Bucs WR suspended for fake vaccine card
The NFL has suspended Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown, safety Mike Edwards and former Bucs receiver John Franklin III three games without pay for using fake COVID-19 vaccination cards.
All three players accepted their discipline and waived their right to an appeal, the league said in a statement released Thursday.
The league began its investigation after the Tampa Bay Times reported that Brown obtained and utilized a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, according to his former live-in chef, Steven Ruiz.
The NFL Players Association represented all three players during a joint review that supported the allegations and found all three players violated league protocols.
Giants’ Kitchens felt play calling went smoothly in 1st game
New York Giants head coach Joe Judge isn’t making the Miami Dolphins guess about who will be calling the* offensive plays for the New York Giants this weekend.
Former Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens handled the role against the Eagles after offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was fired last week, and Kitchens is going to have the headset Sunday when the Giants (4-7) visit the Dolphins (5-7) to kick off a two-game road trip.
While the Giants were limited to 264 yards in a 13-7 win over Philadelphia, Kitchens felt the play calling went smoothly.
One distinct change was seeing quarterback Daniel Jones wearing a wristband for the first time in his three NFL seasons. It allows Kitchens to say a number over his headset and Jones just looks at a corresponding play on the wristband. The quarterback calls the play, gets the team out of the huddle quickly, then he has more time to look at the defense and change the call, if necessary.
“I think he saw the benefits of it,” Kitchens said Thursday in handling the offensive coordinator’s responsibility with the media. “Everywhere I’ve always been, I think they do it around the league a lot, you see quarterbacks with wristbands. It helps the communication process.”
Other than that, Kitchens said not much has changed. The staff got together and collaborated on the game plan. He talked to the players and got their opinions on what they liked.
“To me, why would you call something, and this is the way our staff believes, why would you call something if a player’s not comfortable running it?” Kitchens said. “It’s your job to get them comfortable running it. If you think it’s a good scheme or a good play or whatever the case may be, it’s your job to get them comfortable doing it. But if you can’t get them to that point, it’s kind of diminishing returns.”
One noticeable change involved receiver Kenny Golladay, who signed a $72 million as a free agent in the offseason, and got seven targets last weekend. He had two against the Buccaneers, the game that was Garrett’s last as coordinator.