There were fans in JAX last night – and some teams are letting in friends and family.  This from NBCSports.com (no fans for games not listed):

The Washington Football Team at Cleveland Browns – FirstEnergy Stadium

The Browns will allow up to 6,000 fans for the team’s first two home games in September (Week 2 vs. CIN and Week 3 vs. WAS).

Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons – Mercedes Benz Stadium

There will be no spectators this week but the Falcons announced that fans will be welcomed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta when the team faces the Panthers on October 11.

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New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts – Lucas Oil Stadium

The Colts will allow a maximum of 7,500 spectators for this week’s home game against the Jets.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Denver Broncos – Empower Field

The Broncos will allow 5,700 fans to attend the game on Sunday.

Detroit Lions at Arizona Cardinals – State Farm Stadium

The Cardinals will have a small group of 750 spectators at Sunday’s game to determine what protocol will be allowed later in the season. Only immediate family or close friends of the players, coaches and staff will be allowed to attend.

Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints – Mercedes-Benz Superdome

Similar to the Cardinals, the Saints announced today that 750 family members of players, coaches and staff will be allowed to attend Sunday night’s game and if that goes well the team will begin planning for ticket-buying fans in the stands.

NFC EAST

DALLAS

Coach Mike McCarthy is not going to “try to keep Russell Wilson off the field.”  Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy does not buy the idea that his offense needs to slow Sunday’s game down to keep Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson off the field.

In fact, when McCarthy was asked today if he doesn’t want to score too quickly because he wants to keep Wilson on the sideline, he said he will always take his offense scoring fast.

“We want to score as fast as we can, and as many times as we can as far as the start of the game and throughout the game,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy did acknowledge that there are times in the game when he slows down the offense’s pace, but that’s only if he’s protecting a late lead.

“But when you get down in the fourth quarter, that’s part of the game management,” McCarthy said. “Hopefully we’re in that same situation.”

McCarthy said he’d like to win the time of possession battle if that means his offense is sustaining long drives while his defense is forcing turnovers and three-and-outs. But if the question is simply a matter of running a slow offense, McCarthy doesn’t see any benefit in that.

WASHINGTON

Why are Daniel Snyder’s minority partners unhappy?  Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.comsays it wasn’t the team’s former name after reading a long New York Times piece on the matter.

Even when it seems personal, it’s never personal; it’s strictly business.

The unrest in Washington’s front office, which seemed to have its roots in hard feelings between majority owner Daniel Snyder and a trio of minority shareholders, actually traces to money.

As explained by the New York Times, the problems arose when Snyder deferred paying annual dividends to Fred Smith, Dwight Schar, and Robert Rothman in late April. The dispute over money has sparked an arbitration proceeding, pursuant to league rules that nudge such disputes away from the court system and into alternative resolution procedures.

The turmoil has resulted in efforts to sell the minority shares, along with a request that Snyder simply buy them out.

In June, Snyder reportedly ejected all three of his partners from the team’s board of directors. The minority partners then asked the league to intervene. The Commissioner’s office appointed an arbitrator in late June.

It therefore should be less surprising, in hindsight, that FedEx (the company founded by Smith and a major sponsor of the team) went public in early July with a request that the team change its name. It also should be less surprising that Snyder is trying to prove that one of his partners (or possibly more than one) had a role in allegedly defamatory information being published about Snyder.

Some believe the minority partners are trying to force Snyder to sell his stake in the team. Per the Times, Snyder remains intent on keeping his equity interest and eventually transferring it to his children.

NFC SOUTH

ATLANTA

Falcons TE HAYDEN HURST is going to be an offseason ally of QB DAK PRESCOTT in the fight against suicide and other depression-related activities.  Todd Archer of ESPN.com:

Starting next offseason, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst plan to work together in suicide prevention.

Hurst approached Prescott after the Cowboys’ 40-39 win Sunday in a moment that was caught on camera.

Hurst has been open about attempting suicide and dealing with anxiety and depression. Prescott’s brother, Jace, died by suicide in April, and the quarterback discussed his feelings of depression during the early parts of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Such a moment. Obviously excited after a big win like that but for him to just come over there, us embrace that moment,” Prescott said of the discussion with Hurst. “He was telling me about what him and his mom are doing with their foundation. I’m excited to work with him. We’ve talked since. Excited in the offseason for us to get something going. Our teams have already started making steps to do that while we’re in the midst of the season.”

