Tom Brady was in court in New York on Wednesday for a hearing in his case against the NFL and the four-game suspension handed down as a result of the Deflategate investigation.
While nothing was resolved in the case today, the proceedings did produce an awful courtroom sketch of Brady.
Vice Sports caught up with the artist, Jane Rosenberg, who was, according to Vice's Joseph Swide, "flustered" from the reaction to her drawing and remorseful.
“Tell Tom Brady, I'm sorry,” Rosenberg told Vice. “He's a very good-looking guy, and if I didn't make him look good enough, I'll try harder next time ... I'm working very quickly. Obviously I have a lot of pressure on me, and it's time pressure. It's lucky if I have a few minutes. So I'm just trying to grab onto something, just as quick as I can.”
When asked if there is more pressure with a celebrity, Rosenberg answered, “Yes, I do. I do feel more pressure. It's horrible. You hate that. Especially when they're good looking. That's the worst. I'd rather do famous terrorists or something."
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.If the United States is going to bid for the 2024 Olympics, that bid will come from Los Angeles.
After a hastily called meeting Wednesday, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said he was optimistic the USOC could work out a plan to make Los Angeles the bidder.
He said he hoped the decision would be official by the end of the month.
The news comes two weeks after the USOC dropped a Boston bid that was short on support. Los Angeles isn't showing any of those problems.
Mayor Eric Garcetti has said he'd have no problem signing the host city contract that the mayor in Boston refused to sign.
Los Angeles has hosted previous Olympics, in 1932 and 1984, and would enter a contest that already includes Rome, Paris, Budapest and Hamburg, Germany.
Here's the announcement from the USOC Board of Directors:
We continue to think that a U.S. bid for the 2024 Games can be successful,” said USOC chairman Larry Probst. “The board authorized CEO Scott Blackmun to work with Los Angeles to explore the viability of a potential bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We hope to finalize terms that benefit both the city of Los Angeles and the Olympic Movement in the United States so that we can submit a world-class bid to the IOC by its September 15 deadline.
Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo made what could go down as the catch of the year on a foul ball at Wrigley Field.
The play came in the sixth inning on a high foul ball hit by Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers with the ball sailing toward the stands. Rizzo jumped up on a rolled-up tarp, balanced himself on the wall, and made the catch leaning over on a ball that looked as if it would have landed in the second row.
Amazing catch!
But at the same time, the actual catching of the ball may be the least impressive part of this play, as there is a lot going on here. It starts with the run-up to the tarp and the wall. Rizzo actually takes his eye off the ball twice to prepare for the leap. While tracking a white ball against a dark sky sounds easy, it becomes a lot more difficult on the balls hit high if they are above the lights.
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Rizzo then manages to balance on the uneven tarp, and he finds the wall with one foot without even looking.
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After making the catch, Rizzo then somehow balanced on the back of a seat, turned, and fired the ball back to the infield to keep the runner from advancing.
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The play was initially ruled a "no catch" by the umpire as he felt Rizzo had caught the ball in the stands. But the umpires got together and talked about it and eventually overturned the call, with the runner advancing to second base because the ball did eventually go out of bounds after the catch.
Nick Kyrgios, the 20-year-old Australian who burst onto the scene when he upset Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon two years ago, has developed a reputation as being something of a bad boy on the professional tennis circuit.
Last night during the second set of the Montreal Masters, the court microphones caught Kyrgios talking some serious smack to his opponent, No. 5 ranked Stan Wawrinka, saying "Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend... sorry to tell you that, mate."
In case you aren't up to date on your pro tennis couples, Kyrgios is referring to Thanasi Kokkinakis, a 19-year-old Aussie tennis player and a close friend of Kyrgios. Wawrinka, who is 30 and recently divorced, is rumored to be dating 19-year-old Croatian tennis player Donna Vekic. That's some below-the-belt trash, Nick!
Wawrinka ended up retiring in the 3rd set, down 7-6, 3-6, 0-4. In the post-match interview, Kyrgios was put on the spot by the Fox Sports 1 commentator and asked about his words from the second set.
"He was getting pretty lippy at me," Kyrgios said. "I just said it."
Evidently not pleased with the whole situation, Wawrinka quickly took to Twitter and fired back at Kyrgios.
So disappointing to see a fellow athlete and colleague be so disrespectful in a way I could never even imagine.
After the initial report that New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith was "sucker punched" by a teammate and had his jaw broken, new details have emerged that make Smith look less and less blameless.
