At first it looked like a wave of Covid-19 infections across the NFL.  Now, it looks like incompetent testing by a New Jersey lab.  Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com:

The NFL worked Sunday to assess a series of positive COVID-19 results that have all been traced to the same laboratory in New Jersey, raising concerns about the efficacy of the testing program established to minimize the spread of the disease.

“Saturday’s daily COVID testing returned several positive tests from each of the clubs serviced by the same laboratory in New Jersey,” the NFL said in a statement Sunday morning. “We are working with our testing partner, BioReference, to investigate these results, while the clubs work to confirm or rule out the positive tests.”

All told, the NFL is investigating 77 test results from a total of 11 teams, a source told ESPN. The league is rerunning each test with the original sample and hasn’t found any true positive cases. All 77 individuals also took point of care tests, all of which returned negative. NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills was slated to have a call Sunday night with team medical officials to share information and answer questions.

The Chicago Bears announced that they received nine positive results from their Saturday test regimen. All nine were determined to be false positive results, meaning none was an actual indication of infection. The Bears moved their morning practice to Sunday afternoon “out of an abundance of caution” while they sorted through the test results.

Best of Sunday at NFL training camps: Teams get physical; is the Pats’ QB competition over?

The Cleveland Browns said they received results that indicated multiple “presumptive positive” tests from players, coaches and support staff. However, upon retesting, the team found those to be false positives, “which is consistent with the irregularities across the league from multiple teams.” After earlier canceling practice and closing their facility, the Browns said they reopened the building to “resume football activities” Sunday.

Prior to the testing flap, this positivity from Dan Graziano:

I spent a good chunk of my week asking that question of players, coaches and other officials around the league, and here are four things I found out:

It seems to be going pretty well.

As of Thursday evening, there were only five players left on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list, which is not just for players who have tested positive but also those who have exhibited symptoms or come into contact with people who have tested positive or exhibited symptoms.

The players with whom I spoke said they feel safe at their team facilities and that they believe their teammates, coaches and other members of their organizations are taking the protocols seriously. Daily testing is an understandable annoyance, but it’s one they understand is necessary if they want to go to work. And while it makes some of them squeamish, there haven’t been any major issues regarding cooperation with testing or the contact-tracing devices the players and other team personnel have to wear while in the facilities.

The National Football League Players Association officials with whom I spoke said this matches the feedback they’ve been getting, and they believe having convinced the league to test daily is a big part of the comfort level. They’ve already extended the daily-testing window to Sept. 5 — it was originally supposed to last just the first two weeks of training camp unless positive test rates were over 5% — and multiple sources told me to expect the NFLPA to push for daily testing to be extended into the regular season as well.

The league and union will continue to monitor developments in the science around the virus, and there are a few who believe testing advancements such as the newly approved Yale saliva test could help make the league’s testing procedures even smoother and more effective. League officials said Wednesday that their emphasis would be on testing accuracy and efficiency, and as for the new saliva test itself, they will evaluate to see whether it can help, and likely implement it or something like it if it can.

Don’t expect to see many players wearing coronavirus-protection mouth shields.

Obviously I haven’t surveyed every player in the league or even close to that. But it doesn’t sound as though the veteran players are interested in wearing the Oakley mouth shields the league has provided for use with its helmets. Players were dubious about these back in June and July when they first came up, citing concerns about their potential effects on visibility and breathing, and the sense I get is that players aren’t keen on giving them a shot in practice.

One veteran player I asked about the mouth shields texted me, “Some of the rookies are using them lol.” Another said flatly, “Guys aren’t going to wear those things.” Players don’t generally take kindly to these kinds of changes. Remember a few years back, when the league tried to mandate hip and thigh pads and players got upset about those?

Even Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, admitted on a conference call Wednesday that the mouth shields haven’t been embraced to the extent that the league hoped. Sills said Oakley has gathered player feedback and is in the process of designing a version 2.0 of the mouth shields based on that feedback. But with no league-imposed mandate to wear them and a belief that the testing protocols are ensuring that all the players on the field are virus-free anyway, it’s unlikely they’ll gain popularity any time soon.

There’s a high level of confidence that the regular season will, at the very least, start on time.

Yes, this whole thing is potentially one individual’s bad decision away from unraveling. And yes, of course, the league is watching to see whether the positive test rate drifts upward now that players are actually on the field and practicing together. But the testing protocols allow teams to be certain that the players on the field don’t have the virus. And the first three to four weeks of training camp have convinced the league and its teams that they’re capable of reacting effectively to signs of COVID-19 and preventing it from spreading in their own facilities.