After the game, Hurst embraced Prescott and said, “Hey, I’ve got a lot of respect for what you did, came out and talked about. Me and my mom have a foundation about suicide prevention. Respect the hell out of you for talking about it, man.”

Prescott said a couple of Los Angeles Rams approached him after the Week 1 game regarding his comments, so he wasn’t surprised that another player came up to him.

“I mean, obviously that’s something that’s near and dear to his heart. That means a lot to him. So a couple of players did it last week. So I think it just depends on that player, what it means to them, what they’ve been through personally,” Prescott said. “And I’m proud of Hayden for where he’s come from, the things that he’s been through, thankful obviously for that moment as well.”

Hurst established the Hayden Hurst Foundation with his mother, Cathy, to raise awareness of mental health issues in children and adolescents by funding mental health services and programs through donations and fundraising events. Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish foundation is focused on the fight against cancer, after the quarterback’s mother, Peggy, died from colon cancer, but it also invests in the future of youths fighting through adversity.

On Wednesday, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers talked about Prescott, saying he was impressed by his ability to open up about his mental health.

“I applaud him. I think it’s phenomenal, speaking out, because that’s true courage and that’s true strength,” Rodgers said. “It’s not a weakness at all.”

Prescott said he had seen the comments.

“I appreciate those, and I respect Aaron. Respect Aaron as much as probably any other quarterback we have in this league. Obviously his game, but for him to just come out say what he said and loved what he said about people’s personal things don’t affect any of us, how we feel about ourselves. I think that’s huge. It’s about what you, with self talks and the stuff you see in your own mind. I thank Aaron for having my support and coming out and speaking as he did.”

This from Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com details more of Hurst’s battles with depression:

Baltimore Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst said living with depression led to a suicide attempt four years ago.

“I woke up in the hospital,” Hurst told First Coast News this week. “I didn’t know what happened. I had to have a friend fill me in. Apparently, I had been drinking and went into my apartment and cut my wrist. My friend found me in a puddle of blood. He called 911.”

Hurst, who was a football player at South Carolina at the time, drank and took pills on that night in January 2016 to the point he blacked out.

He woke to find himself handcuffed to the bed and confined to a hospital for a 72-hour period for observation. It’s what he calls his “come to Jesus moment.”

“If I had a gun that night, I probably would have killed myself,” Hurst said in a separate interview with the Florida Times-Union last month. “I’m glad I only had a knife. It’d be a totally different story.”

Hurst’s history with mental health dates back to 2013, when he was a promising pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system. He went from throwing 97 mph to not being able to throw the ball straight. Hurst had suddenly developed the “yips,” a performance anxiety disorder that affected him so badly that pitches would sail over batters’ heads.

Hurst couldn’t hold a ball without his hand shaking. He experienced panic attacks. For the better part of three years, he spent his days sitting in a dark room watching TV and his nights trying to do anything to get rid of the pain.

“The goal was always just to get blacked out,” Hurst told the Times-Union. “Anything, Xanax or cocaine, that made that feeling go away, I tried it. Not the brightest of ideas I ever had.”

Hurst’s family understands the toll depression can take. His uncle died by suicide in 2008, as did Hurst’s cousin two years later.

After Hurst’s suicide attempt, Hurst stopped drinking alcohol and taking drugs.

“I couldn’t do anything in that hospital without asking somebody,” Hurst said. “I remember looking at the wall and thought, ‘What are you doing?’ That was rock bottom for me.”

– – –

Falcons special teams coordinator Ben Kotwicka offers an explanation.  D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Falcons special-teams coordinator Ben Kotwica, like coach Dan Quinn, insisted that their players knew what to do on the onside kick against Dallas, but the players didn’t think the ball would travel 10 yards, leaving the Falcons with no need to recover the kick.

Kotwica acknowledged the team’s failure, including his own, to recover an onside kick that eventually led to a 40-39 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday.

“There was a risk that if you go into the restraining line on a ball that looked like it was not going to make it 10 yards,” said Kotwica, who addressed the media for the first time since the debacle in his weekly availability Thursday. “Again, if it doesn’t make it 10 yards, it’s a dead ball, it’s a different narrative.”

“However, if you do go in there to fall on a ball that is spinning, if you don’t field it cleanly, now, you are giving the coverage team the opportunity to field the ball. There is an element of that. That’s kind of where we are at. In the future, it’s a painful lesson and again, I think we’ll handle it different if we get that opportunity again.”

