| Advertisement |
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly had his gallbladder removed, his daughter Erin Kelly-Bean posted on social media. She offered no additional details of the procedure for her father, who has battled head and neck cancer in recent years. She did note that her mother, Jill, has been in the hospital since Wednesday battling pneumonia.
Advertisement
Kelly-Bean posted a photo of her parents hugging on Instagram with the following caption:
"In sickness and in health... Truthfully I'm not sure where to even begin... My mom has been in the hospital since Wednesday battling horrible pneumonia. And within 24 hours my dad was in the room next to her after having to get his gallbladder removed. Although I don't understand... I'm choosing to trust God and cling to Him... the Healer!!!! Our family would love for you to surround us in prayer!!! Thank you! #KellyTough
Kelly was at the Super Bowl last week to help raise awareness and money for cancer patient organizations.
The 57-year-old Kelly first began battling cancer in his jaw in 2013 and had a recurrence in 2014. Kelly led the Bills to four straight Super Bowl appearances. He retired after the 1996 season.
--The Buffalo Bills raided Alabama's coaching staff once again, adding Shea Tierney as an assistant, according to a published report.
The Bills hired Tierney to be an offensive assistant, AL.com reported. Tierney is the third Alabama coach to join Buffalo's staff in the past month.
Brian Daboll left the Crimson Tide to take over as offensive coordinator with the Bills. William Vlachos joined him as an offensive assistant.
Tierney spent the past two seasons with reigning national champion Alabama. Prior to joining the Crimson Tide, he was on the staff of the Philadelphia Eagles for four seasons.
--The New York Giants turned to Minnesota to land their new head coach, but they were rebuffed by the Vikings in their search for an offensive coordinator.
Minnesota denied a request by the Giants to interview Vikings quarterbacks coach Kevin Stefanski for their offensive coordinator opening, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported.
The move by the Vikings comes as a bit of a surprise. On Friday, Minnesota named John DeFilippo as its offensive coordinator, replacing Pat Shurmur, who was hired by New York as its new head coach late last month.
Stefanski was among the candidates who had interviewed for the offensive coordinator post with Minnesota before DeFilippo got the job.
--The New York Giants waived offensive tackle Bobby Hart from injured reserve, according to the NFL's official transaction wire.
The team placed Hart on injured reserve with an injury designation on Dec. 30, meaning he couldn't clear waivers until after Super Bowl LII.
Hart appeared in 10 games with the Giants this past season, although multiple outlets reported that he told New York's coaching staff that he wasn't going to play prior to the team's regular-season finale against the Washington Redskins.
--Mark Herzlich is set to become a free agent next month, but the versatile linebacker has made it clear that he'd like to remain with the New York Giants.
Herzlich, who signed a veteran minimum contract last offseason, has met with new Giants general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Pat Shurmur.
The 30-year-old has spent seven seasons with the Giants after being an undrafted free agent. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve prior to the 2017 campaign after being diagnosed with a stinger.
"I'm in no hurry to be going anywhere," Herzlich said, via NJ Advance Media on Saturday. "So we'll see how the next couple of months progress. If the Giants stay my home, which would be fantastic, then I feel like I'm in great hands. I've got great coaches and a great general manager and then obviously the Tisches and the Maras, whether I'm playing for the Giants or not, they're always family. It's a great place to be."
--New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels does not have any assurances that he'll become the team's next head coach, former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest said on NFL Network.
McGinest said McDaniels confirmed as much after the latter had a change of heart about accepting the vacant head coaching position of the Indianapolis Colts earlier in the week.
"Absolutely not," McDaniels reportedly said to McGinest, who also noted that there is "no handshake deal" between the 41-year-old and Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
McGinest said that McDaniels felt comfortable with the Patriots and that he was told he'd have stability as an assistant. He also has a home in Westwood, Mass.
--Pro Bowl fullback Roosevelt Nix signed a four-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team announced.
Nix, who had been slated to become a restricted free agent in March, is signed through the 2021 season.
The 25-year-old Nix initially signed with the Steelers in 2015 and made an impact this past season. He scored two touchdowns despite touching the ball just five times (three rushes for zero yards, two catches for six yards).
