Arizona loses its starting center
The Arizona Cardinals lost starting center A.Q. Shipley for the season with a torn right ACL and will replace him with rookie Mason Cole.
Coach Steve Wilks confirmed the injury Monday, saying the center “heard something pop” in his knee in a goal-line drill Saturday in training camp.
Shipley, a six-year NFL veteran, started all 16 games each of the past two seasons, the only member of the Cardinals offensive line to play every game either year. Wilks called him “a tremendous leader and hard worker.”
“When you talk about the DNA that I look for, a guy that loves the game, very passionate, gritty,” Wilks said. “He really was the leader up front.”
Packers
Left tackle David Bakhtiari avoided a serious injury after being carted off the field at practice on the weekend. Bakhtiari was hurt in the Family Night practice Saturday at Lambeau Field. Bakhtiari twisted his ankle whilequickly retreating into pass protection. “It was weird,” Bakhtiari said. “It didn’t really feel bad, just kind of putting some weight into it and it just told me no. That was kind of [why] I was worried, but it should be all right.”
Jets
The three-man quarterback competition could last the entire summer. Coach Todd Bowles said that he has not pinpointed a specific date as to when he will decide between Josh McCown, Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold to be the starter in the regular-season opener Sept. 10 against the Lions at Detroit. Bowles said he might not make a decision until after the fourth preseason game.
Patriots
New England released receiver Malcolm Mitchell. The 2016 fourth-round draft pick played in 14 regular-season games as a rookie, catching 32 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns. He caught six passes for 70 yards in the Super Bowl victory against Atlanta — five of them in the fourth quarter as the Patriots rallied to win. Mitchell, 25, spent all of the 2017 season on injuredreserve.
Elsewhere
Tom Heckert, a former personnel executive for the Denver Broncos who also served stints as general manager for the Cleveland Browns and the Philadelphia Eagles, died Sunday night after a long fight with an illness, the Broncos said. He was 51.