Pats’ WR retires, will donate brain
Patriots wide receiver Andrew Hawkins says he is retiring from the NFL and donating his brain to research.
The six-year NFL veteran signed with the Pats in May as a free agent. But he said in a video on uninterrupted.com yesterday that his body isn’t responding as he prepared for training camp.
“After OTAs and summer training, my body just didn’t respond and didn’t feel the way it should before training camp let alone with the defending world champions,” Hawkins said. “Basically it just started breaking down on me, so I had to make a tough call.”
The Concussion Legacy Foundation says Hawkins pledged his brain for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The degenerative disease is known to cause cognitive and behavioral problems in athletes, members of the military and others who sustained repeated head trauma.
The 31-year-old undrafted free agent out of Toledo played three seasons each with the Bengals and Browns. He made a few plays during the Pats’ spring camps, but was going to have a tough time cracking the roster with Brandin Cooks, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Malcolm Mitchell and Danny Amendola in front of him.
Dolphins’ LB on IR
Linebacker Koa Misi’s season with the Miami Dolphins ended two days before the start of training camp.
A starter since his rookie season in 2010, Misi was placed on injured reserve after he failed to receive medical clearance. His 2016 season was limited to three games because of a neck injury that could be career ending.
Jags center cashes in
The Jacksonville Jaguars have made Brandon Linder one of the NFL’s highestpaid centers.
Linder signed a five-year contract extension worth a little more than $50 million, according to a person familiar with negotiations. The deal came on the eve of the Jaguars reporting for training camp.
“Brandon has proven on the field that he is capable of highly productive performances, and this is a highperformance business,” said Tom Coughlin, the team’s executive vice president of football operations.
The Jaguars also signed cornerback Stanley JeanBaptiste
Broncos hire Kubiak
A person with knowledge of the hire has told The Associated Press that Gary Kubiak, who stepped down as Denver’s head coach because of health concerns seven months ago, is returning to the Broncos as a senior personnel adviser, scouting college and pro players. . . .
A jury has acquitted Dallas Cowboys rookie cornerback Jourdan Lewis of domestic assault. Lewis said he was “elated” with the verdict.
The 21-year-old Lewis was accused of assaulting his former girlfriend at his Ann Arbor apartment in March. Lewis didn’t testify, but the jury saw a video recording of a police interview in which he said he was asleep when the woman woke him to complain about finances, and he hit her with a pillow.
Owner backs Pacman
Bengals owner Mike Brown is defending his decision to keep cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones despite another arrest, saying he’s been “punished enough” for his latest troubles.
The NFL suspended Jones for the season opener because of his altercation with a hotel security employee and his profane outburst at police following his arrest in January.
Brown intimated at the team’s annual preseason luncheon yesterday that there was discussion in the front office about releasing Jones, but he was against it. . . .
The Detroit Lions placed punter Sam Martin on the active non-football injury list after he hurt his ankle earlier this month.