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National Football League roundup

[August 26, 2016] Aug 25 (The Sports Xchange) - The New England Patriots acquired linebacker Barkevious Mingo from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a late-round pick in the 2017 draft.

Mingo was the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft but only had seven sacks over his first three seasons.

Cleveland, which traded the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft to the Eagles to stockpile selections in the 2017 draft, receives New England's fifth-round pick next year.

The Browns declined to pick up Mingo's fifth-year option during the offseason, which assured Mingo would become a free agent following this season.

New England is looking to shore up its pass rush and decided it was willing to take a flyer on the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Mingo.

Mingo had just 18 tackles and did not record a sack while playing in all 16 games last season.

Mingo played college football at LSU and departed for the NFL after his junior season.

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Outspoken Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison met with NFL investigators as the league studies allegations linking him and three others to performance-enhancing drugs.

Harrison, who has repeatedly criticized the process, reportedly met with investigators for about 45 minutes before joining the Steelers at practice. He did not speak with reporters when he later departed the team facility.

"My understanding is everything went very smoothly," Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, told the Tribune-Review of Pittsburgh. "There were no problems and no issues."

The meeting stems from an Al-Jazeera report that named Harrison, Green Bay Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers and former Packers linebacker Mike Neal as players who received performance-enhancing drugs from an anti-aging clinic in Indianapolis.

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Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning also was named in the report. The NFL investigated the claims against Manning and cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Matthews and Peppers were reportedly interviewed by NFL investigators on Wednesday. Neal, a free agent, is reportedly slated to be interviewed on Friday.

The allegations against the players were made by former clinic employee Charles Sly, who later recanted his story.

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Nick Martin went from the starting center of the Houston Texans to staring at a rookie season on injured reserve due to an ankle injury.

Martin, the 50th pick in the 2016 draft, was slated to start for the Texans this season but a severe ankle injury suffered in a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints last week is likely to cost him the entire season.

Martin is expected to undergo surgery and be placed on season-ending IR.

A replacement for Martin could be on the roster, but if the Texans try veteran Tony Bergstrom and second-year center Greg Mancz this week and find they need to add competition, Houston will mine final roster cuts before the season begins on Sept. 11 against the Chicago Bears.

- - - (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)

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