Darnold ends holdout, signs with Jets
Sam Darnold is signed, sealed and back under center.
The New York Jets inked the rookie quarterback from USC to a fully guaranteed four-year, $30.25 million deal Monday, ending the contract holdout of the NFL’s No. 3 overall draft pick.
Darnold missed the first three days of training camp practice while his representatives and the team worked out the details. There wouldn’t be a fourth straight absence.
“What’s up Jets fans?” Darnold said in a video posted by the team . “Man, it’s a pleasure to be signed now. I’m very excited. Very special moment. Let’s do it. Jet up!”
A few minutes after the Jets announced the signing which includes a bonus of about $20 million on social media, Darnold made his way out to the practice field with his teammates greeting him with a “Rudy”-like slow-clap. Darnold spoke briefly to coach Todd Bowles as he joined the team.
“We were just messing around with him,” defensive end Leonard Williams said with a smile. “We gave him a little slow-clap and I think it was just more of a welcoming him back and also just a thing the guys do. We mess around with each other a lot.
“We were like, ‘Oh, he finally made it.”
Darnold spoke briefly to coach Todd Bowles as he joined the team.
“I told him he was late,” Bowles said, keeping a straight face.
A grinning Darnold made his way to the warmup line and got a pat on the shoulder from Josh McCown.
“Anybody that comes in late and holds out as a draft
pick and makes a bunch of money is going to catch ribbing from the team,” Bowles said. “And this is only the start of it. But Sam has a good spirit and he’ll take it kindheartedly.”
Darnold then jumped right into position drills, handing off to running backs and throwing a few short passes before participating in team drills. After a shaky start that included a handoff, an incompletion and an intercepted pass by Doug Middleton, Darnold bounced back in red-zone drills with short touchdown tosses to fellow rookie Chris Herndon and later to wide
receiver and Rancho Verde product Quincy Enunwa.
HOF to acknowledge Owens in ceremony
Despite his decision to not attend Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Terrell Owens will be “honored” by the hall for his NFL career.
Hall President David Baker told The Associated Press on Monday that the Canton, Ohio, shrine’s mission statement begins with the goal “to honor the heroes of the game.”
So Owens, who instead will be making an appearance
at the University of Chattanooga , where he played college football, will be part of the 2018 class exhibit that includes a glass locker for each new member; their pictures on the light standards of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium; a role in opening videos shown within the stadium; and mention in any reference to the 2018 class.
Baker said NFL Network and ESPN, which both televise the inductions, will show a video of Owens’ career to the audience at home. That video will not be shown in the stadium. Owens, 44, had a mostly
sensational 15-year career playing for San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas, Buffalo and Cincinnati. He is second to Jerry Rice in receiving yards and third in touchdown catches behind Rice and Randy Moss, who is entering the hall this week and will attend.
NFL’s concussion claims surging
More than $500 million in claims were approved as of Monday under the NFL’s concussion settlement, nearly a decade earlier than league officials estimated they would reach that amount.
Claims administrators in the settlement released an updated report on the concussion settlement information website saying about $502 million had been approved in less than two years of the settlement. The original actuarial estimates from the NFL estimated a little more than $400 million would be paid out in the first decade.
Attorneys for the retired players adjusted their estimates on the total payout of expected claims earlier this month, saying the settlement would likely reach $1.4 billion— almost a half billion more than the NFL originally estimated.
Around the league
Carolina Panthers cornerback Ross Cockrell broke his left tibia and fibula during practice at the team’s training camp at Wofford College. The team said Cockrell will need surgery, but has not said if he is expected to miss the remainder of the season . ... The Denver Broncos’ newly signed receiver Corey “Philly” Brown is in concussion protocol after hitting his head in the weight room . ... Detroit Lions running back LeGarrette Blount returned to training camp a day after walking off the field during practice. Blount declined interview requests. He helped Philadelphia and New England win the past two Super Bowls, running for 1,927 yards and 20 touchdowns the previous two seasons. ... Inside linebacker Jake Ryan, one of the Green Bay Packers’ top run defenders, was carted off the field late in practice with an apparent right leg injury. Kentrell Brice, a potential starter at safety, was also carted off the field during a special teams drill, though the type of injury was unclear.