The Falcons didn’t risk an attack on the ball until it was too late.

NFC WEST

SAN FRANCISCO

It is QB NICK MULLENS for the 49ers on Sunday. Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com:

While the 49ers held out some hope about quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo‘s ankle, they also weren’t kidding themselves.

Via Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com, coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed Friday morning during an interview on KNBR that Nick Mullens would start Sunday against the Giants.

Garoppolo suffered an ankle sprain in last week’s carnage against the Jets, and the 49ers have made it reasonably clear this week he wasn’t going to be ready.

Shanahan also said that running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman wouldn’t play this week, but he wasn’t ready to make a declaration on tight end George Kittle.

Kittle was out last week with a knee issue, but has practiced some this week, and they’re holding out hope he can help their backup quarterback.

SEATTLE

Jason Reid of ESPN.com with more of the Week 3 conventional wisdom that this is The Year of Russell Wilson:

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has never been better. Let that sink in.

In his ninth season, the Super Bowl winner, seven-time Pro Bowler and second-winningest active passer is off to a red-hot start. The dean of a group of superstar Black passers who now run the game, Wilson has been so sensational, in fact, that he’s considered the (very) early leader for the biggest distinction that’s eluded him to this point in his career: the Associated Press NFL MVP award.

Granted, it’s only Week 3. A whole lot will happen from now until the end of the regular season. Still, Wilson is clearly out in front of the pack.

In all likelihood, barring injuries, Wilson will remain in the mix for this season’s award alongside the previous two winners: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. If a Black quarterback wins again, that would mark three in a row. (In the history of the award, which was first presented in 1957, there had been only two other Black quarterbacks to be named MVP: Steve McNair shared the honor with Peyton Manning in 2003, and Cam Newton won in 2015. Think about that.)

For Wilson, his team’s record (2-0) and his eye-opening statistics tell an impressive story.

With nine touchdown passes, he’s tied for the second-most touchdown passes through a team’s first two games in NFL history, one behind the mark established by Mahomes in 2018, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Wilson has completed 82.5% of his passes, the highest completion percentage through two games in NFL history with a minimum of 40 attempts. And Wilson has continued to display his signature deft touch on deep balls, completing 4 of 5 passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns on throws of at least 20 yards downfield.

We’ll just sum it up this way: That man is good.

– – –

While Wilson’s individual accomplishments are spectacular, quarterbacks are ultimately judged on how their teams perform. He checks that box, too.

After throwing four touchdown passes in leading the Seahawks to a 38-25 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1, Wilson torched the New England Patriots with five more touchdown passes in Seattle’s home opener, outdueling Newton in a 35-30 win. Wherever Wilson stands, his teammates fall in line right behind him.

“He tells everybody, ‘Believe. Believe,’ all the time,” Seahawks wide receiver David Moore told reporters in Seattle. “He can go out there and maybe make a mistake somewhere, but no matter what, he’s always going to believe. When you have a quarterback like that, that will pick everybody up no matter the situation in the game, that makes him great. … That’s why we love him.”

Since he entered the league, Wilson has been great, with the Seahawks hitting it big on a supposedly undersized passer they selected in the third round of the 2012 draft. Among active signal-callers who have started at least 100 games, Wilson is second only to six-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady – widely considered the greatest to play the game’s most important position – with a .672 career winning percentage. Unlike Brady, however, Wilson has never been selected as the top player in the regular season by a panel of voters. He has never received a single MVP vote.

Last season, Wilson was among the leading contenders – until Jackson sprinted away from the field. In only his second season in the league, Jackson became the second Associated Press MVP chosen in a unanimous vote, achieving the feat Brady first accomplished in 2010.

At 31, Wilson has the most experience among the star group of Black quarterbacks, which also includes Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans, Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys and fast-rising Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals. It also appears Newton is well along the path to reviving his career in New England.

“So many great quarterbacks,” Wilson told reporters in Seattle. “Obviously, guys like Patrick Mahomes … guys like Lamar.”

Make no mistake, though: Wilson, whose career will eventually culminate with his enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, wants to stand atop the mountain alone.

“I don’t come to play this game to be second place,” Wilson said. “If I’m not thinking that way, I’m crazy. If you want to be great, you have to believe in who you are and what you have and all the things that you do. I put tons of work in this game and I want to be the best in the world.”

Each year, Wilson has been among the best. Perhaps in this one, he’ll be able to claim the distinction outright.

