Houston
“Oakland was in the driver’s seat if they could’ve put together anything,” Davis said Wednesday at the NFL’s fall meetings, after updating his fellow owners on his desire to relocate to the gambling capital. “They came up with nothing.
“Las Vegas has already done what it is supposed to do and we have to bring it up to the National Football League and get permission to move to Las Vegas.”
Nevada lawmakers approved a deal last week that increases hotel taxes in the Las Vegas area to raise $750 million for a stadium and more than $400 million to expand and upgrade the Las Vegas Convention Center. Billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson is putting $650 million toward the project, while the Raiders and the NFL will kick in $500 million.
Commissioner Roger Goodell also said the NFL is looking into establishing a developmental league; re-examining the rules for on-field player celebrations; and reopening the labor agreement. He said the league is monitoring declining TV ratings, too.
Several owners insisted it’s far too early to reach any conclusions in the Raiders’ relocation issue, and none of them wanted to touch the relationship an NFL team might have with a casino mogul.
Goodell supported Davis’ assertion there has been no movement toward keeping the franchise in the Bay Area, saying “we have been working to see if there are alternatives and we don’t have one” in Oakland.
Any relocation needs approval from three-fourths of the 32 NFL owners. There’s also the potential for the Raiders to join the Rams in Los Angeles, where a new facility is being built; they would have that option should the Chargers, who have the first option, remain in San Diego, a decision that team must make by mid-January.
But those scenarios also have the possibility of being put on hold — the Chargers could request a delay, something the owners also would need to vote on.
Davis also said he believes having a new stadium ready in Las Vegas by 2019 “would be really quick.” He admitted the Raiders could play a preseason game as soon as next summer in the existing Sam Boyd Stadium, but that facility isn’t anywhere near up to NFL standards for regular-season games.
Besides, Davis plans to play the next two years in Oakland because the team has a lease with two one-year options there. He cited “stability” for the players and front office, insisting he doesn’t envision a “scorched earth policy” from the fans.
Florham Park, n.j.
At the NFL fall meetings in Houston on Wednesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson says it was coach Todd Bowles’ decision and he is “behind the coach 100 percent.”
The struggling Jets (1-5) have lost four straight games and Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown an NFL-leading 11 interceptions and just five touchdown passes during a brutal start.
New York
The requirement, announced Wednesday, is an enhancement made to prevent confusion that occurred in the season opener, when Carolina’s Cam Newton was allowed to return after getting hit in the head.
Under the league’s concussion protocol, the NFL’s athletic trainer wasn’t allowed to call a “medical timeout” after being contacted by personnel on the field. In Newton’s case, the team physician and an unaffiliated neurotrauma consultant asked the trainer for video of the hit, but a technology glitch delayed the video.
Orchard Park, n.y.
Coach Rex Ryan said McCoy was being evaluated by trainers. He didn’t have any details about how McCoy was hurt and didn’t know the severity of the injury.
The Bills (4-2) play at Miami on Sunday. McCoy had 140 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a 45-16 win against San Francisco on Sunday.