Seahawks-Raiders first of three London games
Panthers to hire Turner; Bears add ex-Oregon coach.
The NFL is heading to a new destination in London, and the first matchup at Tottenham will be the Oakland Raiders against the Seattle Seahawks in October.
That’s if the 60,000-plus capacity stadium, which has been designed to accommodate soccer and NFL, is completed in time for Week 6.
While Tottenham’s English Premier League club is sure that building work is on schedule, the NFL has contingency plans to move the Oct. 14 game to Wembley Stadium. The home of the England national soccer team is where the NFL will be staging two games after the Raiders-Seahawks matchup, giving London three consecutive weeks of American football for the first time.
The Eagles will play the Jaguars, and the Titans will take on the Chargers. The NFL is yet to decide which game will be on Oct. 21 in Week 7 and which slots into Week 8 on Oct. 28.
“It’s a great learning for us, it’s another test,” said Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice president of international, from the Tottenham stadium site Thursday. “If we were ever to put a franchise in the UK we would need to know we can do three consecutive weekends.”
The new stadium was designed with NFL-sized changing rooms and to ensure the grass soccer pitch can be retracted and kept under lights below the stands when the artificial surface is required for NFL.
Panthers: Norv Turner is returning to the NFL in Carolina. The veteran coach agreed in principle with the Panthers to become their new offensive coordinator, NFL Network reported.
The 65-year-old returns to the coaching ranks for the first time since his stunning decision in November 2016 to step down as offensive coordinator of the then firstplace Vikings. Prior to walking away from the Vikings, Turner had served as an NFL head coach or coordinator since 1991.
The Panthers fired offensive coordinator Mike Shula and quarterbacks coach Ken Dorsey after their playoff loss to the Saints.
Bears: Hired former Oregon Ducks coach Mark Helfrich to be their offensive coordinator, ESPN reported.
Helfrich, who was fired by Oregon after the 2016 season, will be part of the staff under new coach Matt Nagy.
After serving as offensive coordinator under Chip Kelly, Helfrich became coach of the Ducks in 2013. He went 37-16 over four seasons and Oregon averaged 42.6 points and 536.7 yards, which ranked second and third among FBS schools during that period.
Jets: General manager Mike Maccagnan said his front office will be active in free agency come March. And when that time comes, the Jets will look at quarterback Kirk Cousins, Newsday reported, citing multiple sources.
The Jets have a projected $80 million in salary-cap space for 2018 that will balloon to at least $100 million with expected cuts of several veterans such as Muhammad Wilkerson and Matt Forte.
Cousins, 29, has been franchised the past two seasons by the Redskins after failing to reach a deal on a longterm contract. Washington franchised Cousins for the 2017 season with a price tag of $23.9 million.
Raiders: The NFL said Thursday it will investigate whether the Raiders violated the “Rooney Rule” when they hired Jon Gruden as coach.
The Fritz Pollard Alliance called for the investigation out of concern that Raiders owner Mark Davis came to an agreement with Gruden before the team interviewed any minority candidates, as required since 2003.
Spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement the NFL will “look into this.”
Wednesday’s Games Thursday’s Games
Hurricanes 3, (at) Capitals 1: Victor Rask broke a tie on a delayed penalty with 9:06 left to give Carolina the victory hours after the club’s sale to Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon was finalized. The sale closed about two months after Dundon, 46, signed an agreement to buy a majority stake from Peter Karmanos Jr., who will retain a minority interest in the club he moved from Hartford, Connecticut, to North Carolina in 1997. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said the team is not moving.
(At) Sabres 3, Blue Jackets 1: Kyle Okposo had a goal and assist to help Buffalo snap a five-game skid, while Linus Ullmark stopped 44 shots in his first NHL game of the season.
Flames 5, (at) Lightning 1: Johnny Gaudreau had a goal and an assist in Calgary’s fifth straight win, and Mike Smith had 33 saves.
NHL notes
Golden Knights: The U.S. Army filed a challenge opposing the application of the franchise to register the trademark “Vegas Golden Knights.” In a claim filed with the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in suburban Washington, the Army claims says it has acquired exclusive rights to it that predate any rights claimed by the NHL team. The Army says it has used the Golden Knights nickname since the late 1960s.
Sabres: Defenseman Zach Bogosian will miss four to six weeks with an injury to his lower left leg.
Senators: Winger Bobby Ryan missed Wednesday’s game with a hand injury sustained the night before.