Month: July 2013

Veteran free agent linebacker Nick Barnett joined the Washington Redskins today

He was signed to a one-year contract, according to a league source.

The Redskins had been seeking depth since Keenan Robinson tore his pectoral muscle.

Joe Mays visited Saturday before signing with the Houston Texans.

Barnett registered 112 tackles and two sacks last season for the Buffalo Bills. He was released rather than pay him a $3.5 million base salary.

Barnett spent his first eight seasons with Green Bay. He was entering the final year of his contract in Buffalo before being cut.

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

Veteran free agent center Ryan Lilja has agreed to terms with the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos needed reinforcements at center due to Dan Koppen's season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament with J.D. Walton still sidelined.

Lilja is a 6-foot-2, 290-pound 10th-year pro who has started 104 of 111 career games for the Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs. He has played left guard and right guard, but lined up at center for a dozen starts last season in Kansas City.

A starter in nine postseason games, including two Super Bowls with the Colts, Lilja has never allowed more than three sacks in a season and was named to the USA Today All-Joe Team in 2010.

He entered the NFL as a college free agent with Kansas City in 2004 before being waived during final roster cut downs and claimed by Indianapolis.

Lilja started 14-of-23 career games at Kansas State University and earned second-team All-Big 12 Conference honors following his senior season in 2003.

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

Former Tennessee Titans running back Jamie Harper was arrested over the weekend on a domestic assault charge involving his girlfriend, according to WZTV Fox 17 in Nashville.

Harper tweeted out the following Wednesday:” I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. I ask for your continued prayers as I fight these allegations. I remain committed to my son, my family and my career. I look forward to proving my innocence as I close this chapter of my life.”

Harper was a fourth-round pick of the Titans in 2011, but was released in May by the club and had yet to sign with another team. He had worked out for the New England Patriots and New York Giants.

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com

Veteran free agent wide receiver Laurent Robinson is working out for the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, according to a league source.

Robinson worked out for the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday.

Robinson dealt with concussion problems last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, leading to his release.

He has recently worked out for the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Detroit Lions.

Last season, Robinson caught 24 passes but only played in seven games.

Two seasons ago, Robinson had a breakthrough season for the Dallas Cowboys with 54 receptions for 858 yards and 11 touchdowns.

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

The New England Patriots released veteran wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, a foremr Tennessee Titans starter.

Hawkins has 71 career receptions for 771 yards and one touchdown.

It wasn't a fit for him in New England after being signed this offseason following five seasons in Tennessee.

The Patriots also cut offensive lineman Nick McDonald with a failed physical designation. He played in 16 games over the past two seasons with three starts during that span.

The Patriots released rookie wide receiver Perez Ashford.

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper issued an apology today for using a racial slur at a Kenny Chesney concert, a video that has spread like wildfire.

He has been fined by the team.

Cooper acknowledged that he was drinking, but said that's no excuse for what he did. He said he doesn't usually speak that way and said, “I was raised way better than that. I know no one in Philadelphia is happy with me right now. I hope they see the true me and accept my apology. I know it's going to take a while.”

In the video posted on CrossingBroad.com, an angry Cooper yelled: “I will jump that fence and fight every (N word) here, bro.”

The video is apparently from a June 9 concert at Lincoln Financial Field.

“I am so ashamed and disgusted with myself,” Cooper said in a statement. “I want to apologize. I have been offensive. I have apologized to my coach, to Jeffrey Lurie, to Howie Roseman and to my teammates. I owe an apology to the fans and to this community. I am so ashamed, but there are no excuses. What I did was wrong and I will accept the consequences.”

Obviously, language like that has no place anywhere. And Cooper will definitely have some fence-mending to do in the locker room after his remarks.

“We are shocked and appalled by Riley Cooper’s words,” Lurie said in a statement. “This sort of behavior or attitude from anyone has no role in a civil society. He has accepted responsibility for his words and his actions. He has been fined for this incident.“

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

The San Diego Chargers signed former Chicago Bears quarterback Nathan Enderle.

Enderle is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound former fifth-round round draft choice by the Bears (160th overall) in 2011. He spent the entire 2011 season on the active roster, but did not appear in any games.

He was waived prior to the 2012 season. He went to training camp with Jacksonville in 2012 and then spent time with Tennessee this offseason.

Enderle started four years at the University of Idaho.

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

Add Tennessee Titans safety Bernard Pollard to the list of NFL players who don't mind that the league wants to implement HGH testing.

In fact, Pollard tells TitanInsider that not only should anyone with nothing to hide should be willing to be tested, the veteran goes on to say that the would be fine with penalties for those who are cheating being caught being as harsh as kicking the offending players out of the league, if need be.

“If you are out there doing something illegal, you need to be caught and need to be kicked out or whatever the league is trying to do,” Pollard said.

Pollard also said players should watch how they treat their bodies, and shoudl probably even avoid things like alcohol during the season.

“For this sport, this is a violent game – 16 games and four preseason games, which is 20, and the playoffs, you’ve got a lot of banging going on and guys’ bodies are taking a pounding, so guys want to figure out the best way to get your body back,” Pollard said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about being a professional. It’s not about going out there and taking something illegal to speed up the process of recovery, it’s about being smart and keeping liquor and everything else out of your body, especially during the season, so you can recover better.”

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Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com

The sobriquet just won't quit. It's too catchy, and just too associated with Arizona Cardinals rookie cornerback Tyrann Mathieu.

So, people still call him the Honey Badger even if he no longer likes the nickname.

“I tried to, but it's on my shoulder,” Mathieu told reporters. “I just go with the flow. We'll see what happens.”

So far, Mathieu is off to a good start with the Cardinals after getting kicked off the football team at LSU for repeatedly failing drug tests.

The Cardinals are giving him a shot, drafting him in the third round. There's protection in his contract

“He's a lovable kid,” coach Bruce Arians. “They want him to succeed. We all do. He knows what it takes and he's got a really good support group.”

So, what about the nickname that sticks?

“I understand that there's a lot of people who love it and can't let it go, but for me, I want people to recognize me as Tyrann,” Mathieu said. “I don't have anything against the nickname, it's just that Honey Badger happened during such a dark time.”

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.

Former West Point linebacker Josh McNary has changed uniforms.

Following two years in the Army, McNary is now playing for the Indianapolis Colts.

He's off the reserve-military list and was activated this week.

McNary is the all-time career sacks leader at Army and is no longer required to serve any longer in the military. The 6-foot, 251-pounder had 195 career tackles, 28 sacks and 49 tackles for losses in college and wasn't drafted.

“It just felt comfortable to be back out here. It felt natural, surprisingly,” McNary told Indiana reporters.”I was kind of concerned going into it, whether if I was going to be overly rusty. But it turned out to be pretty smooth, a smooth transition.”

McNary was a commissioned lieutenant in the Army and was training at Fort Hood in Texas while waiting to rejoin the Colts, whose coach, Chuck Pagano, noted the similarities between the military and football.

“He made the parallel between the Army, and that team, and the team that we have here,” McNary said. “The fact that you kind of put this game into perspective, he called it a 'child's game.' He said that basically there's traits to be adopted and that team, in terms of everybody taking personal accountability and people being accountable for what they are supposed to be doing. It was inspiring.”

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.