He put it off as long as he could, but Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas went under the knife Tuesday to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder, sidelining him for at least six to eight months.
Thomas suffered the torn labrum and a dislocated shoulder in the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers while tackling wide receiver Randall Cobb. Thomas returned to the game and played the entire Super Bowl with the injury.
Thomas has been one of the best safeties in the NFL since entering the league in 2010. Last year Thomas had another spectacular season, recording 97 tackles, three forced fumbles, one interception and six passes defended.
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Lynch wants to copyright signature Super Bowl phrase
Staying with the Seahawks for a moment, word got out Tuesday that running back Marshawn Lynch, though a man of few words, wouldn’t mind cashing in on the minuscule amount he manages to utter publicly. Lynch made news during the lead up to the Super Bowl by trying not to make any news, saying at one of his media sessions, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.”
The phrase instantly hit the public zeitgeist and now Lynch is looking to cash in the same way he did with the moniker “Beast Mode.”
Lynch filed for a copyright for the phrase last week at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Lynch already owns the phrase, “About that action BOSS,” as well as “Beast Mode” and the “B” logo for Beast Mode. He’s also waiting on a copyright for the phrase “Power Pellets.”
Seahawks will add more 12th men to CenturyLink Field in 2015
And finally, the Seahawks have announced they’re expanding CenturyLink Field by an additional 1,000 seats for the 2015 season. The new addition will be called the “Total Fan Deck” and will likely be an expensive locale, with padded seats, a partially-covered open-air viewing/gathering area and a fireplace.
CenturyLink Field is already known as the loudest stadium in the NFL. The Seahawks share it with the MLS Seattle Sounders.
Browns new logo same as the old logo
The Cleveland Browns announced changes to their team colors and logos Tuesday and, in a way only the Browns can, seemed to disappoint everyone. The new helmet color is basically a brighter orange version of the old helmet and, if it matters, they’ve removed the black border around their team name. The major change, if you can call it that, is a brown facemask replacing the white facemask of years past.
The Dawg Pound face also got an update, but no one outside of Cleveland will care.
These changes took the Browns two years to come up with. Yes, you read that right. Two years. The Browns will also unveil some updated uniforms on April 14 and will add a fourth color. Hold on to your hats when you hear what it is; metal gray. I hope you girded your loins for that.
Giants set Mathias Kiwanuka free
Mathias Kiwanuka has been a fixture with the New York Giants as a back up and starter for the last nine seasons, picking up two Super Bowl rings along the way, was released by the team Tuesday.
Kiwanuka has alternated between linebacker and defensive end for the Giants and was always solid if not spectacular. His production was down last season but he missed five games last year.
The move saves the Giants $4.825 million in salary cap space. A versitile and productive player that was always a good pass rusher with a nose for the ball, Kiwanuka should have no problem landing with another team, although at a low cap number, as long as he can pass a physical.
Arians and Keim get four-year extensions with Arizona
The negotiations took barely a week for the Arizona Cardinals to lock in their head coach and general manager for the next four seasons. The team announced late Monday that they had extended Bruce Arians and Steve Keim’s contracts through the end of the 2018 seasons with fifth-year options for 2019.
Arians is 21-11 in his two seasons with the Cardinals and led them to the playoffs this season in spite of losing both his starting quarterback and his back-up. Financial terms of the extensions have not been released.
