Receivers and defensive backs fight in Seattle

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 25, 2012, 8:21 PM EDT

AP

Temperatures are cooler in Seattle than in most of the cities with NFL teams having Organized Team Activities this week, but things are getting heated between the Seahawks’ wide receivers and defensive backs.

The Tacoma News Tribune reports that a skirmish broke out including several players in the two position groups.

It started when receiver Ben Obomanu and cornerback Jeremy Lane were tussling after the whistle blew on a play and had to be separated. Then safety Earl Thomas jumped in to help Lane, taking a swing at Obomanu. That led to receivers Doug Baldwinand Mike Williams jumping in to help Obomanu. (In the picture, wide receiverDeon Butler is pulling Thomas away from the fight.)

A few plays later, according to the News Tribune, safety DeShawn Shead “almost took Baldwin’s head off” on a pass over the middle.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he used the fight as an opportunity to talk to his players about competing hard without crossing the line.

“We’re asking these guys to work really hard, and it really matters to them and they really care,” Carroll said. “And they want to make their plays and their statements, and I don’t blame them one bit. But there is a line that you can cross, and that’s what we talked about afterward.”

And as much as Carroll likes competition, he draws the line at taking a swing at a teammate.

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Could this be Urlacher's final year in Chicago?

Posted by Mike Florio on May 25, 2012, 6:48 PM EDT

Getty Images

As Brian Urlacher prepares for his 13th NFL season, it also could be his final one with the Bears.

Urlacher, who turned 34 on Friday, celebrated his birthday by proclaiming in a radio interview that he may give free agency a whirl in 2013.

“I think [Bears president] Ted Phillips said when they had the owners meeting they’re gonna wait until the season is over, Urlacher said Friday on WMVP-AM 1000, via the Sports Xchange. “See what happens, how I play.  It’s kind of exciting.  I’ve never been a free agent.  So if I can get to free agency we’ll see what happens.

“I no doubt want to finish my career here.  There’s no doubt about that.  But you bring in free agency and all that you just never know what’s gonna happen.”

What’s going to happen, if Urlacher becomes a free agent, is that he’ll learn the veteran market for linebackers won’t support the $7.5 million base salary he’s due to earn from the Bears in 2012, especially as he closes in on his 35th birthday.  And when Urlacher realizes that a 35-year-old middle linebacker won’t attract the same interest as a 35-year-old franchise quarterback, he’ll likewise realize that the Bears will pay him more than anyone else.

That may be precisely what needs to happen before Urlacher feels as good as he can about the next contract the Bears will put on the table.

If, of course, the Bears decide to even do that.

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NFL adjusts rules for RG3

Posted by Mike Florio on May 25, 2012, 11:07 PM EDT

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Six years ago, running back Reggie Bushtried to persuade the league to adjust its jersey rules to allow him to wear No. 5 in the NFL.  The effort went nowhere.  And so Bush adopted No. 25, after finagling it from Fred McAfee.  (Bush now wears No. 22 in Miami.)

This year, the NFL quietly has adjusted its rules to permit the use of Roman numerals on the jersey of quarterback Robert Griffin III.

It should have been obvious 29 days ago, when Griffin held up a jersey that showed “Griffin III” on the nameplate.  But only recently has it been reported that the rules actually were changed to permit players to include “Jr.” and “III.”

Presumably, it also will allow a player with a son named after him to add “Sr.” to the back of his jersey.

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Finally exonerated, Brian Banks wants shot at NFL

Posted by Mike Florio on May 25, 2012, 9:52 PM EDT

AP

Convicted of rape and kidnapping in 2003, former California high school football star Brian Banks is now a free man after the victim recanted.  Banks told NBC’s Today on Friday that he wants a shot at pro football.

“I think that any team that gives me an opportunity would be really impressed with what I can do despite all of what I’ve been through these past 10 years,” Banks told Ann Curry of Today.

Banks pleaded no contest as part of a deal that put him in prison for six years; he was facing a maximum sentence of 41 years.  He remained on probation, wearing a monitoring device on his ankle at the Thursday hearing that wiped the convictions off his record.

Banks’ accuser, Wanetta Gibson, had previously expressed to Banks a desire to tell the truth, but she feared having to repay a $1.5 million settlement with the school district they attended.

Now 26, Banks was a linebacker in high school.  He had verbally committed to attend USC.

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