While limited primarily to being Le'Veon Bell's lead blocker on offense, Nix took part in 69.2 percent of the Steelers' special teams snaps.
--The Pittsburgh Steelers restructured the contracts of All-Pro guard David DeCastro and defensive end Stephon Tuitt to clear $13.26 million of salary cap space for this year, ESPN reported.
Citing a league source, the report said that DeCastro and Tuitt each agreed to the NFL's minimum base salary for a player of their tenure for 2018, which is $790,000. The rest of the money owed to them will be applied to signing bonuses. The reworked deals also convert their roster bonuses for this year into a signing bonus.
DeCastro's base salary drops from $3.79 million to $790,000. His roster bonus of $3.79 million turns into a signing bonus of $6.79 million, which creates $5.092 million of salary cap space for the team.
Tuitt's base salary goes from $3.5 million to $790,000. His roster bonus of $7.5 million turns into a signing bonus of $10.21 million, creating another $8.168 million in cap space.
--Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback William Gay accepted an invitation from Joe Biden to join the advisory council for the former vice president's foundation.
Gay's role within the Biden Foundation will be focused on ending sexual assault and violence against women, among other causes. As a member of the advisory council, Gay joins a prominent group of leaders, experts and advocates who have been selected to serve as ambassadors for the Biden Foundation.
Gay has been outspoken against domestic violence after losing his mother, Carolyn Hall, to murder by her boyfriend when he was 8 years old.
--The Philadelphia Eagles signed reserve tight end Billy Brown to a contract, the team announced.
Brown spent the 2017 season on the team's practice squad after reeling in eight receptions for 51 yards during the preseason.
The 6-foot-4, 241-pound Brown joins fellow tight ends Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Trey Burton and Joshua Perkins on the roster. While Ertz is the starter, Celek's future reportedly is in question with a $5 million cap hit and Burton is a free agent. Perkins was signed to a futures deal in January.
--Philadelphia Eagles rookie defensive back Sidney Jones fumbled his phone during the team's Super Bowl parade on Thursday.
With downtown Philadelphia resembling a sea of humanity, Jones likely reasoned that he saw his phone for the last time. Jones took to social media at 4:12 p.m. ET and announced he lost his phone. The 21-year-old posted that it was found 17 minutes later, as the group of 10 fans who discovered the lost phone took a photo with it and uploaded it to Jones' Instagram page.
"Guess who dropped their phone at the parade!!!! We will return it," the group wrote on a caption for a selfie posted on Jones' Instagram account.
Jones rewarded the fans with a group photo of his own, thus adding to the highlights of a memorable day in the City of Brotherly Love.
--Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt has been rather generous throughout his NFL career, and his charitable ways recently extended to Jefferson County, Ky.
Knight Middle School has to prioritize how it spends money to the point that its teams are wearing uniforms that are 10 to 15 years old, according to Lex18.com.
Athletic director Jesse Barnett heard about the J.J. Watt Foundation grant for school athletics, and an email from the Watt family followed with the promise of sending $11,000 to the school.
--Houston Texans running back D'Onta Foreman will have all charges from an arrest last year dismissed if he can stay out of trouble for the next three months.
Foreman's attorney, Chip Lewis, told the Houston Chronicle that his client pleaded no contest to one count of disorderly conduct -- a misdemeanor charge that will wiped off the books if the running back avoids legal issues for 90 days.
"Everybody's happy," Lewis told the newspaper. "They dismissed the cases and let him plea to the disorderly conduct charge. D'Onta is relieved. He's learned a great deal from this. You have to be very cognizant of what you do and who you do with it."
Foreman, who just completed his rookie season with the Texans, had initially been charged with possession of marijuana and unlawful carrying of a weapon -- both misdemeanors -- stemming from his arrest last July in Austin, Texas.
--Jim Garrett, a former NFL assistant, longtime scout and father of head coach Jason Garrett, died, the Dallas Cowboys announced. He was 87.
The elder Garrett was a scout for the Cowboys from 1987-2004, working with coaches Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and Bill Parcells. He was part of four Dallas Super Bowl teams, including three Super Bowl championships (1992, 1993 and 1995).