So, barring some sort of major outbreak or a significant worsening of conditions in the states and municipalities in which the NFL’s teams play, there’s optimism that the Thursday night opener between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs 20 days from now will be played as scheduled, with the rest of the league kicking off three and four days later. The question, of course, is what happens after that.

The regular season will offer new challenges.

While some teams have been able to maintain their own “bubbles,” the regular season will require them to travel to other cities to play games. And as extensive as the league’s travel protocols that went out to teams Wednesday are — with rules governing everything from seating layouts on buses and airplanes to procedures for entering and leaving the stadium on game day to how to order hotel room service — the movement of teams in and out of their protocol-protected bubbles will increase the risk of infection and transmission.

One of the great unanswered questions at this point is what happens if a team has some kind of outbreak on game day. The league is putting together an outside committee to advise commissioner Roger Goodell on issues such as when to cancel or postpone a game, but there’s no hard-and-fast guideline that says, “X number of positive tests on Saturday and/or Sunday means that team can’t play,” and there isn’t likely to be one.

The NFL is closely watching the way Major League Baseball is adjusting its schedule following positive tests. To this point, positive tests on the Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets have forced postponements of games. Baseball is able to make up a lot of those games with seven-inning doubleheaders, which won’t be an available option for the NFL. But it’s entirely possible that, on a given Sunday, one or more NFL games won’t be able to be played for COVID-19-related reasons. If that happens, those games would need to be postponed to later in the week, or moved back in the season to mutual bye weeks. If it happens enough, large chunks of the NFL schedule might need to be altered on the fly or even canceled. The possibility of some teams ending the season having played more games than others isn’t completely farfetched.

The league is going to have to be flexible. New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton brought up in a recent competition committee call the possibility of playing in an NBA-style “bubble” once the playoffs start, but it’s unclear at this point whether that’s possible, and the people I asked about it Wednesday and Thursday all said some variation of, “That’s too far away to even worry about right now.”

– – –

Meanwhile, Roger Goodell issues an apology to Colin Kaepernick.  ESPN.com:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said that he wishes “we had listened earlier” to what Colin Kaepernick was trying to bring attention to when he began kneeling for the national anthem in 2016.

Goodell was asked on former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho’s video series, “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,” what he would say in a public apology to Kaepernick.

Goodell responded by expressing remorse about the lack of dialogue with the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback, saying that the league would have benefited from a conversation with Kaepernick.

“We had invited him in several times to have the conversation, to have the dialogue,” Goodell said in the video posted Sunday. “I wish we had the benefit of that. We never did. And we would’ve benefited from that, absolutely.”

Goodell also said that players kneeling is “not about the flag” and that their intentions are being “mischaracterized.”

“These are not people who are unpatriotic. They’re not disloyal. They’re not against our military,” Goodell said. “In fact, many of those guys were in the military, and they’re a military family. And what they were trying to do is exercise their right to bring attention to something that needs to get fixed. And that misrepresentation of who they were and what they were doing was the thing that really gnawed at me.”

In June, Goodell and the NFL released a video apologizing on behalf of the league for not doing a better job of listening to players’ concerns about racial inequality. Goodell told Acho that he had hopes the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody in May made people realize what players were protesting and that he regrets that the league did not do a better job of supporting those protests.

“… That’s where we should have listened sooner,” Goodell said. “And that’s where we should have been in there with them, understanding and figuring out what we can do as the NFL.”

In an interview with Mike Greenberg for ESPN’s The Return of Sports special in June, Goodell said he supports and encourages teams to sign Kaepernick. The 32-year-old has not played since the 2016 season, when as a member of the 49ers, he kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality.

NFC NORTH

CHICAGO

RB DAVID MONTGOMERY is slimmer for 2020.  Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com:

Bears running back David Montgomery had the second-most rushing yards of any rookie in the NFL last season, but he also averaged the second-fewest yards per carry of any back with more than 200 attempts.

Montgomery said in June that he will be better this time around and part of his plan to boost his production was centered on nutrition. Montgomery has slimmed down since the end of his rookie season by cutting out junk food and focusing on lean proteins that he hopes will get him moving faster on the field this time around.

