Knee injury grounds Ravens’ Dixon
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Training camp hasn’t even started yet, and the Baltimore Ravens already have a lengthy injury list.
Running back Kenneth Dixon (Strong, Ark.) will miss the season because of a torn meniscus in his left knee, coach John Harbaugh announced Wednesday.
The injury occurred while Dixon was working out with strength and conditioning coaches at Louisiana Tech, where he played for four years.
As a rookie last season, Dixon ran for 382 yards, caught 30 passes for 162 yards and scored three touchdowns.
Dixon was already slated to miss at least the first month of the season after receiving a four-week suspension from the NFL in March for using performance enhancing drugs.
To fill the void, Baltimore on Wednesday signed freeagent running back Bobby Rainey, who broke into the league with the Ravens in 2012 and played with the New York Giants last season.
When the Ravens hold their first training camp practice today, they will be without four key players from last season’s 8-8 club.
Tight end Dennis Pitta sustained a third hip fracture; cornerback Tavon Young was lost with a torn left ACL; and tight end Darren Waller received a one-year suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.
Divers search lake for player’s $100K ring
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — An NFL star’s diamond earring valued at more than $100,000 is now presumed lost on the murky bottom of a Georgia lake.
WXIA-TV reported Tuesday that Atlanta Falcons star wide receiver Julio Jones lost it when he hit a boat wake and took a spill while jet skiing in Lake Lanier, about 50 miles outside Atlanta.
He resurfaced but his pricey earring didn’t.
SCUBA divers have been searching the lake bottom, hoping to capture a flashlight’s reflection off the jewelry amid old trees that have been submerged since the man-made lake’s creation in the 1950s. So far, no luck. Falcons training camp begins today and goes through Aug. 4. The first preseason game is Aug. 26 against the Arizona Cardinals, the grand opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Ex-Cowboy Whitehead goes to WR-needy Jets
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The New York Jets claimed wide receiver-kick returner Lucky Whitehead on Wednesday, two days after the Cowboys cut him following a shoplifting charge in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
A man used Whitehead’s identity to steal $40 worth of food and drink from a Virginia convenience store in June. Dallas released him Monday after reports that Whitehead was arrested and subsequently cited for missing a court hearing.
The Jets, desperate for help at receiver, claimed the threeyear veteran and waived receiver Devin Street.
Whitehead appeared in 30 games the past two seasons with the Cowboys. He averaged 25.6 yards on 33 kick returns and 6.9 yards on 44 punt returns, and had nine receptions as a reserve receiver.