Certainly Enemkpali crossed the line with the punch, but the story behind the debt gives more background as to why the altercation occurred. Enemkpali was cut, and Jets head coach Todd Bowles said afterward "you don't walk up to another man and punch him in the face."
In the aftermath, however, along with the details about money he owed Enemkpali, sources are painting a picture that suggests Smith provoked the fight.
"It became about the fact that Geno wasn't necessarily apologetic, and being, in a way, remorseful about the money, when saying he was going to pay IK back. You know, he didn't, and he was rather smug about it. So these guys got into it earlier in camp about this money. My report says Geno put his finger in [Enemkpali's] face and told the guy, 'Well, you're not going to do anything about it.'"
Clark also said it wasn't the first time a situation arose between the two players, but the first incident ended with both players walking away. Clark reiterated on Twitter that while Smith didn't deserve to be punched, it also shouldn't be considered a "sucker punch":
I guess just knowing the story I felt people should know he wasn't sucker punched like an innocent by stander watching a fight. He was in 1
Smith "was up in (Enemkpali’s) face and pointed/touched his face," according to a source.
"Geno deserved it," another source said.
...
It’s unclear how matters escalated, but Smith’s finger-pointing in his teammate’s face was grounds for a punch, according to some.
"That’ll get a man hit every time, especially one that hasn’t earned respect," a source said.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, cornerback Darrelle Revis said he holds both players responsible, which was the original suggestion that perhaps Smith wasn't blameless in the incident.
As Clark said, Smith didn't deserve to be punched — and certainly not forced out for half of the season in what many consider a make-or-break year — but it sounds like he didn't act responsibly. Very few Jets players have come to his defense since the incident.
Smith reportedly has to undergo surgery on his jaw and is expected to miss six to 10 weeks. The Jets' 32-year-old backup quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, will start in his place and try to lead a revamped Jets squad.
"Scott was arrested, along with his younger brother, on July 30 after a traffic stop along Interstate 85 in the town of Homer. In the vehicle, police found 35.2 grams of marijuana and 10.9 grams of Schedule I drug MDMA, known as Molly. The charge on the MDMA carries a sentence of up to 15 years. The charge on the marijuana carries a sentence of up to 10 years, according to Georgia statutes."
Last week, TMZ leaked video of Scott taking full responsibility for the drugs in the car to a Banks County police officer. In the video, he asks police officers if his brother will also face felony drug charges now that he has fully confessed, and the officer says they may be dropped due to the full confession.
The Atlanta Hawks issued a statement saying they are aware of the arrest and would have no further comment at this time.
A spokesperson for the NBA Players' Association told Business Insider that "NBPA is fully supporting Mike and we are working with his lawyers. We're hopeful that this will be resolved in a favorable manner before the season starts."
No. 134-ranked Japanese tennis player Yoshihito Nishioka defeated No. 153-ranked Jared Donaldson in three sets in the second round of the Aptos Challenger tournament.
In the third set of his victory, the two engaged in a wild rally that ended with Nishioka hitting a ridiculous behind-the-back return up the sideline for the point.
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Nearly as good is Nishioka's reaction afterward:
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The announcer was equally stunned, too, saying, "Oh no... I mean... come on!"
Despite the Aptos Challenger being a little-known tournament, the shot has the tennis world buzzing:
In actual tennis playing news, Yoshihito Nishioka with arguably the shot of the year in all of tennis, on Donaldson. https://t.co/Q2mulfNQH2
Chelsea F.C., the defending Premier League champions, have gotten off to a rough start to the new season, first playing Swansea to an opening-match draw and now finding themselves in the middle of a scandal, dubbed Evagate by some, surrounding their female team doctor.
Eva Carneiro, has been demoted from her duties as Chelsea team doctor after she angered team manager Jose Mourinho for entering the field to tend to an injured player late in the match against Swansea. Carneiro will no longer attend games or training sessions and will not accompany the team when they stay in hotels prior to matches.
The incident occurred in the third minute of injury time, with the score tied 2-2 and Chelsea playing a man down with ten players. Chelsea's Eden Hazard was fouled hard on a counterattack.
Hazard went down hard and appeared to be injured. While replays did not show it, reports say the referee "beckoned to the bench" for somebody to come tend to Hazard. Carneiro and head physiotherapist Jon Fearne quickly entered the playing area and went to Hazard, who at least appeared to be in a great deal of pain.
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By entering the field to treat Hazard, the player was then required to leave the field until the referee deemed an appropriate time for him to return. This left Chelsea two players short in the closing minutes.
