Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Packer Plus
Tate gets hit with four-game suspension
New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate has been suspended for four games for using a drug prescribed for fertility planning.
The 10-year veteran, who signed with the Giants in March as a free agent, announced the suspension in a Twitter post Saturday. He said he plans to appeal the violation of the NFL’s policy on performance enhancers and that he would have no further comment.
The NFL has not announced the suspension and it had no comment, league spokesman said.
Giants coach declined comment, saying the team will see what happens.
Tate, 30, can practice in training camp but will not be able to play in the first four regular-season games unless his suspension is overturned. That rarely happens.
In his statement, Tate said he and his wife met with a fertility specialist in April. He took a prescribed drug and learned shortly after an ingredient was a substance banned by the league. Tate said he reported the problem to the independent administrator of the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances and alerted his coaches and general manager.
Tate is confident his appeal has merit. He said he has never violated the league’s rules on banned substances and the treatment will have no effect on the 2019 season.
Brian McCarthy Pat Shurmur Cincinnati’s Green injured: A.J. Green
Receiver hurt his left ankle or foot near the end of the Bengals’ first practice and had to be carted off the field, an early setback for a team trying to escape last place.
Green appeared to land awkwardly on the foot while trying to catch a pass during a 7-on-7 drill. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick bumped him while knocking the ball away. Green limped a few steps, went to his knees on the sideline, took a few more labored steps and angrily threw his mouth guard to the ground. He was carted off the field for more exams.
Coach Zac Taylor had no information about the severity of the injury. Green missed half of last season with a toe injury on the other foot.
Lions cut Riddick: The Detroit Lions are moving on from one of their mainstays in the backfield, releasing running back Theo Riddick after six seasons with the team.
Replacing Riddick will be an interesting challenge, however. He was second on the Lions last season with 61 receptions. He also rushed for 171 yards on 40 carries.
Riddick, 28, has been a valuable pass catcher. He has 285 receptions in his career, including a career-high 80 in 2015.
But rookie Kerryon Johnson boosted the Lions’ running game last year, and Detroit also added C.J. Anderson to the backfield this offseason.
Rams extend pair: Sean McVay Les Snead
and have received their rewards for their two-year transformation of the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams’ 33-year-old head coach and his general manager have agreed to contract extensions through 2023. The defending NFC champions announced the deals Friday while veterans reported to training camp in Orange County.
Financial terms of the contracts weren’t disclosed, but the deals cement the Rams’ foundation and essentially ensure McVay and Snead will be in charge when the franchise moves into its multi-billion-dollar stadium complex in Inglewood next year.
“It’s a reflection of a great collaboration, of everybody’s work together,” McVay said. “You’re not going to work any harder, but it makes you want to work to make them right on the decision to place a lot of faith in us as a coaching staff. We’re excited to just roll our sleeves up and get to work.”
McVay has engineered a stunning turnaround of the Rams since owner Stan Kroenke took a risk by hiring the youngest head coach in modern NFL history in early 2017.
McVay took charge of a franchise with 13 consecutive non-winning seasons and immediately won two NFC West titles while going 24-8 in the regular season.
Elliott holding out: Ezekiel Elliott
is holding out of training camp with the Dallas Cowboys with two years remaining on the rookie contract of the twotime NFL rushing champ.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on reporting day at camp
Packers Family Night:
that Elliott was officially a “non-report.”
Texans activate Watt off the PUP list: J.J. Watt
was thrilled to come off the physically unable to perform list last Thursday in time to join the Houston Texans for their first practice of training camp.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson didn’t exactly share in his happiness after the three-time NFL defensive player of the year batted down several of his passes.
“He’s annoying,” Watson said with a laugh. “That’s what he is. He’s annoying.”
But all jokes aside, the Texans were pleased to have a healthy the former Wisconsin star on the field and he said he was initially placed on the list as a precaution before being removed when they determined he was ready to go on Thursday.
“We’re going to be smart throughout camp,” Watt said. “We’ll have scheduled off days and things like that but my body feels great. I just told (trainer) Geoff Kaplan walking off that today went as good as I could have expected it to go. I’m really happy and pleased with how I performed.” It's coming right up. Time to start practicing the “Go Pack Go” song in the shower.
Masterminds:
Mike Daniels said, “I thank God that I got cut and I have an opportunity to play with a defensive genius.” Huh? What about Dom Capers?
TV:
Bill Belichick, of all people, is going to co-host a show on the NFL Network. It's probably going to be called “Hoodies After Dark.”
The bottom line:
Mark Sanchez retired and you'd think the alltime leader in butt fumbles would be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame.