The Sports Xchange

Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti issued a stern denial Sunday that he has tried to influence NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to take action on Deflategate.

“I have not and will not put any pressure on the Commissioner or anyone representing the NFL office to take action in what everyone is calling ‘Deflategate,'” Bisciotti said in the statement.

“The story circulating that I have put pressure on Roger (Goodell) is 100 percent wrong. The reports are unfair to (New England Patriots owner) Robert Kraft, who is an honorable person, and to his franchise.

“Let’s talk about football and the start of training camps. Fans and people like me want the issue resolved now.”

On Friday, ESPN Sal Paolantonio said Bisciotti, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and other AFC owners have been lobbying Goodell to uphold the four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Goodell said last week there is no timeline for a ruling in the appeal of Brady’s four-game suspension. Speaking at a fundraiser in Pennsylvania, Goodell said, “We will make a decision as quickly as possible.”

Brady appealed the suspension on June 23 at NFL headquarters in New York. Goodell said the league is being very thorough to consider all aspects of the appeal.

The NFL Players Association and Brady’s camp are planning to move their litigation to federal court if Goodell doesn’t wipe out the ban.

—Many Pittsburgh Steelers players are hoping New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wins his Deflategate appeal so they can play against him in the NFL season opener.

The Steelers, who reported Saturday for the start of training camp, travel to Foxborough, Mass., to face the Patriots to kick off the season on Thursday night, Sept. 10.

“Yes, of course,” defensive end Cam Heyward told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “The competitor in you wants to see the best team out there and why not beat Tom Brady in Gillette Stadium on a Thursday night game?”

If Brady still is suspended for the season opener, backup Jimmy Garoppolo would get the start. Garoppolo is a second-round pick in 2014 who attempted 27 passes as a rookie.

Cornerback Antwon Blake also prefers to play against Brady in the opener.

“That’s Steelers football,” Blake said. “We want to play against the best so we want the best out there. It’s definitely a challenge. We’ll stand up and be ready for it. It would be a great opportunity to play against a legendary quarterback like that.”

—The Minnesota Vikings signed kicker Blair Walsh to a contract extension.

Terms of the deal were not announced, but the four-year extension is worth up to $14 million and includes $5.25 guaranteed, according to multiple reports.

The team also placed linebacker Casey Matthews on season-ending injured reserve, cornerback Josh Robinson on the active/physically unable to perform list and wide receiver DaVaris Daniels and defensive tackle Shamar Stephen on the active/non-football injury list.

Walsh’s accuracy has waned since his incredible rookie Pro Bowl season, from 92.1 percent field-goal conversions in 2012 to 86.7 the following season and just 74.3 in 2014. The accuracy issues have primarily come from long range, as Walsh made just 5 of 9 attempts from 50-plus last season for an offense that often stalled inside opponents’ territory.

—The Colts released right tackle Gosder Cherilus, who started all 29 games he appeared in for the team over the past two seasons.

The seven-year veteran signed a five-year, $35 million deal in 2013 that included $16.5 million in guaranteed money. However, the 31-year-old struggled through nagging injuries last season before undergoing offseason knee surgery and missing the team’s offseason program. He availability for training camp was uncertain, and that is after a 2014 season in which he allowed 6.0 sacks, 15 hits and 27 quarterback hurries.

Cherilus’ release saves the Colts around $4.1 million in salary cap space, but it also increases concerns about the offensive line.

—With the Seattle Seahawks reportedly offering quarterback Russell Wilson a multi-year contract worth nearly $21 million per season, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported that Wilson has yet to outright turn down an offer from the team.

Rumors have swirled around Wilson’s contract situation all offseason, and he is currently set to report to training camp on Thursday entering the final year of his rookie contract that would pay him $1.54 million.

The sides have been negotiating for several months, with reports that Wilson is seeking to become the highest paid player in the NFL. ProFootballTalk.com reported Saturday that the Seahawks have offered Wilson a deal that averages close to $21 million per season with significant guaranteed money.

—Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is confident he will work out an extension with the team as he begins training camp in the final year of his rookie contract.

The bar for superstar wide receivers appears to be set with the Dallas Cowboys’ Dez Bryant and the Denver Broncos’ Demaryius Thomas signing five-year, $70 million extensions last week. Green is due to earn $10.176 million in 2015, but the sides have been discussing an extension.

“All that contract stuff doesn’t really bother me, because when you put in the body of work I’ve put in, it speaks for itself,” he told Fox10tv.com at his former high school over the weekend. “My time is coming.”

Green is coming off career lows of 1,041 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season, but he missed three games and was limited in several others due to a toe injury. He has topped 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first four NFL seasons and is averaging 14.8 yards per catch for his career.

—The Patriots signed punter Ryan Allen to a three-year contract extension. The deal takes Allen through the 2018 season, according to multiple reports.

Allen, 25, has the option to renegotiate after two seasons, the Boston Globe reported Saturday. The move comes 10 days after the Patriots signed Stephen Gostkowski to a four-year deal worth $17.2 million, an extension that made him the highest-paid kicker in the NFL.

Allen, a left-footed punter, made the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech in 2013. He has punted in every game for the Patriots over the last two seasons (32 regular season, five in the playoffs). Last season, Allen ranked 10th in the NFL with a 46.4 average and 12th in net punting (39.9).