Breaking News: Mike Shanahan Agrees To Five-Year Deal With Washington Redskins

Two-time Super Bowl champion head coach Mike Shanahan has agreed to a five-year contract to become the next head coach as well as the executive vice president of football operations of the Washington Redskins.

Shanahan will share front office duties with new executive vice president and general manager Bruce Allen, however Shanahan will have the final say on all football decisions and will be introduced at a 2 pm news conference Wednesday.

The Denver Post reported today that the deal is worth about $7 million per year.  Shanahan was aggressively pursued by team owner Daniel Snyder just hours after former coach Jim Zorn was released on Monday as the Redskins finished a 4-12 campaign in 2009, going 12-20 under Zorn.

Shanahan will become the seventh head coach since 1999 when Snyder bought the team and are 82-99 during his tenure, missing the playoffs in eight of the last 11 seasons.

Shanahan served as the Denver Broncos head coach for 14 seasons from 1995 to 2008, winning back-to-back Super Bowls and reaching the postseason seven times with an overall 138-86 record. 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

FOXSports.com: Ben Roethlisberger Will Not Play Against Baltimore Ravens

FOXSports.com NFL reporter Jay Glazer is reporting that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not play this Sunday in a critical division matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.

Second year quarterback Dennis Dixon will get the start in his place and according to team doctors, the two-time Super Bowl champion was experiencing “exercise-induced headaches” that have deemed him unable to start.

Roethlisberger was hit in the head on a scramble play last week during the Steelers’ overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and left the game after throwing for 398 yards and three touchdowns.

The NFL has come under fire for its handling of situations regarding concussions and has since launched a new initiative in dealing with players past and present who suffer from its symptoms.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

ESPN: Browns Trade Braylon Edwards To New York Jets

ESPN.com has confirmed that troubled Cleveland Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards has been dealt to the New York Jets.

In exchange, Cleveland will receive wide receiver Chansi Stuckey, linebacker Jason Trusnik and two draft picks.

Edwards, the third overall pick in the 2005 draft, had been dealing a number of off the field issues; most recently an incident when he punched a friend of Cleveland Cavaliers star forward LeBron James Monday night outside a nightclub.

The fifth-year veteran from Michigan has caught 10 passes for 139 yards this season for the winless Browns. In total, he’s compiled 238 catches for 3,697 yards and 28 touchdowns, but has faced criticism in Cleveland last season for the number of passes he dropped.

Edwards’ best season came in 2007 when he caught 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns. His presence in New York should give rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez the target he’s been looking for.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Alert: Lions Name Matthew Stafford Starting QB

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has informed his team that No. 1 overall pick Matthew Stafford will begin the 2009 season as the starting quarterback against New Orleans, beating out Daunte Culpepper.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Sources: Buffalo Bills Fire Offensive Coordinator Turk Schonert

In what has become a scary trend over the last month, the Buffalo Bills have fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert.

Schonert becomes the third coordinator fired this week as Chan Gailey (Chiefs) and Jeff Jagodzinski (Buccaneers) were let go within 72 hours of each other.

Quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt will take over and head coach Dick Jauron will address the situation later today.

Commissioner Goodell: Eagles QB Vick May Play Starting Week Three

According to NFL.com, commissioner Roger Goodell has officially ruled that Eagles quarterback Michael Vick will be fully reinstated into the league as of week three making him eligible to play against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Vick will get his first start against the New York Jets in Philadelphia’s final preseason tuneup later tonight.

The commissioner met with Vick earlier today in the NFL’s New York offices along with Eagles head coach Andy Reid and his mentor, former NFL head coach and current NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy.

Asked about his ruling, Goodell stated, “Ultimately, it was my decision,” as well as adding that Vick was “very realistic about the challenges ahead.”

FOXSports.com: Rex Ryan to Name Mark Sanchez Jets’ Starting QB

Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com has officially reported that Jets head coach Rex Ryan has informed his quarterback corps that rookie Mark Sanchez will begin the 2009 season as the starter.

Sanchez, the fifth overall pick out of Southern California in April’s draft, has completed 50 percent of his passes for 131 yards with one touchdown and one interception during the preseason.

Fourth-year veteran Kellen Clemens will serve as the backup.

Newsday: Plaxico Burress Pleads Guilty, Will Serve Two-Year Prison Term

The last time NFL fans saw Plaxico Burress in a pressure situation, he had just caught a 13-yard pass from Eli Manning in Super Bowl XLII, giving the New York Giants a 17-14 upset win over the New England Patriots.

File that memory away, because it could be the last time you ever see him on a football field.

Inside a New York City courthouse, Newsday sources have confirmed that the former Giants receiver has pled guilty to second-degree weapons charges stemming from a nightclub incident last winter, where he shot himself in the leg.

Burress will serve a two-year prison sentence.

The deal also includes a two-year probationary period.

Burress, 32, was cut by the Giants in April after being suspended for the rest of the 2008 season. 

Sentencing will take place on Sept. 22.

WCCO-TV: Brett Favre to Sign with Vikings Today

According to WCCO-TV and WDAM-TV in Minneapolis, quarterback Brett Favre has boarded a plane en route to St. Paul, MN, and according to those television stations, he will sign with the Minnesota Vikings today.

The news broke over ESPN just moments ago and comes one day after unnamed Vikings players said Favre would join the team by the end of training camp.

Favre, 40, was released by the New York Jets in May after signing with them 377 days ago.

Alert: Falcons’ Roddy White Ends Holdout, Signs Six-Year, $50M Deal

The Atlanta Falcons and Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White have agreed to a new contract extension, reportedly a six-year, $50 million deal through the 2015 season with $18 million guaranteed.

The contract makes White the second highest paid receiver in the NFL behind Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald making $10 million per season.

The re-signing of White ends a long holdout between him and the Falcons that began before training camp; White’s current contract expired after 2010 making him an unrestricted free agent.

A five-year veteran, White posted his second consecutive 1,000-yard season in 2008 with career highs in catches (88), yards (1382) and touchdowns (seven) with Offensive Rookie of the Year in quarterback Matt Ryan.

The signing of White to this new deal was doubly important as second-year receiver Harry Douglas, one of the Falcons’ rising stars, was injured with a torn ACL and is out for the season.

Atlanta had signed Marty Booker and Robert Ferguson in the offseason to compete with Brian Finneran for the backup roles as Michael Jenkins will fill the other starter position.

 

 

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