NFL rumors: Latest news from the off-season and more
By Justin Lee, Chat Sports
In the waning days of the current league calendar, front offices around the NFL are multitasking furiously—juggling draft evaluations at this week’s NFL Scouting Combine, negotiating in-house contracts and franchise tags and planning for free agency once the new league year begins on March 9.
Some teams such as the Los Angeles Rams have already showed their hands, cutting former roster cornerstones Chris Long, James Laurinaitis and Jared Cook. Others are still shuffling, weighing veterans’ cap hits against talent projected to hit the open market.
All we really know is that it’s going to be an intense two weeks until the league calendar flips, and a fun stretch for those who enjoy a live NFL rumor wire.
Check out the latest NFL news and rumors below.
• Chat Sports: Two-round NFL mock draft, pre-Combine edition
• Dallas police have obtained video evidence from surveillance cameras to be used in Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel’s ongoing domestic violence case, according to a statement released Saturday afternoon.
• Former Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle was arrested in Kansas on Sunday morning on three counts of aggravated battery, one count of drug possession and one count of criminal damage, according to TMZ Sports. It is Randle’s fifth arrest in the past 18 months.
• The NFL is considering alterations to the tests given to athletes at the NFL Scouting Combine, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
• The San Diego Chargers plan to talk about new deals for tight ends Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green in the very near future, general manager Tom Telesco told reporters, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
• Carolina Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson may have to take a pay cut or risk being released, according to Joseph Person and Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer.
• Chat Sports: More NFL news and rumors inside the Chat Sports app
• The Detroit Lions have a succession plan in place for 90-year-old team owner Martha Ford, Lions president Ron Wood said on WMGC-FM, according to the Detroit Free Press.
• The Atlanta Falcons will release defensive lineman Paul Soliai on or after March 9, a league source told Mike Florio of NBC’s Pro Football Talk.
