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With Browns games a noted exception, NFL preseason ratings took a hit this year. NFL preseason games averaged 2.35 million viewers across NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN and NFL Network, down 9% from last year (2.57M), but up 4% from 2016, when several games aired opposite the Summer Olympics (2.27M)... Outside of the Browns, preseason viewership largely declined. Of the 14 non-Browns games that can be compared to last year, only three* posted an increase in viewership. With Browns games excluded, preseason viewership fell 18 percent from last year (2.85M to 2.32M) — double the overall decline.

On the heels of a massive fight between fans during the Oakland Raiders second preseason game, an announcement was made about the future home of the Silver and Black. When it comes to fighting among fans, the new Las Vegas stadium will have none of it. The situation is being taken so seriously that the stadium will have a small jail and courtroom to "deal with unruly fans."

The National Football League announced Thursday that it will freeze its new policy requiring players to remain standing during the national anthem. The NFL said in a statement that it has been “working on a resolution to the anthem issue” with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), one week after the association filed a grievance against the league over its controversial anthem policy. “In order to allow this constructive dialogue to continue, we have come to a standstill agreement on the NFLPA’s grievance and on the NFL’s anthem policy,” the NFL's statement reads. “No new rules relating to the anthem will...

Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was reportedly arrested in San Diego on Thursday and is facing nine charges, including kidnapping with intent to commit rape and forcible rape. According to TMZ Sports, Winslow will be charged with two counts of kidnapping with intent to commit rape, two counts of forcible rape, two counts of residential burglary, one count of forcible sodomy, one count of forcible oral copulation and one count of indecent exposure. The San Diego County District Attorney's Office confirmed to TMZ that a warrant was issued for Winslow's arrest and that a complete list of charges...

The National Football League has done nothing to recover during the off season from it’s miserable popularity ratings that are now at the lowest ever. Rocked by the issues of players taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem, overly long games, and scandalous players, just 35 percent say they have a favorable view of “America’s sport.”

If you're still boycotting NFL games over player protests of the national anthem or the NFL owners' handling of Colin Kaepernick, it's time to put your feelings on ice for a few weeks.

The Sashi Brown era in Cleveland is over. Brown, who ran Cleveland’s personnel department the last two years, was fired this morning, according to ESPN.

“It’s bad for football,” Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden said on ESPN during postgame coverage. “There’s going to be some fines, there’s going be some stringent discipline. Let’s just hope a lot of these men are able to get up tomorrow morning and move on with life. Some of this stuff got out of hand tonight. It’s very disgusting and disturbing.” Yahoo Sports’ Pat Forde was blunt in his assessment of the game while giving credit to the MNF team for their critical coverage of the violence. It was, however, a good night for ESPN. Sean McDonough minced no...

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday wrote a letter to all 32 league owners regarding the protests that have taken place during the national anthem, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. In the letter, which Schefter shared on his Facebook page, Goodell wrote that the “current dispute over the National Anthem is threatening to erode the unifying power of our game, and is now dividing us, and our players, from many fans across the country.” Last year, former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat down and later took a knee during the playing of the national anthem as protest against racial injustice....

(CNN) -- The New Orleans Saints admitted Tuesday to paying bonuses for hits that would knock opposing players out of a game, vowing the practice won't be repeated. Saints Head Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis said they take "full responsibility" for the practice, which they said "happened under our watch." "These are serious violations, and we understand the negative impact it has had on our game," Loomis and Payton said in a statement issued Tuesday evening. "Both of us have made it clear within our organization that this will never happen again, and make that same promise...

Michael Vic has been signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.