May 31, 2017; Paradise, NV, USA: General overall view of billboard that reads “The Raiders Are Coming” at the construction site of Las Vegas Stadium. The domed stadium will be the home of the Las Vegas Raiders and the UNLV Rebels football team. It is located on about 62 acres west of Mandalay Bay at Russell Road and Hacienda Avenue and between Polaris Avenue and Dean Martin Drive, just west of Interstate 15. Construction of the $1.9 billion stadium is planned to begin in 2017 and be completed for the 2020 NFL season. NFL owners voted 31-1 to allow Raiders owner Mark Davis to relocate the franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas. Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
NFL teams unanimously voted in favor of modifications to the catch rule for the 2018 season on Tuesday at the league’s owners meetings in Orlando, Fla.
The owners also passed a rule aimed at player safety by making it illegal for a player to lower his head to initiate contact with his helmet. In addition, the owners approved authorizing in-game ejections from the league’s officiating office and made permanent the rule change that teams start from the 25-yard line after a touchback on a kickoff or punt.
The new catch rule says that it is deemed a reception when the player has control of the ball, two feet down (or another body part), and makes a football move. A football move is defined as either a third step, reaching/extending for the line to gain, or the ability to perform such an act — with on-field officials being required to judge whether it occurs.
The requirement to maintain control of the ball throughout the process of going to the ground no longer applies. The change would result in different outcomes than the calls under previous rules.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant’s non-catch against the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 playoffs would now result in a first-and-goal because he took a third step and reached for the end zone before losing the ball as he went to the ground.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jesse James’ goal-line non-catch against the New England Patriots in December would now be a reception, because he no longer needs to “survive the ground” to complete the catch.
–The Oakland Raiders moved another step closer to the Nevada state line when NFL owners approved the team’s $1.8 billion stadium plan for Las Vegas.
League owners voted resoundingly in favor of the plan by a 31-1 margin at the annual NFL meetings, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Las Vegas Stadium Authority is expected to meet Wednesday morning to review details of the plan for its approval. NFL owners voted by a similar 31-1 margin at last year’s league meetings to approve Oakland’s application to relocate to Las Vegas.
A 65,000-seat domed stadium is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2020 season. The Raiders will play in Oakland next season, but it’s unclear where the franchise will be in 2019.
–Cleveland Browns general manager John Dorsey said that the New York Jets inquired about moving up to the top overall spot in the 2018 NFL Draft before the Jets acquired the No. 3 pick in a trade with the Indianapolis Colts earlier this month.
“They called but part of the exercise of talking, it takes two parties, but it wasn’t what we were looking for,” Dorsey said on Monday, per Cleveland.com. The Jets’ call to the Browns for the No. 1 pick initially was reported by The New York Daily News.
While Dorsey said the potential deal to secure the top overall pick “better be pretty good,” he insisted that he’s serious when saying the No. 1 slot is available via trade. The Browns hold the first and fourth overall picks in the 2018 NFL Draft, which will be held on April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“You have to explore all options,” Dorsey said. “You never know until you know. We have to do that as an organization. To get us better I’ll explore every opportunity there is up until it comes time to make that pick.”
–New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman did not go so far as to say wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was not available for trade, but he did state the same phrase on three occasions during a 17-minute interview.
“You don’t quit on talent,” Gettleman said of Beckham, who has come under fire after co-owner John Mara on Sunday said he could not rule out the possibility of trading the star wideout.
When repeatedly asked if Beckham would be on the roster next season, Gettleman said the following: “I’m not going there,” “Next question,” and “He’s on the team right now.”
Giants coach Pat Shurmur said earlier on Tuesday that he expects Beckham to attend offseason conditioning workouts in April.
–Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck has resumed throwing a football, head coach Frank Reich said at the annual NFL meetings.
Luck’s throwing of a football represents progress as he continues his recovery after missing all of last year following surgery on his right shoulder. He is expected to re-join the team when the offseason conditioning program begins on April 9, although Reich wasn’t willing to guess on Luck’s participation level.
“I really would like to take a guess at that, but I haven’t actually put my eyes on him throwing or anything like that or I haven’t gotten in-depth with him to the point of, ‘Hey, tell me when you’re going to let it rip,'” Reich said, per ESPN. “I just trust that he knows that.
Colts owner Jim Irsay said that Luck “turned the corner” in his rehab on Monday. Recurring soreness in Luck’s shoulder prompted the Colts to finally shut him down two weeks after he returned to practice on Oct. 4. The 28-year-old went on injured reserve on Nov. 2.
–Quarterback Blaine Gabbert agreed to terms on a contract with the Tennessee Titans, the team announced.
