manhattan today, as Tom Pelissero of USA Today tweets. As a part of the counterclaim, the union brought forth the Brady appeal transcript, which led it it becoming public.
Titans receiver Justin Hunter is facing a felonious assault charge following a bar fight last month, but his attorney is confident that the case will “end will” for Hunter, as John Glennon of The Tennessean writes. “I can tell you I’m confident that Justin didn’t do what he’s been charged with and that I have significant concerns about the credibility of the accuser,” attorney Toby Vick said. The NFL is also looking into the incident, and will likely wait for resolution in court before deciding on possible discipline for the wideout.
Former University of Texas wide receiver Mike Davis recently worked out for the Chiefs and has also worked out for the Panthers, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
Arian Foster‘s groin issue isn’t the only bad injury news the Texans received today. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter), sixth-round rookie OLB Reshard Cliett went down with a knee injury in the club’s first practice, and is expected to be sidelined for the year.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

AFC East Notes: Gronk, Brady, Dolphins, Clay

August 4th, 2015 at 10:25am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this summer, an excerpt from Rob Gronkowski‘s autobiography revealed that the Patriots tight end claims he hasn’t spent a dime of his NFL salary, living off of endorsement money instead. As of July 30, Gronkowski has a little more NFL money to save up — according to Field Yates of ESPN.com, the Pats reworked their star tight end’s contract, converting $4MM of his $10MM end-of-year option bonus to a signing bonus. The option, which is due before the end of the league year, is now worth $6MM, and New England appears more likely than ever to exercise it.

Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap breaks down the unusual cap ramifications of the move, suggesting that the restructure should increase Gronkowski’s 2015 cap hit by $2MM before reducing his 2016 charge by $2MM. After that, the cap numbers for the rest of Gronkowski’s contract should remain the same.

Here’s more from around the AFC East:

NFLPA executive George Atallah confirmed today (via Twitter) that Tom Brady and union reps will attend a conference in New York on August 12 to meet with the NFL and U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman. Roger Goodell will also attend the hearing in person, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Meanwhile, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes (via Twitter) that NFLPA and NFL attorneys had a telephone conference yesterday with Mag. Judge James C. Francis regarding the Patriots quarterback’s case.
Appearing on the Jose Rose Show on 560 WQAM in Miami, Dolphins VP of football operations Mike Tannenbaum didn’t rule out pursuing free agent guard Evan Mathis, as Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post details. The Dolphins’ interest in Mathis has been downplayed recently, but I imagine they’d be very interested if one of their current guards struggles or suffers an injury.
Having brought in Rex Ryan, LeSean McCoy, Percy Harvin, and Richie Incognito over the offseason, the Bills made plenty of newsworthy moves. However, no player received more guaranteed money from the team this year than tight end Charles Clay. Tyler Dunne of The Buffalo News examines how Clay is fitting in so far in Buffalo.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Jets, Richardson

August 3rd, 2015 at 6:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Albert Breer of NFL Media (on Twitter) hears that the parties in the August 12th Tom Brady settlement conference may be able to participate by phone, but that they’ll have to present a good reason for doing so. Mike Florio of PFT, a former lawyer, advises that Brady get himself to Manhattan as a sign of respect to the federal judge. Florio writes that not flying to Manhattan alone won’t mean a loss in court for Brady, but it could affect the proceedings in other ways. Here’s more from the AFC East..

The Jets obviously can’t get much for him now, but Sheldon Richardson could be a valuable trade piece after the 2015 season, Darryl Slater of the Star-Ledger writes. The final year of Richardson’s rookie deal is in 2016, but he can be kept under control through 2017 with a fifth-year option at a relatively cheap rate. For now, the Jets will have to wait and see if Richardon’s four-game suspension for marijuana is about to balloon into something bigger after last week’s bizarre incident.
Veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick has virtually no chance of overtaking Geno Smith for the Jets‘ starting QB job this summer, Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes. Of course, if Smith falters for the first few weeks of the season, the door will be open for the Harvard product.
Calvin Pryor didn’t impress in his rookie season with the Jets, but a position change could be the key to unlocking his potential, Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. The Louisville product is now playing strong safety instead of free safety, which means that he can concentrate on laying down the big hits.
In the battle of Patriots QB vs. Roger Goodell, Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com feels that the law is on the side of the commissioner, which is why Brady should take a settlement on his suspension, if possible.

East Notes: Pats, Jets, Mathis, Goldson

August 1st, 2015 at 3:18pm CST by Sam Robinson

As our first weekend of 2015 training camp action is upon us, let’s look at some of the matters emerging from the Eastern divisions.

