Teddy Bridgewater could have lost his leg, expert says

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer announced Tuesday that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a significant knee injury during practice. Little did he know how significant it truly was.

Not only did Bridgewater tear his ACL, he suffered a tibiofemoral dislocation — or a dislocated knee joint.

According to injury expert Will Carroll, if the team trainers didn’t react as quickly as they did and get an ambulance to the facility, Bridgewater may have lost his entire career and even his leg.

Source confirms tibiofemoral dislocation, ruptured ACL for Bridgewater. "Trainers may have saved his leg and career by quick action."

— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) August 31, 2016

Ambulance arrives at Winter Park after #Vikings Bridgewater goes down with injury in practice. pic.twitter.com/H6Uohrs9gL

— Shari L. Gross (@ShariStrib) August 30, 2016

A quick Google image search of the injury is disturbing. A simple X-ray is enough to illustrate how serious and painful the injury is.

For those curious, here's what a tibiofemoral dislocation looks like....yikes pic.twitter.com/gqJO0tbvzL

— Eugene V. Dabs (@CardSoHard93) August 31, 2016

"Teddy suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage," the team said in a statement Tuesday after MRIs. "Fortunately, there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage."

Though the news regarding Bridgewater is disappointing for the team and it’s fans, he’s should consider himself lucky it wasn’t much worse.

NFL clears James Harrison, Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers

The NFL cleared Green Bay Packers linebackers Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews, and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who were accused in an Al Jazeera America hidden camera report of performance-enhancing drug use.

That the players were cleared isn’t a surprise. There was no other evidence and no failed drug tests. The league said it found “no credible evidence” that the players “were provided with or used substances prohibited under the NFL-NFLPA Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances.”

Clay Matthews (AP)

A fourth player, former Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Mike Neal, remains under review, according to Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Peyton Manning, who is retired and was named in the report, was cleared in July.

The case became a big story earlier this summer when the players (aside from Manning, who spoke earlier this offseason) sent affidavits to the NFL via the NFLPA saying they wouldn’t meet with the league for an interview, and their affidavit would be their statement. The NFL refused the affidavits and threatened suspension if they didn’t talk. The players relented, talked to the NFL and Harrison, Peppers and Matthews were cleared on Wednesday.

On Instagram, Harrison posted a picture of 16 different Internet headlines from the story that the NFL cleared him, with this message:

“It’s only breaking news cause you thought I was guilty. I have my father’s name and I have WORKED for EVERYTHING I have since DAY ONE. ????????????

Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress enters rehab

Texas Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress has checked into an inpatient rehabilitation clinic. (Getty)

 

Texas Rangers reliever Jeremy Jeffress has checked into an inpatient rehabilitation clinic and will not be suspended by Major League Baseball after a DWI arrest last Friday during which police found marijuana in his car, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

The 28-year-old Jeffress is expected to spend about a month in a Houston-area clinic, according to sources. While his status for the rest of the season remains up in the air, rejoining the Rangers for the postseason remains a possibility, sources said.

Jeffress, who twice had been suspended while in the minor leagues for marijuana use, went to rehab in 2009 after a 100-game suspension. His blood-alcohol content was .115 early Friday morning, when he was pulled over in Dallas County. Jeffress denied the marijuana was his and was not charged with possession. The Rangers placed Jeffress on the restricted list after his arrest.

Texas acquired Jeffress and catcher Jonathan Lucroy minutes before the Aug. 1 trade deadline. After saving 27 games with the Milwaukee Brewers, Jeffress moved into a setup role with the Rangers before his arrest.

Philadelphia will host the 2017 NFL draft

We don’t yet know who will be holding the first pick of the 2017 NFL draft, but we know where it’s going to be located.

Philadelphia widely had been reported to be the favorite to land the draft, which had been held in Chicago. On Wednesday, ESPN reported that Philly officially will be named the draft host for 2017 on Thursday. The league has not made it official yet.

	Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter
Back in April, ESPN reported Philly was the leading contender to host the 2017 draft. On Thursday, it will become official. Philly, 2017. 11:41 AM - 31 Aug 2016

What we suspect: Philadelphia Eagles fans had better get comfortable and buy tickets for the second day, too. The Eagles traded their 2017 first-rounder to the Tennessee Titans in the Carson Wentz trade. So barring further dealing from the Eagles, they are on the outside looking in for Day 1.

Assuming the league does not change the format next year, Round 1 will happen on Thursday, April 27. Round 2 follows on Friday, April 28 and then Rounds 4 through 7 will finish up on Saturday, August 28.

By and large, the Chicago experience was a good one, with Grant Park (which was across the street from the Auditorium Theatre, where the picks were first announced) serving as a terrific bridge — aka, “Draft Town” — between the fans and the draft atmosphere.

It’s not known if Philadelphia will follow suit with an indoor-outdoor experience as well. The venue, or venues, is not yet known.

New York hosted the draft annually for 50 years straight, from 1964 to 2014. Prior to that, it was moved around to various cities — and in fact, Philadelphia (once home to the NFL offices) has hosted the second-most NFL drafts to New York, with 16.

But the last time it was there, in 1961, the draft was held at the Warwick Hotel. The hotel still stands, and it boasts of “more than 17,000 square feet of meeting space,” but we suspect the league’s nostalgia and desire to return there are, um, limited. (Trivia: Seven future Hall of Famers were taken in that draft — Fran Tarkenton, Bob Lilly, Herb Adderley, Jimmy Johnson, Deacon Jones, Billy Shaw and Mike Ditka.)

Incredibly early candidates for the No. 1 pick include Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Texas A&M pass rusher Myles Garrett, Alabama left tackle Cam Robinson and Miami (Fla.) quarterback Brad Kaaya. Trust us — this list will change.

Penn State junior wide receiver Chris Godwin, who was born in Philadelphia, is a player on the rise who could be a high-round pick in the spring if he declares early.

A crime prevention company decided Ryan Lochte was a worthy sponsor

I’m still not sure if Ryan Lochte was actually robbed in Rio de Janeiro.

The U.S. Olympic swimmer certainly exaggerated his version of events during a late-night rest stop, leaving out parts about urinating on and tearing a poster from the side of a gas station. Still, armed security guards did demand money from him and his friends. The whole controversy was ridiculous.

