Day later, Payton apologizes for rant
Broncos coach Sean Payton said he regrets disparaging his predecessor in an interview in which he called the work Nathaniel Hackett and his staff did in Denver last season “one of the worst coaching jobs in the NFL” and said there were “20 dirty hands” around quarterback Russell Wilson’s career-worst season.
“Listen, I had one of those moments where I still had my Fox hat on and not my coaching hat,” said Payton, who’s returning to the sideline this season after a year’s sabbatical during which he worked as a studio football analyst for Fox Sports following a 15-year stint with the New Orleans Saints.
Payton’s comments in an interview with USA Today rocked the NFL because he broke the coaches code in which they refrain from publicly lambasting one another and because he spent his first six months on the job admonishing players not to look back at a dismal season and to ignore “outside noise.”
“I said this to the team in the meeting yesterday: We’ve had a great offseason relative to that, you know, and I’ve been preaching that message and here I am the veteran [doing just that],” Payton said during a lengthy mea culpa in his first comments since he ignited the firestorm.
“It was a learning experience for me. It was a mistake. Obviously, I needed a little bit more filter . . . I needed a little bit more restraint. And I regret that.”
In the interview, Payton also took potshots at the Jets, who hired Hackett as their offensive coordinator this year, and criticized Broncos general manager George Paton and team president Damani Leech.
Surgery for Ramsey
After suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee Thursday’, Jalen Ramsey addressed his Miami Dolphins teammates and told them not to worry or feel sorry for him.
The six-time Pro Bowl cornerback is expected to miss the start of the regular season. But he vowed that he could beat whatever timeline for return doctors give him.
“It really moved a lot of people,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said.
Ramsey was scheduled for surgery Friday to repair the tear. Miami acquired the All-Pro from the Los Angeles Rams in March.
Jones still in holdout
While the Super Bowl champion Chiefs worked out for the first time in pads at training camp, Chris Jones held out for seventh day and Kansas City coach Andy Reid, who hasn’t communicated with the defensive tackle recently, didn’t know when the holdout would end.
Jones, 29, is set to earn $19.5 million in base salary this season. The All-Pro is seeking an extension that would make him the league’s second-highest paid defensive tackle behind Los Angeles Rams star Aaron Donald, whose contract sports an annual average value of $31.67 million.
Bill add ex-UMass WR
The Bills signed former UMass standout wideout Andy Isabella, who was released by the Ravens earlier in the week. The 5-foot-9-inch receiver closed last season appearing in two games with the Ravens after being waived by the Cardinals. Isabella, 26, was selected by Arizona in the second round in 2019 draft following a senior season at UMass in which he led the nation with 141.5 yards receiving per game and ranked second with 102 catches . . . Quarterback Joe Burrow is expected to miss “several weeks” for the Bengals with a right calf strain suffered Thursday, coach Zac Taylor said . . . The brief training camp holdout of Seattle Seahawks first-round pick Devon Witherspoon ended when the No. 5 overall pick from the draft signed his rookie contract.