NFL-National Football League roundup

Feb 1 (The Sports Xchange) - The NFL will expand "Thursday Night Football" in 2016 and 2017, continuing its partnership with CBS while also adding NBC to the package. Both CBS and NBC will broadcast five Thursday night games, growing the package to 10 broadcast games in 2016 and 2017 from eight in 2014 and 2015. All TNF broadcast games will continue to be simulcast on NFL Network. - - Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Tuck announced his retirement from the NFL after 11 season. Tuck, 32, played nine seasons with the New York Giants and two with the Oakland Raiders. He won two Super Bowl rings with New York. - - A Denver Broncos' team bus was involved in a minor traffic accident on Monday. A Broncos' spokesman released a statement saying nobody was injured. Further details weren't immediately available. Denver is practicing at nearby Stanford for its Super Bowl 50 contest against the Carolina Panthers. The team had just concluded its workout prior to the crash. - - The Pro Bowl ratings continue to decline despite the NFL revising the format and trying to get more fans interested in the game held a week before the Super Bowl. According to Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal, the Pro Bowl drew a 5.0 overnight rating on ESPN -- likely the lowest ever. - - Running back Eddie Lacy is considering multiple measures to drop 30 pounds at the request of the Green Bay Packers. NFL Network reported Monday that Lacy is considering offers from fitness programs, such as P90X, and even a special camp focused on weight loss in hopes of meeting the demands of his employer. - - The Arizona Cardinals re-signed tight end Darren Fells to a one-year contract and signed cornerback Shaun Prater to a future contract for the 2016 season. - - Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver Dez Bryant "would love to see Greg Hardy back" with the team next season. The Cowboys have to decide if they want to re-sign Hardy only a year after the defensive end was released by the Carolina Panthers due to his troubles with the law off the field. - - Former Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle was arrested early Monday morning on a speeding charge after showing up at the home of his former girlfriend in Irving, Texas. According to police, Randle showed up at the home hoping to get some sleep before driving back to Kansas, where he is from, but residents turned him away and called police. - - NFL Players Association president Eric Winston has decided to donate his own brain for NFL concussion research after he dies. The 32-year-old Winston has played 10 NFL seasons with four NFL teams and is currently a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. Concussion research efforts have increased in recent years as doctors try to understand CTE, which stands for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. - - The San Francisco 49ers named Roy Anderson as the team's assistant defensive backs coach on Monday. Anderson, 35, spent the previous four seasons as the secondary coach with the Indianapolis Colts. - - The NFL's top official does not anticipate a major overhaul to the catch rule but admits there could be "another tweak." A newly formed catch rule committee announced in December was pushed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to explore possible changes. (Editing by Frank Pingue)