But it wasn’t enough to stop a company committed to crime prevention from signing Lochte, even if every major corporation associated with the three-time silver medalist dropped him as a sponsor.

Actually, because Speedo, Ralph Lauren and others canned Lochte in the aftermath of his disgraceful behavior at the Summer Olympics, the soon-to-be “Dancing With the Stars” contestant and Robocopp are a corporate fit. When you boil it down, they’re both desperate enough to benefit from the other.

Big 12 narrows expansion list to '6 to 8' schools

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby addresses attendees during Big 12 media day, Monday, July 18, 2016, in Dallas. With expansion still an unsettled issue for the Big 12 Conference, Commissioner Bowlsby gave his annual state of the league address to open football media days. And a day later he meets with the league’s board of directors. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

 

The Big 12 has narrowed its list of potential expansion candidates to “six to eight” schools, according to a report on TMGcollegesports.com written by former Boston Globe columnist Mark Blaudschun.

In the report, Blaudschun notes “word has it” that invitations have been sent to Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, UConn, South Florida and Central Florida from the American Athletic Conference, as well as BYU and two other unnamed schools from the AAC.

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby declined to comment on the report.

	Kirk Bohls @kbohls
Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby says, "As you know, we have never commented on who was or was not involved. We are not going to start now." 6:38 AM - 31 Aug 2016

However, East Carolina, one of the 30-plus schools vying for a spot in the Big 12, released a statement Wednesday saying it was out of conference expansion contention and disappointed with the decision.

“While it is obviously not the decision we were hoping for,” ECU athletic director Jeff Compher said. “I am confident ECU put forth its best effort during this process.”

According to the TMGcollegesports.com report, each finalist will make a presentation to Big 12 officials “presumably in Dallas” in the next few weeks. After the presentations, the list will be trimmed to two candidates and then Bowlsby will present the candidates to the Big 12’s board of directors at a scheduled Oct. 17 meeting. At that point, the vote would move on whether to issue invitations to the candidates.

Prospective candidate schools signed nondisclosure contracts and cannot speak about the ongoing process.

The report did note that considerations are underway to invite schools on a football-only basis, which would suit schools such as UConn and BYU. Blaudschun noted UConn could place its other sports in the Big East if an invitation was received.

Murray, Serena ride strong serves into US Open second round

Wimbledon champions Andy Murray and Serena Williams powered into the second round of the US Open as the stars came out on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.

Williams, launching her latest bid to rewrite the record books, started strong and didn't let up in a 6-3, 6-3 victory over 29th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova.

The US world number one appeared untroubled by the balky right shoulder that has hindered her in recent weeks, delivering a dozen aces and 27 winners overall in the 63-minute contest.

"I knew today I needed to be focused because I've played her. She's gotten to the semi-finals. She goes deep in majors," Williams said of the Russian left-hander who beat her in the fourth round of the 2012 Australian Open.

"She knows how to play big matches on big courts. She's not intimidated. I knew I had to really come out today. It was my only option really."

Williams said she wouldn't know until she'd slept on it how her shoulder might respond to the effort.

"Every day, I'll just see how it goes," said Williams, who is chasing a record seventh title on the hardcourts of Flushing Meadows where she first triumphed in 1999.

A victory would see her break the Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles she now shares with German Steffi Graf and close in on Margaret Court's all-time mark of 24 major titles.

While Williams has struggled since Wimbledon, Murray went from claiming a second title at the All England club to a successful defence of his Olympic gold in Rio.

Vying to become the fourth man in the Open Era to reach all four major finals in a calendar year, Murray, too, produced a dominant service performance in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Czech Lukas Rosol.

"I don't think I had any break points against me, which is very good," the Scot said.

Before the floodlights came up, Serena's elder sister Venus claimed a Grand Slam record of her own as her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Ukraine's Kateryna Kozlova marked her 72nd appearance in the main draw of a major.

The 36-year-old Venus, enjoying a resurgence in a 2016 season that includes a WTA title in Taiwan, survived 63 unforced errors against the rising 22-year-old, although she was pleased that her aggressive approach also yielded 46 winners.

"The good part is I'm playing the game I want to play, I'm playing aggressively and moving forward," Venus said.

"It's just about making a few less errors and it's a completely different story."

Fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, trying to make it to the quarter-finals in New York for the first time, breezed past US qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-1 and fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep also eased through with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

Men's third seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland, a two-time semi-finalist, reached the second round with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-4 win over Spain's Fernando Verdasco.

Kei Nishikori, who became Asia's first men's Grand Slam finalist in New York in 2014, when he fell to Marin Cilic in the final, also advanced, downing German Benjamin Becker 6-1, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.

- A lot of aces -

Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria needed five sets to secure his second-round spot, downing Australia's John Millman 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose career was nearly ended by three wrist surgeries, advanced with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) victory over fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

There was a little record-setting on the men's side as well, with Croatian Ivo Karlovic belting a US Open record of 61 aces in a 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 win over Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun.

Karlovic, 37, beat the previous best of 49 aces for one match in New York established by Richard Krajicek in 1999.

"I knew there were a lot of aces because there was a period when almost every serve was an ace," Karlovic said.

Larry Sanders accuses Bucks of concussion negligence after 2014 injury

Larry Sanders has a lot to say about his bad fit with the NBA in a new feature.

 

Former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders is one of the more complicated players in recent NBA history. The No. 15 pick in the 2010 draft impressed in his first few seasons as an elite interior defender and seemed primed to become a perennial All-Defensive Team contender when he signed a four-year, $44-million contract extension in the summer of 2013.

Then his career went terribly askew. Sanders tore a ligament in his thumb during a nightclub fight a few weeks into the 2013-14 season, was revealed shortly thereafter to have been cited twice for leaving dogs out in the freezing cold, suffered a season-ending broken orbital bone in February 2014, and refused to apologize when he received a five-game suspension for marijuana use that April. He left the Bucks and the NBA in January 2015 and hasn’t hooked up with another team, although he made vague gestures towards possible deals on social media this summer.

