NFL Player News

New Browns coach Mike Pettine indicated Thursday that the quarterback of the future could be a quarterback of the present. He called Brian Hoyer a "winner" and added that his "intangibles are off the charts," per the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Hoyer started three games for Cleveland in 2013 and gave the team and town hope by throwing for 615 yards and five touchdowns. The Browns won all three games he started, but won just one more after a knee injury ended his season.

Jets quarterback Geno Smith said he has accepted an apology from Virgin Airlines for an incident last week that resulted in him being removed from a flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale - of course, before it took off. He added that he is looking forward to flying again with the airline.

The Jets will be in the market this offseason for an experienced quarterback with the capability of pushing Geno Smith for the starting job, ESPN has speculated. It remains to be seen whether that addition comes via trade or free agency.

Smith proved wholly inconsistent as a rookie in 2013. He completed just 56 percent of his passes for 3,046 yards, 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

The 49ers signed running back Jewel Hampton and quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson to reserve/futures contracts, reports CSNBayArea.com. Both were on the team's practice squad.

Under new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi, a protege of Saints coach Sean Payton, the Lions will be "more aggressive with a quarterback-driven scheme," reports MLive.com. "They will employ the no-huddle offense to put defenses in poor matchups, and Matthew Stafford could audible more at the line of scrimmage."

The Lions hope Stafford can become as efficient and consistent as the quarterback Lombardi used to coach, Drew Brees.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, who's recovering from ACL surgery, likes what he saw from the offense over the second half of the season. "The way that we were able to establish the run and get the running game going on offense, and then set up some of the play-action stuff," Bradford told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I felt like our younger guys really came along, especially towards the end.

"You look at what Sted (Stedman Bailey) was able to do. You know, his role increased as the season went along. I think Tavon (Austin) became more comfortable, obviously before his injury. And Zac (Stacy) played tremendous, not only running the football but being able to come in and handle all the protections and being able to hold up on third down. That's not easy. That's tough on a young guy.

"So I definitely think that this football team made some strides and got better as the year went along."

Bradford said there's no reason the Rams, who finished 7-9, can't make the playoffs in 2014.

"I think we're close," he said. "Like I said earlier, I think it's a matter of us being more consistent and playing to our fullest potential each week, and not having those drops where we don't perform that way some weeks. But you look at some of our wins this year, some of the teams that we beat. Beat New Orleans who was a playoff team. Beat Indy who was a playoff team.

"So it's not far off. I think everyone saw that we have the talent to compete and to play with anyone. It's just a matter of us just finishing a few more games."

New Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said Matthew Stafford, who's thrown at least 16 interceptions each of the past three seasons, is "not broken, that much is clear," reports Yahoo Sports. "There's an awful amount of talent there. His arm is something to behold. We used to sit in the Saints quarterback room and just marvel at his passes — all the depths, the whole field in play. He really can sling it. That's a great thing to have.

"I am not worried about Matthew," Lombardi added. "I am excited to be working with him, and we'll get started soon. I can't wait."

New head coach Jim Caldwell said earlier he planned to work on footwork and technique with Stafford, who tossed 12 interceptions over the final seven games this season.

New Lions coach Jim Caldwell will work on technique with quarterback Matthew Stafford, who tossed 11 interceptions in the final six games. “I’ve watched every throw Matthew made last season, because when I came here and met with him, I wanted to have some familiarity with him," Caldwell told SI.com.

"We didn’t go through film together, but we talked about what I saw, and I listened to him, and it was very beneficial. We have used a set of drills in coaching over the years that I think has added some consistency to all the quarterbacks we’ve coached. The great majority of poor throws -- people look at the arm, and that’s important obviously, but I think footwork is the key.

"I can pull up any game film and show you how our footwork drills help you. In a nutshell, the feet and eyes work together. If I’m throwing in a particular direction, my footwork is pointing in the same direction, directly at the target. We’ll work on it with Matthew, and he will do them flawlessly.”

Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson overcame a rough start in Sunday's NFC Championship victory over the 49ers.

WIlson was stripped and lost a fumble on the opening play of the game, which led to a San Francisco field goal. However, he came up big in the fourth quarter, as he threw a touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse, which gave the lead back to Seattle with 13:52 remaining in the game.

Aldon Smith jumped offside on a 4th-and-7, which gave WIlson a free play, and Wilson hooked up with Kearse, who made a leaping catch over Carlos Rogers in the end zone. It was Wilson's only touchdown pass of the night.

Wilson completed 16 of 25 passes for 215 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He was sacked four times and had five carries for no yards in a 23-17 win. Seattle will travel to MetLife Stadium for a clash against the Broncos in the Super Bowl.

Jets quarterack Geno Smith was removed from a planned flight from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale on Friday after supposedly refusing to remove his headphones, ESPN has reported. He was questioned by airport police at the gate, but was not arrested and no incident report was filed.

A source told ESPN that Smith could not hear a request to unplug all electronic devices. A flight attendant unplugged his headphones, threw them down, told Smith he was a "threat" and asked him to leave the plane. His conversation with police was at his request.