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NFL

Bills coach critical of Benjamin's Panthers barbs

PITTSFORD, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott was critical Sunday of comments made by wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin last week that were critical of his former team, the Carolina Panthers.

“There’s a time and a place — I’m not saying specific to what comments were made — there’s a time and place for things like that,” McDermott said. “This was not one of them. We have a lot of respect for our opponents, No. 1, and everyone in the league. I’ve spoken with Kelvin and that’s not how I want us to handle things like that. So we’ll move forward as a team, and I’m hoping we’ve already done that.”

Benjamin told The Athletic in a Q&A after practice on Friday that he and the Panthers were never a good fit and he lamented that he wasn’t able to play with a more accurate quarterback than Cam Newton to begin his career.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton appeared to answer Benjamin in a video posted via his Instagram story.

“Hey, I ain’t going to go back and forth with him. I’m just going to work. You feel me? That’s all it is, you know what it is. Just work baby,” Newton said in the video while he is walking on a treadmill.

Benjamin said Sunday he has no plans to reach out to Newton to clear the air.

“No, man, I’m just moving on. I’m just moving on,” he said.

The Bills host the Panthers this Thursday at New Era Field in both teams’ preseason opener.

“That’s a part of it, but the bigger part of it is our focus needs to be on what we’re doing,” McDermott said Sunday. “Like I said, we respect what they do, every opponent — everyone in the league for that matter — but the bigger part is our focus needs to be on us and our approach to training camp.”

Newton posted a 58.5 completion percentage in Benjamin’s first season in 2014, 59.8 in 2015, 52.9 in 2016 and 59.1 last season. He has cracked 60 percent just twice in his career — 60 percent in 2011, his rookie season, and 61.7 percent in 2013. He has a career completion percentage of 58.5.

Benjamin answered those critical of his comments in a tweet Saturday, writing that he has been “holding it all in. And now I’m free. Hate me or love me.”

He said Sunday that his comments were made in “the heat of the moment.”

“I was just angry at the time. It just came out,” he said, adding that he is “going to learn from it.”

He said he has no problem with McDermott’s comments Sunday “because he’s right.”

“That can be a distraction for the team and I don’t want to be no distraction to my team, so like I said man, I’m moving on from that. I said what I had to say and I’m just focusing on the team right now,” he said.

NFL

Absent Gordon exchanges texts with teammate

BEREA, Ohio — Josh Gordon hasn’t reported to Cleveland Browns training camp, but his presence is being felt on the field.

Fellow wide receiver Rashard Higgins, who said he has exchanged texts with Gordon and says he’s “in good spirits,” is wearing his gear under his uniform at each practice.

“That’s my locker buddy, and I’m wearing his shirts every day,” Higgins said Saturday. “That’s why I feel like I’ve got superpowers when I come out here.”

Gordon, whose nickname is Flash, remains away from the team as part of his treatment to battle drug and alcohol addictions. An NFL spokesman said the former Pro Bowl wideout has not been suspended.

League sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter last month that Gordon was seeking additional counseling before camp opened to deal with his mental health and anxiety. The wide receiver has said that he typically used alcohol or marijuana when he was anxious, something he cannot do without another violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Gordon has regularly been in touch with his counselors and was told to take the extra time in a proactive move, sources said.

Browns general manager John Dorsey and coach Hue Jackson remain confident that Gordon will return at some point, but no timetable has been set. Cleveland opens its preseason Thursday at the New York Giants.

“It will be like Josh never was gone when he comes back,” said Higgins, a third-year pro. “That’s how we’re going to treat things. I feel like the team is a good supporting cast for him, just him knowing that we’re here for him and we’ve got his back, no matter what.”

The 27-year-old Gordon has only played in 10 games since leading the NFL with a franchise-record 1,646 yards receiving in 2013. He is in Stage 3 of the league’s substance-abuse program and faces another indefinite ban for any violation.

Higgins says they have not discussed football in a conversation since Gordon was placed on the reserve/did not report list on July 23.

“We know Josh is handling his business off the field, and when he comes back, he’ll be ready to go,” Higgins said. “We don’t talk about anything on the field. We just talk about, ‘Hey, what’s up bro? How ya doin’?’ Just family, little things like that.”

