The NFL plans to interview players named in an Al-Jazeera America report last year linking them to performance-enhancing drugs.
Green Bay Packers linebackers Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison will be interviewed in July, according to a letter obtained by media outlets on Friday.
NFL senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs Adolpho Birch has informed the NFL Players Association that the league will meet with the three players at the start of training camp.
The Packers open camp on July 26 and the Steelers begin on July 29.
The NFL’s interview for former Packers linebacker Mike Neal, currently a free agent, is scheduled to take place on or before July 22, according to the letter.
Now-retired Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was the highest-profile name linked to PEDs in the Al-Jazeera America documentary that aired in December. The report alleged that Manning was given a supply of human growth hormone in 2011 from an Indiana-based anti-aging clinic. As a retired player, Manning is no longer a member of the players union.
–Kicker Shaun Suisham was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Suisham was trying to come back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, an injury incurred in the preseason opener last August. The Steelers released him with a “failed physical” designation.
–The Cleveland Browns signed fourth-round linebacker Joe Schobert to a four-year rookie contract.
The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Schobert started 28 games at Wisconsin after arriving as a walk-on. He earned All-American honors in 2015.
–Former Detroit Lions cornerback Stanley Wilson was shot and hospitalized and authorities allege he was naked when trying to break into a home in Portland, Ore.
The Oregonian said police claim Wilson was trying to break into a window in the back of a multi-million dollar home in Multhonah County when the homeowner shot Wilson, 33, and caused non-fatal injuries requiring hospitalization.
Wilson last played in the NFL in 2008.
–The Atlanta Falcons are “pretty confident” the new $1.5 billion stadium will open by June 1, 2017, but they have a contingency plan just in case.
Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay said there would be alternate sites available if construction delays 75,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2017 preseason.
“We would have options,” McKay said. “You’ve obviously got the University of Georgia. You’ve got Georgia Tech. But I wouldn’t say that we view this as … it’s not even a consideration of something we’ve looked into. We’re very confident in June 1, so we don’t view it as a problem. But we have alternatives.”
–The Denver Broncos’ public relations staff has been selected as the 2016 Pete Rozelle Award winners by the Professional Football Writers of America.
The Rozelle Award is given to the NFL club public relations staff that consistently strives for excellence in its dealings and relationships with the media. The award is named for Rozelle, NFL commissioner from 1960-89 who started his career in sports PR roles.