“I was a lot slower than I know I was capable of moving at and it affected the game,” Montgomery said, via the team website. “I kind of let myself get in the way of myself as far as what I ate last year. I didn’t really care. I was a rookie. I was just eating whatever, but now it’s definitely a main focal point in my everyday life. It’s just being sure I put the right things in my body so it can carry over to the field.”

The Bears still have Tarik Cohen and they’re giving Codarrelle Patterson a look at running back as well, but a strong start for Montgomery should keep him in the forefront of the team’s backfield plans.

NFC EAST

WASHINGTON

WR CODY LATIMER is a member of the WFT no more.  John Keim of ESPN.com:

The Washington Football Team cut receiver Cody Latimer, who was facing multiple felony charges after being arrested in May.

Latimer was arrested on May 16 after gunshots were reported at an apartment complex in Englewood, Colorado. Police allege Latimer threatened a friend with a gun and fired his weapon during a poker game. Latimer was facing eight charges, including four felonies — second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and two counts of menacing.

He had been scheduled to appear in court this past Thursday, but The Washington Post reported that his court date had been pushed to Sept. 10. He was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list on July 27, the day before Washington held its first full workout.

Multiple sources said all along they anticipated Latimer would be released, but the team wanted to let the league investigate the situation before making any final determination. Washington has a young receiving corps, but a week after Latimer was placed on the exempt list, the team signed veteran Dontrelle Inman, who could fill a similar role.

At a May 18 hearing, Latimer’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, told the court that he has been contacted by law enforcement concerning an investigation of a sexual assault of Latimer’s 4-year-old son that was allegedly perpetrated by one of the individuals at the poker game.

NFC SOUTH

TAMPA BAY

Did GM Jason Licht and staff hit 2^nd round gold?  NFL.com:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards is dealing with an eye infection that’s sensitive to light. Bruce Arians said he can’t miss too much practice because rookie second-round pick Antoine Winfield Jr. might well take his spot. While Edwards likely hasn’t seen Winfield’s impressive training camp performances, he’s “turned heads and made plays every single day,” NFL Network’s James Palmer reported Sunday on Inside Training Camp Live. Earlier in the week, Palmer reported Winfield’s versatility had been hugely impressive as he’s shown an ability to line up deep, in the slot, out wide and was going to get a look at returning punts. He’s also impressed with his listening ability. Thus, Winfield’s ears are open, just as much as he’s opening eyes.

NFC WEST

ARIZONA

Peter King weighs the chances of WR LARRY FITZGERALD surpassing Jerry Rice’s career receptions record:

I think I don’t love Larry Fitzgerald’s chances of catching Jerry Rice for the most receptions in NFL history. Fitzgerald has said the record is Rice’s, and he’s not chasing it. He enters this year 172 catches from breaking Rice’s career mark of 1,549 receptions. That’s 86 catches a year. Fitzgerald turns 37 next Monday. At 35, he caught 69 balls in Arizona. At 36, he caught 75 balls. DeAndre Hopkins joins the Cardinal receiver group this year. Do we really think in the next two years, Fitzgerald’s 17th and 18th seasons, he’s going to outshine Hopkins, or be his equal?

– – –

And this from NFL.com on QB KYLER MURRAY:

Kyler Murray is coming off a dynamic debut with the Cardinals in which he hauled in AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. There’s excitement simmering in the desert for his follow-up act. So far this summer he’s showcasing marked improvement with his “mental game,” NFL Network’s Jim Trotter reported Sunday on Inside Training Camp Live. Trotter was told Murray is “light years ahead of where he was” at this point last year as he’s been learning, reading defenses better and getting the ball out quicker. Big things are expected for Murray in Year 2.

SAN FRANCISCO

Something to keep an eye on – from Matt Maiocco of NBCBayArea.com:

@MaioccoNBCS

#49ers rookie WR Brandon Aiyuk left practice early with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. He pulled up on a deep route and grabbed back of his left leg. He’s been having a very impressive camp.

SEATTLE

Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com says the Seahawks are definitely in the market for a wide receiver:

The Seattle Seahawks are not done collecting wide receivers. I find it hard to believe they won’t be adding another veteran at some point.

Head coach Pete Carroll has been fairly outspoken about Antonio Brown and/or Josh Gordon being very viable options for them at the appropriate time — Brown is facing an eight-game suspension while Gordon is seeking reinstatement to the league — and consider quarterback Russell Wilson fully on board as well.