A new feature by Mike Piellucci of Vice Sports brings some insight into Sanders’ post-NBA life and the reasons he left the league. As Sanders puts it, he began to become disenchanted with life in professional basketball when it began to take over too much of his life. He also began not to trust the people meant to take care of him, especially during what he characterizes as an act of severe negligence by the Bucks:

At first he smoked [marijuana] to ward off the encroaching waves of anxiety. Then, three months after the nightclub fight, he fractured his orbital bone in a February 2014 game against the Houston Rockets. He chose not to take his doctor-prescribed painkillers, worrying that the pills could be addictive. Sanders is hardly the only athlete to endorse that line of thought, but the impetus had as much to do with his surroundings as his own research. He knew, after the brawl and the resulting injury, that the Bucks were scrutinizing their investment more than ever. Sanders believed they were more concerned with his being on the floor to justify his new contract than his overall well-being. He still believes he may have been concussed, but the team never tested him.

“They kind of let me go to sleep on the training table and sent me home and didn’t really think anything was wrong,” he said. “And then, the next day, I find out I blew out the orbital in my face. That kind of went into the box of why I had to get out of here, just for your health. I didn’t really feel safe with them—the league or Milwaukee—after that point.”

This is a pretty serious accusation. The NBA instituted its first concussion policy during the 2011-12 season, so Sanders’s injury certainly should have required further testing by the rules. If this did in fact happen, the Bucks would be subject to punishment from the league at minimum.

We reached out to a Bucks spokesman, who declined to comment on the story.

With no clear answer to this story in sight, we’re left with little to do but address Sanders’s more general issues with life in the NBA. Frankly, it’s hard to argue that he did the wrong thing in accepting a buyout and walking away from the sport that made him a very rich man. Piellucci paints a portrait of Sanders as a complicated man with many interests that were at odds with his life in the NBA — art, music, and being around as often as possible for his two young children. He appears to have reconnected with those loves in the past two years and seems happier for it.

There’s also the issue of mental health, which Sanders touched on in April 2014 when he explained his decision to leave the Bucks. He disappeared from the team in part to enter into treatment specializing in anxiety, depression, and mood disorders, and it became very clear to him that succeeding in the NBA was not good for his short-term or long-term mental health. The intense commitment to craft and improvement that we admire in many athletes were intensely problematic for Sanders. As such, he only wants to return to the NBA now if it makes sense for him, not just his employer.

At the same time, Sanders does not claim that he fell out of love with basketball. Piellucci observes him playing with friends, shooting the long jumpers and taking defenders off the dribble in a way he would never be allowed to do (or, let’s be honest, succeed at) as an NBA rim protector. The talent is still there, and it’s very believable that Sanders — still just 27 years old — could join a contending roster now and contribute valuable defense.

However, the fact that he’s able to help doesn’t mean that he has to. There’s a tendency in sports to assume that all athletes would do anything for a contract or chance to play at the highest level. When someone doesn’t fit that mold, he tends to confuse and anger teams and fans alike. Sanders and the Bucks had very different priorities, and it sadly took a great deal of controversy and animosity for them to recognize it. Nevertheless, the end result seems to have been for the best.

TODAY IN HISTORY - AUGUST 31ST

1803 – Lewis and Clark start their expedition to the west by leaving Pittsburgh at 11 in the morning.

1864 – During the American Civil War, Union forces led by General William T. Sherman launch an assault on Atlanta.

1886 – The 7.0 Mw Charleston earthquake affects southeastern South Carolina with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Sixty people were killed and damage is estimated at $5–6 million.

1888 – Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims.

1897 – Thomas Edison patents the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.

1920 – The first radio news program is broadcast by 8MK in Detroit.

1924 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and singer (d. 2003) is born.

1935 – Frank Robinson, American baseball player and manager is born.

1940 – Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashes near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident is the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.

1943 – USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, is commissioned.

1949 – Richard Gere, American actor and producer is born.

1952 – Kim Kashkashian, American viola player and educator is born.

1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul die in a car crash in Paris.

2006 – Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

2013 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (b. 1939) dies.

2015 – Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu, English politician, founded the National Motor Museum (b. 1926) dies.

Teddy Bridgewater suffers dislocated knee, torn ACL in practice

The Minnesota Vikings held quarterback Teddy Bridgewater out of their second preseason game, in part to avoid any injury exposure. But they couldn’t keep him from suffering a significant and presumably season-ending knee injury in practice on Tuesday.

The Vikings sent out an update a little after 7 p.m. Central time, saying Bridgewater dislocated knee and a torn ACL “and other structural damage,” though he suffered no nerve or arterial damage. Here’s the update, from Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman:

“Teddy Bridgewater suffered a non-contact injury today at practice. The injury was quickly identified as a dislocated knee. The injury was stabilized, and he was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation. After undergoing an MRI, it was determined that Teddy suffered a complete tear to his ACL and other structural damage. Fortunately, there appears to be no nerve or arterial damage. Surgical repair will be scheduled within the next few days. Although the recovery time will be significant, we expect Teddy to make a full recovery. I would like to thank all of the medical professionals and our athletic training staff for all of their help today. Teddy has already displayed the attitude needed to overcome this injury and attack his rehab.”

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said it was a non-contact injury.

“It was a freaky deal,” Zimmer said.

The way Zimmer spoke, it was obvious the team was preparing for Bridgewater’s injury to keep him out the entire season. Zimmer said he had spoken to Bridgewater’s mother “a couple times,” and also called coach Bill Parcells for advice. Zimmer said he and general manager Rick Spielman had already discussed the possibly acquiring a veteran quarterback. He spoke many times about how the team will overcome the injury, and mentioned examples of teams in the past who have lost their quarterback for the season.

Bridgewater was taken from the Vikings practice facility in an ambulance. Zimmer said Bridgewater was sedated at the hospital and was got an MRI.

Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and other reporters at practice said Bridgewater grabbed his left knee and it was immobilized. Teammates “freaked out” and were swearing and praying, Murphy said, and practice stopped.

The Vikings canceled the rest of practice, which is incredibly rare for a football team to do because of an injury.

“Today is a disappointing day,” Zimmer said. “The No. 1 thing is Teddy is such a great kid. Everybody loves him. They were disappointed and I didn’t think we were going to get much out of practice today.”

Veteran Shaun Hill is expected to be the starter in Bridgewater’s absence. When Bridgewater was held out against the Seattle Seahawks in Minnesota’s second preseason game, as a precaution over a reported sore shoulder, Hill got the start (here’s more on Hill and the Vikings’ options).

