NFL news & notes

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Going to try and keep up with NFL news & notes thread similar to the muleriders used to do here. Will try NFL and college. Thread opened to anybody

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The Cleveland Browns have released running back Jamal Lewis, who suffered a head injury in late November and may be headed for retirement.

Lewis, 30, suffered a reportedly serious concussion in a Week 12 loss to Cincinnati, and was placed on injured reserve December 2.

The running back had previously stated that the 2009 season would be his last, and looks to have played his final NFL snap.

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Bobby Johnson was hired an assistant offensive line coach with the Buffalo Bills, Indiana announced in a new release. Johnson had served as Indiana's offensive line coach since 2005.

"This is a very exciting opportunity to move to the Buffalo Bills and the National Football League," Johnson said in a statement. "It is also bittersweet because my family and I have had a lot of great times and memories in Bloomington. We will leave sadly, but we look forward to our future in Buffalo."

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers signed Ed Johnson to a one-year deal on Wednesday, adding a needed, run-stopping defensive tackle while taking a chance on a player with a checkered past.

The 6-foot-2, 296-pound Johnson will be reunited with Carolina defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, who had the same job in Indianapolis in 2007 when Johnson started all 16 games and recorded 63 tackles as an undrafted rookie.

Johnson's career has declined since. The Colts waived him early in the 2008 season following his arrest on a marijuana possession charge. He was re-signed, then cut again early last season because coach Jim Caldwell said his play had slipped.

The 26-year-old Johnson also ran into trouble at Penn State, where he was temporarily kicked out of school and later suspended from a bowl game.

The Panthers, who have been wary of signing and drafting players with off-field issues in the past several years, decided to take a chance on Johnson.

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Titans center Kevin Mawae is expected to test the free-agent market, his agent said Wednesday.

Mark Bartelstein also acknowledged the chances of the eight-time Pro Bowl selection returning to the Titans this year were "diminished" when the team reached a contract agreement with guard Eugene Amano.

Bartelstein said he spoke with Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt on Tuesday and came away feeling that the 39-year-old Mawae wouldn't be offered a new contract before free agency begins March 5.

"All things being equal, he'd love to be back," Bartelstein said. "I think the Titans have a young guy there they are trying to bring along, and they just made a big investment in Amano. So I am not sure that the role Kevin would have as a Titan is worthy of what Kevin is as a player right now.''

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The Baltimore Ravens said yesterday they have signed wide receiver Donté Stallworth to a one-year contract.

Stallworth, 29, was released by the Cleveland Browns on Feb. 8, after being reinstated by the NFL following a one-year suspension. He was suspended for violating the league's personal-conduct policy for a DUI vehicular-manslaughter charge.

Stallworth served 30 days in a Miami jail for striking and killing a Miami construction worker with his car while driving under the influence of alcohol.

The deal is worth $900,000, with an additional $300,000 in incentives.

"I know my apology will never be strong enough for some," he said, "but I've made changes, and I'm trying to be a positive influence. It's an honor and privilege to play in the NFL, and I'm so thankful for this opportunity."

Stallworth has caught 296 career passes for 4,383 yards and 32 touchdowns. He played the 2006 season with the Eagles.

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The agents for Sam Bradford informed all 32 teams that the former Oklahoma QB will not work out until March 25, former Browns and Ravens scout Daniel Jeremiah reported on his website, MoveTheSticks.com.

Bradford suffered a shoulder injury last year that limited him to just three games. He will participate in team meetings and interviews at the scouting combine next week, Jeremiah reported.

The site also said that agents Tom Condon and Ben Dogra included a letter from Dr. James Andrews that said Bradford is ahead of schedule in his recovery.

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Former Titans and Cowboys CB Pacman Jones had a very unimpressive workout for the Bengals last week, a team insider told Yahoo! Sports.

Jones did not play last season, after serving suspensions that limited him to just nine games in the previous two years. Jones has had several run-ins with the law and the league's personal-conduct policy.

The Bengals insider told Yahoo! that Jones was nowhere close to football shape.

"He worked out, but he wasn't really ready to work out, if you know what I'm saying," the insider said. "If he really wants to get back in the league, I don't know what he's been doing to get ready for it."

Yahoo! reported that Jones also did not give the Bengals good answers when they probed him about his checkered past.

"There wasn't a lot of consistency with his explanations," the insider told Yahoo!.

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez said the surgery to repair the patella ligament in his left knee went "exceptionally well."