I had the chance to do a one-on-one Zoom interview with Wilson this week, and came away convinced the Seahawks are not done yet trying to go all-in to win another Super Bowl this season. While Wilson generally watches his words very closely, and is never one to rock the boat, I couldn’t help but come away from our conversation convinced that he’s also a little taken aback by the fact he has never received an MVP vote (“Maybe one day I’ll get one,” he quipped at one point).

And one also couldn’t help but think that Wilson has heard the pleas from oh so many in the analytics community to “Let Russ cook” more on early downs and early in games, when the Seahawks have tended be very conservative with the play calling.

Wilson was effusive in his praise of his current group of offensive weapons — tight end Greg Olsen might be in his final season but is earning rave reviews — but the QB was also animated by the prospect of adding Brown and/or Gordon to the mix.

“Josh came in with us last year,” Wilson told me, “and he had such an amazing energy in terms of how much he loves the game. I pray for him all the time. That’s my guy and hopefully he can play in the league again, because I know he’s a special, special person who has gone through a lot and he lost his brother last year. He had a pretty heavy year, and at the same time, some of the plays that he can make, man, he was one of the best receivers in the game. He was really catching fire with us early when we were able to get him the ball.

“And then Antonio, I was able to work out with him this offseason and he’s one of the best receivers of all time. So anytime you can get a guy like that, you are always interested in that, for sure. We want play-makers for sure. And the more play-makers you get, the harder it is [to defend].”

With the array of options to call on to catch the football possibly expanding even further, it’s fair to wonder whether the scope of Seattle’s offense might be as well. Might this finally be the time where the Seahawks come out chucking the ball, using the pass to further establish the run, and show a more dynamic approach to attacking opposing defenses? Will they let Russ cook more?

“It’s not just about me, it’s about all the weapons we have, too,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of great weapons, obviously, D.K. [Metcalf], Tyler [Lockett], Greg. Jacob Hollister had a great year last year. Chris Carson can catch. We’ve got a lot of players who can really play ball. [Will] Dissly had a great year last year until he got hurt.

“We were lighting up the scoreboard, and we were doing it in a lot of different ways. You know I went to Wisconsin, so I don’t mind handing it off. But at the same time I also think that it’s fun to have the ball in your hands and to make plays, to be honest with you.”

Wilson deserves serious MVP attention every year, and perhaps this year the voting will reflect his greatness. Over the past three seasons he has thrown 100 touchdown passes (15 more than anyone else in this span) to just 23 interceptions (tied with Tom Brady for first with a 1.5 interception %) yet is just eighth in passing attempts since 2017, behind guys like Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, Dak Prescott, Derek Carr and Philip Rivers. Wilson has proven to be worth at least 10 wins a season, and never misses a snap, while being one of the most elusive QBs in NFL history. Come on, Seahawks: Let Russ cook!

AFC WEST

KANSAS CITY

Peter King wants you to know to draft RB CLYDE EDWARDS-HELAIRE in your Fantasy Football league.

• Draft Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the first round of your fantasy draft. Believe me, you’ll thank me for that tip on the LSU rookie.

– – –

Two newsy things I saw at the two practices: a very heavy dose of Edwards-Helaire, who played with the sensational Joe Burrow at LSU last year and now fortunately upgrades to Mahomes. Edwards-Helaire will start and should be an impact player from day one. Also, the dangerous Tyreek Hill looked like he tweaked a groin muscle Thursday on a go route, sprinting for a deep pass. He went inside after that, and still wasn’t practicing Saturday. I hear he’ll be back this week and it’s not serious. But groin and hamstring tweaks are worries with a finely tuned athlete like Hill, so we’ll see how he responds. The Thursday night opener against Houston is 17 days away. This is why depth at receiver is so vital and why, honestly, the Chiefs were seriously considering drafting Alabama speedster Henry Ruggs in April if he plummeted in round one; instead, he went 12th overall to the Raiders. Gluttonous? Maybe. But for Reid and Veach, the idea that you can’t have enough speed is not a cliché.

Regarding Edwards-Helaire, check out the first four plays of 11-on-11 practice Wednesday:

• Mahomes handed to Edwards-Helaire, through the right guard-tackle hole.

• Mahomes handed to Edwards-Helaire, around left end.

• Mahomes handed to Edwards-Helaire, over right guard.

• Mahomes handed to Edwards-Helaire, over right tackle.