AFC NORTH

CLEVELAND

WR ODELL BECKHAM, Jr. is in a state of acceptance that his numbers will decline in 2020.  Charean WIliams of ProFootballTalk.com:

The Browns have the best 1-2 rushing punch in the NFL. Nick Chubb, who finished second in the league in rushing last season, currently ranks fourth with 184 yards. Kareem Hunt, who won the rushing title as a rookie, is tied for eighth with 158 rushing yards.

Where does that leave receiver Odell Beckham Jr.? Facing the reality that he’s probably not “going to kill it” this season as he declared this offseason was his goal.

“For me, one of my biggest growths has come in acceptance in a sense and for me knowing it’s probably not going to be that kind of season [with huge numbers],” Beckham said on a video call Thursday, via Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “Like I always say, my goal is always going to be my goal, and I don’t feel like I’m ever going to fall short of it. Like I said, learning and acceptance, so you set new goals.”

Beckham topped the 1,000-yard mark in 2019, with 1,035 yards, but he scored only four touchdowns. He did not make the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive season.

He has seven catches for 96 yards and a touchdown through two games this season.

Beckham, though, is not complaining. He said the Michael Jordan documentary that he watched during quarantine helped him develop a new mindset.

“Having a game within a game, working on a release during a run game or working something else, a new goal — aside from winning always,” Beckham said. “Nick Chubb needs to be the No. 1 rusher in the league or Kareem, too. You have two legitimate No. 1 backs in the backfield, and our team is very, very, very good at running the football, so you have to play to your strengths. Then I think you learn where you fit in and where you’re able to make your plays and how you can help the team.”

The Browns didn’t trade for Beckham to turn him into a blocker, which is why there is so much speculation about his future in Cleveland. But for now, Beckham insists he’s fine with whatever the Browns ask of him.

That likely means more blocking as the Browns rank 28th in passing with 193.5 yards a game and second in rushing at 176.5.

“I think a lot of my growth came in acceptance, acceptance of life and acceptance of things and just knowing that’s what it’s going to be and finding a way to create that block that springs (Chubb) or whatever it is to help us win,” Beckham said.

AFC SOUTH

JACKSONVILLE

There are two QB GARDNER MINSHEWs – and one is an “accountant.”  Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com:

A year ago this week, Minshew Mania took flight.

Rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew threw a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 20-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football. He did a postgame interview on the NFL Network and joined Scott Van Pelt live on SportsCenter.

Minshew was a revelation for the NFL world. But at Washington State, he already had plenty of fans who had gone wild over his mustache, jorts and his locker room workouts with resistance bands wearing only his aviators and a jockstrap — and sometimes just the aviators.

Minshew is a quirky, funny and eminently likable person who loves to have a good time and doesn’t take himself too seriously. (For proof of the latter, check out the clip with Minshew lip-syncing Celine Dion’s 1996 hit “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” done for ESPN’s Football is Back promo. He really gets into Dion’s lyrics.)

That is the way everyone outside the organization views him. Those on the inside, however, see a different version of Minshew Mania. While he still jokes around and laughs with his teammates in the locker room, he’s all business when it comes to football.

And that’s why, despite not having the strongest arm or being the biggest guy (6-foot-1, 225 pounds), he ranks in the top five in completion percentage (75.4%) and passing TDs (six) among NFL quarterbacks and is in the top 10 in passer rating (115.4) entering another Week 3 Thursday night home matchup, this time against the Miami Dolphins (8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network).

“I see him as a guy who comes in here every day and prepares like he’s an accountant,” coach Doug Marrone said. “Which is probably the exact opposite of what you feel because you see him in a different light. And that’s a light that I keep turned off, the light that goes outside.

“I have children at home, and they see the same things you guys do and I’m just like, ‘Ugh.’ They ask me the same questions, I tell them the same answer I give to you, I give to them: I don’t know that person. I know the accountant that comes in and works his butt off and tries to get the team and all that stuff. That’s what I focus on.”

AFC EAST

BUFFALO

Bills QB JOSH ALLEN will be facing the CB, JALEN RAMSEY, who called him trash for the first time.  Ryan Talbot of Syracuse.com:

Does Josh Allen attack Jalen Ramsey?

Jalen Ramsey has never been a Josh Allen fan. The cornerback was quick to refer to the Bills’ quarterback as “trash” in a GQ interview. He didn’t back off of that statement leading up to their last matchup, a game that saw Allen and the Bills emerge victorious.