It’s rare for a player to suffer a season-ending injury in practice, especially at the quarterback position. Hitting a quarterback is strictly off limits in almost every NFL practice. Bridgewater’s injury was mostly bad luck, it seems.

Bridgewater was a 2014 first-round pick and had some promising moments his first two seasons. His role in the offense was lessened last year because the team leaned on rushing champion Adrian Peterson, but he was still a big part of the Vikings winning the NFC North.

“Everybody can count us out, but I think that would be the wrong thing to do,” Zimmer said.

 

Dolphins to fight Zika threat at new stadium; disease expert has stern caution for some fans

The Dolphins plan on using backpack foggers at Hard Rock Stadium before every home game. (AP)

 

If Adam Gase schemes against AFC East defenses as aggressively as his new organization attacks mosquitos, the Miami Dolphins may be on their way to a great season.

As Zika fears intensify across South Florida and beyond, the Dolphins have been proactive about battling the insect-transmitted virus – even as experts caution pregnant women about visiting Miami until the threat has passed.

The organization will use backpack foggers 48 hours before every home game – including Thursday’s preseason finale at home against the Tennessee Titans and Saturday’s home opener for the University of Miami – and has endeavored to treat the 265 acres of the property around Hard Rock Stadium for weeks. That has included going after anywhere mosquitos can breed, whether it’s retention ponds, drainage areas or landscaping. The goal is not only to protect players and fans, but also the many workers who renovated the stadium throughout the summer months. Only EPA-approved chemicals have been used, according to the team.

That’s not to say there isn’t worry. The disease can cause catastrophic birth defects, and is not yet preventable through vaccines.

“If you’re pregnant, you probably ought not to go to a game there,” said William Schaffner, infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. “That’s the first thing. Beyond the hot zones, women who are pregnant should seriously consider not going. If it was my wife, she should stay home, no matter how much she loves the Dolphins.”

Schaffner advises the same for women who are considering becoming pregnant. The CDC advises pregnant women and their partners to “consider postponing nonessential travel to all parts of Miami-Dade County.”

“Pregnancies are so treasured and so important,” Schaffner says. “There are going to be many other opportunities to go to sports games.”

Hard Rock Stadium is not near a “hot zone.” It’s 15 miles away. Still, the Dolphins wanted to reduce both mosquitos and concerns about mosquitos, as the club knew any decision to travel in South Florida would be a difficult one. There have been 545 total cases statewide not involving pregnant women, and 75 involving pregnant women, regardless of symptoms.

A recent St. Leo’s University poll found nearly 80 percent of respondents in Florida are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the Zika virus. That’s up from roughly 71 percent in June.

According to the Florida Department of Health, local transmissions of Zika (not travel related) have been found in only two small areas in Miami-Dade County: one near downtown and the other in Miami Beach.

Dolphin ticket demand hasn’t seemed to suffer despite the negative headlines.

“Overall, Dolphins ticket prices from last season to this season have remained steady,” Nate Rattner of SeatGeek said, “with just a slight 2 percent drop in average resale price for tickets to home games [$179 average resale for the 2015 season at this time last year to $176 this year].”

There are tickets available on SeatGeek for Thursday’s game for as low as $8, but Rattner says the overall price point is “in line with Dolphins preseason games over the past few seasons.”

One Dolphins official said he had not heard of any calls from fans expressing worries about the Zika threat at Hard Rock.

For those who go, Schaffner recommends wearing long sleeves and pants, no matter what the temperature, and (obviously) applying bug spray before setting out for the stadium. Some Orlando theme parks are offering free repellent, though the Dolphins have not planned to do so.

“If everyone has repellent,” he says, “mosquitos won’t go within a mile of that place.”

Zika fears caused several top golfers to skip the Summer Olympics, yet as of last week there were zero confirmed cases in Rio during the Games.

Alabama OL Alphonse Taylor not guilty of DUI charge

Taylor started all 15 of Alabama’s games in 2015 (Getty).

 

Alabama offensive lineman Alphonse Taylor has been found not guilty regarding his July DUI arrest.

Taylor was arrested Sunday, July 17, after he placed a call to police saying he hit a parked car. The officer who responded said Taylor was “lethargic” and his speech was slow.

 

From Tide Sports:

Tuscaloosa Municipal Judge Ricky McKinney ruled Tuesday that Taylor was not guilty of the DUI charge. The judge is expected to issue a ruling on the leaving the scene of an accident charge after the vehicle that was struck has been repaired, said Taylor’s attorney, Jason Neff.

“Of course I am pleased with this verdict,” he said. “I hope Mr. Taylor will have an opportunity to move forward with his football career.”

A report emerged later in July that Taylor had tested negative for alcohol at the time of the arrest despite what police said was a less-than-exceptional performance in his field sobriety tests. Taylor had also said that he hit his head on the steering wheel of his Chevrolet Tahoe.

He was indefinitely suspended from the team at the time of his arrest though he’s participated in Alabama’s practices. Given the verdict, don’t be surprised to see Taylor in the starting lineup and/or play a major role in Alabama’s game against USC on Saturday. Taylor started all 15 of Alabama’s games in 2015 at right guard.

Buccaneers-Redskins preseason finale rescheduled for Wednesday

Get ready for some bonus Wednesday preseason football.

Instead of having all 16 games this week on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced their preseason finale against the Washington Redskins has been rescheduled for Wednesday. They’re trying to avoid Tropical Depression Nine, which is expected to hit the Tampa area.

What about all the fans who planned their weeks around the Buccaneers-Redskins game? What about the folks who were anticipating … oh, I can’t do it anymore — nobody cares about the fourth preseason game. Very few starters see the field in the last preseason game and most teams approach it like they wish there was a running clock. But there are probably some fans who were looking forward to attending and won’t be able to with the last-minute change, and there are a lot of logistical issues for Washington, as the road team.

But moving the game makes sense. The teams and the league don’t want to put the fans in danger, or have even more travel nightmares for the road team with the serious weather. It’s rare for NFL teams to reschedule games, though the league already dealt with the cancelation of the Hall of Fame game this preseason due to field issues.

And the Buccaneers and Redskins both get a jump on ending the preseason and starting in earnest with regular-season preparations, which probably won’t bother either side too much.

