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NFL says referees didn't get Mike Evans' autograph
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL says the two game officials seen interacting with Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans in the tunnel of Bank of America Stadium after the Buccaneers' 21-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday didn't ask for an autograph.
"After speaking with the individuals involved, we have confirmed that the postgame interaction between Jeff Lamberth, Tripp Sutter and Mike Evans did not involve a request by the game officials for an autograph," the league said in a statement Tuesday. "Both Lamberth and Sutter have been reminded of the importance of avoiding even the appearance of impropriety when interacting with players, coaches, and club staff on gameday -- including during the pregame and postgame time periods."
A reporter captured a video of Lamberth and Sutter approaching Evans as he made his way toward the locker room at the stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. There was a short, inaudible exchange between the game officials and Evans, before the four-time Pro Bowl wideout turns around and is handed a slip of paper. A second video appears to show Evans writing something as Lamberth stood next to him while Tampa Bay players walked past them to the locker room.
"I wasn't signing my autograph, I'll tell you that," Evans said after the Buccaneers' practice Tuesday in Tampa, Florida.
"I talk to a lot of officials. We're all human beings. He's a nice guy," the eight-time 1,000-yard receiver added. "We were just talking about golf. That's all we were talking about."
According to the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association, game officials are not allowed to "ask players, coaches or any other team personnel for autographs or memorabilia."
In addition, game officials are not allowed "to sell or trade NFL tickets for anything of greater value than the face value of the tickets" or "sell or trade for anything of value NFL merchandise, autographs or memorabilia."
The CBA goes on to stipulate that game officials may need to obtain player autographs or team merchandise or memorabilia for personal or charitable purposes, but said that such requests should be made through the officiating department and never to a player or team employee directly.
Veteran pass rushers help Ravens
BALTIMORE (AP) -- With Calais Campbell, Justin Houston and now Jason Pierre-Paul, Baltimore's pass rush certainly has a lot of experience.
It's pretty effective too.
The Ravens sacked Cleveland's Jacoby Brissett five times in a 23-20 victory Sunday. Two of those sacks were from the 33-year-old Houston, boosting his career total to 106. The 36-year-old Campbell also had one and forced a key fumble on the play.
"If you can put pressure on the quarterback and make the quarterback uncomfortable, that creates a lot of turnovers," Houston said. "It helps the game. It changes the game. So, any time you can get turnovers and change the momentum of the game, that's big."
After signing Pierre-Paul last month, the Ravens are one of two teams to have three defenders on their active roster with at least 90 career sacks. The other was the 1994 Green Bay Packers with Reggie White, Steve McMichael and Sean Jones.
Baltimore ranks sixth in the league with 20 sacks on the season. The Ravens are also tied for first with 14 takeaways. All of that has helped Baltimore's defense recover after allowing 28 fourth-quarter points in a loss to Miami in Week 2.
This is the Ravens' first season under new defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, and after a rough start -- particularly in the secondary -- the defense seems to be moving in the right direction. Houston already has four sacks, just a half-sack shy of the linebacker's total from all of last season. And he's done it despite missing three straight games before Sunday with a groin injury.
"Justin Houston came up big for us today," Campbell said after the win over Cleveland. "I thought he was the best player on the field when he was out there."
Campbell has three sacks, already doubling his total from last season. The 33-year-old Pierre-Paul has a sack as well since joining the team. When Campbell forced Brissett to fumble in the third quarter Sunday, the Ravens recovered at the Cleveland 25 and scored a touchdown soon thereafter.
Nashville domed stadium would seat 60K
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Titans' proposed domed stadium would seat approximately 60,000 people and cover 1.7 million square feet under renderings released Tuesday.
The renderings follow last week's announcement that the Titans had reached an agreement with the Nashville mayor for local funding. That final piece of $760 million in bonds still must be approved by the Metro Nashville Council and Metro Sports Authority.
The new stadium would cost $1.2 billion in public funding, including $500 million in state bonds, and is considered to be the largest public commitment for an NFL stadium to date.
The Titans had MANICA, an architecture firm based in Kansas City, design the renderings to help with site planning and cost estimates with help from Hastings, an architecture firm in Nashville. The team wants the new stadium to be a multi-purpose building to host events throughout the year.
Burke Nihill, the Titans' president and CEO, said they envision a stadium that makes Nashville proud and enhances the reputation of both Music City and Tennessee.