AROUND THE NFL

The DB finds it hard to believe that NFL fans really will not want more football when it is passed and presented to them.  But Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com has a poll that says so.  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com:

With the NFL determined to expand the regular season to 17 games — and with the NFL Players Association negotiating with the league based on a 17-game season — it’s fair to conclude that it’s coming. But do football fans want it?

A Twitter poll posted on the PFT account generated more than 56,000 votes, with more than 62 percent of those who responded saying they don’t want a 17-game season. That left fewer than 38 percent in favor of the expansion of the season from 16 games to 17.

It’s a somewhat surprising outcome, especially given the gradual sense of inevitability that has emerged in recent months regarding the move to 17. But here’s what also shouldn’t be surprising: The NFL won’t care about this or any other poll. The league has decided to find another place in the pizza to cram cheese, the league will be putting it on the menu, and we will be eating it.

Eventually, 17 will become 18. Again, it feels inevitable — and the ongoing expansion of legalized gambling makes it even more likely. There’s too much money to be made by having another two weekends of games on which to wager, regardless of concerns about player safety or fan opposition or anything else other than the basic exercise of capitalism.

The genius of one plan that is circulating is 17 games in 19 weeks gives the two extra weeks for betting while only subjecting players to one more game.  An extra game plus an extra bye week!

– – –

Peter King says there are chips in every football:

The NFL needs to start using the chips it’s embedded in footballs since 2017. I must have been asleep for this. The NFL has the technology to tell us precisely how far from the goal line Seattle tight end Jacob Hollister was in the NFC West championship game in Week 17 when 49er linebacker Dre Greenlaw stoned him inches (we think) from the goal line. Sean Payton is on the competition committee and he told me the technology “is coming, it’s coming.” It should be here now. “I’m telling you,” Payton said, “the ball crossing the plane of the goal line, and the uprights flashing yellow, just like the shot clock in the NBA. . . . And then you can see where the knee is, and decide whether it’s a score or not.” If he’s right, that technology is too valuable to not use now.

Are there two chips in each tip?  Is the tip in the middle of the ball?  Is there one chip in one tip and should the offensive team always make sure the tip with the chip is towards the front?

– – –

Peter King seems to think that S ERIC WEDDLE is a Hall of Famer in waiting:

On the retirement of Eric Weddle. Even though Weddle did make six Pro Bowls, I always thought he was under-appreciated. He drilled people like John Lynch, had the instincts of Eric Reid and though he didn’t make the flash plays of a Troy Polamalu, he was always around the football. It occurred to me that it might be interesting to compare Weddle with the two Hall of Fame safeties from his era—Reed and Polamalu—by comparing them vis a vis Pro Football Focus numbers. PFF has been grading every play of every player formally since 2006. Reed had eight starting seasons graded by PFF since 2008, Polamalu nine and Weddle 12. Weddle’s average grade per season: 12.98. Polamalu’s was 11.90 and Reed’s 9.01. A little food for thought there.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

QB TOM BRADY to the Cowboys?  Not so fast says Michael Irvin who started the rumor.  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Michael Irvin, the Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver turned NFL Network broadcaster, made some headlines on Friday when he said on Boston radio station WEEI that “some very significant people” told him the Cowboys may pursue Tom Brady in free agency.

A day later, Irvin tried to calm the storm those comments created.

Irvin wrote on Twitter that the “very significant people” who told him about the Cowboys’ interest on Brady did not include Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones, or anyone else associated with the team.

“I never said Jerry or anyone in the organization said this to me. It was NOT anyone with the Dallas Cowboys,” Irvin wrote.

The idea behind the Cowboys going after Brady would be that they would first put the franchise tag on Dak Prescott, and then either trade him or let some other team sign him to an offer sheet that the Cowboys wouldn’t match. Then the Cowboys would go after Brady.

It’s farfetched, and it seems likely that the “significant people” Irvin talked to were merely spitballing, not describing a move that’s actually going to happen.

NEW YORK GIANTS

Peter King:

I think my biggest issue with the Giants in 2020 is that if they’re anything less than a rising 7-9 or 8-8 team by season’s end, Mara is going to have to fire Gettleman. And that means hiring a new GM and forcing an arranged marriage between a neophyte head coach and whoever the GM is. If they’d made a clean sweep (as unfair as it might have been with the Giants’ usually patient front-office approach) and fired the coach and GM, then they’d have gone into 2020 with a fresh look on the coaching staff and the football ops side. Hiring a new GM in 11 months could make the franchise sputter in 2021 as well. Mara had better hope the defense shows signs of life this fall so Daniel Jones in a new offense doesn’t have to score in the thirties to win consistently.

