Browns will have Griffin available
Browns quarterback Robert Griffin III has cleared the final medical hurdle on his comeback trail.
Now coach Hue Jackson will decide whether to reinsert him into the starting lineup. All signs are pointing in that direction.
“Beyond blessed to have an opportunity to get back on the field with my brothers,” said Griffin, who didn’t speak to reporters Tuesday but made the statement through a team spokesman. “I promise my teammates and coaches to give them everything I have as we work to finish the season strong.”
Griffin, who suffered a fracture of a bone in his left shoulder in the season opener and has not played since, was cleared late Monday night for contact. It would presumably be a no-brainer for Jackson to test whether Griffin can breathe life into an inept offense that’s produced just 39 points in the past four games. Sharper gets 20 years: Former NFL safety Darren Sharper was sentenced to a 20-year prison term, ending a tour of shame and punishment in the courthouse where he first admitted drugging and raping women in four states.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor denounced Sharper’s “horrible conduct” and “disgraceful abuse of trust” during the hearing that concluded prosecutions that unmasked the popular former AllPro and Super Bowl champion as a serial rapist.
Under the terms of a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors in four states, Sharper will be eligible for parole in about eight years because California law requires he serve half his sentence and he has already been behind bars more than two years since his arrest.
But Sharper will probably serve more time if an appeals court upholds an 18-year prison sentence handed down by a New Orleans federal judge, who rejected the plea deal as too lenient. Sharper has appealed that harsher sentence. Peterson progressing: Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is moving forward in the recovery from surgery on his right knee.
He was seen running some short sprints in the team’s indoor facility Tuesday while the athletic training staff supervised and his teammates went through practice on the field. With five games remaining in the regular season, there’s no timetable for Peterson’s return, but the four-time All-Pro pick could be ready sometime in December.
Coach Mike Zimmer has consistently declined to speculate about whether Peterson would play again this year but acknowledged that he was “probably ahead of schedule” in his rehabilitation. Extra points: The NFL suspended Bills OT Seantrel Henderson for 10 games, a punishment the player’s agent said stems from his client’s use of marijuana to relieve the effects of Crohn’s disease. ... The Panthers placed two-time All-Pro C Ryan Kalil (shoulder) and his primary backup, former Raven Gino Gradkowski (knee), on injured reserve, weakening an offensive line that has been depleted by injuries.