Tim Tebow offered contract from Venezuelan winter ball team

On the eve of his much-anticipated professional baseball showcase, Tim Tebow was offered a contract with a venerable winter-ball team in Venezuela, sources told Yahoo Sports, further legitimizing his efforts to transition from NFL quarterback to outfielder.

Aguilas del Zulia, a five-time champion of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and two-time Caribbean Series winner, sent a contract to Tebow’s representation at CAA on Monday in hopes of securing him for the league filled with major leaguers and on-the-rise prospects. While Tebow expects to map out his future in the coming weeks, one source familiar with his plans told Yahoo Sports he has interest in playing winter ball.

“He’s a great talent,” Aguilas general manager Luis Amaro told Yahoo Sports. “He’s an athlete. He’s won the Heisman. He’s won two national championships. I know baseball is a hard game, but he’ll either adjust and show he’s ready to play pro ball or not. I think it’s low risk, high reward for Zulia.”

Teams’ first look at Tebow the ballplayer will come Tuesday during a showcase in Los Angeles expected to draw scouts from perhaps two-thirds of the teams in Major League Baseball. Tebow, 29, has spent the year preparing to play baseball after nearly a dozen-year layoff. He last played competitively as a junior in high school.

Tim Tebow has been offered a contract by Aguilas del Zulia of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. (Getty)

Upon the announcement of Tebow’s pursuit of a baseball career, the independent Schaumburg Boomers offered him a contract – a typical publicity-generating indy-league maneuver. Zulia’s offer comes with more gravitas, and while some in the baseball community are skeptical of Tebow, Amaro sees the chance to bring him on as an opportunity. Venezuelan winter-ball teams are allowed to have nine non-Venezuelans on their roster at any time. Those spots are interchangeable, and roster turnover is heavy.

“In winter ball, we give guys a week to adjust, sometimes less, and if they don’t adjust and we see the league is too competitive for them, we let them go,” said Amaro, the second-year GM of Zulia and brother of former Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr. “If he signs with us and plays with us and is helping our ballclub, we’d love to have him around for the whole winter.”

The level of competition increases as the season goes on. During the initial games in October, the league is made up mostly of minor leaguers. Major league players start filtering in by November and play through December – and with the World Baseball Classic coming up this spring, Amaro expects some of the best Venezuelans to join the league.

Zulia’s offer lends credence to the idea Tebow will sign with a major league team, which will map out his plans heading into the 2017 season. They could be at the team’s spring-training complex. They could be in the Dominican Republic, another competitive winter league. They could be in Venezuela, where players can make upward of $20,000 over the winter and Tebow would be paid, Amaro said, a competitive salary.

“I hope he takes it,” Amaro said. “I think it’d be a lot of fun to watch. I think it would be great for the league to see him in a Zulia uniform.”

Hurricanes give GM Ron Francis extension through 2018-19 season

Despite their last Stanley Cup Playoff appearance and win occurring in May 2009, the Carolina Hurricanes have made changes that have them back on track for a return trip to the postseason.

The man playing architect of the Canes’ rebuild is general manager Ron Francis, who was handed a contract extension by the organization on Tuesday that will keep him there through the 2018-19 NHL season.

“Ron has rebuilt our organization the right way, stocking our team and system with young players who will help this franchise compete for the Stanley Cup year in and year out,” said Peter Karmanos Jr., Chief Executive Officer, Owner and Governor of the Hurricanes. “I’m thrilled that he will continue to see the job through. The future is very bright for the Hurricanes in Carolina.”

Francis is entering his third season as GM in Carolina, the same amount of time that head coach Bill Peters have been with the club. In concert, the two have helped create a reason for optimism with the Francis stocking the prospect cupboard with promising young players and Peters developing those who have made it to the NHL roster into core pieces moving forward.

Peters is also signed through 2018-19 season after signing a two-year extension in July.

Last season the Hurricanes saw a 15-point improvement from 2014-15. This summer Francis took on the final year of Bryan Bickell’s contract, but also managed to pry Teuvo Teravainen out of the Chicago Blackhawks in the same deal.

With a defense outside of Ron Hainsey that is all under the age of 26 and highly-rated Sebastian Aho on his way up, Francis has ensured a talented youth movement is currently under way. If Carolina’s goaltending can find a way to improve the team should find itself fighting for a playoff spot as they take the next step forward in their development.

TODAY IN HISTORY - AUGUST 30TH

1791 – HMS Pandora sinks after having run aground on the outer Great Barrier Reef the previous day.

1835 – Melbourne is founded.

1836 – The city of Houston is founded by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen

1918 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (d. 2002) is born.

1930 – Warren Buffett, American businessman and philanthropist is born.

1937 – Bruce McLaren, New Zealand race car driver and engineer, founded the McLaren racing team (d. 1970) is born.

1938 – Max Factor, Sr., Polish-American make-up artist and businessman, founded the Max Factor Company (b. 1877) dies.

1945 – Hong Kong is liberated from Japan by British Armed Forces.

1945 – The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Douglas MacArthur lands at Atsugi Air Force Base.

1967 – Thurgood Marshall is confirmed as the first African American Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

1972 – Cameron Diaz, American model, actress, and producer is born.

1984 – STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage.

2006 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (b. 1916) dies.

2015 – Wes Craven, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1939) dies.

Standoff over: Chargers announce they've signed Joey Bosa

Joey Bosa won’t be re-entering the 2017 draft after all. His holdout didn’t even last through the fourth preseason game.

The San Diego Chargers announced they’ve signed Bosa, the Ohio State defensive end who was the third pick of this year’s draft, to a four-year contract. That came a week after the holdout included some public angst from both sides, and it looked like Bosa and the team were further apart than ever.

Apparently both sides figured out that they had a lot to lose. Bosa was looking at turning down a lot of money, all over a squabble over offset language and the timing of his signing bonus payments, and the Chargers were getting to the point in which their new star defensive player was going to not have a chance to have an effective rookie season. Bosa’s deal is worth $25.8 million with a $17 million signing bonus, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said.

Bosa still has some challenges ahead of him. Missing the entire preseason (it seems very doubtful he’d play in the fourth preseason game, just three days after he signed) is not good for his development as a rookie. Most likely he’ll be a situational player at best for most of the season. The Chargers and Bosa wasted a lot of valuable practice time on this holdout.

