The annual league meetings wrapped up in Arizona on Wednesday, and while there’s a lot to talk about from various head coaches around the league, there were also some noteworthy bits of info from Roger Goodell’s closing press conference.
Roger Goodell won’t guarantee a Los Angeles NFL team by 2016
Roger Goodell spoke to the NFL media again on Wednesday, and talked about the status of Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson, among other things.
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On the league’s interest in having a presence in Los Angeles, Goodell stated that the focus is on finding the correct fit, not necessarily getting a team there by 2016. Goodell expects to hear from all teams interested in moving to L.A. by late April.
On the topic of Greg Hardy signing with the Dallas Cowboys, Goodell said every team was aware that the league is reviewing the case for possible discipline. A decision is expected to come down in the “near future.”
On Adrian Peterson’s eventual return, Goodell said April 15 is still the the target date despite how the appeal process played out in court.
When asked whether a player can be disciplined for something that happens in college, Goodell said the NFL doesn’t “have that right.” Of course, he followed that up by saying such things can be an “aggravating factor” if the NFL ever has to punish a player for something else, so in essence, they kind of do have that power. The commissioner further explained that the suspension given to Terrelle Pryor upon arriving in the NFL was for manipulating his position in the supplemental draft.
On the subject of “Textgate,” Goodell warned the Cleveland Browns and general manager Ray Farmer regarding the text messaging incident from this past season. There’s an ongoing investigation and Goodell insisted that “any violation” will be treated seriously, despite the fact that people don’t seem to care so much about a general manager texting the sideline during a game.
Jason Garrett plans to have Hardy around the team even if he’s suspended
Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said that the Cowboys will have Hardy around for training camp and other organized team activities, even if he is ultimately suspended by the league, according to Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram. It’s unclear what kind of suspension Hardy will be looking at, if any, but he’ll at least get a chance to learn Dallas’ system for when he is able to play.
Bears have not re-worked Cutler’s contract
Chicago Bears head coach John Fox said that the team spoke with quarterback Jay Cutler about redoing his contract before naming him the starter, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Cutler signed a seven-year, $126.7 million contract last offseason and it’s considered one of the worst contracts in the league at this point. The Bears have since come out and said they did not try and re-work Cutler’s contract, as noted by the Sun Times, but that wasn’t what Fox was saying.
Linebackers can now wear jersey numbers 40-49
While it may only be of interest to the uniform-minded fan, linebackers can now wear jersey numbers 40-49. Previously, the only positions allowed to wear those numbers were running backs, tight ends and defensive backs. Linebackers previously could only wear numbers in the ranges of 50-59 and 90-99 with certain exceptions made for players switching positions.
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