Gordon resumed posting workout videos on social media Thursday from the University of Florida but has not made any statements since camp began. He has missed 43 of the Browns’ last 48 games because of suspensions.

Last season, Gordon was reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell following a three-month stay in a rehabilitation facility. He played in the final five contests — catching 18 passes for 335 yards and a touchdown — after revealing that he had not previously appeared in an NFL game while sober.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

NFL

Nike elects not to renew QB Winston's contract
5:35 PM ET

  • Darren Rovell

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    ESPN Senior Writer
    • ESPN.com’s sports business reporter since 2012; previously at ESPN from 2000-06
    • Appears on SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and with ABC News
    • Formerly worked as analyst at CNBC

  • Seth Wickersham

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    ESPN Senior Writer
    • Senior Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
    • Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri.
    • Although he primarily covers the NFL, his assignments also have taken him to the Athens Olympics, the World Series, the NCAA tournament and the NHL and NBA playoffs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is no longer a Nike man.

A Nike official told ESPN on Friday that Winston’s deal expired and the company elected not to renew the former No. 1 overall draft pick.

Sources say Winston’s contract expired before the NFL announced he would be suspended for the first three games of the regular season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The violation relates to a 2016 incident in which Winston was accused of groping a female Uber driver.

Jameis Winston’s Nike contract expired before he was suspended three games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, sources said. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Winston apologized in a statement following the suspension, after denying seven months before that the incident took place.

Nike’s biggest bets on former Heisman Trophy winners haven’t panned out. In 2010, they signed Tim Tebow, whose career on the gridiron faltered. In 2016, when he switched to baseball, he went to Adidas.

Nike signed Johnny Manziel in 2014, but ended the relationship the following year because of his off-field troubles.

What Winston will replace the Nike swoosh with is unknown. Calls to Winston’s marketing agent, Russ Spielman, were not returned.

NFL

Tackle that injured Rodgers a penalty today

EAGAN, Minn. — If the hit Anthony Barr laid on Aaron Rodgers last season — which broke the Green Bay quarterback’s collarbone — took place this season, it would be deemed a penalty.

According to NFL official Pete Morelli, who explained the league’s rule changes to a group of Twin Cities media on Thursday, Barr’s hit would fall under a point of emphasis the NFL has instituted for 2018. It would be a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer.

Rule 12 in the NFL’s 2018 rulebook details player conduct. Under Article 9, which explains the rules around roughing the passer, the manner in which a quarterback in a defenseless position (which is just after he’s completed throwing a pass) is tackled is the point of emphasis.

The rule states the following:

“A rushing defender is prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as ‘stuffing’ a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball, even if the rusher makes his initial contact with the passer within the one-step limitation provided for in (a) above, When tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture (e.g., during or just after throwing a pass), a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down or land on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight. Instead, the defensive player must strive to wrap up the passer with the defensive player’s arms and not land on the passer with all or most of his body weight.”

According to Morelli, everything boils down to whether a defender uses his full body weight to bring down a quarterback any time he is in a defenseless position.

“Players will have to kind of roll to the side when they make that tackle instead of plopping down on him (the quarterback),” Morelli said. “The Aaron Rodgers would be a foul this year. As long as he’s out of the pocket, established and all that. But if he’s running, that’s not the same.”

On the play in question, Rodgers rolled out of the pocket to his right and launched a pass. Barr took the two steps required before wrapping the quarterback up by the waist and tackling him.

Upon being tackled, Rodgers braced himself with his right (throwing) arm as he hit the turf. Barr brought Rodgers to the ground and rolled off the quarterback’s left shoulder within seconds of completing the tackle. Barr was not penalized.

The rule, according to Morelli, applies to a quarterback whenever he’s in a defenseless position, which could be in the pocket or whether he runs and sets up again outside of the pocket.

“If you roll out and get set up, you’re still a passer,” Morelli said. “But if you’re rolling out and throwing and a guy’s chasing you and tackles you, you’re not defenseless. They get two steps and they can tackle you. Becoming defenseless is setting up again outside the pocket.”

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