“We look forward to having Joey join us and getting him prepared as quickly as possible for the 2016 season,” general manager Tom Telesco said in the team’s statement.

The public battle over the contract is done. Bosa is now officially a Charger. Finally.

Rio gold-medalist Monica Puig falls in first round of US Open

Just over two weeks ago, Monica Puig was the talk of the tennis world, as the world No. 35 tore through the Olympic women’s singles tournament to win Puerto Rico’s first-ever gold medal.

She failed to replicate that magic Monday, though, falling 4-6, 2-6 to world No. 61 Saisai Zheng in the first round of the US Open.

Puig struggled on serve, winning just 45 percent of points on first serve and getting broken four times. She also had 28 unforced errors compared to Saisai’s 13.

Broncos to defend their Super Bowl title with Trevor Siemian at QB

The defending Super Bowl champions will open the season with a quarterback who has one regular-season snap’s worth of experience.

Trevor Siemian has beaten out Mark Sanchez and first-round pick Paxton Lynch for the Denver Broncos’ starting job, the team announced on Monday. It will be Siemian against league MVP Cam Newton in a Super Bowl rematch of the Broncos and Carolina Panthers on opening night of the NFL’s regular season.

The writing appeared to be on the wall after Siemian started the team’s third preseason game and did nothing to lose the job. Sanchez’s snaps and play were in decline after a two-fumble performance in the Broncos’ second preseason game.

Siemian was the 250th overall pick in the 2015 draft and earned a Super Bowl ring as the No. 3 quarterback behind Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler. When Manning got hurt last November, Siemian was elevated to No. 2 — and earned one end-of-half kneel-down snap against the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the regular season.

The Broncos traded for Sanchez after Manning retired and Osweiler signed with the Houston Texans and was viewed as the unsexy but likely option to win the job by default. But Siemian had a solid offseason and is the cheaper option on a rookie contract for the former seventh-rounder, and he appeared to outplay Sanchez even if neither were overly impressive in preseason action.

So what happens to Sanchez? Do the Broncos release him to save the money and go into the season with two quarterbacks with minimal experience? Beyond that, how long does Siemian hold off Lynch? Based purely on production, Lynch was the most impressive QB in the exhibition season — albeit against lesser defensive talent.

Siemian has the job for now and will be the first Northwestern quarterback to start an NFL game since 1979.

But it might only be as a placeholder for Lynch, who suddenly looks like he could be worked into the mix at the first signs of trouble on offense for the Broncos.

Bryan Stork fails physical, canceling trade from New England to Washington

One of the low-key stranger stories of last week has taken another turn.

In case you’ve forgotten, since it came before Colin Kaepernick and Tony Romo: last Wednesday morning, news came that the New England Patriots were releasing center Bryan Stork, who started Super Bowl XLIX for the team as a rookie.

But once that news was out there, the Washington Redskins reached out to New England, seeing if the two could work out a trade without Stork hitting the waiver wire. And they did, for a conditional seventh-round 2017 draft pick.

Not long after that, however, former Washington tight end Chris Cooley, who is now a radio broadcaster in the area, tweeted that Stork had decided to retire. But Washington convinced him not to, and by Friday, Stork was tweeting that he was “looking forward to making more memories” with his new team.

About that…

Cooley tweeted this Monday morning:

 

	Chris Cooley @thecooleyzone
Bryan Stork fails Redskins physical this morning. His rights will revert back to New England Patriots. Redskins get conditional pick back 5:33 AM - 29 Aug 2016

Stork has had several concussions, including one suffered earlier this month in training camp, though it is unclear whether that is what led to his failed physical.

And the tweet Stork posted saying he was looking forward to joining Washington appears to have been deleted.

So in the span of five days, Stork was nearly released, traded, considered retiring, decided not to, failed his physical, and now will likely be released by New England.

Browns cut pass rusher Paul Kruger, who criticizes how team used him

Paul Kruger likely knew his time was coming with the Cleveland Browns when he saw the flurry of moves the team made in the offseason that directly affected his livelihood. That gave him ample time to craft a proper goodbye to the team that has employed him the past three seasons.

 

Paul Kruger was cut by the Cleveland Browns, a decision he disagreed with (AP).

Kruger, 30, was released by the Browns on Monday as the first big wave of roster cuts started. He signed a big-money deal prior to the 2013 season and never fulfilled his expectations.

Here’s what Kruger had to say on his way out of town:

 

 

	Paul Kruger @pkruger99
pic.twitter.com/74ZN0Zdibv 6:04 AM - 29 Aug 2016

So there you have it — thankful but disappointed in how he was used. Cutting Kruger saves the Browns (and likely costs Kruger) millions, so that could have a lot to do with his disappointment.

The hybrid linebacker-defensive end parlayed a great playoff run with the Baltimore Ravens en route to a Super Bowl title in 2012 into a five-year deal worth $40.5 million ($13 million guaranteed) the following spring. His pass-rush productivity was a roller coaster — from 4.5 sacks in 2013 to a career-high 11 in 2014, back down to 2.5 last season.

Kruger represents two phases of the Browns. His overinflated contract 2013 was reflective of a Browns team of yore that was desperate to draw name free agents to a team that hadn’t won more than five games for five years running up to that point. And his release in 2016 represents the new Browns regime that’s in full skin-shedding mode from all the past mistakes.

The Browns turned on the roster blender this offseason. They released or let walk several high-priced veterans and brought in scores of younger, cheaper options. The writing might have been on the wall for Kruger when the team drafted pass rushers Emmanuel Ogbah, Carl Nassib and Joe Schubert this year, along with Nate Orchard in 2015.

So will his salty goodbye perhaps rub other potential employers the wrong way? Not likely. Kruger still might have some value to another team, and teams are always on the lookout for pass rushers — especially those who (if he’s right) were misused in other systems.

Ty Lawson agrees to deal with Kings

Free-agent guard Ty Lawson has agreed to a one-year contract with the Sacramento Kings, league sources told The Vertical.

Lawson visited with Kings officials and coaches on Saturday in Sacramento and had planned to meet with New Orleans Pelicans officials early this week – until the Kings offered him a deal on Sunday, league sources said.

Lawson joins a backcourt full of opportunity in Sacramento, where the Kings lost Rajon Rondo in free agency to the Chicago Bulls. Darren Collison is expected to be the Kings’ starter at point guard.

