Hall of Famer Sayers battling dementia

Relatives of Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers say the Chicago Bears legend has been diagnosed with dementia. His wife, Ardythe Sayers, says that she blames Sayers’ football career.

Relatives of Pro Football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers say the Chicago Bears legend has been diagnosed with dementia.

His wife, Ardythe Sayers, tells The Kansas City Star that her 73-year-old husband was diagnosed four years ago and she blames Sayers’ football career. He played for the Bears from seven seasons starting in 1965 after setting records at the University of Kansas.

“Like the doctor at the Mayo Clinic said, ‘Yes, a part of this has to be on football,”’ Ardie Sayers said at their home in Wakarusa, Indiana. “It wasn’t so much getting hit in the head . It’s just the shaking of the brain when they took him down with the force they play the game in.”

Ardie Sayers and the rest of the family had made no secret of his condition, but hadn’t shared it publicly. In 2013, he asked to withdraw a lawsuit filed against the National Football League and a helmet maker that claimed they failed to prevent repeated head injuries. The lawsuit contended that Sayers claimed he suffers headaches, occasional short-term memory loss and other cognitive deficits because of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Sayers is regarded as one of the greatest players in NFL history. The “Kansas Comet” played his entire career with the Bears, piling up 4,956 yards rushing in his 68-game career and was voted to four Pro Bowls. Sayers scored 22 touchdowns and 132 points in his first season, both then-rookie records.

Clark says he has ALS

Dwight Clark revealed that he has Lou Gehrig’s disease and suspects playing football might have caused the illness.

Clark announced on Twitter that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a disease that attacks cells that control muscles. The former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver linked to a post on his personal blog detailing his ALS diagnosis, but the site crashed Sunday night, apparently from an overflow of traffic.

“I’ve been asked if playing football caused this,” Clark said in the post. “I don’t know for sure. But I certainly suspect it did.”

Clark won two Super Bowls with the 49ers during a nine-year career that ended in 1987. He memorably pulled down the winning touchdown pass from Joe Montana in the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, a play remembered simply as “The Catch.”

Jets sign McCown

The New York Jets have signed veteran free-agent quarterback Josh McCown to a one-year deal.

The team announced the signing Monday night. Agent Mike McCartney announced on Twitter that the contract is for one season. Financial terms were not immediately available.

McCown met with the Jets over the weekend, but left Sunday without a deal. The sides agreed to a contract a day later.

The Jets had just the inexperienced Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg on their roster, and McCown provides a veteran presence who could potentially start and be a mentor to the youngsters.

McCown, who’ll turn 38 on July 4, played the past two seasons with Cleveland.

McCown has familiarity with new Jets quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates, who was his position coach in Chicago during the 2012 and `13 seasons.

Smith eager to learn

The New York Giants are giving former Jets quarterback Geno Smith a chance to learn from Eli Manning.

The Giants on Monday announced they had signed Smith and cornerback Valentino Blake, who also excels on special teams. A second-round draft choice out of West Virginia in 2013, Smith has been a bust after a good rookie season. He missed most of last season after surgery for an ACL injury in October.

“Geno has a great, positive attitude, and he’s looking forward to learning and competing in our QB room,” general manager Jerry Reese said.

Smith believes he can learn from Manning, a twotime Super Bowl MVP, and develop under coach Ben McAdoo and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti.

“I think it will work out tremendously for me,” Smith said. “And it’s also an opportunity to be on a real good team, a winning team, get healthy - it’s just a perfect scenario for me. I couldn’t have written it up any better myself.”

The Giants signed backup Josh Johnson last week. Ryan Nassib is a free agent.

Smith has hit 501 of 866 pass attempts for 5,962 yards, 28 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. The 26-year-old has a 12-18 record as a starter.

Being the Giants’ backup means not getting a lot of play. Manning has started 211 consecutive games since 2004.

“I want to carry my notepad around and whatever I see Eli doing, whether it’s in the classroom, on the field or off the field, I want to write it down,” Smith said. “Because he’s a guy you can model yourself after. If you learn from a guy like that, we can all do a lot better.”

Steelers sign Davis

The Pittsburgh Steelers bolstered their depth behind running back Le’Veon Bell, signing former Kansas City back Knile Davis to a one-year contract.

Davis played three-plus seasons with the Chiefs, who selected him in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. Davis ran for 463 yards and six touchdowns, both career highs, with Kansas City in 2014.

Lions land Hill

The Detroit Lions have signed free agent defensive tackle Jordan Hill.

Hill is entering his fifth NFL season after previously playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the third round in 2013.

Hill has seven sacks in 31 career games. He played in four games for the Jaguars last season, making no starts. In 2014, he had 5 ½ sacks in a reserve role for Seattle.

Officials retire

Three NFL officials with a combined 60 years of experience have retired.

Head linesman John McGrath, line judge Tony Veteri, Jr., and field judge Bob Waggoner are leaving the league. They will be honored next month at the NFL Referees Association’s annual meeting.

“These men have had extensive and impressive careers in NFL officiating,” said Scott Green, NFLRA’s executive director. “We have been fortunate to have them as colleagues and friends. They will be missed on the field, but will always be a part of our fraternity.”