Ramsey has been pretty quiet heading into this week’s matchup, but Allen has been asked about their past.

“That was so long ago in my opinion,” Allen told the media. “It’s really a non-factor you know he’s been a great player in this league for a long time, he’s only gotten better and he’s a problem that we’re gonna have to deal.”

Allen has always said the right things about Ramsey, but will be attack the cornerback on Sunday? The quarterback’s No. 1 receiver, Stefon Diggs, said they won’t shy away from anything or anyone on Sunday.

MIAMI

QB RYAN FITZPATRICK was a winner Thursday in JAX. Jeff Kerr of CBSSports.comwith some stat notes:

Ryan Fitzpatrick probably wasn’t thinking he was going to join NFL legend Walter Payton in the record books during Thursday’s game, but that’s exactly what he did. Fitzpatrick became one of just two players (since at least 1948) to finish with two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, 20 rushing yards, and a reception in a single game — joining Payton in 1983 — during the Miami Dolphins’ 31-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.

What makes this nugget more impressive is Fitzpatrick is the first quarterback to accomplish the feat in at least 72 years. Fitzpatrick finished 18 of 20 for 160 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions for the Dolphins, finishing with a passer rating of 133.3. He completed his first 12 passes, which was a career-high for a quarterback that has made 141 career starts in 16 seasons. The 90% completion rate was also a career-high (minimum 20 attempts). Fitzpatrick also had seven carries for 38 yards (5.43 yards per carry) on the night with a rushing touchdown — his fifth in the last two seasons.

Fitzpatrick also caught a pass for the first time since 2013, when he was starting for the Tennessee Titans. He has just three catches in his career, none of which went for positive yards. At 37 years, 305 days old, Fitzpatrick is the oldest player to catch a pass in the NFL this season and the sixth-oldest quarterback to catch a pass since 1950. For those wondering, Fitzpatrick surpassed Larry Fitzgerald (37 years, 20 days old) as the oldest player to catch a pass this year and Tom Brady (41 years, 100 days) is the oldest quarterback to record a reception (since 1950).

Beating the Jaguars was also a milestone for Fitzpatrick, as he has defeated them for the sixth time as a starting quarterback and all six wins have come with a different team:  He also has won with the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins. He’s also thrown a touchdown pass against the Jaguars for five different teams: Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins.

Kevin Patra of NFL.com:

Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to stave off both Father Time and Tua Time.

The 37-year-old Harvard grad still has game left in his aging bones and showed it Thursday night with a blistering performance as the Miami Dolphins jolted the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-13.

The man affectionately known as FitzMagic did it all for Miami, completing 18-of-20 passes with 2 TDs and no INTs, rushing for 38 yards on seven carries and another score and even catching his own pass off a batted ball.

More than anything, Fitzpatrick had fun. And it showed.

“I mean it’s why I still play. I enjoy playing, especially when you’re having success, when you’re driving the ball down the field scoring touchdowns,” he said after the tilt, via the team’s official transcript. “I feel like the luckiest guy in the world sometimes getting to go outside and play football with my friends. I think you can see it in everyone. Mike [Gesicki]’s in the room right now, but every time Mike scores a touchdown or makes a catch, the look on his face is like he’s never caught a ball before. It’s fun for us to go out there and run around a little bit.”

The superlatives for Fitzpatrick were nearly as long as his luscious beard.

His 90 percent completion rate set a new career-high (min. 10 attempts). For a franchise that boasts Dan Marino as an alum, that completion percentage is tops by a Dolphins QB in franchise history (min. 20 att.). Fitzpatrick’s passer rating of 133.3 was his best since moving to Miami.

FitzMagic generated his third game of 25-plus rush yards and 1-plus rush TD since his 35th birthday, the fifth-most such games by a player in the Super Bowl era. The only players with more: HOF Marcus Allen, HOF John Riggins, HOF Emmitt Smith, HOF Steve Young. (So this means Fitzpatrick is definitely going in the Hall of Fame, right?)

Fitzpatrick joined HOF’er Walter Payton in 1983 as the only players since 1948 to have 2-plus passing TDs, 1-plus rush TD, 25-plus rush yards and a reception in a game.

He became the fourth player in the Super Bowl era with a pass TD, rush TD and reception in the same game at age 35 or older.

With the 31-13 win, the Dolphins broke a streak of 38 straight games without a double-digit victory.