Adding to last night’s report of an August 12 conference involving Tom Brady and Roger Goodell, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes the transcript from Brady’s June appeal hearing with Goodell will become available if the case isn’t settled. Florio views Judge Richard M. Berman’s action of getting directly involved in trying to settle this case quickly one of the more active attempts by a judge to do so in his extensive law history. The PFT scribe notes that Berman probably already knows which way he’ll rule should both sides indeed join him for this summit as opposed to settling this matter beforehand.
The Patriots are not observing the latest Deflategate-related directive to tone it down, as Florio notes, and instead have launched a website aimed at uncovering what they believe is misinformation in the Ted Wells report. The first post on a site titled WellsReportcontext.com shows a chain of emails between Patriots general counsel Robyn Glaser and NFL general counsel Jeff Pash. While this means more Deflategate coverage more than six months after the story surfaced, it looks to now at least have created a job for a Patriots IT staffer.
Evan Mathis‘ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, has engaged in preliminary talks with the Jets, reports Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (Twitter link) after speaking with Jets GM Mike Maccagnan. “We’ve had talks with Evan’s agent,” Maccagnan said, according to Justin Tasch of the New York Daily News. “They’re kind of getting a feel for where – they have a range for where they want to be. The other thing with a lot of teams honestly at this point in time, you almost want to kind of see what you have first to a certain degree.” The former All-Pro would certainly be an upgrade over Willie Colon, who’s battled a knee ailment all offseason before coming off the PUP list Saturday. Tasch, however, adds Nothing is imminent, with Mathis — who was slated to make $5.5MM with the Eagles this season before his release — searches for significant money. Gang Green has $5.5MM in cap room, per OverTheCap.
Shortly after Rod Graves vacated his spot in the Jets’ front office to take a job with the league office, the Jets will replace him as director of football administration with Jacqueline Davidson, according to Randy Lange of NewYorkJets.com. Joining Cardinals assistant Jen Welter, Raiders play-by-play voice Beth Mowins and newly appointed official Sarah Thomas as one of the highest-ranking women in the league, Davidson already serves as the Jets’ lead negotiator in player contracts and played a key role in the Jets’ reacquiring of Darrelle Revis.
Washington safety Dashon Goldson, as part of the renegotiated contract upon his trade from the Bucs, received a $2.3MM roster bonus today, per ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter).

Latest On DeflateGate

July 31st, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman, who will decide whether to uphold the NFL’s four-game suspension of Tom Brady, has scheduled an Aug. 12 conference that will include both Brady and commissioner Roger Goodell, the Boston Globe’s Ben Volin tweeted. If the dispute isn’t settled then, the parties will meet again Aug. 19 for oral arguments, according to Gabe Feldman of the sports law program at Tulane University (Twitter link). Feldman tweeted that while Berman’s ruling will be subject to appeal, the process is moving extremely quickly and a decision will be made well before the season starts.

For his part, Brady filed his counterclaim Friday in the Southern District of New York, per Volin (via Twitter) – who gleaned from Brady’s lawsuit that he wanted his June 23 appeal to be done under oath (Twitter link).

Meanwhile, two owners told ESPN’s Jim Trotter that they’re unhappy with both the amount of money being spent on Brady’s case and the treatment of Brady, Trotter tweeted. The owners also told Trotter that a “molehill has been made into a mountain,” and said it never should’ve gotten to this point (Twitter link). They reiterated Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s point that lawyers are too involved in the process.

The reason the Brady case has gotten so ugly, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole (video link), stems from discord between the league and the NFLPA dating back to the fight over the 2011 collective bargaining agreement – a fight the owners ultimately won. Given that outcome, NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith has to “fight tool and nail on every issue possible,” Cole said. Further, per Cole, owners are beginning to wonder if taking some power from the commissioner and switching to an independent appeal process would be better for disciplinary matters.

AFC East Notes: Richardson, Brady, Dareus

July 31st, 2015 at 2:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Tim Lohmar, the prosecuting attorney in Sheldon Richardson‘s case, didn’t feel he could get a conviction on a charge of child endangerment, and only charged the Jets defensive lineman with resisting arrest and traffic violations, writes Brian Costello of the New York Post. Lohmar also couldn’t bring any drug charges against Richardson, despite his car smelling freshly burned marijuana, as he explains to Costello.

“The odor, according to the officer, was such that it was a fresh odor. The weed had just burned,” Lohmar said. “I think you can reasonably assume that had been taking place while they were driving and somewhere between that and the time they were pulled over, whatever was in the car was thrown from the car. We don’t know that, obviously.”

Given the lack of drug charges, the incident may not technically be a violation of the league’s drug policy, though that’s not certain, a source tells Josina Anderson of ESPN.com. Despite the lack of serious charges against Richardson, the NFL will conduct its own investigation and could penalize the Jets defender harshly based on the violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.

However the case plays out, Richardson embarrassed himself and the Jets by trying to hide his arrest, writes Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com.

