Aaron Hernandez's arrest has raised questions about the NFL's role in ensuring players' off-field conduct is kept in check. The league already had protocols in place to deal with players, but the NFL will continue to be scrutinized in a week that saw the Patriots star arrested for murder and Cleveland Browns rookie Ausar Walcott arrested for attempted murder.
NFL news roundup: Ryan Mathews was not arrested, but a woman who robbed Shaun Rogers was
The last two weeks haven’t been kind to the NFL’s public image, and false reports are contributing to this.
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James Dator has been covering a wide range of sports for SB Nation for over a decade, with a special focus on the NFL.
The next big player arrest issue was a false report. On Monday the spurious report alleged that San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews was arrested for his role in a fight outside a San Diego club. Police made it clear Monday that Mathews was not arrested in relation to the investigation, however, refuting the early report.
“We can say that he was definitely not arrested by SDPD,” Rose said, “but there might have been a separate arrest that led to that (report). ... It was not Ryan Mathews.”
The other NFL legal news from Monday stemmed from an arrest in the robbery of New York Giants defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. A 25-year-old woman was arrested in Queens, NY, for stealing over $500,000 in jewelry. The jewelry was taken from a Miami Beach hotel room belonging to Rogers. The woman was invited to his room following meeting the Giants player in an area club.
New England's receiving corps is on shaky ground as Rob Gronkowski recovers from injury after the team parted ways with Aaron Hernandez last week. Despite their need for more weapons, though, it's not expected that Brandon Lloyd will return to the team.
An 11-year veteran, Lloyd finished with 74 receptions and 911 yards last year. It’s been popular to assume he’ll return to New England due to the team’s needs, but according to ESPN Boston the Patriots chose to part ways with Lloyd largely because of financial issue -- something that isn’t fixed so easily.
The Dallas Cowboys and defensive end Anthony Spencer remain at odds over a long-term deal. Little progress has been made, according to ESPN Dallas, and that would make Spencer a free agent unless the Cowboys decide to place a costly franchise tag on him.
Spencer transitioned to outside linebacker last year with great success, finishing the season with 95 tackles and 11.0 sacks -- the best totals of his career. Spencer will be 30 years old in 2014, though, which could impact the team’s decision to keep him on the roster.
One of Buffalo's pleasant surprises last year was Scott Chandler. The third-year tight end took a step forward as he contended with a floundering passing offense and managed to catch a career-high 43 passes for 571 yards.
Chandler’s season ended unfortunately with a torn ACL, but reports out of Buffalo indicate that he’s recovering ahead of schedule and should be able to participate in large portions of training camp.
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