LDN - Sports

National Football League roundup

[August 01, 2017] July 31 (The Sports Xchange) - Commissioner Roger Goodell does not believe any NFL team tanks to enhance its draft position.

Goodell made a visit to the New York Jets' training camp in Florham Park, N.J., and strongly stated teams would not deliberately lose games.

"I don't think any team tanks, I really don't," Goodell told reporters when questioned about the Jets, who parted ways with 11 veteran players during the offseason.

"I think teams, depending on where you are, go through transitions. They are looking to sort of say, 'We need to build more talent here, we'll do it through the draft. Let's let some of our veteran players go and develop some of our younger players.'"

The Jets, who haven't made the playoffs since 2010, have been accused of sacrificing this season for a high draft pick in 2018.

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Before moving forward with free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the Baltimore Ravens are going all out to weigh the potential cost of bringing him on board.

Team president Dick Cass confirmed the franchise is reaching out to former players, anchor sponsors and advertisers and others to gauge the potential for a negative reaction to signing Kaepernick.

"We want to get a sense of what the attitude is out there and how Colin would handle it if he were to come, how he'd handle it and how that would change people's views," Cass said.

According to Cass, owner Steve Bisciotti discussed Kaepernick with former linebacker Ray Lewis and several fans in addition to corporate sponsors.

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Findings in the rape investigation against Oakland Raiders first-round pick Gareon Conley, who signed his rookie deal last week, have been sent to a grand jury in Ohio, according to multiple reports.

The Cleveland Police Department sent its findings to the grand jury, which will determine whether charges will be filed, NFL Network first reported and ESPN confirmed.

A woman accused Conley of raping her on April 9 at a hotel in downtown Cleveland. The 22-year-old Conley has denied the accusation and has not been charged or arrested.

Conley met with Cleveland police in May and provided a voluntary statement and a DNA sample. NFL Network reported Conley told police he had consensual sex with the woman.

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Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor is optimistic about signing a contract extension before the start of the 2017 season.

Chancellor is entering the final year of his current deal.

"I think it's been positive on both ends," Chancellor said. "Hopefully, it'll get done any time now. Both sides have been very productive working together and just waiting to see what's happening."

Chancellor held out for all of training camp and the first two games of the 2015 season as he hoped to get his contract renegotiated at that point. However, the Seahawks held firm with their stance of not wanting to set a precedent of ripping up contracts with three years remaining on the books.

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The Ravens signed journeyman quarterback Josh Woodrum and waived David Olson, the arena league quarterback who was signed three days ago.

Woodrum will serve as the No. 3 quarterback behind Ryan Mallett and Dustin Vaughan until starter Joe Flacco returns from a back injury.

Flacco told the team of a disc issue in his back last week just before the first full-team meeting. He is expected to miss at least a week.

The quarterback shuffle move will not preclude the Ravens from signing another experienced quarterback, including Colin Kaepernick.

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Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Branden Albert announced his retirement from the NFL after nine seasons and without playing for his new team.

The Jaguars acquired the 32-year-old Albert during the offseason from the Miami Dolphins for a 2018 seventh-round draft pick.

Albert, a starter in 118 of 120 career games played and a Pro Bowl selection in 2013 and 2015, was expected to compete with rookie second-round selection Cam Robinson at left tackle.

Albert, who missed the voluntary portion of the Jaguars' offseason program in an unsuccessful effort to renegotiate his contract, participated in the mandatory three-day minicamp in June.

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Green Bay Packers rookie defensive lineman Montravius Adams will be out "multiple weeks" of training camp with a foot injury, coach Mike McCarthy said.

NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported the injury is a stress fracture and Adams may need to have a screw inserted to help the healing process.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound third-round pick from Auburn dropped out of camp after the second day of practice and has not worked in pads.

"I don't think it's time for concern. It's the unfortunate part of the game," McCarthy told reporters before Monday's training camp practice. "When it happens to young guys, these practices are so critical for the development, especially for Year 1. And not only learning what to do and how to do it, but just how we practice, everything that goes into it. It's just unfortunate."

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The Washington Redskins signed Kenny Hilliard and waived fellow running back Keith Marshall.

Hilliard was a seventh-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2015 and spent a significant portion of the last two years on the team's practice squad.

Hilliard rushed 29 times for 86 yards in the Texans' 2016 preseason finale against the Dallas Cowboys. He also rushed for 1,547 yards and 27 touchdowns in 48 games (seven starts) with LSU.

Marshall sustained a knee injury during Saturday's practice session in Richmond, Va. He missed his entire rookie season in 2016 with an elbow injury. (Editing by Steve Keating in Toronto.)

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