The New York Giants hired Dave Gettleman as their new general manager, the team announced Thursday.
A formal introduction will occur at a press conference on Friday. The 66-year-old Gettleman was general manager of the Carolina Panthers from 2013-16, a stint that included a Super Bowl appearance among three NFC South titles. Carolina was 40-23-1 on his watch before he was fired in July.
The Giants, who are suffering through a 2-13 season, tabbed a familiar face as well. Gettleman worked for the team from 1998-2012 before taking the Panthers’ GM job.
Gettleman was selected over three other candidates — interim GM Kevin Abrams, who has been assistant GM for the past 16 seasons; Giants vice president of player evaluation Marc Ross, and ESPN football analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL personnel executive.
Gettleman replaces Jerry Reese, who held the job for 11 seasons before being fired earlier this month.
–Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is expected to miss the first game of his five-year NFL career this weekend as the Houston Texans wrap up their season against the Indianapolis Colts, multiple outlets reported.
Hopkins sustained a calf injury during the Texans’ 34-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas. The 25-year-old has yet to practice on either Wednesday or Thursday this week, and Sunday’s game between the Texans (4-11) and Colts (3-12) holds little value in the standings.
Signed to a five-year, $81 million deal, Hopkins enters the final week of the season with a league-best 13 touchdown receptions to go along with 96 catches and 1,378 yards.
Hopkins has amassed 413 receptions, 5,865 receiving yards and 36 touchdowns in 79 career games since being selected by Houston with the 27th overall pick of the 2013 draft.
–The Tampa Police Department is investigating an incident after a vehicle registered to Buccaneers wide receiver DeSean Jackson was involved in a single-car crash on Christmas Eve, with a search of the Chevy Silverado turning up marijuana and hollow-point bullets.
Per the police report, officers responded to a crash near the International Mall on in Tampa, approximately three miles from the team facility. They found an abandoned Chevy Silverado that had left the road and crashed into a tree, with police finding 6.3 grams of marijuana and two .38 caliber hollow-point bullets, which are legal in Florida.
Possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor in the state of Florida and subject to a maximum fine of $1,000 and a year in jail. The vehicle was impounded.
Jackson responded to the scene after being contacted by authorities, telling police that he was not operating the vehicle at the time of the crash.
–The Canadian Football League officially cleared the path for former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel to play in the league next season.
CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie is set to approve a contract for Manziel if the former Cleveland Browns quarterback can reach a deal with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the league said.
While the CFL has opened the door, it is not immediately known if the Tiger-Cats are willing to let the 25-year-old Manziel walk into the room. A Heisman Trophy winner in 2012 and a first-round selection by Cleveland in 2014, Manziel was cut by the Browns in March 2016 after two seasons of inconsistent play and off-the-field distractions.
–Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is not interested in taking a pay cut to remain in Big D.
Scheduled to make $12.5 million next season, Bryant was asked if he would be willing to take less money to remain in Dallas.
In money matters, Bryant is set to count $16.5 million against the salary cap, per Spotrac.com. The Cowboys can free $8.5 million if they release him or $12 million if he is designated as a post-June 1 cut, with him counting $4 million against the cap in 2019. Bryant has gone a career-worst 22 regular-season games without a 100-yard performance.
–Cleveland Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters that he’s a man of his word.
With that said, someone soon will need to hand Jackson a warm towel — and perhaps some extremely hot soup — after the coach said that he would honor a vow he made one year ago. That vow was that if his team went 1-15 again, that people would find him “swimming in (Lake Erie).”
“I made that statement. I got to back it up,” said Jackson, who owns a 1-30 mark at the helm of the Browns.
Now, the winless Browns need to post their first win of the season in their finale versus the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-3) on Sunday just to reach 1-15. They haven’t won in the Steel City since 2003 when Tim Couch was their quarterback and Butch Davis was the head coach.