April 2018 - Football Wiretap

Tom Brady Was Gushing Blood After Injuring Thumb
Tom Brady wore red gloves on both of his hands during his press conference on Friday while evading questions about about his injury.

ESPN

NFL Concludes Raiders Complied With Rooney Rule On Jon Gruden Hire
Reports have indicated the Raiders would not have fired Jack Del Rio without a commitment from Jon Gruden.

Associated Press

Bill Belichick Predictably Cryptic Over Tom Brady's Hand Injury
Brian Hoyer took all the repetitions in Thursday's practice.

Mike Reiss/ESPN

Stefon Diggs: Odell Beckham Will Thrive Under Pat Shurmur
Stefon Diggs expects Odell Beckham to thrive under Pat Shurmur with the Giants "because Pat knows how to get people the ball."

Pat Leonard/New York Daily News

Jaguars Aren't Buying Tom Brady's Hand Injury
The Jaguars are preparing to face Tom Brady at 100% on Sunday despite a hand injury that kept him out of practice on Thursday.

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk

Sean McVay Named Coach Of Year By PFWA
Sean McVay is the youngest head coach in modern NFL history.

Alden Gonzalez/ESPN

Falcons Prioritizing Extension For Matt Ryan
Matt Ryan signed a five-year, $103.75 million extension in July of 2013 that included $59 million guaranteed.

Vaughn McClure/ESPN

Joe Lockhart Steps Down As NFL's Chief Spokesman
Joe Lockhart told members of his staff he is stepping aside after the Super Bowl to spend more time with his family, do political commentary and perhaps teach.

Mark Maske/Washington Post

Falcons To Retain Steve Sarkisian As Offensive Coordinator
Steve Sarkisian replaced Kyle Shanahan as offensive coordinator and the Falcons' offense regressed from 2016.

RealGM Staff Report

NFL Divisional Round Ratings Down 16 Percent From 2017
The weekend's four games averaged 30.43 million viewers, off from 36.22 million the year before.

David Bauder/Associated Press

Randy Fichtner Expected To Be Named Steelers OC
The Steelers are expected to promote Randy Fichtner from quarterbacks coach to offensive coordinator after letting go of Todd Haley.

Marc Sessler/NFL

Zach Ertz Wants To Be Philly's Target In Red Zone, On Third Down
Zach Ertz caught a critical pass on third down in last weekend's playoff win over the Atlanta Falcons, something he hopes to do again as the Philadelphia Eagles look to advance to the Super Bowl.

Zach Berman/Philly News

Patriots Vow Not To Underestimate Blake Bortles
The Patriots promise they won't look past Blake Bortles as they head into Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

Rich Cimini/ESPN

Jarvis Landry Feels Disrespected By Contract Talks With Dolphins
Jarvis Landry isn't happy with how contract talks have played out with the Dolphins, but he still wants to remain with the team.

ESPN

Tom Brady Injures Throwing Hand After Teammate Runs Into Him
Tom Brady underwent an x-ray which showed no structural damage.

Karen Guregian/Boston Herald

Jets Fire Offensive Coordinator John Morton
John Morton was in his first season with the Jets after spending the 2015 and 2016 seasons with the Saints as wide receivers coach.

Manish Mehta/New York Daily News

Gene Steratore To Referee Super Bowl LII
Gene Steratore is a native of Pittsburgh.

RealGM Staff Report

Steelers Part Ways With Todd Haley As Offensive Coordinator
Todd Haley became offensive coordinator of the Steelers in 2012.

Ian Rapoport/NFL.com

Odell Beckham Jr. Past Rehab Phase, Working Out For 2018 Season
Odell Beckham Jr. is hoping to sign a contract extension this offseason as he enters the fifth-year option on his contract.

Jordan Raanan/ESPN

Mike Munchak Declines Arizona's Offer Of Second Interview
Mike Munchak had a 22-26 record as head coach of the Titans.

Chris Mortensen/ESPN

FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS Make Bids For Thursday Night Football
FOX and ABC have made bids after CBS and NBC split the package in 2016-17.

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Interested In Owning Piece Of Panthers
The recently-retired NASCAR driver recently called Marcus Smith, the president and chief operating officer of Speedway Motorsports Inc., about potential involvement in purchasing the Panthers.

David Newton/ESPN

Jets Lower Season-Ticket Prices, Remove Some PSLs
The Jets are lowering season-ticket prices by a weighted average of 11 percent compared with last season.

Darren Rovell/ESPN

Seahawks Hire Brian Schottenheimer As Offensive Coordinator
Brian Schottenheimer was offensive coordinator of the Jets from 2006 until 2011 and for the Rams from 2012 until 2014.

Bob Condotta/Seattle Times

Drew Brees Uninterested In Listening To Offers From Rival Teams
The Saints cannot place the franchise tag on Drew Brees because of a clause in his current deal.

Mike Triplett/ESPN

Ben McAdoo Interviews For Cleveland's Offensive Coordinator Job
Mike Mularkey is also on Cleveland's radar for the job.

Mary Kay Cabot/Plain Dealer

Bryce Love Will Remain At Stanford For Senior Season
Bryce Love was rated as the No. 2 running back potentially in the draft.

Mark Schlabach/ESPN

Ben Roethlisberger Wants To Play At Least Three More Seasons
The quarterback, who turns 36 in March, said last year that he planned to assess his future on a yearly basis.

Ed Bouchette/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A.J. McCarron 'Wanted That Opportunity' To Be Traded To Browns
A.J. McCarron was nearly traded to the Browns at the trade deadline, but the deal fell through when the paperwork wasn't sent to the league office in time.

Michael David Smith/Pro Football Talk

Marcus Williams Vows Not To Let Walk-Off Play Define Him
Marcus Williams has vowed not to let one play define his career in the wake of the stunning end to Sunday's playoff game between the Saints and Vikings.

Mike Triplett/ESPN