Browns trade LB Mingo to Patriots
Cowboys quarterback Romo appears to hurt back when pulled down from behind
Barkevious Mingo never really fit in with the Cleveland Browns.
The New England Patriots will try to find an ideal spot for him.
A major disappointment in Cleveland, Mingo, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 draft, was traded to New England on Thursday.
The Browns received a fifth-round pick in the 2017 draft for the linebacker.
Mingo, 25, a former LSU standout, has just seven sacks in three seasons and spent much of last season on special teams.
Mingo’s size — 6 feet 4, 240 pounds — and speed have made him intriguing, but Cleveland’s coaching staff couldn’t find the best way to use him. The Browns moved Mingo from outside linebacker to inside earlier this summer.
Cleveland declined to exercise the fifthyear option on Mingo’s rookie contract in May. With the trade of Mingo, left tackle Joe Thomas and cornerbacks Joe Haden and Justin Gilbert are the only first-round selections by Cleveland from 2007 to 2014 who are still with the team. Mingo Romo appears to injure back: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo appeared to injure his back on the third play of Thursday’s preseason game against the host Seattle Seahawks after getting pulled down from behind by Cliff Avril.
Romo was forced from the pocket by a blitz from K. J. Wright. As Romo scrambled and was about to begin his slide, he was pulled down by Avril in pursuit. Romo immediately grabbed at his back and was tended to by trainers for a few minutes before popping up and walking off the field without assistance.
While Dak Prescott took over, Romo spoke with medical personnel on the sideline for several minutes and then threw some passes. But when the Cowboys took the field for their second drive, Prescott remained at quarterback with Romo on the sideline. Players talk PEDs with NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison and Green Bay Packers defensive players Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers met this week with NFL investigators looking into allegations linking them to performanceenhancing drugs, the players union said Thursday.
Matthews and Peppers met with league representatives Wednesday, while Harrison did so Thursday, according to the NFL Players Association.
Last week, the league threatened Harrison, Matthews, Peppers and free agent Mike Neal with indefinite suspensions if they did not meet with investigators. All of them were mentioned in an Al-Jazeera television interview with Charlie Sly, who worked as an intern at an anti-aging clinic.
The league’s deadline for cooperation from the four current players was Thursday. The NFL first notified the four Jan. 11 about the investigation into the Al-Jazeera report. Vegas narrows stadium sites: Backers of a proposed NFL stadium said they have whittled their list to two sites just west of the Las Vegas Strip and refuse to accept any less than $750 million in public funding toward the project, which they hope will soon be home to the Raiders.
Representatives from Majestic Realty and the Las Vegas Sands casino company updated an oversight committee Thursday on their quest to build a 65,000-seat domed stadium, showing their slick renderings of the proposed venue in a video with AC/DC’s “Back in Black” as a soundtrack. They lamented that the price tag rises on a daily basis and is now $1.9 billion, and said they would walk away from the project if state lawmakers do not meet their minimum financial demand. Waiting for Bosa: A day after the Chargers took their contract dispute with rookie defensive end Joey Bosa public, San Diego coach Mike McCoy had nice things to say about the former Ohio State star.
“I think everybody understands the business side to this,” McCoy said Thursday. “But we all understand the type of player Joey is. He loves the game; he plays with passion. So I’m sure he is going crazy being back home and not with his teammates. We all want him here.”
Bosa, the only first-rounder who has not signed with his team, has missed all of training camp as his agents and the team wrangled over how much of his $17 million signing bonus he’ll get up front, as well as offset language in case he gets cut.
The Chargers said Wednesday that they had pulled their contract offer and would restructure a new deal that would reflect his playing less than a full season.