WASHINGTON

Lots of news out of Washington over the weekend.

First, they look to be bringing back RB ADRIAN PETERSON.  Or so thinks John Keim of ESPN.com:

The Redskins have until 22 days before the start of the new league year (March 18) to decide if they want to pick up the second year of Peterson’s contract. One source said it was likely the Redskins would do so, but nothing is guaranteed. His salary-cap hit would be $3.1 million; the Redskins would save $2.4 million if they opted not to pick it up. There’s a reason they would want Peterson around because in the past two seasons he has been one of their most durable players. The one game he missed came when then-coach Jay Gruden made him a healthy inactive.

Running backs coach Randy Jordan, the lone holdover from the previous offensive staff, loves Derrius Guice’s talent. One reason Jordan wanted to return was to see Guice realize his potential. But Guice’s physical running style has led some to worry that he won’t stay healthy — he’s already had three knee injuries in two seasons with Washington. He has never carried the ball more than 10 times in an NFL game, but he was a workhorse in his final season at LSU.

Veteran third-down back Chris Thompson is a pending free agent. Washington also drafted Bryce Love in the fourth round last season knowing he might not play until 2020 because of a torn ACL. Love could be a wild card here; if he’s healthy he could become, at minimum, the Redskins’ third-down back. When drafted, the Redskins felt he was capable of being an every-down back.

And this, also from Keim:

The Washington Redskins are working to make Jennifer King the first African American female full-time assistant coach in the NFL after meeting with her late last month, multiple sources confirmed to ESPN.

King would join the staff as an offensive assistant, a source told ESPN’s David Newton.

Redskins coach Ron Rivera hired King as a wide receivers coaching intern for the Carolina Panthers the past two summers. She also was an offensive assistant with Dartmouth College this past fall.

The Athletic first reported that the Redskins are working to hire King.

Multiple sources said she met with members of the organization before the Super Bowl. The Redskins hired Rivera in January.

King previously coached the Johnson & Wales University women’s basketball team, guiding it to a Division II championship in 2018. She also played for the New York Sharks in the Women’s Football Alliance and served as an assistant receivers coach for the Arizona Hotshots in the Alliance of American Football.

King first met Rivera in 2016 at an NFL Women’s Careers in Football Forum. Rivera told ESPN in 2018 that he could envision a day when a woman becomes a coordinator or even a head coach.

“Part of it, it’s all about the fan base,” Rivera told ESPN at the time. “It’s also knowing the moms out there that understand the game. It’s important because they really do control as to whether their kids are going to play. This is something that has to be developed.

“It helps us in a lot of ways. It also shows everybody deserves an opportunity.”

NFC SOUTH

NEW ORLEANS

Peter King talks to Sean Payton about QB TAYSOM HILL:

• On Taysom Hill. I asked Sean Payton on “The Peter King Podcast” whether he thinks a team will make an offer to restricted free-agent QB Taysom Hill, who has become hugely valuable since being claimed on waivers from Green Bay in 2017. Payton thought for a minute and said: “Yeah, I think someone is going to make him an offer. But the first thing the fan has to understand is . . . if we tender Taysom as a one [meaning placing a first-round tag on him], the team that makes the offer on him and signs him to an offer understands they’re going to give up a first-round pick if we don’t match. That’s easier to do if you’re pick 22, 23, 24, 25. We might very well see it if it’s a team in the second half of the [first round].” I’d expect the Saints to tender him with a first-round tag, particularly if Drew Brees retires. I told Payton I’d like to see him coach for the next 10 years. “I’d like to do that,” he said. “He was a valuable claim for us. Like gold bullion.”

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

TE GARRETT CELEK calls it a career:

San Francisco 49ers tight end Garrett Celek announced his retirement via social media on Friday.

Celek, 31, posted a message on Instagram to thank the 49ers “for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams.”

View this post on Instagram

I can’t thank the 49ers organization enough for giving me the opportunity to pursue my dreams and all of the countless relationships I’ve made along the way, especially my Tight Ends, thanks for supplying me with endless stories and memories. Niner Faithful, thank you for cheering me on these past 8 seasons, love y’all, Celektime is clockin out ✌🏼

Celek, whose season ended when he was placed on injured reserve in December, had indicated during the week before Super Bowl LIV that he was contemplating retirement. He was the second-longest-tenured player on the 49ers roster, behind offensive tackle Joe Staley.

Celek began the season on the physically unable to perform list as he recovered from offseason back surgery.