Sanchez, who led New York to the AFC title game as a rookie, tweeted after the procedure Wednesday afternoon that Jets team doctors said it was a success.

He will miss some offseason workouts, which begin next month, but should be completely healthy by the start of training camp in July.

The procedure is expected to help prevent future tweaks to the kneecap area.

Sanchez dislocated the kneecap during fall practice before his junior season at Southern California. He has worn a brace on the knee since, but aggravated the injury against Carolina on Nov. 29 when the kneecap popped out and back into place.

[JETMAN]

NICE WORK!!LOOK FORWARD TO MORE

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Bengals WR Chad Ochocinco continues to lobby for free-agent-to-be Terrell Owens to join him in Cincinnati.

Ochocinco first suggested during Super Bowl week that the Bengals should sign Owens, who spent last week with the Bills, if he hits free agency next month.

This week, Ochocinco told TMZ that he's waiting for Owens to join him as a target for QB Carson Palmer.

"Yeah, he doesn't have a choice," Ochocinco said when asked if Owens was going to Cincinnati. "Not at all."

Ochocinco also had a creative suggestion for how the Bengals could afford both high-profile receivers.

"I'm taking a pay cut for it," he said.

The Bengals' actual interest in Owens' might be less than Ochocinco's, however. Newsday reported that team officials are not as enamored of the controversial receiver as Ochocinco.

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The Browns and Josh Cribbs have made significant progress toward a new contract, NFL.com reported.

Neither the team nor Cribbs have confirmed the progress or provided a timetable on when a deal might be reached. But a sign of progress is marked improvement for Cribbs, the Pro Bowler who vowed after the season ended that he wouldn't return to Cleveland unless the team reworked his deal.

The Browns have worked out a "framework" of a three-year deal, NFL.com reported, and the amount of guaranteed money included is still in negotiation.

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Buffalo Bills starting right tackle Brad Butler announced his retirement on Thursday.

The news comes as a surprise to the Bills after the 26-year-old Butler just completed only his fourth NFL season.

Butler majored in government studies at Virginia, and spent the 2008 offseason interning at Kemp Partners in Washington DC with former and late Bills quarterback and congressman Jack Kemp.

"My passion for education, country and community is something that I am ready to devote my full attention to," he said in a statement released by the team. "I believe the best way to pursue these spheres of interest is to step away from the game of football at this point in my life."

Butler started all but two of the 33 career games he played in after being drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 draft. He was limited to just two games in 2009 after sustaining a serious knee injury in Week 2 against Tampa Bay.

[Sweetleaf22]

Steelers hire IUP grad as pro scouting coordinator


Brandon HuntThe Steelers hired a new pro scouting coordinator and they found him in one of their favorite talent spots.

Brandon Hunt replaces Doug Whaley, who left the Steelers to become assistant general manager of the Buffalo Bills. Hunt, a Pine Richland High School graduate, becomes the third graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania to fill the position.

Previously, IUP grads Tom Donahoe and Tom Modrak served as the team's pro scouting coordinators. Hunt started four years at IUP at guard and center from 2000 to 2003. After serving as a graduate assistant at the college, he joined the Steelers as a scouting intern in 2005 and 2006.

He has been a pro scout for the Houston Texans the past two seasons.



Yep SweetLeaf is also a grad from IUP...........

and next in line......

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The Cardinals are prepared to let linebacker Karlos Dansby test the open market in free agency this year and will not place the franchise tag on him for a third consecutive season, a team source confirmed Thursday.

That does not, however, mean Dansby's days with the franchise are over. The Cardinals will monitor the situation when free-agent offers are allowed to be made and then decide then if they wish to make an offer of their own.

The team appears to be gambling that Dansby won't command as much as a free agent as he would as a franchise player, which could be as much as $16 million guaranteed.

Dansby regularly has led the Cardinals in tackles, but this past season produced only one sack, one interception and one forced fumble.

In a 51-45 wild-card playoff victory over the Packers, however, Dansby was a force. He deflected a pass that led to an interception, caused a fumble and recovered and returned another fumble for the winning score.

Dansby, a second-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2004, is said to be eyeing a contract that guarantees him around $30 million. Teams that have been linked to possibly having interest in him and vice versa include the Dolphins, Giants and Colts.

Dansby, who was unavailable for comment, has said on numerous occasions he wouldn't rule out re-signing with the Cardinals.

The Cardinals also are continuing negotiations with coach Ken Whisenhunt concerning a contract extension, although no new information was available Thursday.