NFL NEWS

NFL Notebook: Brady teases about retirement

The Sports Xchange

June 20, 2018 at 8:09 pm.

Jan 21, 2018; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first quarter in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Jan 21, 2018; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) throws a pass against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first quarter in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady responded to an ESPN Instagram post Sunday about speculation when he might retire by writing, “Cuarenta y cinco,” which in Spanish is 45.

Brady, who turns 41 on Aug. 3, has two years remaining on his contract.

Attached to the comment from Brady’s verified Instagram account were three monkey emojis, which ESPN reported are the three wise monkeys of the proverb, “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday, Brady acknowledged his three children could become a significant part of his decision to retire.

–The Denver Broncos temporarily changed the name of their home stadium for the upcoming season, the team announced.

The Metropolitan Football Stadium District approved the name “Broncos Stadium at Mile High” at its quarterly board meeting.

The Broncos removed old signage from the exterior of the stadium — formerly known as Sports Authority Field at Mile High — in January.

Sports Authority went into bankruptcy and the team regained control on the naming rights in 2016.

–Former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston and Mike Riley are expected to be named as the respective general manager and head coach of the San Antonio franchise in the Alliance of American Football, according to a report.

Alex Marvez of Sirius XM NFL Radio cited multiple sources as saying that the two will guide the eighth team in the league, with Riley to join Brad Childress (Atlanta), Tim Lewis (Birmingham), Mike Singletary (Memphis), Steve Spurrier (Orlando), Rick Neuheisel (Phoenix), Dennis Erickson (Salt Lake) and Mike Martz (San Diego) as head coaches.

The Alliance of American Football confirmed on Twitter that San Antonio will be the home to the eighth team in the league.

The Alliance of American Football is expected to kick off its inaugural season on Feb. 9. The league, which was founded by Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Polian and television producer Charlie Ebersol, will feature 12 weeks of play.

–New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman announced a series of personnel changes in the team’s front office, college scouting and football operations departments.

Kevin Abrams has added the title of vice president of football operations. Mark Koncz was named director of player personnel. Chris Pettit was appointed director of college scouting. Patrick Hanscomb has become an area scout whose concentration will be the Mid-Atlantic area. Marcus Cooper has been hired as an area scout who will focus in the Southeast and Jackie Miles was hired as head equipment manager.

–The son of former Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle Erik Williams is one of two men arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder, multiple media outlets reported.

Cassius Shakembe Williams, 20, and Rozman Rah-saan Shannon Jr. have been charged in the shooting deaths of Jacob Bradley Hollett and Dalton James Prater on June 12 in Mesquite, Texas, per reports.

Per the Fort Worth Star Telegram, the Mesquite Police Department announced that arriving officers located Hollett, 19, with several gunshot wounds in the driver’s seat of a gray Nissan following what appeared to be a drug deal gone awry. Prater, 18, was found shot to death sitting in the driver’s seat of a red Dodge pickup truck, according to the newspaper.

Williams was booked into the Dallas County Jail on Sunday and his bond was set at $1 million. The two would be facing the death penalty if convicted, per TMZ Sports.

–Baltimore Ravens rookie tight end Mark Andrews wants young fans to know that he isn’t defined by his Type 1 diabetes.

Andrews, who was selected by the Ravens in the third round (86th overall) of the 2018 draft, was diagnosed as a diabetic when he was 9 years old.

Andrews dealt with a scary moment during his freshman year at Oklahoma when he was found unresponsive due to hypoglycemia and needed medical attention.

The 6-foot-5, 256-pound Andrews was able to overcome that episode and routinely monitors his glucose levels. Furthermore, he wears an insulin pump when he isn’t on the field and said that he hasn’t dealt with any issues during his games.

–Former Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley was named the NFL Players Association’s new director of college scouting.

Whaley is expected to head the recruitment, evaluation and selection process of top draft-eligible prospects for the annual NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, per the NFLPA.

Whaley has 22 years of NFL personnel experience under his belt, including stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Bills. The Pittsburgh native got his start in 1995 with the Steelers as an assistant in their personnel department and returned to the club after a three-year stint with the Seahawks.