He spent his entire eight-season NFL career with the 49ers and finishes with 82 receptions for 1,104 yards and 12 touchdowns in 91 games. He signed with San Francisco as an undrafted free agent in 2012.

LOS ANGELES RAMS

Lindsey Thiry of ESPN.com wonders if the hardhat worn by CB JALEN RAMSEY in a commercial is clue to the team’s new color identity:

Jalen Ramsey has caused quite the stir.

No, we’re not talking about a contract for the Los Angeles Rams star cornerback, who is entering the final season of his rookie deal and is due a monster extension.

We’re talking work-zone attire.

You see, on Super Bowl Sunday, Ramsey played a prominent role in a couple of commercials promoting the NFL’s 100th season. In those spots, Ramsey sat in the middle of the construction site that surrounds SoFi Stadium — the soon-to-be-finished home of the Rams and Chargers — which is scheduled to open in July.

As heavy machinery buzzed in the background, Ramsey donned a vibrant blue hard hat with sunshine-yellow horns. The colors on Ramsey’s cap were a clear departure from the previous navy blue and white hard hats worn by Rams players and officials at the construction site.

@jalenramsey

Trying to give my dawg @derwinjames some acting lessons on set of the #NFL100 shoot. Film dropping right before #SBLIV kickoff lol

And that is cause for commotion among Rams fans as speculation grows about the direction of the team’s rebranding effort before a fresh start in their new stadium.

Gone will be the navy, white and hideous light gold uniform combinations.

In will be … well, that’s anyone’s guess at this point.

The Rams have taken every precaution not to allow any leaks about their new look, which could be rolled out in two phases over the offseason. Phase 1 might reveal the new color scheme, while Phase 2 would feature the new uniform ensembles.

No exact timeline has been provided, though fans can expect to see the new look before the start of training camp in July.

In a letter to fans following the team’s 9-7 season, Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, wrote about several topics that effectively could be categorized into two parts — an offseason to-do list and an offseason highlight guide.

Of course, the note mentions — among other things — falling short of expectations after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, the expected evaluation of the roster, the debut of SoFi Stadium and last — but certainly not least in the eyes of Rams fans — uniforms.

“This exciting time includes our new brand identity,” Demoff wrote. “From logos and colors to uniforms and helmets. These elements will tie to our deep roots in Los Angeles while also providing a sleek, modern look that fits with our new, world-class home.”

Since their return to L.A. four seasons ago, the Rams have worn just about every combination in their closet.

In 2016, their homecoming season, there was the white, gold and navy combination. A year later, after listening to vocal fans, the Rams did everything within their power to eliminate the light gold — which became a staple in St. Louis in 2000 — and opted to wear a slightly mismatched pant that featured a solid white or blue stripe.

In 2018, as they made a run to Super Bowl LIII, the NFL granted the Rams permission to wear their throwback royal blue and yellow uniforms at home, much to the pleasure of Los Angeles-based Rams fans, who became accustomed to the brightly toned combination before the team departed L.A. for St. Louis in 1995.

Demoff has expressed excitement about the rollout of the team’s new look, a topic fans have repeatedly asked about the past four seasons.

“I always view 2020 as the end of the relocation and the beginning of the next chapter of the Rams,” Demoff said. “Everything that everybody has questions about for years comes to fruition. …

“For the organization it’s a huge year because you finally get to put your stamp on all those things that were somebody’s else’s on the Coliseum, or uniforms that dated back to different eras and different times. You have blue and white and blue and yellow, and color rush and all these different elements.”

As for tipping his hand about the color schemes the team is leaning toward, Demoff won’t budge.

But if Ramsey’s hard hat featured on Super Bowl Sunday is any clue, the bright hues are here to stay.

And as for Ramsey?

Well, his contract status might not be the cause for buzz around the organization right now, but here’s to thinking he’ll be around plenty long enough to sport whatever uniform the Rams debut.

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY

Peter King has a long look at QB PATRICK MAHOMES and the fourth quarter comeback in the Super Bowl, with some thoughts from his dad Pat in there to.  The mantra is “the next pitch”.  Below is part of it:

Said Pat Mahomes, the dad: “The best year I had in baseball was with Bobby Valentine, with the Mets. I went 8-0. We made the playoffs [in 1999] and I knew he had so much faith in me that I might pitch every game in the postseason. That’s when you feel best as a ballplayer, when you know your manager or coach has that kind of faith in you.”

Pat Mahomes told me his son called him the night of his pre-draft visit to Kansas City in 2017. Son told father Kansas City was where he wanted to play, and Reid was the coach he wanted to play for. He felt Reid would teach him everything he needed to win, and let him have the kind of freedom he’s played with through his high school and college career.

