Ex-NFL player training for a comeback ... while in prison for vehicular manslaughter



Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III is reportedly training for an NFL comeback while behind bars in prison.

A former first-round draft pick in 2020, Ruggs pled guilty to one count of driving under the influence resulting in death and one count of vehicular manslaughter in 2021. Ruggs' accident led to the death of a 23-year-old-woman when he hit Tina Tintor with his Corvette, allegedly with alcohol in his system.

The plea deal, according to CBS Sports, resulted in 36 to 120 months for the first charge, a felony, and an additional six months for the second charge, a misdemeanor.

Ruggs will be eligible for parole in August 2026 and has reportedly been allotted time while in prison to work out for a potential return to the NFL.

Interestingly, the revelations have not come from Ruggs himself, but rather from Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs. The Pro Bowl rusher said he has stayed in touch with Ruggs since they were teammates in Alabama.

"I still talk to Henry. Henry still calls me. I still help him out. ... We're still connected. I know his whole family. He's from Alabama. He played with me at 'Bama. His momma and them taught me how to bowl. ... Keeping up with him and hearing him talk, it brings me spirits, because he's always positive," Jacobs explained.

Jacobs, 27, said that Ruggs has been training in prison and that he has been making calls in hopes of getting help to get in front of some teams upon his release.

"He's positive about everything. He's training. They let him train and things like that, so I'm like, 'When you come out, man, I don't know if you will get a chance.' I've been talking to some people for him. They've been saying a couple of teams are willing to give him a chance. I'm like, 'When you get that chance, man, you better not, ever, don't look back, and prove to yourself and prove to everybody that one decision don't define you and who you are as a man.'"

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs is advocating for Henry Ruggs' NFL return. Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images

'He's a good kid. He's never been in trouble. I've never seen him do nothing crazy.'

Jacobs attempted to paint Ruggs in a favorable light, as one would expect, describing the incarcerated player as the "breadwinner of the family" who has been changing his family's life.

"I had some words with some [of his family], and I'm just like, 'Man, y'all got to understand, like, he the breadwinner of the family. He the one changing all of y'all's lives. Everybody.'"

"And then not only that, he's a good kid. He's never been in trouble. I've never seen him do nothing crazy," Jacobs continued. "He was just one of them guys that have a very, very unfortunate situation and something happened, a decision that he made. That's what hurt me the most. Man, he isn't somebody you would look at and be like, 'Bro, you deserved this to happen to you.'"

Ruggs played for the Raiders in 2020 and 2021, recording 921 receiving yards with four touchdowns in 20 games. The 26-year-old also had 11 kick return attempts while with the team.

When Ruggs signed his rookie contract in 2020, he was making an average salary of $4.17 million, with a $9.68 million signing bonus.
His entire $16 million contract was guaranteed upon signing.

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Tom Brady has already contacted Bill Belichick about returning to the NFL to coach the Raiders



NFL legend Tom Brady has reportedly contacted his former NFL coach Bill Belichick about returning to the big leagues.

Brady and Belichick won six Super Bowls together with the New England Patriots before Brady moved on to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win another before retiring.

Belichick was recently let go by the Patriots and signed a five-year, $50 million contract to become the head coach of the University of North Carolina.

Brady has since become a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, and, as the NFL's Tom Pelissero reported, he has already reached out to Belichick.

Brady allegedly asked what it would take to make a reunion happen in Las Vegas, Pelissero claimed, citing inside sources.

The Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce this week after a 4-13 record in his only season with the team.

Brady apparently believes that the Raiders need a coach of Belichick's caliber to maintain a winning culture and implement a proper football program. The Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020.

'They haven't called me and asked, so I don't know.'

Multiple NFL teams have reportedly sent emissaries to Belichick. However, the legendary coach said on "The Pat McAfee Show" that his former team, the Patriots, wasn't one of them.

"I don't have too much of a comment on the Patriots situation," Belichick said about the team firing coach Jerod Mayo this week. "They have their decision-makers ... [but] I don't know from the outside looking in. They haven't called me and asked, so I don't know," he laughed.

Reports recently surfaced that claimed Belichick was pushed out of the Patriots organization after he became worn out from dealing with owners and a growing requirement to hand over control of the team. Belichick also allegedly was "disgusted" by the NFL's politics and became tired of watching owners become indifferent to whether or not he was there.

One source even claimed that Belichick was told he didn't deserve to be "empowered."

Belichick's contract with North Carolina included a $10 million buyout if he leaves before June 1, 2025. If he were to go back to the NFL, the incredibly quick turnaround would happen before he even coached a single game in the NCAA.

