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Come Fan with UsFriday, July 17, 2026

NFL news: Ronde Barber retires, Josh Cribbs visits Raiders

One of the great NFL cornerbacks of all time, Ronde Barber, retired on Wednesday.

USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday was anything but a slow news day in the NFL.

The biggest news of the day was the announced retirement of Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber. He leaves the league as one of the better cornerbacks to play the game, with 240 consecutive games played since 1998, five Pro Bowl selections, three first-team All-Pro selections and a Super Bowl victory to his name. The man has nothing left to prove anybody at this point.

In other news, the San Francisco 49ers' Santa Clara stadium effort received some good news. The team announced that Levi Strauss and Co. will purchase the naming rights for the stadium, providing over $200 million for the rights to do so.

All-Pro return specialist Joshua Cribbs is still a free agent, but now that the 2013 NFL Draft has wrapped up, there will probably be some solid interest in him prior to next season. On Wednesday, the Raiders gave Cribbs a physical and offered him a contract, but he left without accepting it, likely due to other visits. Cribbs is also visiting the Giants and Jets.

Rob Gronkowski is one of the better tight ends in the NFL; some think he could be the best if he gets healthy. But his chances of doing so took another hit on Wednesday, as it was announced that he needed to have a fourth surgery to repair his left forearm. On top of that, there was talk of a possible fifth procedure. There will be a test after the fourth surgery to see if the infection is gone -- if it is, then the fifth surgery won't be required.

The Jacksonville Jaguars want to get Denard Robinson involved on the field. How will they do it? Well, that's still a little up for debate. Michigan didn't even know exactly how they wanted to use Robinson, but according to Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell, the team wants to get Robinson involved in "10-15" snaps per game. It's likely you'll see him throwing, catching, running and possibly even returning kicks, just like he did at Michigan.

More from SB Nation:

Colts trade A.Q. Shipley to Ravens

Jags want 10-15 snaps for Denard Robinson

Details on 49ers’ $220M stadium naming rights deal

Could lawsuit cost Haslam the Browns?

Spending draft night with an NFL free agent

2014 NFL mock draft: Who gets Clowney?

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