Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Alex Mack are Falcons’ offensive captains

The Falcons announced their captains for 2020. Quarterback Matt Ryan, receiver Julio Jones, center Alex Mack, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, linebacker Deion Jones and safety Ricardo Allen will wear a “C” on their jerseys. Ryan is the longest-tenured Falcon, entering his 13th season in Atlanta. The four-time Pro Bowler was named the NFL’s MVP following [more]

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Center of attention; Steelers' Pouncey eyes delicate balance

Maurkice Pouncey didn’t love the collective bargaining agreement the NFL Players Association reached with team owners just as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the league and the world to a standstill. Six months later, he’s still not a fan, even if in hindsight the deal does give the NFL some level of financial security in a post-pandemic economy that Major League Baseball, for example, does not have. ”To say that the NFL is hurting, and guys are signing multimillion-dollar deals?

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Bengals waive O’Shea Dugas, Bryce Sterk

The Bengals started making cuts on their way to setting an initial 53-man roster on Thursday. As previously reported, linebacker Brady Shelton is one of the players who spent camp in Cincinnati and failed to make the team. The Bengals announced his departure and also announced that offensive lineman O’Shea Dugas and defensive end Bryce [more]

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Steelers play-by-play voice Bill Hillgrove suspended two games over DUI arrest

Pittsburgh Steelers radio play-by-play voice Bill Hillgrove has been suspended for the first two games of the 2020 season following a June arrest for a DUI. According to Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Hillgrove registered a blood alcohol level of 0.16 percent after he drove his vehicle into the front of a supermarket in [more]

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Leonard Fournette planning to sign with Brady-led Buccaneers

Leonard Fournette intends to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are stockpiling playmakers to help Tom Brady be successful with his new team. The former Jacksonville Jaguars running back tweeted an image of himself carrying a football and wearing a Bucs jersey and helmet -long with a pen-signing emoji and the message (hash)GoBucs- on Wednesday night. The Bucs, who typically don’t confirm player acquisitions until the team has a signed contract, had no comment.

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Fans or not, NFL braces for new stadium feel, sudden changes

Jerry Jones won’t put a number on the attendance for the Dallas Cowboys’ home opener until the crowd is announced later this month at AT&T Stadium. The owner of the Cowboys also hopes the 80,000-seat venue with standing room space that pushes capacity past 90,000 will be closer to full as the pandemic-altered NFL season goes on. All of which is to say the league’s clubs are preparing for a rapidly changing environment while accepting the bottom-line notion that playing games with limited numbers of fans or none at all will affect revenues in 2020.

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NFL, TV partners navigating pandemic and future rights deals

In a year in which few things are normal, there will be some familiar things about NFL broadcasts this season. Announcers will be in the stadiums, pregame shows will have their usual fill of banter and debate and the regular season will start on time. Opinions are mixed, but Neal Pilson, the former president of CBS Sports who now runs his own sports television consulting company, thinks there will be growth because of many factors.

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