Seahawks add depth in secondary
Safeties Cromartie, Simone look to become next members of Seattle’s Legion of Boom
The Seattle Seahawks added depth at defensive back on Wednesday by signing safeties Marcus Cromartie and Jordan Simone.
Seattle also waived wide receiver Speedy Noil and running back Troymaine Pope to clear room on the 90-man roster.
Cromartie has appeared in 21 career games with one start, all with San Francisco. He also spent time with San Diego, Cleveland and Buffalo.
Simone took part in Seattle’s rookie mini-camp earlier this month as a tryout player. He’s a Seattle-area native and was an honourable mention All-Pac-12 selection as a sophomore and junior at Arizona State. His senior season was cut short by injuries.
Suspensions dog Dallas defence
Dallas cornerback Nolan Carroll faces a two-game suspension over his arrest on a drunken driving charge this week, and defensive end David Irving awaits final word from the NFL on a possible four-game ban for violating the policy against performance-enhancing drugs.
Add the likely season-long absence of pass rusher Randy Gregory for multiple substance-abuse violations, and the Cowboys could be opening their second straight season with three potential defensive starters suspended.
Tight end Jason Witten, the leading voice in the locker-room as he prepares for his 15th season, isn’t trying to deny a disturbing trend. The 10-time Pro Bowler just says there’s a delicate balance for teammates.
“I would never minimize the mistakes that were made,” Witten said Wednesday after practice. “But mistakes happen. And our job is to create an atmosphere where there is a togetherness. One thing about having been in a locker-room, you can never point that finger.”
Carroll, an eighth-year veteran who signed with Dallas in March following three seasons with NFC East rival Philadelphia, participated in practice but didn’t appear in the locker-room when it was open to reporters two days after his arrest in Dallas.
Irving was a locker-room no-show for reporters for the second straight week since news of a failed drug test, which the third-year player is appealing. Irving showed promise last year for a pass rush lacking punch in recent seasons.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence was one of the three suspended starters going into last season. He violated the substance-abuse policy along with Gregory and linebacker Rolando McClain, who eventually was banned indefinitely for substance-abuse violations.
The Cowboys are standing by Carroll, who signed a $10 million, threeyear contract with a $3 million signing bonus.
Tirico in, Michaels out on Thursday nights
Mike Tirico is replacing Al Michaels as the play-by-play announcer for Thursday night games this season.
The NFL needed to approve the switch because its contract with the network calls for the top broadcast team to do Thursday games. NBC has those games from Nov. 9 through the end of the year after CBS handles the first portion of the schedule.
Michaels will still do Sunday night games with Cris Collinsworth as analyst. Collinsworth will continue double duty on the Thursday and Sunday night matchups.
Tirico joined NBC last year from ESPN, where he handled Monday Night Football play by play.
Broncos backfield full of comeback kids
Jamaal Charles isn’t the only running back embarking on a comeback in Denver.
C.J. Anderson missed the last half of last season with a torn meniscus in his right knee, and Devontae Booker is finally healthy after slogging through his rookie season while dealing with the after-effects of two knee operations.
Both have been leading the Broncos backfield during OTAs while Charles waits for training camp to get on the field.
While Charles is more of an unknown, the Broncos are expecting big bounce backs from Anderson and Booker.
The Broncos were feeling good about their surging ground game last season when Anderson and Booker combined for 190 yards in a rout of Houston on Oct. 24.
Anderson showed up the next day with a sore right knee and needed season-ending surgery. He was the first of three running backs to land on IR.
Other Broncos backs are also making comebacks: Fullback Andy Janovich is returning from an injury-filled rookie campaign marred by a broken hand and season-ending ankle surgery in December while free agent Bernard Pierce is coming back from a torn hamstring that landed him on the Jets’ IR list all last season . ... Former Broncos linebacker Tom Graham died Tuesday in Denver at age 67 after battling brain cancer. Graham was a standout at Oregon before playing in the NFL for the Broncos (1972-74), Chiefs (1974), Chargers (1975-77) and Bills (1978).