Ravens sign free agent tackle Villanueva away from the Steelers
OWINGS MILLS, MD. » The Baltimore Ravens have signed two-time Pro Bowl tackle Alejandro Villanueva to a two-year deal on Tuesday.
The long-time starter for the division-rival Steelers, Villanueva was not re-signed by Pittsburgh.
A graduate of West Point, Villanueva spent six seasons with the Steelers, playing in 96 games with 90 starts. He has the secondlongest active streak among NFL tackles with 96 consecutive games players and has started every game over the past five seasons.
Before he signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and then wound up on the Steelers’ practice squad, Villanueva spent 2010-13 as an active member of the Army, serving three tours of duty in Afghanistan. He was promoted to the rank of captain in April 2014.
Source: Jets’ Williams out 8 weeks
NEW YORK » New York Jets standout defensive lineman Quinnen Williams broke a bone in a foot and is expected to have surgery and be sidelined eight to 10 weeks, according to a person with knowledge of the injury.
Williams was hurt last week during onfield workouts at the team’s facility in Florham Park, New Jersey, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Williams, 23, had a breakout second NFL season as one of the team’s few standouts during a miserable 2-14 campaign.
NFL draft drew 160,000
Given that the nation remains in a pandemic, the NFL is more than satisfied with being able to attract 160,000 fans to the draft in Cleveland last week.
While those numbers pale in comparison to what the three-day draft drew in previous years in Nashville and Philadelphia, they also reflect the necessary health and safety protocols the league observed.
“We hit 160,000 across the three days,” Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s NFL executive vice president of club business and league events, said Tuesday.
Just as in Chicago, Philadelphia and Nashville, the NFL used an iconic locale within the city, building a stage and fan complex along the shore of Lake Erie and next to the Browns’ stadium and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.