Here’s more from around the AFC East:

The NFLPA and NFL have requested an expedited schedule in the Tom Brady case, which would avoid the need for preliminary injunction and would give both sides more certainty, per Gabe Feldman (Twitter links). As Feldman explains (via Twitter), the league and the union agree that “no discovery is needed to adjudicate the motions” and proposed a schedule that would involve filing their motions by August 7, replying by August 14, then making their oral arguments and getting a decision before the start of the NFL regular season. The proposal could set the stage for a settlement between the two sides, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
General manager Doug Whaley said today that his Bills have “exchanged proposals” with Marcell Dareus regarding a new contract, cautioning that “these things take time” (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News).
While the Dolphins have been the team most frequently linked to free agent guard Evan Mathis, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets that he has it “on good authority” that the club hasn’t even begun speaking to Drew Rosenhaus about a contract for his client. Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports noted yesterday (via Twitter) that the Dolphins’ interest in Mathis had been overstated.
Although he showed up for the Jets‘ training camp, Muhammad Wilkerson admits that it’s “a little frustrating” not to have a new contract in place yet, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. Wilkerson remains hopeful that the two sides can get something done before the season begins.

AFC Notes: Brady, Weddle, Lewis, Kromer

July 30th, 2015 at 9:23pm CST by Zachary Links

A U.S. District Court judge ordered the NFL and NFLPA to try to resolve their differences over Tom Brady‘s suspension without litigation, as ESPN.com writes. Of course, it seems unlikely that the two sides will peacefully resolve the conflict regarding the Patriots quarterback. Here’s more from the AFC..

Chargers safety Eric Weddle says that he will not hold out from camp but added that he believes this will be his last year with the team, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets. Weddle and the Bolts have been embroiled in a contract dispute all offseason and there has been no sign of the two compromising on an extension.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis wants to win a Super Bowl this season and “walk away” afterwards to leave the game on top, Paul Daugherty of The Cincinnati Enquirer writes.
Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer entered a written plea of not guilty in a Florida court, as Mike Rodak of ESPN.com tweets. Kromer is scheduled for a September 2nd pre-trial hearing.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Bills, Dolphins

July 30th, 2015 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we learned that a Minnesota judge ruled that the NFLPA’s appeal on behalf of Tom Brady will be transferred to Manhattan, where the NFL first filed its own lawsuit. According to NFLPA outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler, the union doesn’t view that as a big deal.

“It really doesn’t matter to us where the case is,” Kessler told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “What we finally have is a neutral forum. Before a neutral forum, we are very confident in our position.”

The NFLPA will have make some revisions when it re-files its appeal in New York, but “ostensibly we will be making the same arguments,” said Kessler, adding that the union is “very happy” to have Judge Richard M. Berman appointed to the case.

Let’s round up a couple more items related to the Brady situation, along with some other notes out of the AFC East….

Kessler spoke yesterday to Tom Pelissero of USA Today, broadly addressing the NFLPA’s appeal on Brady’s behalf and explaining the case the union will be making in court. As Pelissero writes, the NFLPA’s appeal quotes Patriots owner Robert Kraft at length, and Kessler said of Kraft’s statement from earlier this week: “I’ve never more agreed with Robert Kraft in my life, about anything.”
On the Dan Patrick Show today, NFLPA executive George Atallah said the NFLPA’s settlement offer involved Brady paying a fine instead of serving a suspension, and the NFL didn’t respond to that offer (Twitter link via Noah Coslov).
Appearing at a “Business of Sports” breakfast in Buffalo on Thursday, Bills owner Terry Pegula said work on a new stadium for his team is “nothing urgent right now,” writes Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News. Commissioner Roger Goodell and some NFL owners have said that a new stadium will eventually be a necessity in Western New York, but Pegula pointed to several upgrades made on Ralph Wilson Stadium in recent years, suggesting it would be “foolish” to pursue a new stadium right after renovating the current one.
Speaking today to reporters, including James Walker of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Dolphins owner Stephen Ross praised the talent on Miami’s 2015 roster, and said he and head coach Joe Philbin are expecting a payoff this year. While Ross didn’t specifically address Philbin’s job status, there has been plenty of speculation that the head coach will be on the hot seat if the Fins don’t make the playoffs this season.

Brady Lawsuit Moved From Minnesota To NYC

July 30th, 2015 at 9:18am CST by Luke Adams

Minnesota judge Richard Kyle has ordered the NFLPA’s appeal on behalf of Tom Brady to be transferred to Manhattan, where the NFL first filed its own lawsuit, tweets Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal. The decision tips the scales in the league’s favor, since Minnesota courts are typically viewed as more labor-friendly and have ruled in favor of the NFLPA in the past.

As Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets, Judge Kyle found there was no reason for the case to have been filed in Minnesota, since the NFL is headquartered in New York, the arbitration proceedings took place in New York, and the award was issued in New York. Since the league also knew better than the NFLPA when Roger Goodell’s decision would be announced, it was able to gets its lawsuit in ahead of the union’s, and Kyle cited the “first-filed” rule when making his decision.

While the ruling is considered a positive sign for the league, it’s not necessarily all bad for the union. As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes, Judge Kyle was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, while New York judge Richard M. Berman was appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Democratic judges are generally believed to be more philosophically aligned with labor and individuals, rather than management, so Judge Berman figures to give Brady and the NFLPA a fair shake.

The NFLPA plans to refile its lawsuit against the league on behalf of Brady in Manhattan today, according to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (via Twitter).