For Lawson, the experiment of coexisting with All-Star guard James Harden didn’t work with the Houston Rockets last season. Lawson agreed to a contract buyout in March after the Rockets sent Denver a first-round pick in a July deal for him. He then agreed to a contract to finish the season with the Indiana Pacers.

Lawson averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 22.2 minutes a game for Houston. In his seven-year NBA career, Lawson has averaged 13.1 points and 6.2 assists.

Josh Donaldson smashes three home runs in win over Twins

The race for the American League MVP award just got cloudier Sunday. Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson announced his presence with authority, bashing three home runs during a 9-6 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Donaldson’s first blast came in a big spot for the Blue Jays. With the game tied in the third inning, Donaldson hit a 92 mph fastball from Kyle Gibson to left to give his club the early 2-1 lead.

They would need his pop again in the seventh. This time, Donaldson struck with his team trailing by one run. With a man on first, Donaldson again gave Toronto the lead. He once again feasted on a fastball, hitting a 94 mph heater from Pat Light to center field.

In the eighth, he added to that lead. On the fourth pitch of his at-bat against Alex Wimmers, Donaldson clobbered an 87 mph changeup to center for his third and final home run of the game.

 

Josh Donaldson admired a lot of baseballs Sunday. (Getty Images/Tom Szczerbowski)

The Blue Jays went on to win the game 9-6, so Donaldson did not have an opportunity at a record-tying fourth home run during the ninth inning. He finished the contest 3-for-4, with three runs scored and four RBI.

Coming into the contest, Donaldson ranked fourth in the AL with a 6.4 fWAR. He barely trails Jose Altuve, who sits in second with a 6.6 fWAR. Following Sunday’s game, Donaldson may have already overtaken Altuve. If things play out like last year, Donaldson could be on his way to taking away Mike Trout’s award again.

TODAY IN HISTORY - AUGUST 29TH

1758 – The first American Indian reservation is established, at Indian Mills, New Jersey.

1780 – Jacques-Germain Soufflot, French architect, co-designed The Panthéon (b. 1713) dies.

1809 – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., American physician and author (d. 1894) is born.

1869 – The Mount Washington Cog Railway opens, making it the world's first mountain-climbing rack railway.

1898 – The Goodyear tire company is founded.

1907 – The Quebec Bridge collapses during construction, killing 75 workers.

1911 – Ishi, considered the last Native American to make contact with European Americans, emerges from the wilderness of northeastern California.

1915 – US Navy salvage divers raise F-4, the first U.S. submarine sunk in an accident.

1922 – The first radio advertisement is broadcast on WEAF-AM in New York City.

1923 – Richard Attenborough, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2014) is born.

1931 – David T. Abercrombie, American businessman, co-founded Abercrombie & Fitch (b. 1867) dies.

1940 – James Brady, American politician and activist, 15th White House Press Secretary (d. 2014) is born.

1958 – United States Air Force Academy opens in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1958 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (d. 2009) is born.

1966 – The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

1970 – Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War, East Los Angeles, California. Police riot kills three people, including journalist Rubén Salazar.

1979 – Jeffrey R. MacDonald is convicted of the 1970 murders of his then-pregnant wife and two daughters.

2005 – Hurricane Katrina devastates much of the U.S. Gulf Coast from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, killing an estimated 1,836 people and causing over $108 billion in damage.

2007 – 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident: Six US cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads are flown without proper authorization from Minot Air Force Base to Barksdale Air Force Base.

2012 – At least 26 miners are killed and 21 missing after a blast in the Xiaojiawan coal mine, located at Panzhihua in Sichuan Province, China.

Chiefs safety Eric Berry signs franchise tender

Chiefs safety Eric Berry signed his franchise tender and reported to camp Sunday, though he is almost certain to miss Kansas City's preseason finale against Green Bay this week.

Berry was given the franchise tag early in the offseason but had not signed the deal, which means he could skip all of training camp without being fined. The deal will pay him just over $10.8 million this season, making him the league's highest-paid safety.

Kansas City plays its first regular-season game Sept. 11 against San Diego.

Berry played in every game last season, less than a year after he was diagnosed with cancer. He made 55 tackles, a pair of interceptions and resumed his role as the heart and soul of the defense.

''I said, 'You don't count the fish till it's in the boat.' So, fish is in the boat, right?'' coach Andy Reid said. ''He's here. It's good to have him back. He's got a smile on his face, and he's ready to go. That's the important thing that we get him back in, and get him going and get him into football shape now. He's in great shape, but just get him into football shape.''

Berry probably won't play in Thursday's preseason finale.

''We'll likely just give him time within practice to get himself ready for the opener,'' Reid said.

The Chiefs had hoped to sign Berry to a long-term deal in the offseason, but the two sides were never close to reaching an agreement by the July 15 deadline. The Chiefs remain optimistic they can sign him after this season, though Berry will demand a premium on the free-agent market.

It was somewhat surprising that the sides were so far apart, given the goodwill between them.

The Chiefs stood by Berry when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, and general manager John Dorsey and others in the front office regularly visited him in Atlanta during treatment. Meanwhile, Berry has been steadfast in his love for the Chiefs, who made him a first-round pick out of Tennessee.

Berry played in every game last season, less than a year after his cancer diagnosis. He made 55 tackles, had a pair of interceptions and resumed his role as the heart and soul of the defense.

WMU dismisses Ron George, Bryson White after armed robbery arrest

Western Michigan freshmen Ron George and Bryson White were formally charged with armed robbery Sunday morning. A few hours later, the two were dismissed from the program.

George and White were arrested Friday night for allegedly entering an apartment and robbing a woman using a semi-automatic gun and a knife. Cash and other property were stolen, police said, and the two were charged with first-degree home invasion and larceny in addition to armed robbery.

“This has been a difficult time for our university, community and family,” WMU head coach P.J. Fleck said in a release. “With this action we are moving forward and we are focusing our attention on Northwestern.”

Both players are true freshmen who joined the program this summer. George is a three-star linebacker from Pittsburgh while White is a wide receiver from Mason, Ohio. Per MLive.com, the two are expected to be arraigned Monday.

WMU opens its season next Saturday at Northwestern.

