The Sports Xchange

With quarterback Tom Brady expected to hear from the NFL this week about a possible suspension for his role in Deflategate, the New England Patriots could be looking to sign another veteran quarterback.

If he is suspended, Brady would be the highest-profile NFL player ever to receive such a punishment in the 96-year history of the league.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told Boston.com on Saturday that “no decisions have been made” regarding any potential punishment for Brady.

Aiello was responding to an article by Gary Myers of the New York Daily News, with the headline, “Tom Brady will be suspended by Roger Goodell for role in DeflateGate, announcement expected next week.”

“It is Gary Myers’ prediction,” Aiello wrote. “The headline is misleading.”

If a suspension is announced this week, the Patriots likely would need to add to their roster, with the only other quarterbacks on the depth chart behind Brady are untested Jimmy Garoppolo and Garrett Gilbert.

Both 23-year-olds quarterbacks have never started an NFL game.

Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston floats the name of longtime Green Bay Packers backup Matt Flynn as a possible free agent signing. Other veteran quarterbacks available include Michael Vick, Jason Campbell and Tarvaris Jackson.

The 243-page Ted Wells report was released Wednesday and concluded that the Patriots “more probable than not” violated NFL rules and Brady “was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities” of the deflated game balls.

—Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel continues to work on his recovery and learning the new offense — at the same time impressing the coaches with his effort since returning to the team.

The Browns still think Manziel, their first-round pick last year, has a chance to emerge as the quarterback of the future in Cleveland.

New offensive coordinator John DeFilippo praised Manziel’s offseason work ethic during the past two weeks with words like “great,” “fantastic” and “awesome.”

“Johnny’s been great,” DeFilippo told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “He’s been fantastic. What he wants to talk about, before he stepped foot back in this building is his business. All I know is Johnny the football player, and he’s been awesome. He’s been working hard, very hard with myself and (quarterbacks coach Kevin O’Connell), and doing what we want him to do on the field.”

DeFilippo, the Oakland Raiders quarterbacks coach for three seasons before replacing former offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, said Manziel is taking his job seriously, unlike some of the criticism in his rookie year.

“All I know is this: From the moment he stepped in this building from the last two weeks, he’s been nothing but a consummate professional,” DeFilippo said. “He’s spent every hour that he’s been allowed to spend in this building. We give them worksheets every Tuesday and every Friday, and they’re done to the unbelievable detail that we need an NFL quarterback to do. From that standpoint, like I said I can’t predict the future, but all I can do is tell you right now Johnny Manziel is putting himself in a position to be a quarterback in the NFL.”

—The Cincinnati Bengals signed quarterback Terrelle Pryor after his tryout during rookie minicamp.

Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011 when Pryor was drafted.

The 6-foot-4, 233-pound Pryor, a fourth-year NFL player from Ohio State, was a third-round choice by Oakland in the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft. He played in 15 Raiders games (10 starts) over the 2011-13 seasons, including 11 games and nine starts in 2013. In his career, he has passed for 1,953 yards and nine touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. He also has rushed for 627 yards and three touchdowns.

Pryor was with the Seattle Seahawks during the 2014 preseason after being traded by Oakland. He was released as part of the roster cut to 53 and was not with an NFL team in the regular season. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs in January, but he was released last week.

Pryor will battle backups AJ McCarron and Josh Johnson for a spot on the roster during the summer months.

—The Bengals also signed wide receiver Mario Alford of West Virginia, the team’s seventh-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft. He is the first Bengals draft pick to sign his rookie contract.

Alford (5-9, 180) played two seasons at West Virginia, following two seasons at Georgia Military College. In 2014 for West Virginia, he had 65 receptions for 945 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he also averaged 28.6 yards on kickoff returns, ranking No. 8 nationally, with two TDs.

—In addition, the Bengals signed three college free agents who participated as tryout players in this weekend’s rookie minicamp.

Signed were safety Erick Dargan (5-11, 211) of Oregon, defensive tackle Kalafitoni Pole (6-2, 311) of Washington State and tight end John Peters (6-8, 230) of Cincinnati’s Mount St. Joseph University.

Tight end Kevin Brock, a third-year NFL player from Rutgers, was waived. Brock played in 14 games with two starts for the Bengals last season, with five receptions for 21 yards.

—The Atlanta Falcons signed tackle Matt Huffer and defensive back Jonathon Mincy and waived defensive tackle Chris Brown, cornerback Jordan Ozerities, and wide receiver Joshua Stangby.

Huffer was a three-year starter at left tackle at South Dakota, where he earned honorable mention all-conference honors as a sophomore in 2012.

Mincy was a three year starter at Auburn where he made 211 career tackles. He was named a second team All-SEC selection in 2014.

Brown played at Tarleton State, Ozerities played in 47 games for Central Florida and Stangby played for Ottawa University in 2014.

—The Indianapolis Colts signed running back Abou Toure as an undrafted free agent and waived outside linebacker Terrell Hartsfield.

The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Toure worked out with the Colts on a tryout basis during Indianapolis’ three-day rookie minicamp after going undrafted out of Tennessee-Martin. He rushed for 1,647 yards with 10 touchdowns in two seasons with the Skyhawks.

The 6-3, 246-pound Hartsfield originally signed with the Colts as an undrafted free agent on May 5. He recorded 61 tackles, 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss in two seasons with the Cincinnati Bearcats.