The Sports Xchange

Former New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes was charged Friday in connection with a hit-and-run after his car was found abandoned with front-end damage.

Massachusetts State Police issued a citation, charging Spikes with speeding, negligent driving and other motor vehicle offenses from an accident early Sunday morning. He also was cited with leaving the scene and failure to stay within marked lanes.

Spikes, 27, will be summonsed to appear in Wrentham District Court at an undetermined date.

Spikes’ damaged Mercedes was found abandoned on I-495 in Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday. The Patriots released him the next day.

According to authorities, Spikes was speeding and driving negligently when he crashed his 2011 Maybach sedan into the back of a sport utility vehicle on 495 northbound. The occupants of the SUV suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Responding troopers located the Maybach with significant front-end damage in the median shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Spikes played four seasons in New England before signing a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills last year. The Patriots signed him to a one-year deal worth up to $2 million in May. The only guaranteed money was a $25,000 signing bonus.

—The New Orleans Saints signed defensive tackle Kevin Williams to a one-year contract and waived tight end Harold Spears.

Williams, a 12-year NFL veteran, played in all 16 regular-season games for the Seattle Seahawks last year and started eight times, producing 29 tackles, three sacks and two passes defenses. He added eight tackles duirng the postseason.

The six-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time first-team All-Pro is a member of the All-Decade Team of the 2000s as voted upon by members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee.

—The Patriots added a veteran quarterback, signing Matt Flynn to an undisclosed contract.

The 29-year-old Flynn was an unrestricted free agent who played in seven games for the Green Bay Packers last season. Reports indicated Thursday that Flynn had agreed to terms with the Patriots.

Flynn joins a Patriots roster that has Tom Brady and second-year player Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, but New England is likely to be without Brady at the start of the season while he serves a suspension resulting from the Deflategate investigation.

The journeyman Flynn has spent seven seasons in the NFL with the Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills. A seventh-round draft pick by the Packers in 2008, Flynn has played in 51 games and started seven, throwing for 2,541 yards and 17 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.

—The Philadelphia Eagles and coach Chip Kelly cut ties with Pro Bowl guard Evan Mathis after 15 months of a contract dispute.

Mathis, 33, had been absent from organized team activities as he sought an upgrade to his five-year, $25 million contract he signed in 2012. He was due to make $5.5 million this year and $6 million in 2016.

The Eagles are scheduled to hold three days of mandatory training camp next week. Mathis could have been fined if he failed to report for those workouts that start Tuesday.

Last year, the Eagles gave Mathis and agent Drew Rosenhaus permission to find another team willing to trade for the player. Mathis received the same permission this year, but Kelly decided to part ways Thursday.

The team hasn’t made an official announcement, but Mathis tweeted a farewell to Philadelphia shortly after the news broke.

“Thanks for the memories Philly,” Mathis wrote Thursday.

Mathis, a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2005, had played the past four seasons in Philadelphia. He missed seven games last season with a sprained MCL but was still picked to the Pro Bowl for the second straight year.

—The Dallas Cowboys completed their 2015 NFL Draft class by signing first-round defensive back Byron Jones.

The four-year deal reportedly is worth $8.6 million, with $7 million in guaranteed money and a $4.5 million signing bonus.

Jones was selected 27th overall in April and has been impressive during the team’s organized team activities, playing mostly cornerback. He played safety for the first time this week.

—When Adrian Peterson returns this season, the Minnesota Vikings don’t plan to run him into the ground.

After missing most of last season while serving a suspension, Peterson is not expected to be a workhorse in the Vikings’ backfield in 2015. There were reports on Friday that the Vikings plan to hold him out of preseason games to avoid wear and tear on his body.

“No question that the workload will be a lot more balanced than in the past because the organization has done an outstanding job of acquiring talent and other explosive pieces,” Vikings running backs coach Kirby Wilson told Around The NFL. “And just as the natural progression as an older back ages, the workload decreases anyway.”

The Vikings are hoping to be more balanced behind quarterback Teddy Bridgewater and a good crop of receivers. That doesn’t mean the team doesn’t think any less of Peterson’s ability.

—Tight end Tim Wright returned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after he was waived a day earlier by the Patriots.

The Bucs were awarded a waiver claim on Wright, who signed with Tampa Bay as a college free agent in 2013 before he was traded to the Patriots in 2014. The Bucs also waived tight end Taylor Sloat.

The 25-year-old Wright spent last season with the Patriots, where he was traded along with a fourth-round draft pick in August for guard Logan Mankins, and finished with 26 receptions for 259 yards and six touchdowns.

—The San Francisco 49ers claimed offensive tackle Sean Hooey off waivers from the New York Jets.

The 6-foot-9, 304-pound Hooey had signed with the Jets on Jan. 23 but was waived Thursday. Hooey, 24, originally signed with the St. Louis Rams as an undrafted free agent in May 2013 and spent time on the team’s practice squad in 2013 and 2014.

—Houston Texans outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney has not been cleared to even practice, but coach Bill O’Brien is hopeful last year’s No. 1 overall pick will be ready to play in Week 1.

Clowney landed on injured reserve after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee Dec. 8. He has spent the offseason rehabbing and taking part in some weight room activities

“I think he’s gonna be there for the opening game (of the regular season) against Kansas City,” O’Brien told NFL.com. “I think he’s going to make it back, and I’m really looking forward to that. He’s working very hard to get back.”

Clowney also had surgery after he sustained a torn lateral meniscus and articular cartilage damage in the Texans’ opener last season. He was limited to just four games in 2014, making five tackles.

—The Pontiac Silverdome, the former home of the Detroit Lions that was sold for $583,000 six years ago, is up for sale again — this time with the asking price of about $30 million.

The Detroit Free Press reported that the dilapidated stadium and its surrounding 127 acres landed on the market several weeks ago. There have been nearly two dozen inquiries and two actual offers, according to CBRE realtor Robert Mihelich.

Mihelich said the Silverdome likely would be razed for redevelopment.