Veteran wide receiver Decker decides to retire
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Receiver Eric Decker says he is retiring from the NFL after an eight-year career with the Broncos, Jets and Titans.
Decker had been in training camp with the Patriots this summer, but it wasn’t clear he would make the roster. He said on Instagram on Sunday, “This has been a passion inside of me since I was a little boy but now it is time for me to hang up my helmet and start a new chapter in my life.”
Decker caught 439 passes for 5,816 yards and 53 touchdowns in his career. He had three 1,000-yard receiving seasons, including a career-best 1,288 yards on 87 receptions in 2013 with Denver, when he reached the Super Bowl for the only time in his career.
He had two catches for 12 yards this preseason.
Bowles mum about QB
Todd Bowles has a secret — and he’s not letting on at all.
The only thing is, everyone has a pretty good idea what it is.
The New York Jets coach won’t say who his starting quarterback will be this season, despite all signs appearing to point to rookie Sam Darnold.
“I definitely won’t do it today,” Bowles said Sunday of an official announcement. “Sometime next week maybe.”
Darnold has started New York’s past two preseason games and appears to be the front-runner in the competition that includes incumbent Josh McCown and Teddy Bridgewater. The No. 3 overall draft pick has been solid this summer, impressing coaches and teammates with his decisionmaking and ability to quickly digest the playbook.
“As coaches, we’ll meet on it and keep meeting on it,” Bowles said. “I have my ideas in my head, which I’ll keep to myself at this point. “But, I have a good idea.” Bowles insisted that the decision is not something he’s even struggling with. No lost moments of sleep while juggling his signal callers in his mind. “Not really,” he said. “No.” To anyone watching the Jets throughout training camp and the preseason, it would be a surprise if Darnold isn’t under center when New York opens the regular season at Detroit on Sept. 10. It would seem unlikely that Darnold will get much, if any, time on the field in the preseason finale Thursday night at Philadelphia — the game when starters typically sit out.
After missing the first three days of camp while getting his contract hammered out, Darnold quickly caught up to his teammates on the field. He was third in the rotation in the preseason opener against Atlanta, but opened the past two games with the starting offense.
Broncos sign veteran Jones
Adam “Pacman” Jones is reuniting with Vance Joseph, who was his Cincinnati’s secondary coach during the veteran cornerback’s best seasons in the NFL.
Jones signed a one-year deal with the Denver Broncos after visiting the team. To make room, the Broncos waived inside linebacker Bo Bower.
The sixth overall pick of the 2005 draft, Jones had been out of the NFL since March when the Cincinnati Bengals declined to pick up his $5.5 million contract option.
Jones spent his past eight seasons in Cincinnati, starting 68 games at cornerback and returning punts and kickoffs. He started 39 games over the past three seasons, but his 2017 season was cut short by a groin injury.