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HENDERSON, Nev. — New Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is not taking part in organized team activities as he continues to recover from a broken left foot.
Coach Josh McDaniels said Thursday that Garoppolo could be held out until July when training camp begins.
McDaniels said Garoppolo is one of a number of players being held out of OTAs.
“We’re always going to err at this time of the year on being smart,” McDaniels said. “We don’t play a football game for 3 1/2 months, so try to rush (players) out there in May, it’s a poor decision.”
Garoppolo sustained the injury late last season, but said after signing with the Raiders in March that he wasn’t concerned about being available.
“You hate being in that situation,” Garoppolo said. “But once I got past that initial part, especially once we started to make a little bit of a run in the playoffs last year, I was getting ready to ramp up again and be ready. But things didn’t work out, and I’m glad with how things ended up.”
Adams fully backs Raiders
Las Vegas wide receiver Davante Adams spent 2 1/2 minutes answering the first media question posed to him Thursday in an effort to show he is fully on board for the Raiders.
Adams was quoted in The Ringer earlier this month appearing to question decisions made this offseason by the Raiders’ front office.
The most notable action by general manager Dave Ziegler and coach Josh McDaniels was signing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Adams said Thursday the article didn’t represent his feelings toward the team or its management.
Former Denver Broncos place kicker Brandon McManus watches his 49-yard field goal during the first half of a Jan. 1 game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo.
Jaguars sign McManus
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Brandon McManus in hopes of upgrading their special teams Thursday, two days after Denver dropped the veteran kicker and former team captain.
The Jaguars waived kicker Riley Patterson to make room on the 90-man roster for McManus, who had been scheduled to count nearly $5 million against Denver’s salary cap in 2023.
The 31-year-old McManus was the last holdover from the Broncos team that won Super Bowl 50. He finished his nine-year career with Denver as the second-leading scorer in team history (946 points). He connected on a franchise-most 42 field goals of 50 yards or longer in the regular season and the playoffs.
McManus made 223 of 274 field goals in the regular season while hitting 96.9% of his extra points. His combined field-goal percentage (82%) in the regular season and postseason is the second-best mark in team history behind Matt Prater (82.9%).
Steelers eye Ireland game
DUBLIN — The Pittsburgh Steelers have long-term plans to play a regular-season NFL game in Ireland, the team said Thursday during a visit to trumpet its long-standing ties with the Emerald Isle.
The Steelers touched down in Dublin days after the NFL gave the team marketing rights for Ireland and Northern Ireland, all part of the league’s aggressive push to expand its audience internationally.
“Our aspirations long term are to play a game in Ireland,” said Daniel Rooney, the team’s director of business development and strategy. “As we move through the process, we’ll be evaluating all options.”
Ireland has never hosted a regular-season NFL game, but the Steelers beat the Chicago Bears 30-17 in a preseason matchup at Croke Park in 1997.
Waller brings size, speed to Giants
Veteran tight end Darren Waller seemingly is fitting in well with the New York Giants.
Acquired in an offseason trade with the Raiders in March for a third-round draft pick, Waller has impressed his new teammates with his hard work and his approach. The Giants are hoping that he can regain the form he showed in 2019 and ’20 when he had two 1,000-yard seasons receiving and caught 12 touchdowns.
The Giants have not had a tight end like that since the days of Mark Bavaro in the 1980s and Jeremy Shockey in the early 2000s.
ARNETTE: Former NFL cornerback Damon Arnette pleaded not guilty and his lawyer filed a written challenge of allegations that Arnette displayed a handgun during an argument with Las Vegas Strip casino valets more than a year ago. Defense attorney Ross Goodman said Thursday that Arnette never brandished or pointed a gun in the January 2022 incident.
WILLIAMS: Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams, suspended for the first six games of the season, said he was unaware of the NFL gambling policy that he violated. Williams told reporters Thursday that the suspension hit him out of the blue.
PENALIZED: The New England Patriots have been docked two days of organized team activities for violating NFL rules about offseason practices. The penalties were first reported by ESPN. NBCSports.com reported that the violation was for holding a mandatory meeting that was required to be optional.