On Thursday, Edwards-Helaire was back in the same spotlight. First three snaps of an 11-on-11 period, all handoffs to him. He ran a wheel route out of the backfield, Mahomes threw it slightly behind him, and the kid caught it in stride, one-handed, and headed upfield like he’d done this a thousand times before. Built low to the ground, with powerful-looking legs, sort of like Hunt, Edwards-Helaire could not have been much more impressive in the two practices I saw.

Now, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that Reid’s going to use Edwards-Helaire as a rookie the same way Reid used Hunt as a rookie in 2017. Hunt touched it 325 times (remember his 246-yards-from-scrimmage demolition of the Patriots on opening night in Foxboro?) in that rookie season, winning the rushing title and becoming an instant threat in the passing game too. But this is practice, scripted from start to finish; maybe this is two days of getting timing down with Edwards-Helaire. But I doubt it’s just that. I say he’ll be a stud, a prime candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year. He appears a confident and sure runner who can make people miss, a better runner between the tackles than a 5-8, 209-pound guy should be, and a smooth and assured receiver. Veach told me: “He’s on pace to have a big year, to be our primary ballcarrier.”

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE

S EARL THOMAS is basically kicked off the team by his erstwhile teammates.

Peter King:

The facts: On Friday at Ravens practice, starting strong safety Chuck Clark and free safety Earl Thomas had to be separated by teammates and coaches, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. It lasted a while, and they kept trying to get at each other, and a helmet was thrown, and Clark was kicked out of practice with 10 minutes left. Now, training-camp fights are not that strange; they happen every week. I’ve seen a lot of them over the years. Can’t say I’ve seen many fights between two players from the same position group, never mind two starters at the interchangeable safety positions. In fact, I do not recall seeing two players from the same position get into it in camp. It’s potentially cancerous for two guys who have to sit in the same meetings every day. The Ravens, after considering it for the next 36 hours (and after consulting with the team’s veteran players council), fired Thomas on Sunday morning.

So in the span of 23 months, one of the best safeties of his era, a man who will one day get serious consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has been involved in three untoward incidents. After breaking his leg as a Seattle safety in 2018 in Dallas, he gave Seahawks coach Pete Carroll the finger as he left the field, apparently upset that the team wouldn’t give him a new contract. Last April, his wife was arrested for assault in Texas; TMZ reported she found Earl and his brother in bed with another woman and threatened to shoot Earl in the head. And now the altercation on the Ravens’ practice field with a fellow leader in the secondary.

A few things to know about the Thomas release:

• He was not well-liked by his teammates. He had a pattern of being late, and in a recent practice, he made multiple assignment errors, causing defensive teammates to confront him about his preparedness. He missed at least one walk-through with no valid excuse. When the incident at Friday’s practice happened, very few if any teammates came to his defense. Teammates backed Clark, the significantly lesser name.

• The money will hurt Baltimore—a $15-million cap charge this year and $10 million next year for Thomas to not play for them, unless they win a grievance to get some of the money back.

• The grievance process will be fascinating. The union represents Thomas, but also Chuck Clark—and also the rest of the Ravens who are not on Thomas’ side. What if more comes out about this dispute that shows Clark to clearly be the aggrieved victim, for instance? Can the NFLPA stand up for both Thomas and his apparent sworn enemy? This will be a fascinating case to follow.

For the Seahawks and Ravens to both cut ties with Thomas is notable in the first place. Seattle in noteworthy for looking the other way on problem players. Baltimore less so—but it’s notable that these two teams have been sniffing around problematic free-agent receiver Antonio Brown. In both places, if you can play, you can survive the messes you make. Without question, if this was a one-time event in Baltimore, it’s likely Ravens coach John Harbaugh and GM Eric DeCosta could have dismissed this as a heat-of-battle thing, moved on and made peace. The fact that Thomas got fired Sunday, when he’s still playing top-level safety and the Ravens are serious Super Bowl contenders, says everything you need to know: Thomas was a problem and the Ravens just got tired of it.

Finally, what do these four men have in common: Harbaugh, DeCosta, Carroll and Seattle GM John Schneider? They’re four people at the top of their professions. Schneider and DeCosta are top 10 NFL GMs, Harbaugh and Carroll top 10 NFL coaches. Answer: All four were part of decisions that ridded teams of Earl Thomas.

