Monthly Archives: July 2016

Adam Jones: Bengals kicked Steelers’ butts in playoffs

Now Jones will be instrumental in Lewis’ next act: Rebuilding the team after losing its No. 2 and 3 wide receivers, offensive coordinator and Pro Bowl safety. There is change every offseason, but the Bengals are approaching the type of hurdle that can bring down even the best of infrastructures.

The Cowboys placed Rolando McClain and Randy Gregory on reserve/did not report, Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones told reporters. McClain has yet to report to camp after missing his flight this week and Gregory is in rehab.

The Cowboys also announced running back Lance Dunbar, defensive lineman Maliek Collins, defensive end Benson Mayowa and tight end James Hanna will be placed on the PUP list. In addition, the Cowboys placed running back Darren McFadden, linebacker Jaylon Smith and linebacker Damien Wilson on the non-football injury list.

Washington Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan feels rookie wide receiver Josh Doctson’s pain.

McCloughan arrived at training camp sporting a hand wrap courtesy of the Achilles’ tendon soreness that kept Doctson out of organized team activities sessions in May.

Former Redskins tight end Chris Cooley unpacked McCloughan’s curious story on Washington’s WTEM-AM.

“I said, ‘What happened to your hand?'” Cooley recalled Friday, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “He said, ‘when I found out about Doctson’ — which they thought was going to be much worse, the Doctson injury, apparently it isn’t going to be as bad — ‘I punched the wall.'”

Doctson initially couldn’t believe the Redskins’ GM actually did that.

“I thought he was playing around, but he was being for real,” Doctson said. “You know, it’s just what they believe I can do. They trust me.”

The Redskins eschewed more dire team needs in the first round of the draft because they couldn’t resist Doctson’s talent as the best player available.

Andy Reid: Justin Houston expected to miss camp

Houston underwent surgery in February to “fix” an ACL that wasn’t functioning properly. The four-time Pro Bowl edge rusher posted an Instagram video in April, revealing that his LCL was also repaired.

Trainer Rick Buckholder prescribed a recovery timetable of six to 12 months. Houston is now four months into his rehab program.

Following the procedure, Reid said he was holding out hope that the 27-year-old would be able to play at some point in 2016. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that Houston is expected to miss time at the start of the season.

Houston is the most valuable player on Reid’s defense. If he’s still sidelined in September, 2014 first-round draft pick Dee Ford will take over as the bookend starter opposite veteran Tamba Hali.

Anquan Boldin wasn’t going to be on the market for long, especially with so many teams struggling to find depth at wide receiver.

In the end, it was Jim Caldwell and the Lions who made the strongest push, according to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.

A starter on Iowa State’s defense was arrested over the weekend.

According to the Des Moines Register, defensive back Nigel Tribune was booked for OWI early Sunday morning in Ames. Police said Tribune, a senior cornerback, was driving without his headlights on. After being pulled over shortly before 3 a.m., police said Tribune had “watery and bloodshot eyes” and smelled like alcohol. He subsequently failed field sobriety tests and his blood-alcohol content was above the legal limit of .08.

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nigel Bradham was arrested by Miami Beach police on suspicion of battery/aggravated assault on Monday stemming from an alleged incident that occurred at a Miami hotel, according to Miami-Dade County Court and police records.

According to a Miami Beach Police Department arrest report, Bradham got into a verbal altercation with an individual working at the Hilton Bentley South Beach hotel on Thursday. He then allegedly punched the individual “without provocation” in the nose with his closed fist, causing the victim to fall to the ground. Other members of Bradham’s group then joined in on the attack before fleeing the scene with Bradham, the report states.

J.J. Watt undergoes back surgery, will start training camp on PUP list

Watt has started the first 80 games of his career, never missing a contest. He has 74.5 sacks in those 80 games and is the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year.

Contract disputes are a problem that every NFL franchise has to face, and it can lead to ugly discourse between the disgruntled player and team. Defensive end Michael Bennett, who signed a four-year, $28.5 million contract with the Seahawks in the 2014 offseason, hasn’t been thrilled with his deal for more than a year.

“I just want to be fairly compensated with the top guys in the league,” Bennett told The Huffington Post. “I’m definitely one of the top five defensive ends.”

He does have a point.

The 30-year-old veteran’s 34.5 sacks over the past four seasons (three of which were in Seattle) has firmly placed him among the NFL’s elite. Over that span, Bennett’s 292 quarterback pressures ranked second in the league per Pro Football Focus, only behind three-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt.

So which one is Brady’s favorite?

“I mean, I love ice cream, so I think avocado ice cream is pretty good,” Brady said.

The good news for us is that Brady shared the ingredient for his ice cream on Facebook.

Bills will retire Bruce Smith’s No. 78 at home opener against rival Jets

For 19 years, Bruce Smith made the lives of NFL quarterbacks and offensive linemen miserable. The No. 1 overall pick of the 1985 draft, Smith spent the first 15 years of his career racking up sacks for the Buffalo Bills, who announced Tuesday morning that they will retire his No. 78 jersey at their 2016 home opener. That game will be played on Thursday Night Football against the New York Jets in Week 2.

Smith will be the second player in Bills history to have his number retired, after quarterback Jim Kelly.