Goodell: NFL not changing its national anthem policy
NEW YORK - In the face of fan unrest and accusations from the president about the league being unpatriotic, the NFL is not changing its national anthem policy to require players to stand.
Commissioner Roger Goodell and several owners said Wednesday at the league’s fall meetings that altering the policy language from “should stand” to “must stand” was not discussed.
New York Giants owner John Mara noted that the Cowboys’ Jerry Jones “spoke at length” to the other owners about the anthem issue. Jones has said any Dallas player who doesn’t stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” would not be playing.
Goodell reiterated that the league and its 32 clubs “believe everyone should stand for the national anthem. It’s an important part of our policy and the game. It’s important to honor our flag and our country and I think our fans expect that.”
Asked about any owners who threatened discipline for players who didn’t stand, Goodell said the owners didn’t discuss it.
“It wasn’t necessary,” he said. “We had a real focus on making sure all of our teams understood the kind of dialogue that took place and the kind of things that they were interested in getting support.
“And they were seeking support for the NFL, each club supporting its players and continuing the dialogue that they have had at the club level. I would tell you this, it’s unprecedented conversations and dialogue going on between our players and our owners, between our club officials and between our league, and that is a really positive change for us.”
Redskins put Dustin Hopkins on IR, sign Nick Rose to kick: The Washington Redskins have put kicked Dustin Hopkins on injured reserve with a strained hip muscle and signed free agent Nick Rose to replace him.
The team announced the moves Wednesday.
Rose’s NFL debut will come Monday night in Washington’s game at the NFC Eastleading Philadelphia Eagles.
He played college football at Texas, finishing his career there in 2015. He made 27 of 38 field goals and 71 of 74 extra points for the Longhorns.
Rose has been with the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers but did not make a regular-season roster with either club.
Hopkins missed an extra-point attempt during Washington’s 26-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. He is 12 of 13 on PATs and 9 of 11 on field-goal tries this season. Both missed field goals were from beyond 50 yards.
NFL will stage draft in Dallas next April: The NFL draft is headed for Dallas.
Well, for AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which the Cowboys call home. It’s the first time the draft will happen in an NFL stadium.
The Cowboys will host the 2018 draft in April. Virtually every NFL city, plus the Pro Football Hall of Fame site in Canton, Ohio, has expressed interest in holding the draft now that the league moves it around.
After decades in New York, the draft was moved to Chicago in 2015 and was held there again in 2016. It drew huge crowds, whetting the NFL’s appetite for taking bids to host it.
Last year, the draft was in Philadelphia at the iconic Art Museum steps. It drew 250,000 fans for the first draft held outdoors.
Winless Browns return to rookie Kizer as starting QB: After a week watching, Browns rookie DeShone Kizer is starting again.
The second-round pick will start Sunday against Tennessee.
The Browns (0-6) demoted an ineffective Kizer last week in favor of Kevin Hogan, who had provided a spark in previous relief appearances but threw three interceptions in a 33-17 loss to the Houston Texans.
Kizer had thrown an NFL-high nine interceptions — four in the red zone — in his first five games, and coach Hue Jackson wanted him to spend a week on the sideline.
Colts keeping Luck out of practice because of sore shoulder: Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will not practice this week after developing soreness in his throwing shoulder.
Luck had been throwing every other day the past two weeks. But general manager Chris Ballard told reporters Wednesday that trainers and doctors shut down Luck after he received a cortisone shot.
Jaguars rookie Fournette misses practice with sprained ankle: Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette sat out practice Wednesday while recovering from a sprained right ankle.
The rookie rolled his ankle late in Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Coach Doug Marrone says Fournette was ready to re-enter the game after getting his ankle evaluated on the sideline, but adds that “there’s a lot of adrenaline that goes into that.”
Seahawks expected to place Avril on injured reserve: Defensive end Cliff Avril is expected to be placed on injured reserve by the Seattle Seahawks as he continues to deal with a neck injury.