Hall of Fame defensive end David "Deacon" Jones died at his home in Southern California on Monday night. He was easily one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history. He was 74 years old and died of natural causes. SB Nation's St. Louis Rams blog, Turf Show Times, referred to Deacon as the "greatest Ram that ever was."
NFL news: Deacon Jones’ death, Verizon’s new partnership, JaMarcus Russell and more
Legendary defensive end David “Deacon” Jones passed away, Verizon extended their deal with the NFL, and JaMarcus Russell is receiving some interest. Read on for what else you might have missed on Tuesday.
David Maxwell
His death was the biggest -- and saddest -- news in the NFL on Tuesday. Here’s what else you might have missed:
The Chicago Bears will work out free agent quarterback JaMarcus Russell. It's kind of an odd thing to say Russell is a "free agent" after he's been out of the league for three years now, but he's making his comeback attempt and apparently, teams are interested. Of course, Russell would have an outside shot to make a roster and he'd only be in a backup role. On top of the interest from the Bears, the Baltimore Ravens seem to be interested as well.
Verizon Wireless will pay the NFL $1 billion over the next four years to stream every NFL game to mobile customers. The service extends the already-stellar functionality of Verizon’s NFL Mobile app. People can watch the afternoon games from their home markets using their data plan beginning in 2014, as well as any playoff games and the Super Bowl.
The Tennessee Titans were interested in bringing in pass rusher John Abraham, one of the few remaining big name free agents, but the two sides hit an impasse in contract talks Tuesday. Abraham is after more money, and is probably leveraging the fact that he's essentially the only attractive option left on the market for teams interested in a pass rusher.
Of course, perhaps the issues also revolve around playing time, as noted at Music City Miracles:
In all seriousness, I still really hope the Titans are able to get something done with Abraham. It has been reported that the hold up from Abraham’s side is more about playing time than money. As August and September get closer, John should realize that playing 30-35 snaps a game is better than playing 0 snaps per game.
Abraham would be nothing more than a situational player here, but the possibilities would be endless on third down if they are able to work out an agreement with him.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday that he thinks there's a good chance the Jacksonville Jaguars could play two "home" games in London "very soon." Later on in the day, the Jaguars reportedly said they were not interested in playing two games there.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirmed that Bill Callahan, the team's offensive coordinator, will call offensive plays next season. Head coach Jason Garrett used to hold those duties, but with his job likely on the line (even if Jones claims otherwise) and with his struggles last year, this was the move the team made.
Defensive lineman Johnny Jolly has been reinstated to the NFL, and since he's still under contract, he returned to the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday. He's participating in OTAs and is apparently clean and sober. He was a productive player before his career and life were derailed by drugs.
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