Could all four be wrong? Doubt it sincerely. Thomas is a great player, and he’ll likely get another chance, soon. (Dallas is interested, per Adam Schefter.) But Baltimore wanted Thomas gone so much that the Ravens were willing to take a disastrous $15-million cap hit by doing it now. Buyer beware with Thomas.

Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:

The Baltimore Ravens are abruptly parting ways with seven-time Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas two days after an on-field altercation with teammate Chuck Clark, the team announced.

The Ravens announced they had terminated Thomas’ contract for personal conduct that has adversely affected the team. The Ravens are expected to try to void his $10 million guaranteed salary this season. It is expected the safety will file a grievance.

Thomas posted on his Instagram story 21 minutes after the Ravens officially announced his release.

“Appreciate the Ravens organization for the opportunity,” he wrote. “Had a great run .. Wish things would have ended different but you live and you learn. Thank you [Ravens GM] Eric DeCosta and everyone else who played a role in bringing him to B-More. Wish you guys the best.”

Thomas, 31, was sent home Friday and has not returned to the Ravens’ facility since his on-field altercation with Clark. This was the second fiery exchange with a teammate for Thomas, who confronted nose tackle Brandon Williams after a loss to Cleveland 11 months ago. Thomas also missed or was late to several meetings throughout his 17 months in Baltimore, a source added.

The Dallas Cowboys are the leading contender to sign Thomas, sources told Schefter.

After Sunday’s practice, coach John Harbaugh refused to comment beyond the team’s 16-word tweet announcing Thomas’ release.

“I think the statement speaks for itself,” Harbaugh said. “There’s not much more to add to that. Just planning on leaving it at that, at this point.”

Harbaugh declined to discuss whether the players talked to him about Thomas and whether that impacted the release.

“No reason to,” Harbaugh said.

Did the players have any role in the team’s decision to part ways with Thomas?

“Like I said, I’m going to leave it at the statement,” he said.

Harbaugh was then asked whether he could talk about what Thomas gave the Ravens and what the team will miss with him gone.

“No, I’m good,” Harbaugh said. “We’re good moving forward. All eyes ahead.”

What next for Thomas?  CBSSports.com:

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Dallas Cowboys are the favorite to sign Thomas, while the San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans are teams to keep an eye on as well. The Cowboys were always considered the favorite to land Thomas when he was going through his breakup with the Seattle Seahawks. Dallas did go out and sign former Chicago Bears safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency, but Thomas would figure to be an instant upgrade in the secondary. Thomas’ price tag was always a hurdle when it came to a prospective move to Dallas, but now that he’s released, that may not be a problem for the Cowboys.

Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com looks at the legal issue as like ANTONIO BROWN and others before him, Thomas is likely to try to get his money.

The Ravens have released safety Earl Thomas. They have attributed the action to “personal conduct that has adversely affected” the team. They surely will refuse to pay his $10 million guaranteed salary for 2020. Thomas surely will file a grievance seeking the payment, which ultimately will be the difference between $10 million and whatever he earns elsewhere in 2020.

His contract, a copy of which PFT obtained on Saturday contains standard language (not player friendly or team friendly, just standard language) voiding guarantees in the event of a failure or refusal to report, practice or play, leaving the club with consent, suspension for conduct detrimental, or suspension by the league under league policies (Personal Conduct, substance abuse, PED).

Some will say that, because Thomas wasn’t actually suspended for conduct detrimental to the team, his guarantees were not voided. The Ravens, presumably acting with the advice of legal counsel and input from the league office, undoubtedly believe that the action taken — termination for conduct that adversely affected the team — wipes out the guarantees.

The answer possibly lies in the literal interpretation of the contract. In many cases involving the potential elimination of guarantees, the team voids the guarantees but keeps the player, retaining the ability to cut him later, for skill, injury, or cap reasons. In this case, the Ravens released Thomas for reasons not due to skill, injury, or cap but due to personal misconduct that adversely affected the team.

The contract makes clear the fact that the $10 million will be paid despite the fact that the team has released Thomas for skill, salary cap, or injury reasons. Here, the Ravens cut Thomas for a fourth reason, one not covered by the guarantee: Personal misconduct that adversely affected the team.

That’s how the grievance likely will play out. Thomas and the NFL Players Association will argue that Thomas is entitled to the $10 million guarantee, and the Ravens will argue that they cut him for a reason not covered by the guarantee. And if the Ravens can prove that they cut him because of personal misconduct that adversely affected the team and not due to skill, injury, or cap, Thomas will get nothing.

