Rivers under concussion protocol
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers is in the NFL’s concussion protocol after experiencing possible symptoms of a head injury, endangering his streak of 194 consecutive starts since 2006.
Rivers told the Chargers about his symptoms Monday after they returned from a 20-17 overtime loss in Jacksonville, coach Anthony Lynn said.
The Chargers (3-6) are still hopeful Rivers can play on Sunday when they host the Buffalo Bills, but they will be cautious with the health of one of the most durable quarterbacks in NFL history.
Lynn wasn’t certain when Rivers was hurt, but the quarterback took a big shot when he threw a long interception in overtime.
Building a new home: After years of planning, dealing and getting millions in public financing approved, the Oakland Raiders broke ground Monday on a 65,000-seat domed stadium in Las Vegas, across the freeway from the city’s world-famous casinos.
Contractors will be working under an ambitious timeline as the team wants to kick off the 2020 season at the new stadium. But the Raiders have yet to reach crucial agreements for the $1.9 billion project and now stand to lose millions under the tax reform bill House Republicans unveiled earlier this month.
The Nevada Legislature approved a tax increase to contribute $750 million to the project, but the tax-exempt bonds are now at risk. The GOP tax reform bill released last week would bar state and local governments from issuing tax-exempt bonds for stadium construction, a common feature of stadium deals over the past two decades.
Burfict avoids suspension: Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict won’t be suspended for the contact with an official that got him ejected from a 24-20 loss at Tennessee.
A league spokesman said Monday that Burfict faces a fine only. He pushed an official’s arm out of the way on the sideline in the second quarter after quarterback Marcus Mariota ran out of bounds. Two plays earlier, Burfict drew an unnecessary roughness penalty for hitting Mariota out of bounds.
“I’ve been saying it: He’s going to be held to a different set of standards because of his past,” defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said Monday. “So he’s got to understand that. He does us no good when he’s sitting in the locker room for half a ballgame.”
Chiefs waive Miller: The Kansas City Chiefs waived defensive tackle Roy Miller on Monday, two days after he was arrested in Florida and accused of assaulting his wife during an argument at their home.
Miller signed a $1.4 million, oneyear contract this past off-season, and was expected to help a porous run defense. But he only appeared in seven of the Chiefs’ first nine games.
According to the police report, Miller had left Nicole Miller at the Jacksonville Zoo after going there for a date Friday night. When both of them got home, Miller was gone, and an argument began when he returned. The 6-foot-1, 300-pound lineman grabbed his wife by the hair and pushed her around, and the police report details several minor injuries.
Miller also threw her phone in a toilet and tried to keep her from calling police, the report said, before barricading himself in a bedroom with one of her sons.
McAdoo safe for now: Ben McAdoo is staying as coach of the New York Giants, at least until the end of the season.
Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch issued a statement Monday saying while they are frustrated and disappointed with the Giants’ 1-8 record, they won’t evaluate the team and make any moves until the end of the season.
McAdoo’s future has been a major topic the past two weeks in a wake of a 34-point home loss to the Los Angeles Rams a little more than a week ago, then an embarrassing loss to a San Francisco 49ers team that was winless until Sunday.
The owners said McAdoo has their support. The Giants have not fired a coach mid-season since 1976.