Visits to the White House are becoming old hat for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and cornerback Richard Sherman.
Two weeks removed from special invitation appearances at the White House correspondents’ dinner, Sherman presented President Obama with a blue flag bearing the “12” logo signifying the boisterous fans known in Seattle as the 12th Man, highlighting the Super Bowl champions’ visit at the East Room of the White House on Wednesday.
Sherman, outfitted in a navy blue suit and lavender bowtie, stood shoulder to shoulder with Wilson and his teammates as Obama, general manager John Schneider and team president Peter McLoughlin reached the stage.
Obama congratulated coach Pete Carroll for outstanding leadership, saying it is “pretty clear he does things the right way.”
—Injured incumbent starter Brian Hoyer returned to the practice field in a limited capacity as organized team activities began for the Cleveland Browns, but most of the attention was on the performance of first-round pick Johnny Manziel.
Hoyer, who made three starts last year before a season-ending ACL injury, is recovering ahead of schedule and took part in third-down installation. Coach Mike Pettine, who said Hoyer and Manziel are not “warm and fuzzy” with each other, instead embracing the competition at quarterback, saw some flashes of Manziel’s playmaking skill set but mostly uneven play from the rookie.
Pettine said there is no change in Hoyer since the Browns drafted Manziel, and that Hoyer saw it coming. As for his early impressions of Manziel off the field, Pettine said “he’s actually quiet. He’s a good guy to be around.”
—The Oakland Raiders announced Wednesday the signing of rookie quarterback Derek Carr. The four-year deal is worth $5.371 million, NFL.com reported.
Carr was the fourth quarterback selected in the 2014 NFL Draft and No. 36 overall, behind Blake Bortles by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnny Manziel by the Cleveland Browns and Teddy Bridgewater by the Minnesota Vikings.
Meanwhile, the Raiders added four other players to their roster, signing two seventh-round draft picks and an undrafted free agent. Cornerback T.J. Carrie, the 219th overall pick; safety Jonathan Dowling, No. 235; and defensive end Shelby Harris, No. 247, all agreed to terms.
—Former Buffalo Bills quarterback great Jim Kelly has finished his final round of chemotherapy to fight a recurrence of sinus cancer.
Kelly has four radiation treatments to go at Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo. He received the early part of his radiation and chemotherapy at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City before coming home to Western New York for the remainder of his treatments.
Kelly was originally diagnosed with oral cancer in June 2013. After the diagnosis, he underwent surgery to have part of his upper jaw removed. The surgery was considered a success and for over nine months, Kelly appeared to be cancer-free. The 54-year-old then found out in March that the cancer had returned, which led to the chemotherapy treatments that Kelly began on April 6.
—NFLPA president Eric Winston responded to commissioner Roger Goodell’s comments about lagging negotiations geared toward reaching a detailed testing agreement for Human Growth Hormone.
“Let me be clear: The players want HGH testing,” Winston said.
What players aren’t interested in, Winston said, is allowing Goodell to serve as judge, jury and executioner in the process. Winston said from the players’ perspective, a level playing field is coveted, but until Goodell cedes appeals control, Winston said the best description of current talks is “we’re stuck.”
—The Atlanta Falcons signed first-round pick Jake Matthews, an offensive tackle from Texas A&M, and second-round pick Ra’Shede Hageman, a defensive end from Minnesota, the team announced Wednesday.
Matthews was selected as the sixth overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played in 52 games with 46 straight starts at both right and left tackle at Texas A&M.
Hageman was the 37th overall pick. He appeared in 46 games at Minnesota, including starts in his final 26 games. Hageman finished his career with 91 tackles (57 solo), with 10 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.
—The Jacksonville Jaguars signed two 2014 draft picks, cornerback Aaron Colvin and defensive end Chris Smith, to four-year deals on Wednesday.
The Jaguars have now signed four of their nine draft picks.
Colvin, a fourth-round pick, was a four-year letterman at Oklahoma, where he started 36 games and totaled 234 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and five interceptions. Smith, a fifth-round pick, started the final 24 games of his career at Arkansas and finished with 21 1/2 career sacks and 30 1/2 tackles for loss.
—The Arizona Cardinals signed three more draft picks to four-year contracts, including fourth-round quarterback Logan Thomas from Virginia Tech, the team announced Wednesday.
The Cardinals also signed fifth-round defensive lineman Ed Stinson from Alabama and sixth-round wide receiver Walt Powell from Murray State.
Only safety Deone Bucannon, the team’s first-round pick, is unsigned.
—The Tennessee Titans signed quarterback Zach Mettenberger, a sixth-round pick out of LSU, to a four-year contract. Yhe Tennessean reported the deal is worth $2.22 million with a $125,116 signing bonus.
Mettenberger started his final two seasons at LSU. In his senior year, he ranked fourth nationally in passing efficiency (171.4), while throwing for 3,082 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Tigers. For his LSU career, he tallied 5,783 passing yards and 35 touchdowns in 20 games. Mettenberger, who was the 10th quarterback drafted, is returning from last year’s torn ACL. He was able to throw at the team’s rookie minicamp last weekend but is not 100 percent.
—Safety Antone Exum, a sixth-round selection in the 2014 NFL Draft, signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
Exum played in just three games last season due to injuries. He started 35 of 44 games during his collegiate career at Virginia Tech and was a second-team All-ACC selection in 2012, posting a career-high five interceptions.
—A successful tryout at rookie minicamp last week netted veteran linebacker Larry Grant a one-year contract with the Cleveland Browns.
The former Ohio State linebacker is entering his fifth season and played two games with the Chicago Bears last season. A seventh-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2008, Grant has appeared in 68 NFL games with the 49ers, Rams and Bears. He has totaled 64 tackles, five sacks, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
–Mark Davis charged in March the Raiders were giving Oakland a last chance to strike a stadium deal, and no progress was made in the 60 days since.
“I would probably say (negotiations are in) the 11th hour (now),” said Davis, the principal owner and managing partner of the franchise.
O.co Coliseum, built in 1966, is known to be on its last legs but will be the home of the Raiders for the 2014 season.