LDN - Sports

NFL notebook: Kraft open to Brady extension

[January 31, 2019] New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has said he wants to play until age 45, and team owner Robert Kraft said Wednesday he wouldn't be opposed to that.

Brady will be 42 as he enters the 2019 season, which is the final year of his contract.

"Think about it: The last three years, we've been privileged to go to the Super Bowl with a quarterback in place. I would be quite surprised if he didn't continue for quite a while as our quarterback," Kraft said.

A contract extension also would give the Patriots a chance to restructure Brady's deal. Under the current pact, his contract will count as $27 million against the salary cap in 2019.

--Ten days after the controversial end of the NFC championship game, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said while he understands the frustration of the New Orleans Saints and their fans, it "was not a consideration" to overturn the result.

The Saints lost 26-23 in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams after a pair of penalties were not called against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on a critical third down play late in regulation that would have let New Orleans run most of the time off the clock and almost certainly win with a short field goal.

Goodell continues to explore with the league's competition committee ways to improve the game, including a "sincere effort" to evaluate officiating.

--Saints coach Sean Payton met the media for his season-ending news conference and said his team will recover from the heartbreaking and controversial loss to the Rams in the NFC championship game.

"I would say honestly after the game for two to three days, much like normal people, I sat and probably didn't come out of my room, ate Jeni's ice cream and watched Netflix for three straight days," Payton said.

--The NFL is reviewing options to allow coaches to challenge judgment calls by officials, but their teams would be negatively impacted if a review shows officials got the call right, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.

Schefter said that if a challenge is wrong, the team could be penalized or time could be run off the clock. He said that by adding such a disincentive, coaches will reserve the option for the most obvious of cases.

A league source told Schefter that the NFL's competition committee likely will pass a rule on judgment calls this offseason and this particular idea has some support.

[to top of second column]

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) addresses the media at a press conference for Super Bowl LIII at Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

--Patrick Peterson used a day of golf to confirm that he spoke too soon when requesting a midseason trade from the Arizona Cardinals.

"I just want to apologize to everybody for asking for that trade in the middle of the season," Peterson said. "I'm here to stay, baby."

--New Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta has been in his position just a few weeks, and already he's facing tough decisions that will affect the future of the franchise.

First among them is just how to cut ties with veteran quarterback Joe Flacco, and in a news conference, DeCosta said it still be a while before that question is answered.

Flacco, 34, led the Ravens to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and has been the starter since 2008. But when an injury in 2018 sent Flacco to the sidelines after Week 9, rookie Lamar Jackson took over and didn't relinquish the role.

--Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said his shoulder feels good, nearly a week after arthroscopic surgery.

Newton, 29, missed the final two games of the 2018 season with a sore throwing shoulder. The team said last Thursday that the procedure was successfully performed in Charlotte, N.C., by team physician Dr. Pat Connor.

--New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley said he is confident that if fellow NFL players had a vote for Offensive Rookie of the Year, they'd vote for him.

"If you asked my peers that played against me or coaches that had to play against me, 'Who is Rookie of the Year?' I think they would say me," Barkley said on ESPN's "Get Up."

--Rob Ryan is back in the NFL, having been hired as the inside linebackers coach for the Washington Redskins. The longtime assistant has been out of the league since being fired by the Buffalo Bills in December 2016.

--Field Level Media

Back to top