And then there was his postgame Hawaiian shirt:

“Now, being in Florida for going on four years and being the elder statesman on the team, I’ve adopted more of the senior citizen look in terms of some of the touristy shirts and my waistband is sitting a little higher than it used to,” he explained of the look. “But I do like the color, I like the flair, and I would say the chest hair is probably 50-50 on whether people like it or not. They have very strong feelings about it, but the right people in my life like the chest hair, so it’s okay to have it out.”

Only Fitz.

NEW ENGLAND

Florida prosecutors have finally given up on their long and expensive quest to hang a misdemeanor conviction on Robert Kraft.  The AP:

Florida prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor charge against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft on Thursday, saying they couldn’t go forward after courts blocked their use of video that allegedly shows him paying for massage parlor sex.

Palm Beach County court records show that the charge was dropped Thursday. Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg will explain the decision during an online news conference later Thursday.

The Florida 4th District Court of Appeal found last month that Jupiter police violated the rights of Kraft and others when they secretly installed video cameras inside massage rooms at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in early 2019. The court then blocked use of the video footage at trial.

The recordings, which have not been made public, are the only known evidence the men paid for sex.

Prosecutors decided this week not to appeal that decision to the Florida Supreme Court, saying a loss there could have “broader, negative implications” on future law enforcement investigations beyond the Kraft case.

Kraft’s attorneys have already filed a motion asking that the recordings be destroyed so they could never be released to the public. They said Kraft might be willing to pay the state’s costs if anyone challenges a destruction order.

Kraft, 79, could still face suspension or other punishment from the National Football League.

He and the others were charged in February 2019 in a multicounty investigation of massage parlors that included the secret installation of video cameras in the spas’ lobbies and rooms. Police say the recordings show Kraft and other men engaging in sex acts with women and paying them.

Police say they recorded Kraft paying for sex acts at the Orchids of Asia spa on consecutive days in January 2019. Kraft, a widower, pleaded not guilty but issued a public apology for his actions.

A county court judge originally threw out the recordings, saying the warrant allowing the cameras’ installation didn’t sufficiently protect the privacy of innocent customers who received legal massages. The 4th District agreed, ruling that planting video cameras in private spaces is an “extreme” measure that should only be used when absolutely necessary.

“To permit otherwise would yield unbridled discretion to agents of law enforcement and the government, the antithesis of the constitutional liberty of people to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures,” the court ruled.

Prosecutors argued that they needed the recordings to convict the Orchids of Asia owners of felonies, including possible human trafficking — though no one was charged with that crime. The owners must be shown receiving payments from the prostitutes and the only way to get that is to install cameras, prosecutors said.

More from Charles Robinson of YahooSports.com:

Can the NFL and Roger Goodell discipline Robert Kraft?

So, where does that leave the NFL and Goodell’s promise that the personal conduct policy would apply to everyone? What options are left? And how far does the league want to take this?

It leaves the NFL needing significant witness cooperation to continue a personal conduct probe. Essentially, there are no other options beyond Kraft interviewing with investigators and declaring his guilt. And the NFL faces a road with some aggressive territory to continue forward.

That’s bleak, and it runs headlong into the teeth of Goodell’s statement about making a conduct judgment “after we get all the facts and have all the information.”

Without a tape, NFL investigators can attain new facts and information in one of three ways.

They can seek an audience with Kraft directly and finesse an admission, which is extremely unlikely. They can attempt to interview the prosecutors who just had their lunch handed to them by Kraft’s lawyers and who are likely to distance themselves as far as possible from the botched case. Or NFL investigators can head to Florida and attempt to find witnesses from inside the day spa, in hopes they would go on the record against the Patriots owner.

That’s basically the Holy Trinity of dicey maneuvers.

Of course, it doesn’t mean NFL investigators won’t take one or all of those paths. Particularly, they could pursue them given the multiple times the Patriots have run afoul of league rules over the past two decades. There’s no telling when Goodell and his investigators will go the extra mile just to make a point about the Patriots. Maybe that would have happened if this wasn’t a pandemic season, which delivered more than enough issues for the league office to deal with as it is.

But these aren’t normal times, and Kraft’s case was anything but a run-of-the-mill trove of irrefutable proof. If it was, he’d be headed for a courtroom in the coming weeks or months, rather than on his merry way — having shut down his legal case, federal prosecutors and virtually any hope the NFL had of making its personal conduct case.