Freedom like picking Wasp.

It’s always about the next pitch.

As you read here last week, ‘Wasp’ (familiar name: 2-3 Jet Chip Wasp; name that Mahomes would call in the huddle: “Gun trey right, 3 Jets Chip Wasp Y Funnel”) called for three receivers to the left—Watkins, Hill and Kelce. Kelce, tightest to the formation, would run a deep slant to the right, Hill a deep post-corner to the left, and Watkins a 16-yard incut. The key: Would Niners cornerback Emmanuel Moseley follow Watkins across the formation on his incut? If so, Hill would be singled on safety Jimmie Ward, incredibly. Moseley did indeed follow Watkins. And Mahomes did indeed have time: 3.63 seconds till defensive tackle DeForest Buckner leveled him as he threw a high-arcing strike to Hill at the San Francisco 22.

It was the longest air yards, 56, for a Mahomes completion all season, on the biggest play of the season.

And this:

There’s a personal side too. In November 2018, when the Chiefs fired running back Kareem Hunt because they found out he lied to them about a striking a woman, Mahomes—the fifth-youngest player on the 53-man roster—asked to talk to the team. No coaches. No staff. Just players. Reid hesitated, then said yes. That’s how much he trusted Mahomes to see the right things when his team was teetering. “He knows how to tie a team together,” Reid said.

Mahomes knows Veach’s role in getting him to the Chiefs. The scout who hounded Reid to draft him, Veach got a surprise from Mahomes last year when Mahomes made his first Pro Bowl—a signed MAHOMES Pro Bowl jersey with the inscription, “Thanks for believing in me from the beginning! Let’s go get some rings!”

Last summer, I arranged for Brett Favre to fly to Kansas City on an off-day for the Chiefs, so he, Mahomes and the man who has coached both, Reid, could sit in a room and watch tape together for a “Football Night in America” feature story. Afterward, Reid had some Kansas City barbeque brought in for lunch, and seven of us sat in a room to eat lunch and talk. Five of the seats in the room had a bottle of water at them. The two belonging to me and Mahomes did not. When we all sat down, Mahomes left the room and came back 90 seconds later with two bottles of water, one for him and one for me. A simple thing. A polite thing. Reid told me later that’s what he’d do for the last guy on the practice squad too.

On Sunday night, Mahomes was escorted by a veteran publicist for the Ravens who works the Super Bowl every year, Chad Steele, for about 90 minutes to all the obligations a Super Bowl MVP has to fulfill—network and NFL partner interviews on the field, the Super Bowl stage, post-game media presser. “First thing he wanted to do was see Coach,” Steele said. “And he said, ‘Can I bring my family?’ ”

There’s also a 24-year-old-kid side. (video from victory parade in Kansas City)

Don’t you love the 24-year-old kid catching a line-drive beer one-handed at the Chiefs victory parade, then shotgunning it, then spiking it?

“It was fun to kinda let loose for a day,” he said. “Just be one of the guys.”

For a while. As his dad said Saturday: “He’s not done. He’ll get back in the lab this offseason. He’ll be better.”

It’s always about the next pitch.

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

ESPN’s 32 correspondents each made a bold prediction before the season.  Jamison Hensley was one of just two who got his right, although in retrospect it doesn’t seem so bold:

Baltimore Ravens

Bold prediction from September: Lamar Jackson will set the NFL record for most rushing yards by a QB in a single season.

Jackson didn’t just set a new record. He shattered it, rushing for 1,206 yards — 167 more than Michael Vick — in 15 games. Jackson dropped jaws on a weekly basis with how he spun and juked out defenders. What did no one predict? That Jackson would become the first player to produce more than 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a season and be a first-team All-Pro.

CLEVELAND

Joe Woods is bringing a key member of the 49ers defensive coaching staff with him to Cleveland. Like Kyle Shanahan, Chris Kiffin comes from NFL coaching royalty (or at least a peerage).   Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Myles Garrett and the rest of the Browns’ defensive line will be coached this season by an assistant who helped tutor one of 2019′s most dominant fronts in Chris Kiffin.

Kiffin, the 49ers’ pass-rush specialist the past two seasons, is joining his fellow former 49ers assistant and new Browns defensive coordinator Joe Woods as Browns defensive line coach, a league source confirmed. Alex Marvel of SiriusXMNFL radio first reported it.