Mourinho was immediately incensed and could be seen screaming obscenities on the sideline. When Carneiro returned to the sideline, Mourinho was livid and berated both Carneiro and Fearne.
"I wasn't happy with my medical staff because even if you are a medical doctor or secretary on the bench, you have to understand the game," Mourinho told the media. "If you go to the pitch to assist a player, then you must be sure that a player has a serious problem. I was sure that Eden didn't have a serious problem. He had a knock and was very tired."
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However, according to One World Sports, Mourinho already had reservations about Carneiro's role with the team, and how she may have made players uncomfortable in the locker room, specifically because she is female.
"Mourinho is said to have held reservations about Carneiro's role within the first-team squad since at least last year. While there is no question about her professional abilities, the Portuguese coach was concerned that the dressing-room dynamic was affected by the presence of a female. According to a source, some players had expressed misgivings to the coaching staff about the setup, arguing that it forced them to alter their usual behavior in a team environment. Famous for his attention to detail, Mourinho has always sought to eliminate factors that might reduce his team's likelihood to win matches."
Complicating matters for Chelsea and Mourinho is how they dealt with Fearne, who not only tended to the player with Carneiro, but he was actually the first one to cross the line into the field of play. Fearne was not demoted, and it appears he has not been disciplined for his role.
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After the match, Carneiro posted a message to Facebook thanking the public for their support. According to David Hytner, this was viewed as a sign of disloyalty and "sealed her demotion."
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A statement from the Premier League Doctors’ Group supported Carneiro, saying "the medics were clearly summoned by the referees to attend to Hazard. Refusing to go would have breached the doctor’s duty to a patient," according to The Guardian.
The group went as far as to demand an apology from the team.
"The medical staff deserve a public apology, and I’m very disappointed that the club hasn’t come out and done something to support them; they were just doing their job," said the group in a statement.
So far, Chelsea is standing firm behind their decision to demote the doctor, but this scandal is not going away anytime soon. Soccer is already facing a concussion crisis for how they tend to injured players, and now it appears a doctor is being reprimanded for doing just that and being female may have played a role in the punishment.
We have reached out to Chelsea F.C. for comment and will update when we hear back.
Josh Anderson is a fifth-year, senior walk-on running back for the Notre Dame football team and was asked to model the team's new Shamrock Series uniform for the rest of the team. What he didn't know was that he was no longer a walk-on.
Anderson was actually asked to model the uniform to get him in front of the team. That's when head coach Brian Kelly announced that Anderson was being awarded a full scholarship. The team went nuts.
Here is the video:
This morning Josh Anderson knew he was going to reveal the 2015 Shamrock Series uniform to the team. This is what he didn't know.
Anderson has never appeared in a game for Notre Dame, but did serve as the running back for the scout team, the group tasked with running plays the opponent might use in the upcoming game.
Kelly explained the decision later (via ESPN.com):
"[Anderson is] a senior for us that has done everything we've asked over the last five years. He's taken more hits than any one of our backs. He's a scout-team player. He's done everything. He's a great student. Well-respected by all of his teammates and we had an available scholarship and as a senior he deserved it so I brought him out to announce the Under Armour uniforms and I had him instead of the big mannequin, I had him dressed in the Under Armour uniform. He didn't know he was getting a scholarship. So the guys were pretty charged up. He had the Under Armour -- I said: You know, this is a great model. Matter of fact, he's such a great model -- I said, Josh, take your helmet off -- he models everything that I think is right about a Notre Dame football player. At that time I announced he was gonna get a scholarship, and the guys were excited. It was a good moment."
According to Notre Dame, the value of a full scholarship is more than $64,000.
Here is a closer look at the new uniforms that will be worn against Boston College.
They also have the potential to create some pretty cool images.
Strava, the popular fitness tracking app for runners and cyclists, tracked 140 million rides and runs from January 2014 to May 2015, and overlaid the results on Google Maps.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch used one of the images in a report out this week, which highlighted the growing popularity of athletic wear in the US.
That market has grown to $65 billion in 2015, according to the note.
Business Insider has pulled together a bunch more images from Strava. Scroll through some of the world's major cities, and how people run through them below.
Europe has the most Strava segments of anywhere in the world. Most of the running happens inside cities and population dense centers, while biking routes spread out from the areas.
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The United States' running and biking patterns correspond with population density.
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Manhattan resembles a computer chip. The most popular destination? Central Park.
Considering Jordan Spieth has already won two majors this year and Dustin Johnson has yet to win one, it is easy to see one golfer has enjoyed more success. But how they got there is pretty jarring.
