NFL hiring some full-time officials

the NFL’s vice president of football operations, said Thursday that he expects the league to hire as many as 17 full-time officials this offseason.

The additions are allowed under the collective bargaining agreement and would increase the size of officiating crews from seven to eight, Vincent said during a visit to Buffalo.

“This is a topic of discussion daily,” he said, noting the league will need to consult with the NFL Referees Association.

Currently, NFL officiating crews are part-time staff and hold jobs outside of football. Vincent said full-time officials would allow the league to spend more time on training and consultation on a yearround basis.

Troy Vincent,

Bears quarterback

will have surgery to repair the labrum in his right shoulder and is done for the season.

Cutler injured his shoulder during a loss to the Giants on Nov. 20 but finished the game. Coach

initially insisted the injury was not seasonending, but after working through treatment options Cutler chose to have the surgery.

Cutler missed five games because of a sprained right thumb and made just five starts this season. He completed 81 of 137 passes for 1,059 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions.

Cutler John Fox Jay

Three-time Pro Bowl tight end is having surgery for a herniated disk in his back and is likely to be out for eight

Rob Gronkowski

weeks or more.

The injury is believed to have occurred during the Patriots’ loss to the Seahawks on Nov. 13, in which Gronkowski said he received “probably one of the hardest hits I’ve got in my career” from Seahawks safety

Gronkowski, who sat out practice the last two days, has missed three games this season while dealing with a hamstring injury.

Earl Thomas. Sparano Sammy Watkins Pryor

Vikings coach missed Thursday night’s home game against the Cowboys after undergoing emergency surgery to repair a detached retina.

Although offensive coordinator and offensive line coach

both have prior experience as NFL head coaches, special teams coordinator was chosen to serve as the interim coach. General manager said the move was believed to be the least disruptive to the team.

Mike Zimmer Pat Shurmur Tony Mike Priefer Rick Spielman

Bills WR

returned to practice on a limited basis but is dealing with a broken bone in his left foot, according to offensive coordinator ... C fully practiced with the Jets for the first time since spraining his ankle Oct. 23. However, five other starters missed practice: WR

(foot, knee),

Anthony Lynn. Nick Mangold Brandon Marshall. Breno Giacomini Lorenzo

OT (back, shoulder), LB

(ankle),

Mauldin Steve McLendon Calvin

NT (hamstring) and S

(concussion) . ... The NFL is re-evaluating its scheduling process but has no plans to discontinue playing weekly games on Thursday.