Kiffin helped lead a formidable 49ers defensive front that tied for fifth in the NFL with the Vikings with 48 sacks, including 10 by Arik Armstead and nine by Nick Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick in 2019 out of Ohio State. The attack-minded defense, with Woods as defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, helped the 49ers reach the Super Bowl, where they lost 31-20 to the Chiefs.

Along the way, the sacked Kirk Cousins six times in the divisional round and Aaron Rodgers three times in the NFC Championship Game.

Kiffin takes over a defensive line that features Garrett, who had 10 sacks in 10 games last season before being suspended for striking Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph with the QB’s own helmet. The Browns expect Garrett to be re-instated for the start of the 2020 season. The Browns also have defensive end Olivier Vernon coming off a knee injury that cost him most of 2019′s second half, and tackles Sheldon Richardson and Larry Ogunjobi.

The Browns previously hired Jeff Howard as defensive backs coach, and still have several defensive openings to fill.

Kiffin joined the 49ers in 2018 after serving as co-defensive coordinator at Florida Atlantic University under his brother, Lane Kiffin, the year before.

In 2018, the 49ers defense registered 37 sacks, the most by the team in a single-season since 2013. Under Kiffin’s guidance, DL DeForest Buckner was selected to his first Pro Bowl after registering a career-high 12.0 sacks, the most by a 49er since 2012.

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS

Does Peter King know something:

6. I think Philip Rivers and Colts seem like a sound marriage.

No elaboration.

JACKSONVILLE

Peter King:

I think the underplayed story of the week is Jacksonville announcing it will play two regular-season games in London in 2020. The Jags have played one game per season in London for the last seven seasons. Owner Shad Khan deciding to play two games in London next year (and possibly in the future as well) will just re-stoke the fear in the fans of Jacksonville that the franchise will eventually move to England. This comes at the same time that a Patriots Place kind of mixed-use collection of offices, restaurants, hotels and residences is planned for the stadium complex. The rabid fan group Bold City Brigade started a petition to protest the decision and said: “Decisions like the one announced today only serve to perpetuate negative perceptions and surely cannot be framed as being done ‘for the fans’ or ‘for the long term health of the market.’ . . . We, as the largest organized group of Jaguars fans, would like to propose that Mr. Khan put more of a focus on producing a decent product on the field as a potential way to build a sustainable franchise. We would contend that a record of 38-90 and only one season at or above .500 over the past 8 years would not create much sustainability in any market.” Yikes.

AFC EAST

NEW ENGLAND

Peter King sees QB TOM BRADY playing elsewhere in 2020 based on this:

I think I was flipping through Mark Leibovich’s 2018 book about the NFL the other day (“Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times”) and ran across this quote from Tom Brady Sr., on how he thought it would end for Tom Brady the quarterback in New England: “It will end badly. It’s a cold business. And for as much as you want it to be familial, it isn’t.” Just FYI.

Does Brady really want to go back to this Patriots roster – with the toughest schedule in the NFL facing them.

The Baltimore Ravens led the NFL in regular-season wins in 2019 with 14, and already they appear to have a path to repeating that feat.

Baltimore will head into the 2020 season with the easiest strength of schedule in the league based on opponent winning percentage. Its 2020 opponents combined for 112 wins in 2019, good for only .437 percent. To boot, it will face only five teams that reached the playoffs in 2019, one of only 12 teams to enjoy that distinction.

In addition to their usual six games against division-rivals Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, the Ravens and star quarterback Lamar Jackson will play teams from the NFC East and AFC South, setting up potentially juicy non-division matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, plus games against fellow 2019 division winners New England and Kansas City.

With similar schedules, Baltimore’s rivals in the AFC North also rank among the top 10 easiest schedules, as do the NFC East teams, which will face the NFC West in addition to the AFC North. That could spell soft landings for the NFC East’s new crop of head coaches — Mike McCarthy in Dallas, Ron Rivera in Washington and Joe Judge with the New York Giants. Rivera will have a “revenge game” of sorts against his former team, the Panthers, in Washington.

On the other end of the spectrum, the AFC East teams are looking at tough sledding next season, with the Patriots (.535) and Jets (.531) facing the stiffest competition in the NFL. Among their non-division opponents will be the AFC West and NFC West, so there will be plenty of cross-country travel for teams in all three divisions.

To that end, NFC West teams are also facing a difficult, travel-heavy schedule. Those squads will play the AFC East and NFC East, accounting for five games each in the eastern time zone. Additionally, the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals will have seven games against playoff teams.