Through the first round of the PGA Championship, Dustin Johnson is now a whopping 20-under in the opening rounds of the majors this year, four strokes better than Spieth. If we include the second rounds, Johnson is still ahead of Spieth, at 27-under before the cut in the four majors combined.
But things take a turn for the worse for Johnson on the weekends where he is 4-over in the third and fourth rounds combined. Meanwhile, Spieth has played 13-under on the weekends, 17 strokes better than Johnson, leading to the two wins and a fourth-place finish.
"These students have big dreams, and I'm happy to do everything I can to help them get there," James said at the announcement. "They're going to have to earn it, but I'm excited to see what these kids can accomplish knowing that college is in their futures.''
The scholarships will apply only to qualified students. Though the qualifications haven't been decided, according to Scarborough, there will be grade-point average, attendance, and other standards that students have to meet.
According to Paula Schleis of the Akron Beacon Journal, in each of the last four years, the LeBron James Foundation has selected about 300 third-graders to enter James' Wheels for Education program. When they enter middle school, they get transferred to the foundation’s Akron I PROMISE Network, where they remain through high school. About 1,100 of the kids currently in these programs will be eligible for the four-year scholarship, with about 1,200 additional kids expected to be added in the next four years.
Scarborough said UA will work on raising funds to cover tuition and general fees for the first group of students, who will graduate high school in 2021. If they fail to come up with the money, Scarborough said they will at least prioritize these students for their financial-aid program.
All in all, this adds up to quite a bit of money just for the 1,100 kids already in the programs:
"It means so much because, as a kid growing up in the inner city and a lot of African-American kids, you don't really think past high school. You don't really know your future. You hear high school all the time, and you graduate high school and then you never think past that because either it's not possible or your family's not financially stable to even be able to support a kid going to college.''
James famously skipped college and went right to the NBA. For thousands of kids in Akron, Ohio, who don't have once-in-a-generation athletic talent, James is helping open the door to greater opportunities.
To hear other golfers talk about Jordan Spieth it is clear that in addition to being one of the best, he is also one of the most liked players on the PGA Tour, and that is at least in part driven by his humility and humble nature.
This week, Spieth is going for his third major championship of the year at the PGA Championship, and we got a glimpse of that humility when he explained why he often uses the pronoun "we" to refer to his golf game.
Spieth was asked why he uses the word "we," and his answer makes it clear that he doesn't look at golf as an individual sport:
“I don't know. I just, I figure I have, Michael [Greller, his caddy] with me on the course. He's the one that's a part of each decision that we make as far as preparing for what we do. I have Cameron [McCormick, his coach]. I have my trainer Damon [Goddard], sports chiro, manager. Everybody gets stuff ready for us to play our best golf. I'm the one hitting the shots and hitting the putts and getting the credit, I guess, but at the same time I believe that this is a — we're a brand. We're a company. We're, this is, we're competing together all for the same goal. And I try to align myself with the best at what they do in the world, because then that will free me up. I won't have to worry about any other parts of my life on and off the course, and it seems to be working. We got a great team, and no one's been scared of the next level, and that's why we are where we are right now. So I believe that on and off the course it's not just me.”
Even in his answer, Spieth uses the word "we" to explain why he uses the word "we."
In other words, to Spieth, golf is very much a team sport, just as much as any other team sport, even if he is the one getting all the credit.
So, when James says the Cavaliers need to re-sign Tristan Thompson — the fifth-year power forward lingering in free agency — the Cavaliers are listening.
In an interview with ESPN's Brian Windhorst, James said he was happy with the Cavs' offseason, but bringing back Thompson remains their next order of business.
"Our No. 1 objective right now is to sign Tristan. He's a huge part of our team. Short term and long term he makes our team more dangerous ... Things need to be worked out from his side and the Cavs, but we need him back. I think our front office has done a great job this summer. The next step is to get Tristan done."
Windhorst reported earlier in August that six weeks after free agency hit, Thompson and the Cavs were in a contentious standoff over Thompson's next contract. Early in free agency, it was reported that Thompson was nearing a five-year, $80 million deal with the Cavs.
Reports then surfaced that Thompson was considering taking the qualifying offer — a one-year deal worth about $6.8 million — to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, when the Cavs could no longer match any offer he receives. His agent said if this is the option Thompson takes, it'll be his last season in Cleveland.
Tristan Thompson signing QO w/ #Cavs hasn't been decided yet, I'm told. But if he signs it, told it would be last season he plays as a Cav.
Now, with LeBron once again trumpeting Thompson's value (he did the same during the playoffs, saying Thompson should be a Cav "for life"), it puts pressure on the Cavaliers to bend to Thompson's demands.