The Titans were in the market for a backup to starter Marcus Mariota after releasing Matt Cassel on March 9. Gabbert, 28, made five starts last season with the Arizona Cardinals. He finished 95 of 171 for 1,086 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions during that span, posting a 2-3 mark.
A first-round draft pick (No. 10 overall) of Jacksonville in 2011, Gabbert endured three rocky seasons with the Jaguars, going 5-22 as a starter.
Gabbert resuscitated his career with the San Francisco 49ers in 2015, starting the final eight games and tossing 10 scoring passes versus seven picks while completing a personal-best 63.1 percent of his passes.
–New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels revealed his reasoning for electing against accepting the then-vacant head coaching position with the Indianapolis Colts.
McDaniels said he met with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick at Gillette Stadium two days after the team’s Super Bowl LII loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I wasn’t 100 percent sure what the future was. I just hadn’t had any clarity on that,” McDaniels said, via Jim McBride of the Boston Globe. “So, where did I fit in? Were there any plans? I just didn’t have much clarity on what my role was here moving forward.”
McDaniels said that meeting swayed his decision. His contract was adjusted, but he was not given any guarantees, per McBride.
–The Tennessee Titans have reached agreement on a contract for free agent offensive guard Xavier Su’a-Filo, the team announced.
Su’a-Filo is the second offensive lineman to sign with Tennessee in the past week, joining former Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Kevin Pamphile.
The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Su’a-Filo, 27, started 31 of the past 32 games for the Houston Texans the past two seasons. He started all 16 games at left guard last season.
Su’a-Filo has played in 56 games in his NFL career, including 41 starts. He was a second-round draft pick in 2014, and played his first four seasons with the Texans.
–The Houston Texans have reached agreement on a contract with quarterback Brandon Weeden, multiple media outlets reported.
Weeden is being added as a backup quarterback, but he carries more importance because the presumed starter is Deshaun Watson, who is coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered Nov. 2.
Texans coach Bill O’Brien told James Palmer of NFL Media that Watson is ahead of schedule in his recovery, and he is expected to be ready for the start of the 2018 season. But it remains unclear when Watson will return to team workouts.
Weeden, 34, played for the Texans in 2015 and 2016 before being released in September 2017. He spent last season with the Tennessee Titans as Marcus Mariota’s backup.
–The Seattle Seahawks released Trevone Boykin amid an ongoing investigation into domestic violence accusations made against the quarterback.
Boykin is under investigation for aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to police in Mansfield, Texas. He has not been arrested or charged.
Shabrika Bailey, who is a former girlfriend of Boykin, accused him of breaking her jaw in two places after she refused to unlock her phone to show him a text message she had received.
“I understand the Seahawks’ decision to release me,” Boykin said in the statement. “The story that was reported casts a bad light on the organization and on me. I want to be clear that the story is false. The police have taken statements from the accuser, another witness and me. All of these statements confirm that I was not involved in the physical altercation. This woman has lied about me, and it has cost me my job. I know guilt by association is real. This person has fabricated a story and I am suffering the consequences. I will let the legal system run its course and I know I will be vindicated.”
–Johnny Manziel took part in Texas A&M’s Pro Day, throwing passes to the Aggies’ draft prospects, another step in his rehabilitation as a pro quarterback.
Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner who ran into plenty of issues off the field and a lack of NFL success on it, told reporters afterward he is determined to keep continuing his comeback.
“I’m ready to go,” Manziel said. “I haven’t felt this good in a long, long time, from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint.”
Manziel said he’s off to Austin, Texas, on Wednesday to start the short-season developmental Spring League. Games will be held April 7 and April 12.
–The Oakland Raiders are releasing tight end Clive Walford, multiple media outlets reported.
Walford had only nine receptions for 80 yards in 13 games in 2017 before suffering a concussion in December that ended his season.
A third-round draft pick out of Miami (Fla.) in 2015, Walford had three touchdown receptions in each of his first two seasons while hauling in a combined 61 catches.
Oakland already has Jared Cook as its starting tight end and fortified the position in free agency with the signings of Lee Smith and Derek Carrier, making Walford expendable.
–The Tennessee Titans extended the contract of general manager Jon Robinson through the 2022 season.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk told beat reporter Paul Kuharsky that the contract was signed weeks ago to mirror the five-year deal of new head coach Mike Vrabel.
“I’ve put them on schedule,” Strunk told Kuharsky.
Robinson’s previous deal was set to expire following the 2019 NFL Draft. Vrabel was hired in January, replacing Mike Mularkey.