See below for our full strength-of-schedule rankings based on opponent winning percentage, from easiest to most difficult:

1. Baltimore Ravens (.437)

2. Dallas Cowboys,

    Pittsburgh Steelers (.457)

4. Cleveland Browns,

    Washington Redskins (.460)

6. Cincinnati Bengals (.476)

7. New York Giants (.480)

8. Philadelphia Eagles (.484)

9. New Orleans Saints (.488)

10. Jacksonville Jaguars,

      Los Angeles Chargers (.492)

12. Carolina Panthers,

      Indianapolis Colts,

      Las Vegas Raiders,

     Tennessee Titans (.496)

16. Green Bay Packers,

      Kansas City Chiefs,

      Tampa Bay Buccaneers (.500)

19. Chicago Bears,

      Seattle Seahawks (.503)

21. Denver Broncos,

      Los Angeles Rams,

      Minnesota Vikings (.511)

24. Houston Texans (.515)

25. Arizona Cardinals,

      Atlanta Falcons,

      Buffalo Bills,

      Detroit Lions,

      San Francisco 49ers (.523)

30. Miami Dolphins (.527)

31. New York Jets (.531)

32. New England Patriots (.535)

THIS AND THAT

ANTONIO

A post-Super Bowl charm offensive continues for Antonio Brown:

Antonio Brown issued a public apology to the Pittsburgh Steelers, telling 93.7 The Fan on Thursday that he is sorry for being a distraction.

“I apologize to those guys for the distractions, the unwanted attention that I probably caused those guys,” Brown told the radio station when asked if he had anything to say to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, coach Mike Tomlin and team owner Art Rooney II. “To the organization. Obviously you want to clear out any baggage or any disrespect or unintended attention that was brought on to the organization.

“These guys gave me an opportunity when I was 21 years old. I’m forever grateful to those guys, to have the opportunity to not only play with those guys but to be in so many amazing moments. We’ve been through so much. I’m forever grateful and indebted to this organization.”

Brown’s comments continue a series of apologies the wide receiver has made over the past week. On Friday, Brown apologized to the NFL as a whole in an interview with ESPN’s Josina Anderson. He also apologized that day to the Hollywood (Florida) Police Department, which arrested him last month on charges of felony burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief stemming from a Jan. 21 incident with a moving truck driver at his residence.

The former Steelers wide receiver did not specify what he was apologizing for in his radio interview. He addressed the issues that led to him missing Week 17 of the 2018 season, when the Steelers were still in playoff contention.

Brown did not acknowledge a series of tweets sent in September after he was released by the New England Patriots following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. In one of those tweets, he referenced Roethlisberger’s four-game suspension in 2010 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy based on a sexual assault accusation, saying it’s a “crazy world.”

In his radio interview, Brown said he and Roethlisberger regularly had spoken while they were both with the Steelers, including before that acrimonious final game in 2018.

“A lot of people are really nervous to tell him what he really is, based on the position he’s in,” Brown said. “We had a real heart-to-heart hash-it-out, but I just think too much stuff built up that it was too late.”

Brown told the radio station that he felt respected in Pittsburgh but that there was too much focus on individual goals over winning.

“At the time, what was important for me — winning a Super Bowl … I just think we had a lot of things that was important to individuals, but it wasn’t really important to do the big thing, which was win the Super Bowl. … Guys on the team wasn’t really willing to push to go get what was important.”

He singled out former teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster, saying the younger wide receiver showed him disrespect on social media after Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders. They have traded barbs over the past year, but Smith-Schuster expressed “concern” for Brown last week in a radio interview from the Super Bowl with Pro Football Talk.

Brown, who has been a free agent since the Patriots released him, is being investigated by the NFL under its personal conduct policy following a lawsuit filed by his former trainer, Britney Taylor, that alleges she was sexually assaulted by Brown on multiple occasions. Brown also was accused of sexual misconduct at his home by an artist who was working there in 2017.

Regarding his NFL future, Brown said he doesn’t know what will come.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do right now,” he told 93.7 The Fan. “I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Unsaid in the story, 93.7 The Fan is located in Pittsburgh.

XFL BROADCAST NEWS

Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com has some numbers from the XFL’s opening weekend:

The XFL’s debut game drew 3.3 million viewers.

ABC announced that number today and added that the viewership peaked at the end of the broadcast, which is a good sign that the game kept fans interested.

Last year, the Alliance of American Football drew 2.9 million viewers for its first game. The AAF never reached anything remotely close to that again and shut down before completing its first season.

But the XFL has a much better TV deal than the AAF had. After that first AAF game aired on CBS, other games moved to TNT, NFL Network, CBS Sports Network and the streaming B/R Live service. The XFL will continue to air on ABC, FOX and ESPN throughout the season.

