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NFL notebook: Peterson’s agent reportedly spurns Vikings
Adrian Peterson’s agent reportedly declined a request by Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman to meet at the league meetings next week in Phoenix.
Ben Dogra turned down a dinner meeting with Spielman, Yahoo Sports reported Friday.
It is the latest report of contentious communication between Dogra and the Vikings regarding Peterson, the star running back who remains on the commissioner’s exempt list as the NFL appeals a ruling overturning his suspension.
Dogra reportedly had an altercation with chief contract negotiator Rob Brzezinski at the Combine in Indianapolis last month as Dogra told the Vikings that Peterson was done in Minneapolis.
On Wednesday, Dogra let it be known that the Vikings had told him they will not release the running back.
On Monday in New York, Peterson reportedly met with team owners Zygi and Mark Wilf, plus Spielman, about his concerns over a return to Minnesota.
Peterson, who turns 30 on Saturday, has three years remaining on his contract and is owed $12.75 million next season. He reportedly has expressed interest in playing for his home-state Dallas Cowboys or for the Arizona Cardinals.
—Hours after former NFL safety Darren Sharper was charged with rape in Las Vegas on Friday, he reached plea deals in two other states where he already has been charged.
After charges were filed in Las Vegas, the New Orleans Advocate reported that Sharper had struck plea deals in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Sharper has been in a Los Angeles jail since he was arrested on Jan. 17, 2014, on charges that he drugged and raped women. He also has been accused of sexually assaulting three women in New Orleans in 2013 and has been indicted in Tempe, Ariz., on charges he drugged three women and sexually assaulted two of them in November 2013.
Details of the Las Vegas allegations weren’t available, but Sharper’s Las Vegas attorney, David Chesnoff, appeared in court Friday. The two sexual assault charges stem from allegations that he forced sex on two women in January 2014 while they were incapable of resisting, according to the Associated Press.
—The Miami Dolphins re-signed quarterback Matt Moore, safety Louis Delmas and running back LaMichael James to one-year deals Friday.
Moore, 30, has been Ryan Tannehill’s backup ever since the Dolphins drafted Tannehill in the first round in 2012.
Delmas’ deal is reportedly worth $3.5 million.
Delmas, 27, signed with the Dolphins last offseason and started in 12 of his 13 appearances. James, 25, joined the Dolphins’ practice squad in October after the San Francisco 49ers parted ways with him.
—The Indianapolis Colts agreed to terms with linebacker Nate Irving — reportedly a three-year deal that could be worth $9.25 million.
The 6-foot-1, 245-pound Irving spent the past four seasons with the Denver Broncos, where he totaled 104 tackles, two sacks, two passes defensed and 22 special teams stops in 54 regular-season appearances (12 starts). In six playoff games (three starts), he recorded nine tackles and one pass defensed.
Last season, Irving started the first eight games and posted a career-high 44 tackles with one sack before being placed on injured reserve Nov. 13 after tearing his ACL.
—Dallas Cowboys free agent defensive end George Selvie defected to the NFC East rival New York Giants.
Selvie agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million deal with the Giants, where he’ll again play on the same defensive line as college teammate Jason Pierre-Paul.
Selvie revived his career with the Cowboys but the Cowboys were not in position to bring him back based on their salary cap situation and personnel changes. The Cowboys signed defensive end Greg Hardy to a one-year deal Wednesday.
—The New York Jets signed veteran defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson to a one-year contract.
Vickerson, 32, played 15 games as a reserve for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014.
In eight seasons with the Chiefs, Denver Broncos (2010-13) and Tennessee Titans (2007-09), the 6-foot-5, 328-pound run stopper has 120 tackles, one interception and two forced fumbles.
—The New Orleans Saints reportedly re-signed backup offensive tackle Bryce Harris to a one-year contract.
Harris, 26, played in 16 games in 2014, starting two at left tackle.
The Saints have reconfigured their line over the past two weeks, acquiring center Max Unger from the Seattle Seahawks and trading guard Ben Grubbs to the Kansas City Chiefs. But starting tackles Terron Armstead (left) and Zach Strief (right) remain, with Harris as the top backup.
—The Seattle Seahawks signed veteran defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin and re-signed long snapper Clint Gresham.
Rubin signed a one-year deal that could be worth $3.1 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Caplan.
Gresham announced his own three-year deal, which is worth $2.7 million, including a $300,000 signing bonus, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times.
Rubin had played the past seven seasons in Cleveland, where he was a sixth-round pick in 2008.
Gresham has been the Seahawks’ snapper since 2010. He just finished a two-year, $1.66 million deal.
—The Cleveland Browns announced the signing of wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.
The team did not release terms, but it reportedly is a two-year deal.
The Kansas City Chiefs released Bowe last week after they signed wide receiver Jeremy Maclin to a five-year, $55 million contract.
The Chiefs’ first-round pick in 2007, Bowe caught 532 passes for 7,155 yards and 44 touchdowns in eight years. He led the NFL with 10 touchdown catches in 2010.
—The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed free agent punter Andrew Wilder.
Wilder was an undrafted free agent in 2014 and has yet to punt in the NFL. Wilder played collegiately at Northern Arizona, where he served as both a punter and kicker. He had a 46.3-yard average in 2012 and a 44.5-yard average in 2013.
—Tommy Smith, who succeeded the late Bud Adams as the Tennessee Titans’ CEO in 2013, announced Friday that he is stepping down.
Smith, Adam’s son-in-law, remains president of Adams Resources and Energy, Inc., and said he will focus his energy on that company while letting a more dedicated person lead the Titans.
Steve Underwood, who was senior executive vice president for six years before retiring in 2011, will return to run the team and oversee the search for a new president.
The Titans are coming off a 2-14 season — their sixth straight season out of the playoffs — and have the No. 2 pick in the draft.
—The mayor of Dallas ripped into the Dallas Cowboys’ controversial signing of defensive end Greg Hardy — despite serious domestic violence allegations — and called the decision a “shot in the gut.”
On Wednesday, the Cowboys announced they signed Hardy to a one-year deal.
“As a Cowboys fan, this was a shot in the gut,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told the Dallas Morning News on Thursday. “I’m a big Cowboys fan. I love them to death and I want them to beat the Eagles every time they play. But at some point, being a sports fan gets trumped by being a father, husband, wanting to do what’s right for women, so this is not a good thing. I don’t think I’m going to be buying Hardy jerseys any time soon.”
—Indianapolis Colts linebacker Erik Walden was slashed in the arm with a knife after allegedly being attacked by his ex-girlfriend in Braselton, Ga.
Erica Palmer is accused of slashing his arm and breaking a woman’s arm with a baseball bat late Saturday night, WXIA-TV in Atlanta reported.
Palmer, who has two children with Walden, was arrested Sunday on numerous charges after the incident, according to Braselton Police.
Walden has 82 tackles and nine sacks in two seasons with the Colts. Over his seven-year NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers and Colts, he has 236 tackles and 18 sacks.
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