LDN - Sports

NFL notebook: Patricia again professes innocence

[May 11, 2018] Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia again denied allegations he was involved in a sexual assault in 1996 in a previously scheduled press conference at the team facility on Thursday.

"Thankfully, truth is on my side," Patricia said reading a prepared statement after discussing a bombshell report with his team earlier in the day. "I was innocent then, and I am innocent now."

Patricia said his mission is to move forward, "100 percent the head coach of the Detroit Lions," and said he was never asked about the incident during the interview process.

Patricia, then a football player for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and one of his friends were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in South Padre Island, Texas, during spring break in 1996. The case was dismissed without going to trial.

--Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott remains one of the biggest bargains in football, as he is set to make $630,000 in base salary in 2018.

He is eligible for a contract extension after the 2018 season, and the Cowboys are prepared to spend what it takes to keep the 24-year-old in Dallas. As a result of the round he was drafted in back in 2016, Prescott's rookie contract is for four years and just over $2.7 million total. He's set to earn $720,000 in base salary in the final year of the deal in 2019.

"Yeah, you know at that position, it kind of is what it is," executive vice president Stephen Jones said Wednesday, via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "He was a fourth-round pick. No one deserves to get paid fairly more than he does."

--Cowboys defensive tackle Maliek Collins broke the fifth metatarsal in his left foot while participating in the team's offseason conditioning program, and he likely will require surgery.

His availability for the Sept. 10 season opener is now in doubt, multiple media outlets reported.

Collins, 23, had surgery on the same foot in January after playing through a foot sprain for much of the 2017 season, though he managed to start all 16 games. He also battled a similar injury to his right foot during his rookie season.

--New England Patriots left guard Joe Thuney is preparing to undergo foot surgery, according to a report from ESPN.

The procedure isn't expected to affect Thuney's availability for 2018, according to the report, which says the Patriots will hold the 2016 third-round pick out of upcoming organized team activities.

Thuney, 25, has taken part in the team's voluntary offseason program this year, though his participation has been limited. He has missed just nine offensive snaps in his first two NFL seasons.

--The Arizona Cardinals announced the signing of former Atlanta Falcons fullback Derrick Coleman to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. Arizona released running back Bronson Hill in a corresponding move.

Coleman is likely to take over as Arizona's starting fullback, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Coleman, 27, is the NFL's first legally deaf offensive player. He appeared in all 16 games for the Falcons last season, starting seven, though he only had two rushing attempts on the ground and two receptions.

--The Carolina Panthers placed running back Fozzy Whittaker on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee sustained in a non-contact, on-field drill Monday.

Whittaker appeared in 12 games with the Panthers last season, totaling 18 yards on the ground in seven attempts and hauling in five catches for 47 yards in a touchdown. He has 615 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and has caught 68 passes for 552 yards and four touchdowns through the air for his career.

Without Whittaker, the Panthers are down to four running backs on the active roster: Christian McCaffrey, Cameron Artis-Payne and new additions C.J. Anderson and Elijah Hood.

--Billionaire Ben Navarro, one of four known bidders for the Panthers, reached out to NFL legend Peyton Manning about joining his ownership group, according to a report from the Charlotte Observer.

Manning is mulling Navarro's offer to become a limited partner, according to the report. The 42-year-old former quarterback's future has been a subject of interest this offseason, as he reportedly turned down Fox's offer to be the network's game analyst for "Thursday Night Football."

Manning was also courted by ESPN for their "Monday Night Football" opening, but the five-time NFL MVP is believed to be more interested in an opportunity involving ownership or working in the front office of an NFL team than a TV job.

--Free agent running back Adrian Peterson has drawn minimal interest since being released by the Cardinals in March, but he told NFL Network he is completely recovered from a neck injury that ended his 2017 season.

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Per NFL Network, Peterson has seen three different specialists about the neck and all three have cleared him, while the right knee injury that kept him out of 13 games in 2016 is fully healthy. Peterson, 33, would also be open to returning to the New Orleans Saints, who traded him after just four games last season.

New Orleans signed Peterson to a two-year deal last offseason and traded him to Arizona in October, after Cardinals back David Johnson hurt his wrist and then-rookie Alvin Kamara emerged for the Saints. Entering the 2018 season, New Orleans could use a veteran running back at least temporarily after Mark Ingram was suspended for four games earlier this week.

--The investigation into an alleged domestic incident involving Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving in Frisco, Texas, last month has been closed.

The Frisco Police Department had been investigating Irving on suspicion of assault to bodily injury, assault by impeding breath and unlawful restraint after Angela Sanchez, Irving's live-in girlfriend, called police two separate times on April 22 and said she was a victim of domestic violence.

One day later, Sanchez recanted her allegations, saying that they were made falsely following a "vocal argument" with Irving.

--The New York Giants waived running back Paul Perkins with a non-football injury, the team announced.

Perkins sustained a pectoral injury prior to the start of the team's offseason conditioning program and later had surgery. Perkins played in 11 games last season but had just 90 rushing yards on 41 attempts.

Not helping his cause was the fact that the Giants selected running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick in the recent NFL draft.

--The Chicago Bears announced the signings of six of their seven 2018 draft picks to four-year contracts ahead of this weekend's rookie minicamp.

The group includes second-round offensive lineman James Daniels, second-round wide receiver Anthony Miller, fourth-round inside linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe, fifth-round defensive end Bilal Nichols, sixth-round outside linebacker Kylie Fitts and seventh-round receiver Javon Wims.

That leaves linebacker and eighth overall pick Roquan Smith as the only unsigned member of the draft class.

--The Washington Redskins signed seven of their eight 2018 draft picks to four-year contracts ahead of this weekend's rookie minicamp, headlined by first-round defensive tackle Da'Ron Payne and second-round running back Derrius Guice.

The team also signed safety Troy Apke (fourth round), defensive tackle Tim Settle (fifth), linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton (sixth), cornerback Greg Stroman (seventh) and wide receiver Trey Quinn (seventh).

The only unsigned player in the draft class is third-round tackle Geron Christian.

--The Denver Broncos agreed to four-year contracts with seven of the 10 players in their 2018 draft class ahead of this weekend's rookie minicamp, the team announced.

The group includes second-round wide receiver Courtland Sutton, linebacker Josey Jewell (fourth), wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton (fourth), tight end Troy Fumagalli (fifth), guard Sam Jones (sixth), linebacker Keishawn Bierria (sixth) and running back David Williams (seventh).

The only remaining unsigned players are fifth overall pick Bradley Chubb and running back Royce Freeman and cornerback Isaac Yiadom, who both went in Round 3.

--The city of Nashville is the leading candidate to host the 2019 NFL Draft, according to a report from ESPN.

A decision is expected to be announced during the league's spring meeting May 22-23 in Atlanta, according to the report, and, if not selected, Nashville would be the favorite for the 2020 event.

The other candidates to host the 2019 and 2020 NFL drafts are Las Vegas, Denver, Kansas City and a combination bid from Cleveland/Canton, Ohio. A winning city cannot host the draft in both years.

--ESPN announced an all-new broadcast team that features play-by-play voice Joe Tessitore and analyst Jason Witten in the booth, replacing Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden on the network's "Monday Night Football" telecast.

In addition to the booth overhaul, ESPN added former NFL defensive tackle and current network personality Booger McFarland as a "field level analyst." Lisa Salters will serve as the crew's sideline reporter.

Tessitore is the sixth play-by-play voice in the history of MNF. He spent 20 years calling college football games, including ESPN and ABC's featured primetime Saturday contest.

--Field Level Media

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