The big question facing the XFL is whether it can hold onto that Day One audience or perhaps even grow as the season goes on — or whether fans tuned into the first game out of curiosity and will tune out just as quickly.

SUPER BOWL WINDOWS

Adam Schein of NFL.com offers the nine teams he thinks have the biggest Super Bowl windows going into 2020 and slightly beyond.

When discussing an NFL team’s viability as a contender, we often turn to a favorite metaphorical device: the Super Bowl window. Is it open? Is it shut? Transitioning from one state to the other?

Well, in the wake of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs ending a 50-year title drought, Kansas City’s Super Bowl window is so wide open that you might as well get rid of the glass.

Yes, Andy Reid’s bunch unsurprisingly tops this edition of the Schein Nine — a current ranking of the franchises with the broadest windows for Lombardi hunting — but who else makes the cut?

A few organizations you won’t see below: the Patriots, Saints, Titans and Chargers. At this time, I don’t know who is playing quarterback for these teams. Kind of important. By mid-March, some of those squads might be on this list. But it’s not mid-March, so they aren’t. Here’s who is:

1) Kansas City Chiefs

Nobody will ever equal New England’s dominance of the past two decades. In a league designed for parity, Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots made the idea of competition parody, forging the most impressive sports dynasty I’ve ever seen. That said, the Chiefs have a great chance to go on a dynastic run of their own in the coming years, and it all starts with the wunderkind talent at quarterback.

At just 24 years old, Mahomes already has a league MVP and Super Bowl MVP to his name. He’s a megastar — and he’s only getting started, having just completed his second season as an NFL starter. This cat’s special. He’s extraordinarily skilled with a beautiful quarterbacking mind to match. Anything seems possible when he’s in the game. Seriously, anything. The Chiefs just completed a playoff run where they trailed in every game by double digits — including 24-0(!) in the Divisional Round — and ended up winning every game by double digits. That’s Mahomes’ magic. At this moment, he’s the best show in sports, best player in sports. And with Andy Reid attached at the hip, it’s the perfect marriage for Kansas City.

Reid is a brilliant coach, a true offensive innovator — and now, with his Super Bowl ring, a no-doubt Hall of Famer. With the weight of never having won the big one lifted off Reid’s back, he’ll win at least two more. And that’s conservative. This franchise seemed snake-bitten for years. No longer. Not with Reid at the controls of a Mahomes-led offense featuring explosive weapons left and right. Not with a defense that suddenly has some dudes, and is really well-coached by Steve Spagnuolo.

Chiefs Kingdom just endured a half-century title drought; now it’s time for the reign of terror.

2) Baltimore Ravens

Lamar Jackson just followed in Tom Brady’s footsteps as the second unanimous MVP in NFL history. No surprise, considering he led the league in touchdown passes (36), finished sixth in rushing yards (1,206) and guided the Ravens to an NFL-best 14-2 record. A majestic season by any measure. The frightening thing for opponents is that it feels like he’s just scratching the surface of his ultimate potential.

Having just turned 23 last month, Jackson will only get better in every element of being a quarterback. Not to mention, he now has a boulder-sized chip on his shoulder after the Divisional Round loss to Tennessee. And Jackson has the right people around him to maximize his truly rare skill set. John Harbaugh is a fantastic coach. Eric DeCosta is an astute general manager. The coaching staff, overall, is excellent. The talent is strong and deep. Get used to Baltimore being squarely in the title hunt for a long, long time.

3) San Francisco 49ers

The pain of blowing a 10-point, fourth-quarter lead in the Super Bowl won’t go away any time soon (if ever), but this group’s no one-hit wonder. The 49ers lost three regular-season games, all in the final seconds. They had the Chiefs on the ropes and the Lombardi Trophy within grasp. There was nothing fluky about San Francisco’s 2019 renaissance. And the future looks exceedingly bright with Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch steering the ship.

Now, Shanahan deserves blame for the painfully conservative approach he took at the end of the first half on Sunday. Against a team as explosive as Kansas City, you simply cannot take your foot off the pedal. But don’t blame the coach for that fourth-quarter collapse. That was more on San Francisco’s players not getting it done, while Mahomes, Chris Jones and others rose to the moment for the Chiefs. And yes, one of those Niners players who came up short was Jimmy Garoppolo. His fourth quarter was horrible. He needed to hit Emmanuel Sanders on that would-be go-ahead touchdown with less than two minutes remaining. But don’t let that one play overshadow everything else he accomplished on the season. Including the playoffs, he won 15 games. He was the only quarterback to finish the regular season ranked in top five in completion percentage (69.1), yards per attempt (8.4) and touchdown passes (27). With Shanahan calling plays and San Francisco’s surrounding talent, the 49ers can absolutely win a Super Bowl with Jimmy G at QB.