– – –

QB LAMAR JACKSON is missing some time with a mystery injury, believed to be a groin pull.  Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:

Baltimore Ravens quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson has missed the past two training camp practices because of a groin injury, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Jackson is slated to return to action on Monday, sources said.

After Sunday’s practice, coach John Harbaugh described Jackson’s injury as a “soft-tissue” one but wouldn’t expand beyond that.

“It’s training camp and we’re getting close to the season,” Harbaugh said. “We’re not talking about injuries too much.”

The Ravens open the regular season in three weeks, when they host the Cleveland Browns. Robert Griffin III has been filling in for Jackson over the past two days.

The Ravens initially gave another reason for Jackson’s absence when he surprisingly didn’t practice on Saturday. Assistant head coach David Culley said Jackson was getting a day off to rest his arm.

When asked Sunday if a tired arm classified as a soft-tissue injury, Harbaugh said, “No, I’m not getting into all that. You guys are sleuthing it out and playing Dick Tracy.”

Last season, Jackson became the second unanimous MVP after leading the league with 36 touchdown passes and setting the NFL mark for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,206. He became the first player in league history to produce more than 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in a single season.

Jackson was durable last season even though he ran the ball more than any quarterback in NFL history. He started 15 games before sitting out a meaningless season finale.

The Ravens are set to return to the practice field Monday morning.

Pro Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters also is dealing with a soft-tissue injury and has been sidelined the past two practices, Harbaugh said.

PITTSBURGH

A note from Peter King:

With his eighth coaching victory this year (or next, for that matter), Mike Tomlin will pass mentor Tony Dungy as the winningest African-American coach in NFL history.

Current tally (playoff games included):

Dungy: 148 wins in 13 seasons

Tomlin: 141 wins in 13 seasons

THIS AND THAT

LONGSHOTS FOR MVP

It would be easy to pick QBs PATRICK MAHOMES or LAMAR JACKSON as the 2020 MVP.  Bill Barnwell of ESPN.com has some guys he likes at longer odds.

For each award, I’ll pick three players who fit three different tiers of unlikeliness. Tier 1 will be a viable candidate who isn’t getting enough attention. Tier 2 will be a player (or coach) who would need an absolutely extraordinary season to win the award. Tier 3 is for the true long shots who would require a dominant campaign and some significant luck to even get the opportunity in 2020.

Most Valuable Player

Tier 1 long shot: Matthew Stafford, QB, Lions

Stafford has never been an MVP candidate and only has one Pro Bowl appearance across his 11-year career, but he was playing at that sort of level through the first half of 2019. His prorated numbers would have resulted in 4,998 passing yards and 38 touchdowns over a full season. If you stretch that a tiny bit further and look at the quarterbacks who have racked up 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a single season, that list includes six seasons, three of which were authored by MVPs.

One of the three that didn’t result in a MVP campaign belongs to … Stafford himself, when he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2011. The Lions were 10-6 that season, which shows how difficult it can be for even lofty numbers to produce an MVP vote. To get serious consideration, Stafford needs to keep those numbers up and, at the very least, win the NFC North. The final month of Detroit’s season includes high-profile home games against the Packers, Bucs and Vikings; if he sweeps those games, wins the division and ranks among the most productive quarterbacks in football, he has a chance here.

Tier 2 long shot: Jared Goff, QB, Rams

Last season was a course correction for Goff, who struggled mightily under pressure and posted his worst marks in most major passing categories under Sean McVay. I would expect Goff’s interception rate to improve after spiking to 2.6% a year ago. He also was unlucky with touchdowns; as Rich Hribar pointed out on Twitter, Goff had a league-high seven completions land on the opposition’s 1-yard line and then didn’t throw a touchdown on any of those subsequent drives.

Even without Todd Gurley and Brandin Cooks, Goff should still have some of the best weapons in football. If right tackle Rob Havenstein can return to his 2017-18 form after a disastrous 2019 campaign, the Rams also should do a better job of protecting their starter. You can take issue with his contract and/or suggest that they would be better with another quarterback under center, but that’s irrelevant for the purposes of this piece. Goff could be in line for a big season, and if that’s enough to win a crowded NFC West, that would push him right into MVP consideration.

Tier 3 long shot: Andy Dalton, QB, Cowboys

OK, let’s go for a real long shot here. It’s safer to pick a backup quarterback than it is to pick a non-quarterback to win this trophy, and if we’re looking at backups around the NFL, a few players stick out. John Wolford of the Rams is one. Guys such as Jameis Winston (Saints) and Nick Mullens (49ers) also come to mind if they were to get significant playing time.

