NFL roundup: Brees says coaches not speaking for fear of more punishment
Drew Brees told the Dan Patrick radio show that Saints coaches aren't appealing their bounty scandal suspensions because the NFL is holding further punishment over their heads.
Brees said he wasn't surprised head coach Sean Payton and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams haven't been heard from while all four players facing suspensions have publicly defended their innocence.
"I have pretty good knowledge and feel like I've been informed that a lot of those coaches feel like there are further sanctions that are being held over their heads if they don't quote-unquote cooperate with the investigation," Brees said. "Even though punishment has already been levied on the coaches and already been determined ... I think they feel if they speak out on behalf of the players, that's being held over their head."
Payton drew a one-year suspension without pay, which will result in a loss of approximately $8 million. Williams, who left the team to join Jeff Fisher as defensive coordinator of the Rams, is suspended indefinitely.
The NFL cited audio evidence against Hargrove that the player and other teammates claim is not actually Hargrove. It's just one of many examples the players have said exposes a flawed investigation that led to unjust suspensions.
"The facts that have been presented so far," Brees said, "do not match the punishment that has been levied."
Brees, an NFL players' union executive, said the NFL mistakenly rushed to judgment in punishing the players allegedly involved.
. ---Brees might soon bring sorely needed positive publicity to the Saints, hinting on ESPN Radio on Tuesday that only minute details are standing between the franchise quarterback and a long-term contract to stay in New Orleans.
"Why do contract negotiations take this long anyway," Brees said. "It should be a much more simple process than it is. Certainly, it comes down to certain provisions of the contract. There are little things here and there that take time to resolve."
--Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson promised from the time he tore his ACL in Washington on Christmas Eve that he'd be back in uniform for the start of the 2012 season.
Coach Leslie Frazier was a skeptic initially, but the third-year coach sounds as if he's come around to his All-Pro running back's way of thinking.
"I don't know if we'll put him on the practice field anytime soon when we get to (training camp in) Mankato," Frazier said in an ESPN Radio appearance "But everything indicates there's a very good chance he may be ready for that (season opener) Jacksonville game."
Frazier said the game -- about two-and-a-half months away -- is still too far out for the Vikings or Peterson to know exactly what will happen.
--A week after team management defended the character of its players, Detroit Lions cornerback Aaron Berry was arrested over the weekend after his car struck multiple parked vehicles.
It was the sixth arrest of a Lions' player this offseason.
Berry was arrested in the early morning hours Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, causing accidental damage to an unattended vehicle, failure to stop and provide information to law enforcement, according to ABC News. He was arrested at 4:45 a.m. in Harrisburg after a witness allegedly saw Berry exit his vehicle and walk away from the scene. The witness reported the incident to police.
