WR has no memory of hit

Elsewhere

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius HeywardBey still has no recollection of the devastating hit Sunday by Steelers safety Ryan Mundy that left him with a concussion and neck strain.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since being carted off the field and hospitalized overnight following the play, Heyward-Bey said he has seen television replays of the hit but otherwise has no memory of it.

“I don’t remember any of it,” Heyward-Bey said Friday.

Heyward-Bey appeared to be knocked out immediately after getting hit on the chin by the crown of Mundy’s helmet early in the fourth quarter of the 34-31 win against the Steelers at O.co Coliseum. His limp body crashed to the turf headfirst and his neck twisted awkwardly.

The game was halted for several minutes while HeywardBey’s motionless body lay in the southern end zone as team trainers and medical personnel checked him out. He was eventually strapped to a backboard and taken off the field by cart before being transported to Eden Medical Center for observation. According to Raiders coach Dennis Allen, HeywardBey has not passed all of his concussion tests and has yet to be cleared to participate in contact drills. He attended practice Friday as an observer but is doubtful to play in this Sunday’s game against AFC West rival Denver.

Heyward-Bey said he has no hard feelings toward Mundy. The two exchanged text messages while Heyward-Bey was in the hospital, with HeywardBey telling Mundy the play was simply a part of the game.

“That’s just football,” Heyward-Bey said. “I signed up to put on pads and go out there. That’s what happens out there. People get hit, people get hurt. It happens.”

NFL officials on the verge of approving a new contract say they’re excited to get back to work. Officials started arriving Friday at hotel in Irving, Texas, to discuss and vote on an agreement reached with the league late Wednesday. Some planned to fly directly to their assigned cities for Sunday’s games. The deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union’s 121 members. One crew returned to work Thursday night, as Baltimore beat Cleveland, 23-16, and no one was complaining that the officials cost the Browns the game. That mere fact was a major victory for the NFL and the seven-man crew led by referee Gene Steratore, who brought official harmony back to the nation’s most popular league. Cheered from the moment they walked onto the field, the men in stripes ran a smooth and efficient game as the NFL’s lockout of officials came to an end with the Baltimore Ravens’ 23-16 win against the Browns. “To just be applauded by 50,000 people prior to anything happening, it was something that kind of chokes you up,” Steratore said. “It was a very special feeling.”