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NFL notebook: General Manager Keim suspended by Cardinals for DUI

[July 18, 2018] Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim pleaded guilty to extreme DUI in Chandler, Ariz., on Tuesday, shortly before the team announced it has suspended Keim for five weeks and fined him $200,000, which will be donated to the Arizona chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the Cardinals have been in communication with the league since the arrest and advised the NFL of disciplinary action. The league will not take further action, so there will be no further punishment under the league's personal-conduct policy.

"As stated at the time of the incident, this behavior is indefensible and completely unacceptable," the Cardinals said in a statement. "While Steve has accepted full accountability and responsibility for his actions, that does not diminish their gravity nor the severity of the consequences that result from them."

According to the Chandler Police Department forensics report, Keim's blood-alcohol content was .19 when he was arrested early on the morning of July 4, exceeding the extreme DUI benchmark of .15 and more than doubling the legal limit of .08. A Class I misdemeanor, an extreme DUI conviction can require as many as 30 days, and no less than 24 hours, in jail, with the length of sentencing depending on probation terms.

--The Los Angeles Rams announced a five-year extension for wide receiver Brandin Cooks, putting him under contract through the 2023 season.

Terms of the deal were not announced, but ESPN reports it is worth $80 million over the five years of the extension, bringing the total to around $88.5 million over six seasons. A source told NFL Network that the deal is worth $81 million, including $20.5 million fully guaranteed upon signing and $50.5 million in total guarantees.

Cooks, whom the Rams acquired from the New England Patriots this spring for a first-round pick and a swap of later-round picks, was entering the $8.5 million fifth-year option of his rookie contract. Yet to turn 25 as he enters his fifth NFL season, Cooks topped 1,000 yards for the third consecutive year in 2017, finishing with 65 grabs for 1,082 yards and seven scores in 16 games (15 starts).

--Defensive end Randy Gregory of the Dallas Cowboys has been reinstated by the NFL on a conditional basis, the league announced.

Under the terms of the reinstatement, Gregory may rejoin Dallas at training camp and take part in meetings and conditioning sessions.

Gregory was suspended without pay in January 2017 for a third time for violating the league's substance abuse policy. That came after a pair of suspensions kept him off the field for 14 games during the 2016 season.

--More than seven years after he left the NFL, Terrell Owens appears intent on returning to professional football in the Canadian Football League this season.

According to multiple reports, Owens invoked the 10-day clause over the weekend for the Edmonton Eskimos, who hold his negotiating rights, to offer him a contract or release him.

Owens' agent, Jason Staroszik, told TSN his client is "absolutely, 100 percent" serious about playing in the CFL, adding that there's at least one team interested in signing the 44-year-old wideout if the Eskimos do not. Owens is set to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 4.

--Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell reportedly turned down a $70 million offer before breaking off contract talks with Pittsburgh.

Bell, who instead will play under a one-year deal worth $14.55 million due to the franchise designation, reportedly was seeking a contract worth at least $14.5 million per year.

Bell's agent posted a comment about 2018 being his final season with the Steelers after failing to get a long-term deal by Monday's deadline.

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Brandin Cooks (14) walks to the locker room after an apparent injury against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

--Tight end Rob Gronkowski is expected to report for the start of New England Patriots training camp on time, according to an ESPN report.

Gronkowski missed all of the Patriots' voluntary offseason workouts and has been working with the team on a tweak of his contract for the second consecutive year. But he did show for New England's mandatory minicamp, and he is not expected to hold out for any portion of training camp.

Gronkowski, 29, flirted with the idea of retirement this offseason while considering a career in Hollywood, according to multiple reports. Reports also said there were lingering frustrations between him and head coach Bill Belichick, although both parties have dismissed such reports on multiple occasions.

--Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly said he might have hit a unexpected bump on his road to recovery from cancer surgery in March.

Speaking at his football clinic for children in Pittsford, N.Y., Kelly said he plans to visit his doctors in New York City in August for a "checkup" after "something came up." He had surgery in March to remove oral cancer and reconstruct his upper jaw.

Kelly has been battling cancer off and on for five years. He had surgery in 2013 to remove squamous cell carcinoma of the upper jawbone, with chemotherapy following the next year when cancer was discovered in his maxillary sinus. Doctors declared him cancer free in September 2014, but he announced in March that cancer had been detected in his upper jaw.

--The Jacksonville Jaguars have signed first-round pick Taven Bryan to a four-year deal, according to an NFL Network report.

The news comes one day before the Jaguars' rookies and first-year players are scheduled to report to training camp.

Like all first-round selections, Bryan will have a fifth-year team option in his contract, which will be worth $10.2 million over the first four years, with a $5.5 million signing bonus. Bryan, 22, was taken 29th overall by Jacksonville out of Florida.

--Legendary announcer Brent Musburger will return to the announcer's booth to call Oakland Raiders games on the radio this season, according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal report.

Per the report, Musburger agreed to a three-year deal to take over play-by-play duties on the team's radio broadcasts this season, which could be the Raiders' final year in Oakland.

Greg Papa has been the voice of the Raiders since 1997, but there have been questions about his interest in following the team to Las Vegas when it moves. Per the report, Papa might not yet be aware of Musburger's hiring.

--Field Level Media

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