Falcons sign DT Michael Bennett to contract
ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons have signed defensive tackle Michael Bennett in a move that could reflect a new injury concern with starter Grady Jarrett.
Jarrett left the final drive of the Falcons’ 37-36 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday with an ankle injury. Coach Dan Quinn said Monday that Jarrett is still being evaluated.
The Falcons’ defense already has lost starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen to season-ending injuries and linebacker Deion Jones for at least eight weeks. Guard Andy Levitre also is on IR.
Bennett was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sept 11. He was drafted by Jacksonville in the sixth round of the 2015 draft and played in only one game in 2017.
The Falcons waived defensive tackle Justin Zimmer.
Former UT kicker Michael Palardy gets extension with Panthers
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Panthers have signed punter Michael Palardy to a threeyear contract extension, keeping him with the team through the 2021 season.
Financial terms of the deal were not released Tuesday.
The former Tennessee Volunteer established a new franchise record 42.4-yard net punting average last season with 25 punts landing inside the 20 with only four touchbacks.
This season Palardy has raised his net average to 42.7 yards.
Palardy replaced an injured Andy Lee midway through the 2016 season and then won the job outright from Lee the following summer in training camp — even though the Panthers had given up a fourth-round draft pick to acquire the veteran Lee.
Steelers focusing on slow start, not Bell’s possible return
PITTSBURGH — If Le’Veon Bell is returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers later this month, he hasn’t let his teammates and coaches know.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday he hasn’t heard from the All-Pro running back, who told ESPN on Monday that he will end his standoff with the team around Pittsburgh’s bye week, which begins after the Steelers face the Bengals on Oct. 14.
“I have not talked to Le’Veon and I really have no Le’Veon update,” Tomlin said. “It’s the best approach for us to focus on the guys which are here and working … we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Nothing has changed in that regard.”
Bell is in the midst of an extended absence as an act of self-preservation when he and the Steelers could not reach a long-term agreement after Pittsburgh placed the franchise tag on him in the spring.
Technically he is not holding out because he has yet to sign his one-year deal, a decision that is costing him more than $850,000 a week. Bell did not offer a specific date for his return, but if he comes in around Oct. 15 it would give him two weeks to show the coaching staff what he can do before the Steelers play Cleveland on Oct. 28.
NFL suspends Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks
RENTON, Wash. — The NFL suspended Seattle Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks indefinitely on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty last month to federal insider trading charges.
Kendricks was suspended under the personal-conduct policy, said league spokesman Brian McCarthy.
A suspension had been anticipated since his guilty plea in early September.
Seattle signed Kendricks prior to Week 2 because of a need at linebacker with K.J. Wright out following knee surgery. It was a controversial signing since Kendricks had pleaded guilty in federal court only days earlier.
Kendricks has started two of the three games he’s played with Seattle and played a significant amount of snaps at weakside linebacker for the Seahawks. He had six total tackles and a sack in each of the past two games.
Commissioner Goodell praises Trump for trade deal
NEW YORK — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell praised President Donald Trump’s “leadership and determination” for pushing through an aspect of the revamped North American trade agreement that would allow local TV ads to be shown in Canada during Super Bowl broadcasts.
Goodell issued a statement Tuesday, two days after the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement was set up. The deal still needs congressional approval.
Under the new pact, the NFL could receive more money for its Super Bowl broadcasting rights in Canada. That’s because the agreement effectively dismisses a 2015 ruling by Canada’s TV regulator that said only the airing of the Super Bowl in Canada — and no other programs in that country — must show U.S. ads instead of Canadian commercials.
Dolphins DT Phillips released after outburst
DAVIE, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins released defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on Tuesday in the wake of his angry sideline outburst after he came out of a lopsided loss at New England.
“Free at last free at last,” Phillips wrote on Instagram. “Good luck to my brothers on the team. I’ll miss ya’ll, but I couldn’t be happier to be out of there. … Sometimes you got to put your future in your own hands and live with it.”
Phillips and the rest of Miami’s front four were dominated in Sunday’s 38-7 loss to the Patriots, who rushed for 175 yards.
Phillips said his flare-up during the game didn’t play a role in his release.
“Just here to squash this sideline outburst stuff…. this move had nothing to do with that,” he tweeted.
Appeals court allows suit over Rams’ relocation to proceed
ST. LOUIS — Another attempt by the National Football League to stop a legal showdown over the move of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles has been turned away.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a Missouri appeals court issued a ruling Tuesday that allows a lawsuit to proceed.
The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, St. Louis city and St. Louis County filed suit in 2017, alleging that the Rams’ departure violated a 1984 league guideline that was established after the Raiders moved from Oakland to Los Angeles.
The league, the Rams and team owner Stan Kroenke have argued that the disagreements should be settled outside of a courtroom based on an arbitration agreement.
A St. Louis judge in December allowed the case to proceed.
Chiefs overcome adversity for first time in win at Denver
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes finally experienced some adversity on Monday night in Denver, when the offense had grown stagnant and the Chiefs trailed by 10 points with about 12 minutes to go.
He answered with a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback.
There was the grinding, 12-play, 75-yard drive that Mahomes capped with a short touchdown toss to Travis Kelce to give Kansas City a chance.
Then there was the audacious left-handed throw while Von Miller was bearing down on him during the go-ahead drive, which Kareem Hunt capped with a touchdown run in the final minutes to give the Chiefs a dramatic 27-23 victory.