Somehow, Belichick managed to keep his contract details with the Patriots private over the years, but analysts have no doubt he could pay the UNC buyout on his own, if he so chose.

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'All the guys wanted me to do it': NFL players respond to Trump-dance publicity as league passes issue down to networks



NFL players will not be disciplined for doing Donald Trump-inspired celebrations, with multiple players saying they are simply trying to have fun.

After San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa was fined over $11,000 for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat for mere seconds during a postgame interview, he later did the Trump dance after a sack against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Many assumed this would lead to the league clamping down on the politically themed celebrations and making another example out of Bosa. However, the league later revealed that its guidance on the topic was actually no guidance at all.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said there is "no issue" with the dance by Bosa or any of the players in the last two weeks, Blaze News reported.

Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers was one of the first players to offer up an explanation for his dance moves after the fact. The 21-year-old told USA Today that he thought the dance would be a cool addition to his touchdown repertoire.

"I’ve seen everyone do it," Bowers explained. "I watched the UFC fight [Saturday] night, and Jon Jones did it."

"I like watching UFC, so I saw it and thought it was cool," he added.

Bosa, on the other hand, said that his teammates were the ones who pushed him into performing the on-field shimmy.

"All the guys wanted me to do it. I wasn't even going to do it, but the boys reminded me. And it was fun."

'It's up to the networks to cover them as they see fit.'

At the same time, Front Office Sports asked the NFL spokesman if the league had given any directives to television networks surrounding whether or not they should show the celebrations. The league seemingly pulled a Trumpian move of its own, pushing the decision to states (networks).

"It's up to the networks to cover them as they see fit," the league spokesman said of the dances.

Certain networks have been caught ignoring or outright clipping certain viewpoints. NBC in particular has has edited out remarks relating to Christianity and also entirely avoided the fact that Elon Musk was at an NFL game the network was airing. While this is certainly the network's own prerogative and freedom of choice, these decisions certainly have a much bigger downside when they are noticed.

Furthermore, the NFL's comments came after reporter Safid Deen said just days earlier that the Las Vegas Raiders' public relations team ended their question period after he asked Bowers about his Trump dance.

"Raiders PR ended his postgame availability after my question," Deen wrote on X.

Despite this, the team still posted a stand-alone video of Bowers doing the dance on social media.

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Editor Daily Rundown: The Steele Dossier’s Rumor Merchant Is Finally Headed To Court

Calling all Patriots!

Las Vegas Raiders mandate vaccines for home games, offer to jab fans in the parking lot before games — then they can enter with masks



The Las Vegas Raiders announced this week that fans will be required to provide proof of vaccination on their cellphones in order to attend home games, becoming the first team in the National Football League to implement such a mandate.

Furthermore, in one of the stranger addendums to a vaccine mandate policy yet, the organization offered to give unvaccinated fans a jab in the parking lot on their way in. Those fans then would be permitted entry but would need to wear a mask during the event.

In a news release issued Monday, the team said that fans will be required to display their vaccination using "CLEAR's free mobile app and Health Pass feature." The policy will go into effect ahead of the team's regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 13.

Further details regarding the mobile app program and the on-site vaccination initiative were scheduled to be outlined during a news conference Tuesday afternoon at Allegiant Stadium.

NEW: NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders will require attendees to provide proof of vaccination on their phone to enter the sta… https://t.co/VhvQN6ngRc

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The new rule was implemented in response to a state directive regarding large events issued by Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak. On Monday, Sisolak announced a health advisory change for large event organizers that allows them to host a mask-free event so long as everyone in attendance is vaccinated against the coronavirus.

"Health and safety has always been our number one priority," Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. "After consultation with Governor Sisolak and other community leaders, this policy ensures that we will be able to operate at full capacity without masks for fully vaccinated fans for the entire season."

In May, the Raiders announced a policy requiring all full-time staff in both the football and business operations to be fully vaccinated against the virus. Shortly after, Allegiant Stadium's management company, ASM, implemented a vaccine mandate for full-time staff, as well.

It remains to be seen if more NFL teams will follow in the Raiders' footsteps as the season approaches. Last year during the pandemic, fans were largely barred from attending games until later in the season when certain teams opened up stadiums with extremely limited capacity.

Vaccines have been a controversial subject since the start of training camp when the league announced stringent health protocols intended to make life more miserable for unvaccinated players as part of an effort to encourage vaccinations.

In response, several players — including Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Buffalo Bills slot receiver Cole Beasley — expressed outrage at the rules.