Bears’ Trubisky aims to keep Browns winless

Consider Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky more of a casual fan of the Browns than a die-hard loyalist growing up near Cleveland.

He rooted for them because they were the local team. He hardly hung onto every play so don’t think his closet or drawers were filled with Browns jerseys.

“Couldn’t afford jerseys,” he said.

Trubisky will have a more vested interest in his hometown team this week because he will be on the opposite side when the Bears host the winless Browns on Sunday.

The Browns could have drafted Trubisky with the No. 1 pick. They went with defensive end Myles Garrett instead, while the Bears (4-10) traded up a spot with San Francisco to take Trubisky second overall.

“He is definitely a guy that we looked at,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “He had talent. He is from the area. It turned out the way we thought it would. Myles is here, and he is there in Chicago.”

Trubisky rooted more for NFL players, colleges and even his hometown Mentor High School than he did for the Browns.

“My goal was to get to this point and now that I’m here it’s just to get better every day,” Trubisky said. “But, yeah, it’s a big sense of pride for the area, just rooting for the hometown team and just the love for football and love of the game.”

The Bears have dropped six of seven, including last week’s 20-10 loss to the Lions. Trubisky was at his best and worst in the game. His 31 completions, 46 attempts and 314 yards passing were all career highs. But so were his three interceptions. A 66.8 rating was a big drop from the 112.4 he posted the previous week in a win over Cincinnati.

NFL to officials: No more index cards

The NFL has told its officials not to use index cards or any other paper to aid in measurements.

In Sunday night’s Cowboys-Raiders game, referee Gene Steratore tried to slide what appeared to be an index card between the tip of the ball and the end of the chain while measuring for a first down. When the card didn’t slide through, Steratore signaled a first down for Dallas. He said he had decided it was a first down before the odd measurement.

“Using a piece of paper, that’s very unusual,” NFL officiating chief Alberto Riveron said. “The last time I saw it done was four to five years ago. That is not the norm.”

Seahawks fined for concussion violation

The Seattle Seahawks have been fined $100,000 for not properly following concussion protocol with quarterback Russell Wilson during a game in November.

The NFL and NFLPA announced their decision after an investigation that lasted more than a month. Along with the financial penalty, Seattle’s coaching and medical staffs will be required to attend remedial training regarding the concussion protocol.

The investigation determined that Wilson was allowed back on the field before a required evaluation was performed on the sideline. The Seahawks said Thursday that it accepted the results of the investigation and that any missteps in violating the protocol were not intentional.

Seattle is the first team fined for such a violation.