The best candidate of the bunch, though, is Dalton. We’ve already seen his ceiling when he has help; the then-Bengals starter played at an MVP level in 2015, when he posted a passer rating of 106.2 and went 10-2 in his first 12 starts before going down with a broken thumb. The Cowboys have one of the best offensive lines in football, and Dallas was third in my weapons rankings. If Dalton was called upon, he would have plenty of help.

Of course, the Cowboys aren’t about to bench Dak Prescott. It would take a September injury to Prescott for Dalton to get the sort of playing time and record the sort of yardage he would need to be a serious MVP candidate. If that happens and Dalton goes something like 12-1 as the starter while playing the way he did with the Bengals in 2015, he is going to compete with Patrick Mahomes & Co. for MVP.

You can read his longshot candidates for other awards here.

LIKELY TO MISS THE PLAYOFFS

Even with expanded playoffs, some of last year’s 12 postseason teams are likely to be out.  Here is how the market sees it from Frank Schwab of YahooSports.com:

Most seasons, about half of the NFL teams that made the playoffs the previous year don’t make it back.

It’s a well-established trend. According to figures from The Comeback, from 1991 through 2019 an average of 5.6 teams missed the playoffs after making it the previous season. The league turns over fast.

Yet, 11 of the 12 teams who made the playoffs last season are favored to return to the postseason, according to BetMGM’s odds.

The math does change this season. The playoffs are expanding to 14 teams. Still, we can count on turnover. Here are the five most likely candidates to miss the playoffs, with the BetMGM odds for each team not making the playoffs this season:

5. (tie) Green Bay Packers (+125) and Minnesota Vikings (+110)

There’s not a ton of confidence in either NFC North playoff team to make it back to the playoffs. The Packers go from 13-3 to barely being favored to make the playoffs in a 14-team field. Nobody is sold on their offseason. The Vikings saw a lot of core players leave too. Of all the divisions, the NFC North seems to be the most wide open. You can make a reasonable case for any of the four teams winning it. Yes, even the Detroit Lions. Since we know we can count on about half of last season’s playoff field not making it back this season, we’ll lump the Packers and Vikings together. It seems unlikely both will be back.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (+165)

I’m pretty high on the Dallas Cowboys this season, and will pick them to win the NFC East. The Eagles will be right in the race, but a wild-card spot isn’t guaranteed even with the extra spot. Philadelphia hasn’t been great either of the past two seasons, and still has questions at receiver. A playoff spot is far from a lock. And remember, if a nearly 30-year trend holds, about half of last season’s playoff teams won’t make it back. Someone has to be on this list.

3. New England Patriots (+200)

It’s weird to put the Patriots here and it’ll be remembered by their fans when Bill Belichick somehow wins the AFC East again. But this is a much, much different team and not just because Cam Newton (or Jarrett Stidham) is replacing Tom Brady. The Patriots have lost a lot of talent on both sides of the ball due to free agency and coronavirus-related opt-outs. It’s really hard to go against Belichick and the Patriots’ dynasty, but we could look back and say we saw a mediocre season coming.

2. Tennessee Titans (+115)

The Titans seem like they have a stable base. But it’s also pretty easy to talk yourself into them taking a step back. Derrick Henry had a ton of touches last season and it’s hard to keep asking him to carry that load. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill was fantastic last season but that might not repeat. The Titans had a nice playoff run but were just 9-7 in the regular season, and needed a win over a Houston team that had nothing to play for and started AJ McCarron at quarterback to clinch a playoff berth. Without those playoff wins, the Titans might be the obvious No. 1 on this list. Instead, it’s another AFC South team.

1. Houston Texans (-182)

Not only are the Texans the lone 2019 playoff team that is an underdog to make it back, there are significant odds against them making it back. The debacle of the DeAndre Hopkins trade has resonated through the Texans’ offseason. Maybe it’s an overreaction, but the Texans find themselves in a competitive division and it makes sense why the odds are against them making it back to the postseason.

The BetMGM odds to not make the playoffs for the other six 2019 playoff teams: Baltimore Ravens +550, Buffalo Bills +145, Kansas City Chiefs +800, New Orleans Saints +310, San Francisco 49ers +270, Seattle Seahawks +115.