Josh Brown situation gets worse for Giants, NFL

The NFL and/or the New York Giants aren’t very good at public records requests, it seems.

The league said it gave Giants kicker Josh Brown a one-game suspension for a misdemeanor domestic violence arrest, and not a standard six-game suspension (which the new domestic violence policy said Brown should have gotten) because Brown’s then-wife didn’t speak to the league and during a 10-month investigation, “we also made numerous requests — as late as this spring — to local law enforcement officers for information on the case and previous allegations.”

And apparently in those 10 months they couldn’t find that Brown had violated a protective order two months after his arrest.

ESPN and USA Today cited a police report — which is readily available upon request — which said Brown was spotted by his then-wife driving his pickup near the driveway of their house in Washington in July of 2015. Brown’s ex-wife had a protective order which prevented Brown from being within 500 feet of her.

“He drove by the house and I looked in the rearview mirror,” his wife wrote in her statement to police, according to USA Today. “Josh knows about the order and cannot come within 500 feet form the house. I have no idea why Josh would come by my the house.”

Brown was arrested on a misdemeanor count of violating the protection order a day later, USA Today reported. They again cited the documents, which are part of public record.

The NFL’s decision to give Brown a one-game suspension instead of the six it outlined in its policy has been widely criticized, and the Giants’ support of him has been odd too, especially after coach Ben McAdoo said in January that the one thing he wouldn’t tolerate was domestic violence. The excuse that Brown’s ex-wife wouldn’t talk doesn’t make a lot of sense either, considering that hasn’t been a precedent. For example, Greg Hardy was suspended in 2015 and his alleged victim isn’t known to have spoken to the NFL.

It’s all a pretty embarrassing mess for the league and the Giants, who didn’t seem too interested in finding out everything there was to know about Brown’s case.

Giving Tony Romo starting spot back when healthy shouldn't be automatic for Cowboys

The ship is going to sail on Tony Romo someday. Maybe in the not so distant future, but that day isn’t today. Not with a broken back. Not even if today’s fracture turns into tomorrow’s broken season.

But let’s take this moment and start thinking seriously about life after Romo. Let’s consider the return the Cowboys are getting on his monster six-year, $108 million contract extension. And let’s take a long, deep breath and ask two tough questions: Just because Tony Romo might be back in six weeks, does that mean he has to be given the starting job back? If Dak Prescott carries his superb preseason into late October, should he be unplugged for a healthy Romo regardless of performance?

It’s early. And I have no idea what Prescott is going to look like in the regular season. In two weeks, opponents are going to start throwing disguised defenses at him. Defensive coordinators are going to start grinding every frame of tape and figuring out his flaws. And eventually, perfect Dak Prescott is going to suffer for it.

But what if regular season Dak Prescott is good? What if the past three weeks are an indicator of something bigger? What if Prescott is Russell Wilson, a guy who wasn’t supposed to be ready as a rookie but cemented his starting spot anyway. This happens sometimes. History has shown us that good veteran quarterbacks can go down and open doors to franchise-changing moments.

Remember, a Drew Bledsoe injury gave the NFL a 24-year-old, seemingly-not-ready Tom Brady. A torn Trent Green ACL birthed the phrase, “Who the hell is Kurt Warner?” I’m not saying Prescott is either of those guys but suggesting Brady could unseat Bledsoe or Warner could permanently replace Green sounded just as ridiculous as a rookie Prescott taking over for Romo. Actually, Prescott might be a less crazy notion considering his preseason play and Romo’s crumbling health.

There is a palpable cringe factor when you hear someone say, “Prescott should be given an opportunity to keep Tony Romo’s job.” Why? Well, consider the facts. Romo’s contract makes him virtually uncuttable through 2017, a strong financial incentive to keep him in the starting spot. Romo played at MVP-worthy levels in 2014, so his peak success is not far behind him. And he is beloved by team owner Jerry Jones, so much so that Jones has gone through a massive spate of frustration with these injuries and yet still doubled-down on Romo being the unquestioned leader of the franchise.

 

Dak Prescott will come into focus in Week 1 against the Giants. (AP)

All of those factors are powerful when it comes to a quarterback having unassailable job security. But how long can that wall of logic hold before someone else breaches it? Romo’s fragile health keeps opening the door for someone else. What happens when a capable challenger finally walks through it?

The Cowboys may be on the doorstep of finally having to grapple with that question. Prescott appears to be displaying some qualities that suggest he’s the real deal after three preseason games. Yes, it’s preseason. We all keep repeating that. But there are some intangibles that translate. He has never looked out of control. He has never looked overwhelmed. He has navigated the pocket with calm. He has used his feet to extend plays at the appropriate times. And he has stood in and taken some hits to make plays.

One play against the Seattle Seahawks summed up Prescott’s entire preseason demeanor. It came when Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark breached the middle of the line and had an almost unabated shot at Prescott. This is the kind of breakdown – a fast rupture up the middle of the pocket – that folds up all but elite NFL quarterbacks. It should have caused Prescott to panic. Instead, he kept his eyes downfield until the last moment and stepped into his throw, zinging a completion just as Clark got to him.

 

View gallery

.

Tony Romo might not return to the Cowboys until October. (Getty Images)

That’s uncharacteristic. And while mediocre quarterbacks can make that play every now and then, it has to be taken in context of a preseason where Prescott has displayed similar poise throughout. As much as critics have hovered for the inevitable run of mistakes, Prescott has never caved.

Does that mean he’s better than Romo? Absolutely not. But does it mean that Dallas may have found someone to be excited about? Definitely. Now it’s on Prescott to prove that three preseason games are indeed indicative of what he can be. And should he accomplish that, it’s on the Cowboys to consider whether it’s a wise move to pull back on Prescott in late October and go back to Romo.

Maybe this won’t be an issue. Maybe Prescott will flail and struggle and look like a player who needs years of development. But he hasn’t looked like that player yet. And maybe he won’t in a month, either.

That could force the Dallas brain trust into an interesting discussion. One where the choices are defaulting to Romo as the starter and hoping (yet again) for different results, or looking at Prescott and seeing him as the centerpiece in a next-decade foundation with Ezekiel Elliott, La’el Collins and Byron Jones.

Either way, Romo won’t be around forever. It’s time to start measuring what that means in the next weeks and months, not years.