HOF game will feature Baltimore, Chicago
NEW YORK » The Ravens and Bears will kick off the NFL’s preseason on Aug. 2 in the Hall of Fame game as they honor 2018 inductees Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher.
Baltimore linebacker Lewis and Chicago LB Urlacher will enter the hall on Aug. 4.
The league’s preseason schedule was announced Wednesday and features eight nationally televised games. In Week 2 of the preseason, the Jets will visit the Redskins for a Thursday night game Aug. 16, and the Ravens will be at Indianapolis on Aug. 20.
Week 3 will have five national telecasts, beginning Aug. 23 with Super Bowl champion Philadelphia at Cleveland. The next night will see Detroit at Tampa Bay. On Saturday, Aug. 25, New Orleans visits the Los Angeles Chargers, and the following day, Cincinnati is at Buffalo for an afternoon match, with Arizona at Dallas in a night game.
The preseason will end Aug. 30-31, and the regular season will begin Sept. 6 in Philadelphia.
Griffin III hopes to start anew
OWINGS MILLS, MD. » After winning a Heisman Trophy, being picked second overall in the 2012 NFL draft and becoming an instant sensation with the Washington Redskins, Robert Griffin III is looking ahead to a promising future instead of wistfully gazing at his brilliant past.
Griffin agreed to terms on a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens last week, fully aware his role will be to back up Joe Flacco.
He’s fine with that, because RG3 is far more interested in where his career is going rather than where it has been.
“It’s time to let that stuff go and move forward as a new player, a better player, a grown player,” Griffin said Wednesday at his introductory news conference. “That’s what I’m excited about, and I’m glad that they saw that in me and have given me this opportunity.”
Griffin was a star with Washington until a rash of injuries finally cost him his starting job. He missed the entire 2015 season after sustaining a concussion in the summer, and by then the Redskins were ready to move on without him.
Griffin latched on with Cleveland in 2016 as a free agent. He started the opener, sustained a shoulder injury and ended up playing in only five games.
Meredith joins Saints.
ORLEANS» Restricted free agent receiver Cameron Meredith is the newest member of a New Orleans Saints offense that ranked second in the NFL last season.
Sean Payton said Wednesday that Meredith has signed with New Orleans after the Chicago Bears declined to match an offer from the Saints. Meredith’s agent, Cliff Brady, said the Bears declined to match the two-year offer worth about $10 million.
The Bears had until Wednesday afternoon to decide whether to keep their 2016 receiving leader, who missed all of last season with a knee injury.
Seahawks sign former San Francisco CB Dontae Johnson.
The Seattle Seahawks have signed former San Francisco cornerback Dontae Johnson to help with the depth in their overhauled secondary.
Johnson has a chance to step in as a starter immediately since Richard Sherman was cut and signed with the 49ers this offseason. The Seahawks are set with Shaquill Griffin at one cornerback spot, but the other will be open to competition heading into Seattle’s offseason program and training camp.