Jones: ‘Everything’s in place’ for NFL in Elliott case
OXNARD » Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says “everything’s in place” for an NFL decision over a possible suspension of Ezekiel Elliott and that his star running back met recently with league officials.
Elliott, the NFL rushing leader last season as a rookie, could be suspended over a domestic incident with his then-girlfriend last year even though prosecutors in Ohio declined to pursue the case. The league has been investigating for more than a year.
Jones said Saturday night that Elliott met with officials in New York within the past month but declined to say whether Commissioner Roger Goodell was involved.
“They have had their hearing,” Jones said after practice at training camp. “They have had all of the responses. Everything’s in place to make a decision. I think anything is discretionary at any time where you can ask for more meetings, whether it’s the league or whether it’s Zeke.”
Elliott also was involved in a bar fight in Dallas a week before training camp but wasn’t named in a police report about the incident. The report said a 30-yearold man was punched in the nose and hospitalized.
Goodell has the authority to suspend players without convictions under the league’s personal conduct policy. The NFL amended the policy three years ago to strengthen punishments in domestic cases.
A police report in Columbus, Ohio, where Elliott starred for Ohio State, said Elliott denied allegations that he assaulted his thengirlfriend last July, causing bruises and abrasions.
Three witnesses told police they didn’t see Elliott assault the 20-year-old woman. Elliott said the woman got the bruises and abrasions in a bar fight.
Rhodes closed: Vikings sign star CB to contract extension
MANKATO, MINN. » The Minnesota Vikings have signed star cornerback Xavier Rhodes to a five-year contract extension.
The deal was done on Sunday , with Rhodes entering his fifth NFL season on the final year of his rookie contract. Rhodes was picked for his first Pro Bowl in 2016, tallying a career-high five interceptions while regularly assigned to cover the opponent’s best wide receiver.
NFL Media reported that Rhodes can make as much as $70 million over the duration of the new deal through the 2022 season. Rhodes, who was drafted with the 25th overall selection in the first round in 2013 out of Florida State, is making a little more than $8 million this season.
Browns safety Reynolds to miss time with left knee injury
BEREA, OHIO » Browns safety Ed Reynolds will miss “significant time” with an injured left knee.
Reynolds, who started seven games for Cleveland last season, was injured Saturday when the Browns wore full pads for the first time in training camp. Coach Hue Jackson provided a brief update Sunday on Reynolds, saying “he is going to be out for a little while.”
Jackson did not provide a timeline for the 25-year-old’s return, but he did offer that Reynolds did not tear his anterior cruciate ligament.
Reynolds appeared in 10 games last season, recording 40 tackles and a sack. The former Stanford player impressed the Browns with his hustle and nose for the ball after being signed off the practice squad.
Quin signs contract extension with Lions through 2019
ALLEN PARK, MICH. » The Detroit Lions have signed safety Glover Quin to a contract extension through the 2019 season.
The 31-year-old Quin has spent the past four seasons with Detroit since signing a five-year deal in 2013. He hasn’t missed a regular-season start since 2009, when he was with Houston.
Lions general manager Bob Quinn calls Quin one of Detroit’s team leaders and says he’s “been a consummate professional on and off the field.”
Quin’s 116 consecutive regular-season starts are the most among active NFL safeties.
Richardson on Marshall saying Jets don’t have chance: ‘Who?’
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. » Sheldon Richardson needed his memory jogged a bit.
The colorful defensive lineman was asked Sunday what he thought of recent not-so-flattering comments by former teammate Brandon Marshall on the outlook for the New York Jets this season.
“Who?” Richardson asked playfully . “Who? I haven’t heard that name in a while. I don’t care what that guy says.”
To remind Richardson: Marshall, who’s now with the Giants, said during a radio interview that he didn’t think he’d fare well on his former team because he believes the Jets don’t have much of a chance to win this season.
“I didn’t even know he said anything until you said it,” Richardson said.
When told exactly what Marshall said during the interview, Richardson smiled broadly and shrugged.
“No thoughts about it,” he said. “No thoughts at all.”
Richardson and Marshall had a tenuous relationship, with the two arguing in the locker room after New York lost at Kansas City in Week 3 last season. Things spiraled from there, with some Jets teammates saying the tensions that developed between the two negatively affected the team during its 5-11 campaign.
Richardson has made it clear how he feels about Marshall, saying there are “15 reasons” the Jets’ locker room is better now than it was last year — a reference to the wide receiver’s jersey No. 15.
The two could square off against each other during the teams’ annual preseason game next month at MetLife Stadium, dubbed the “Snoopy Bowl.” Both teams usually play their starters for about three quarters in that game — and Richardson can’t wait.