NFL notebook: QB Murray, 22 others to attend draft

[April 10, 2019]  Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray will be in Nashville on April 25 for the first round of the NFL draft. Where he goes from there remains to be seen.

Murray is one of 23 prospects who plan to attend the draft later this month, the NFL announced Tuesday. He stands a chance to be one of the top picks, if not the No. 1 overall selection, after passing for 4,361 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2018.

Quarterbacks Daniel Jones of Duke and Drew Lock of Missouri also plan to be at the draft, while another top quarterback, Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State, will not be there. The other 20 players include six defensive linemen, four offensive linemen, three linebackers, two defensive backs, two wide receivers, two tight ends and a running back.

Murray reportedly headed to Phoenix on Tuesday for another meeting with the Arizona Cardinals, who hold the No. 1 overall draft pick.

--The NFL and NFL Players Association announced they will take part in regularly scheduled meetings to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement.
 

The NFL and NFLPA issued the following statement: "Today, the members of the NFL's Management Council and the NFLPA's Executive Committee met to discuss negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The League and the Union have committed to meet regularly in the coming months, which will involve staff, NFL leadership, members of the NFLPA Executive Committee and Player Representation."

The league and its players most recently agreed upon a collective bargaining agreement in 2011. The deal, which was reached after a player lockout, runs through the end of the 2020 season. Both sides hope that starting negotiations early may help to avoid a work stoppage after the end of next season.

--The New England Patriots and kicker Stephen Gostkowski agreed to a two-year contract, ESPN reported.

Gostkowski, 35, has been the club's kicker since 2006. He replaced Adam Vinatieri, who had departed to the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent.

Gostkowski, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has made 367 of 420 field-goal attempts during 13 seasons with New England. He was 27 of 32 last season.

--The NFL released the 65-game 2019 preseason schedule, kicking off with the Hall of Fame game between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 1 in Canton, Ohio.

Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray participates in positional workouts during pro day at the Everest Indoor Training Center at the University of Oklahoma. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Other highlights include the Dallas Cowboys facing the Los Angeles Rams in Honolulu on Aug. 17, the NFL's first preseason contest at Aloha Stadium since 1976.

The Super Bowl LIII champion New England Patriots will square off against the New York Giants in the preseason finale for the 15th straight season.

--The Atlanta Falcons signed veteran defensive end Adrian Clayborn to a one-year deal, the team announced. Official terms were not disclosed, but multiple outlets reported that he could earn up to $4 million with incentives.

Clayborn, who played for the Falcons from 2015-17, appeared in 14 games for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots last season and tallied 2.5 sacks.

Clayborn, 30, has registered 32.5 career sacks and 90 quarterback hits in 95 games (51 starts) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Falcons and Patriots.

--Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said in an interview with ESPN Milwaukee that he "lost vision" after sustaining a concussion in the final game of last season.

Rodgers also went into detail about the knee injury he sustained in Week 1 and then aggravated in Week 5. Rodgers left the Week 1 game against the Chicago Bears but returned to engineer the 20-point comeback victory.

"I had a tibial plateau fracture and obviously an MCL sprain," Rodgers told ESPN, "so that was very painful. If you watch the hit back, just my two bones here that come together on the outside just kind of made an indent fracture. Very painful."

--The Philadelphia Eagles announced the signing of three former Alliance of American Football players to one-year contracts.

Quarterback Luis Perez and wide receivers Charles Johnson and Greg Ward became available when the AAF ceased operations last week, just eight weeks into its inaugural season.

--Field Level Media

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