The Niners aren’t going away anytime soon.

4) Houston Texans

Too high? Maybe. I’m skeptical about Bill O’Brien reporting to Bill O’Brien. And the lack of a first-round pick until 2022 isn’t very comforting. This roster has a number of holes and aging position groups.

That said, the Texans also have a true franchise quarterback, a game-changer at the game’s most important position. Deshaun Watson showed us, in the regular season and the playoffs, just how impactful one man can be. And it doesn’t hurt when that man has one of the league’s very best receivers at his disposal in DeAndre Hopkins.

Houston has weaknesses, but its strengths can be overpowering. Yes, the Texans blew a 24-0 lead to the Chiefs, but the fact that they had a 24-0 lead over the eventual Super Bowl champions in the first place shouldn’t be forgotten. With Deshaun under center, Houston’s firepower is real.

5) Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott is a lock to be on the Cowboys’ roster next season, whether via the franchise tag or a new contract. Given the kind of play Dak has provided on the rookie contract of a fourth-round pick, he certainly deserves a major pay hike. And I think these two sides will indeed put pen to paper on a long-term deal at some point, especially with the new coach in place.

Mike McCarthy changes everything for Dallas. That was a coup of a hire. He’s a Super Bowl champ and an offensive guru. This is a major upgrade over Jason Garrett. McCarthy and Prescott comprise the kind of coach-quarterback tandem that can carry a franchise to years of contention. It’s in everyone’s best interest to make this marriage official.

6) Green Bay Packers

The only reason Green Bay didn’t crack the top five is Aaron Rodgers’ age (36). And chances are, at the outset of next season, I will pick the Packers to play on Championship Sunday once again, if not go further.

While Rodgers’ is on the back nine of his career, he’s still quite capable of dissecting a defense. (Do you want to bet against him in a big spot?) Meanwhile, Green Bay’s own D is more talented than it has been in a long time. Matt LaFleur proved he could coach by going 13-3 in Year 1, while Aaron Jones became a star at the running back position. And GM Brian Gutekunst will get more talent for Rodgers in the passing attack this offseason.

7) Philadelphia Eagles

I love Philly. I love Carson Wentz and how he played in crunch time down the stretch. Given how injury-riddled this roster was in 2019, it was no small task for Wentz to drag his team into the playoffs. The Eagles quarterback truly elevates the play of his teammates, no matter who they are on any given day. Rookie running back Miles Sanders certainly proved himself to be a keeper, though, as a weapon in all facets of the game. Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert currently make up the best tight end combo in football. And DT Fletcher Cox still doesn’t get nearly the attention he deserves as one of the NFL’s preeminent game-wreckers.

Now, I’d like a bit more clarity on what the receiving corps and defensive backfield will look like come September, but I have the ultimate trust in GM Howie Roseman. And the NFC East’s transitional state doesn’t hurt, either.

8) Buffalo Bills

What Josh Allen and Sean McDermott accomplished in the 2019 campaign should not be eradicated by the Bills blowing a 16-0 lead at Houston on Wild Card Weekend. Despite the QB’s poor effort in crunch time of that game, Allen enjoyed a breakthrough second season and I expect him to take another leap forward under OC Brian Daboll’s tutelage in 2020. McDermott got my AP vote for Coach of the Year because he made the most out of his roster — a roster that’s only going to get better, because GM Brandon Beane is excellent in procuring players who fit these Bills.

9) Seattle Seahawks

Russell Wilson is a future Hall of Famer who makes magic happen on a weekly basis. Pete Carroll has the hardware and the track record — I don’t understand his doubters, especially those in the Seattle area. Many thought the 2019 season could be a subpar year for the ‘Hawks. They went 11-5, came about an inch short of a division title and won a road playoff game.

The only reason Seattle is this low on the list is because the NFC West looks like it could be the best division in football in 2020. San Francisco just hit the Super Bowl, the Rams are still quite talented, and the Kyler Murray/Kliff Kingsbury Cardinals are on the comeup. But still, the window is always open with Russ under center.

The DB thinks Cleveland, Indianapolis, Miami and Arizona also need consideration here, if you want to think about teams a little further off the radar with windows just opening.  Not so sure that Green Bay and Philadelphia should be on the list.  And note, we’re not even thinking about New England.