National Football League roundup

[March 22, 2016]  March 21 (The Sports Xchange) - New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has had a change of heart, requesting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstate the team's first-round draft pick stripped as part of the Deflategate penalties.

The 74-year-old Kraft told reporters Monday at the NFL meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., that he wrote a letter to Goodell over a month ago.

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The Kansas City Chiefs are appealing the NFL's tampering ruling that cost them two draft picks as a result of making improper contact with prospective unrestricted free agent Jeremy Maclin last year.

The league said the Chiefs contacted Maclin -- then under contract to the Philadelphia Eagles -- directly during the league's negotiating window that takes place before the free-agent signing period. Teams are allowed then to contact only agents for prospective free agents.

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The Cleveland Browns are working on the possibility of signing free agent quarterback Robert Griffin III as any trade talks regarding San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick have cooled.

Griffin, the former Washington Redskins quarterback, visited with the Browns on Friday and Saturday.

"He's a very talented performer," coach Hue Jackson told NFL Media of Griffin.

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The Detroit Lions signed free agent wide receiver and returner Jeremy Kerley.

Terms were not disclosed but the deal is for one year and worth just over $1 million, according to ESPN.

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The Minnesota Vikings signed former San Francisco 49ers tight end Brian Leonhardt.

Terms were not announced but the deal is reportedly for one year and worth $600,000.

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New Orleans cornerback Damian Swann was arrested early Friday morning on reckless driving and speeding charges, according to multiple reports.

The second-year cornerback out of Georgia was clocked going 100 mph in a 65-mph zone in Athens, Ga, according to the police report.

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The Green Bay Packers promoted Eliot Wolf to director of football operations and Brian Gutekunst to director of player personnel.

Wolf, the son of former Packers general manager Ron Wolf now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is in his 13th season with the club. He spent the past year as the director of player personnel after serving as the director of pro personnel for three years.

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The Carolina Panthers signed free agent safety Trenton Robinson to a one-year contract.

Robinson played the past three seasons in Washington. Last season, he played in nine games, making seven starts before being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

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San Francisco defensive tackle Ian Williams was in line for hefty five-year, $27.5 million free-agent deal contingent on him passing his physical.

ESPN reported Williams indeed did not pass his physical and the club reworked the deal, which now could be worth up to $6 million.

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Johnny Manziel's new agent said there are teams interested in the troubled quarterback.

Speaking to the Dallas Morning News, Drew Rosenhaus said "there are teams interested" but that Dallas was not one of them.

"I'm not talking much about him at this point publicly," Rosenhaus said when asked which teams actually might be inquiring about Manziel. "I'm really just here talking to teams privately." (Editing by Frank Pingue)

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