In 2010, Whaley was hired by the Bills as their assistant general manager and pro personnel director before being promoted to general manager, where he served from 2013-2017.

Whaley replaces former Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams executive Tony Softli, who stepped down following four years to take over as director of scouting for the Alliance of American Football.

–Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is a big proponent of taking care of his body.

Bell noted that NBA superstar LeBron James isn’t slowing down despite being in his 30s and said that “your body won’t fail you” as long as you take the proper steps.

One of those steps is to avoid taking unnecessary hits, Bell said.

Bell has taken up boxing to reduce stress on his legs from a more traditional offseason football workout.

The 26-year-old Bell has been absent from the offseason workouts while bracing for a second straight summer of franchise-tag negotiations. He earned $12.12 million on last year’s tag and would take home $14.5 million this season unless a long-term deal is reached by July 16.

Bell ran for 1,291 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns last season while catching a personal-best 85 passes for 655 yards and two scores. He was third in the NFL in rushing yards and 10th in receptions.

–Cleveland Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey took to social media to declare that the NFL’s longest postseason drought will end this season.

The Browns haven’t made the playoffs since 2002, and a 1-31 mark over the last two seasons — including an 0-16 campaign in 2017 — doesn’t exactly provide much enthusiasm to make postseason plans.

Kirksey, however, feels differently, perhaps in lieu of the offseason additions to the club.

Kirksey is coming off his second straight strong season, recording 138 tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 16 games.

–Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers didn’t exactly get off on the right foot shortly after the latter quarterback was selected with the 24th overall pick of the 2005 draft.

Favre, who already was a three-time NFL Most Valuable Player at that point during his Hall of Fame career, even went so far as to say that it wasn’t his job to get Rodgers up to speed.

Time has chopped down the wall between the quarterbacks, with the two even appearing together at the NFL Honors in 2013.

Fast forward to the present, Favre said during a recent interview on Wilde and Tausch on ESPN 540 that Rodgers understands where he was coming from.

“We talked about that,” Favre said of the non-mentoring quote. “He said, ‘I get it now. I get what you were saying, or how you carried yourself.’ …

“There is no clause that says, ‘You groom the next guy who’s going to take your job, or else.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

–Free-agent wide receiver Eric Decker has labeled the New England Patriots as a potential landing spot for his next team.

Decker recorded 54 receptions for 563 yards and a touchdown in 16 games last season with the Tennessee Titans, who were eliminated from the playoffs by the Patriots.

The 31-year-old Decker has posted three 1,000-yard seasons during his career. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound Decker owns 439 career receptions for 5,816 yards and 53 touchdowns in eight seasons since being selected by Denver in the third round of the 2010 draft.

–Guard Joshua Garnett, a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in the 2016 draft, is in danger of being cut by the team, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The 49ers wanted Garnett so much that they traded up to get a second first-round selection and take him with the 28th overall pick out of Stanford.

Garnett was drafted by former general manager Trent Baalke and coach Chip Kelly, but apparently has not impressed new general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan.

The 24-year-old Garnett will be in a battle with Mike Person and Jonathan Cooper for a roster spot during training camp and preseason games.

–The Minnesota Vikings announced that they have signed linebacker Mike Needham, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals after their rookie minicamp.

Needham takes the roster spot of defensive end Hercules Mata’afa, who sustained a torn ACL in minicamp and was waived with an injury designation. An undrafted rookie from Washington State, he will be placed in injured reserve if he goes unclaimed.

The Cardinals signed Needham after he was undrafted out of Southern Utah. He was selected first-team All-Big Sky Conference three times, and in his senior year made 100 tackles, including seven for losses.

–The Houston Texans claimed tackle Roderick Johnson on waivers from the Cleveland Browns, the NFL’s daily transaction report revealed on Wednesday.

To make room for Johnson on the 90-man roster, the Texans waived tackle Kendall Calhoun.

The 6-7, 311-pound Johnson was a fifth-round pick (No. 160 overall) by the Browns in 2017 out of Florida State and he made two preseason starts before missing the regular season while on injured reserve because of knee injury.

At Florida State, he was twice selected as the top offensive lineman in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Texans signed Calhoun, a rookie free agent from Cincinnati, after their rookie minicamp in May.

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