Peyton Manning was captured by NFL Films cameras telling New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick that this could be his “last rodeo.”
In the moments after the Broncos’ 20-18 win in the AFC Championship game, Manning and Belichick embraced on the field. Though Belichick’s comments weren’t picked up by NFL Films’ microphones, Manning’s words indicate the 39-year-old might have just one game left.
“Hey, listen, this might my last rodeo. So, it sure has been a pleasure,” Manning said.
Belichick told reporters after the game he wouldn’t share what he told Manning. Asked again Monday during the Patriots’ season-ending press conference, he said “Don’t have anything to share. I shared it with Peyton.”
—The Philadelphia Eagles reached agreement with tight end Brent Celek on a three-year, $13 million contract that includes $6 million guaranteed, according to a report.
The new deal extends through the 2018 season, ESPN reported. Celek’s current contract was set to expire after the 2016 season. Also this week, the Eagles came to terms with tight end Zach Ertz on a five-year, $42.5 million extension.
The 31-year-old Celek is considered one of the top blocking tight ends in the NFL but finished with 27 catches for 398 yards and three touchdowns last season. In nine years with the Eagles, Celek has 371 catches for 4,713 yards and 30 touchdowns in 143 regular-season games. The durable Celek has been a starter since 2009 and missed only one game during that period.
—Two Cincinnati Bengals players were added to the Pro Bowl roster, bringing the team’s total to eight ,as special teams standout Cedric Peerman and cornerback Adam Jones were selected for the first time in their careers.
The Bengals’ player total is one short of the franchise record of nine set during the 1988 season. This year’s game is set for 7 p.m. ET Sunday in Honolulu.
Peerman, who was named a first alternate in the Pro Bowl voting announced in December, takes the place of injured New England Patriots wide receiver Matthew Slater. Jones finished the 2015 season with three intereceptions despite missing two games because of injury and was involved in the meltdown near the end of the Bengals’ playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, drawing a penalty that set up the winning field goal. He replaces injured Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson.
—Kicker Josh Brown and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie were added to the Pro Bowl player pool, replacing New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski and cornerback Malcolm Butler.
Gostkowski and Butler opted out after New England’s loss to the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game.
Rodgers-Cromartie had three interceptions and 13 passes defensed in 2015 and was a Pro Bowl pick in 2010 with the Arizona Cardinals. Brown made 30 of 32 field goal attempts in 2015. This is the first Pro Bowl selection for the 13-year veteran.
—Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson remains undecided on his future, his agent said.
After the 2015 season, Johnson told several teammates that he was considering retirement because of football’s physical demands on his body. He has battled through ankle, finger and knee injuries the past few seasons.
Agent Bus Cook said there’s no timeline for Johnson to make a decision.
“Nothing to report,” Cook said at the Senior Bowl in Alabama. “Have to wait and see. He has to think about what he’s going to do and then go from there.”
Johnson led the Lions in 2015 with 88 receptions for 1,214 yards and nine touchdowns, raising his career totals to 731 catches for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns.
—Ticket prices ahead of Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers are at an all-time high.
The average resale price for a ticket on StubHub was $5,451, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Two lower club seats to the Feb. 7 game in Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., were purchased on Monday for approximately $28,000 per ticket.
Prices this week ranged from $3,320 to $12,100 on SeatGeek, which is more than $1,200 per ticket greater than last year’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots in Arizona and more than $2,900 more than the previous year’s matchup between the Broncos and the Seahawks at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
—New York Jets defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson pleaded guilty in court to a lesser charge and averted jail time after he was involved in a high-speed police chase in suburban St. Louis last summer.
Richardson was sentenced by two years of probation and community service by a St. Charles County (Mo.) judge on five misdemeanor charges. He was arrested in July after leading police on a chase in his 2014 Bentley Silver Spur that reached speeds on a freeway of up to 143 mph.
When police stopped the vehicle, they found a loaded semi-automatic handgun, a 12-year-old relative and two male passengers in the car. There was also a strong smell of marijuana. Richardson was not charged with gun or marijuana possession. If he makes it through the probation period, the charges will be expunged from his record.
The former Missouri standout was forced to sit out the first four games this past season after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Once Richardson returned, he played in 11 games and had five sacks among his 35 tackles.
—Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff employs his former boss with the New England Patriots in Scott Pioli, who carries the title of assistant general manager, and now Phil Emery, the former general manager of the Chicago Bears, is back with the Falcons.
Emery and former Titans general manager Ruston Webster were named national scouts with a focus on college scouting.