Many in the NBA world feel that one of the conditions of LeBron's return to Cleveland was that they build around him as he sees fit. That means going after who LeBron wants and sparing no expense to build a contender around him.
Last season, the grouping of LeBron-Kyrie Irving-Kevin Love proved to be successful once they warmed up. When Thompson was added to that group, they were the second-best foursome in the NBA offensively and overall, outscoring the opposition by 21.0 points per 100 possessions when those four were on the court together.
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The Cavs, even if they gave Thompson an $80 million contract, averaging $16 million per season, are going to shoot into the luxury tax at near-historic levels. But LeBron — he who will continuously signs one-year contracts to increase his earning power and keep pressure on the front office — gives Cleveland's management the decision to pay the steep fees for a contender or risk angering LeBron by letting his buddy walk in free agency.
This doesn't mean the Cavs will give Thompson a max. contract, but with LeBron now speaking up twice about Thompson's value, it pushes both sides toward finding an agreeable long-term deal.
Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are the favorites to win this year's MVP awards, but if we want to know which players truly have the most value we need to consider more than dominant offensive numbers.
Using Fangraphs' Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for the past two seasons, which measures a player's overall value and puts all players on the same scale, WAR Value, which puts a dollar value on each Win in WAR (~$7.4 million per Win in 2014 and ~$8.0 million per Win in 2015), and 2015 salary, we get a true sense of which players are truly the most valuable to their teams.
Here are the top 25.
#25 Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
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Position: Third Baseman
2014-15 WAR: 7.6 Wins
2014-15 WAR Value: $59.1 million
2015 Salary: $3.5 million
One thing to know: The 2-time All-Star is on OBP machine, drawing 156 walks since the start of the 2014 season and upping his power this season with 17 home runs. The Cardinals have him under contract until 2020.
#24 Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
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Position: Catcher
2014-15 WAR: 11.2 Wins
2014-15 WAR Value: $86.7 million
2015 Salary: $16.5 million
One thing to know: One of the best all-around players in baseball, Posey is only this low because he has the highest salary on the list which hurts his overall value. He is in the third year of a 9-year, $167 million contract that seems like a steal at this point.
#23 Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics
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Position: Starting Pitcher
2014-15 WAR: 7.1 Wins
2014-15 WAR Value: $55.4 million
2015 Salary: $0.5 million
One thing to know: Gray leads the American League in ERA (2.06) and is making just a touch more than the MLB minimum ($500,000).
In the first season after Derek Jeter's retirement, the Yankees are marching towards their first playoff appearance since 2012.
The playoff runs harkens back to baseball's last great dynasty — the Yankees teams that won four World Series in five years starting in 1996, Jeter's first full season.
It was their first World Series in 18 years. In true Yankees fashion, the 1996 team was an eclectic mix of homegrown stars and hired guns.
Nearly two decades later, let's see where they are now.
Joe Girardi signed with the Yankees before the season and was their starting catcher.
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He is now in his eighth season as manager of the Yankees.
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Derek Jeter was in his first full season with the Yankees, hitting .314 and winning the Rookie of the Year Award. He made just $130,000 that year.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson signed a four-year, $39 million contract a year ago, but that doesn't keep him from returning to his family farm in tiny Riley, Kansas, every off-season and putting in a full day's work.
In an interview in the new issue of ESPN the Magazine, Nelson said he would work up to 12 hours a day on the farm, driving a combine to cut wheat or rounding up the 1,000-cow herd in the town whose population is 992.
"Working cattle is my favorite farm duty," Nelson told ESPN. He said he identifies "more as a farmer" than as a football player.
Nelson went on to say that in Riley he is "just the farm kid they have always known."
After starring as a quarterback at Riley High School, Nelson walked on at nearby Kansas State, where he ultimately moved to wide receiver.
Since being drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft, Nelson has caught 49 touchdown passes and was a Pro Bowler in 2014.
In an interview with The 700 Club this year, Nelson explained how life on the farm prepared him for the NFL.
The NFL's preseason schedule is underway, and the regular season is less than one month off.
After a wild offseason that saw tons of player movement, the doors have opened for several young players to break out and become stars.
In some cases, these are second-year players building on solid rookie seasons, in others they're three-, four-, and even five-year veterans finally getting their chances. There are even a few potential impact rookies, too!
Check out the future stars of all 32 NFL teams below.
Arizona Cardinals: Darren Fells, TE
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Age/Experience: 29, second season
One thing to know: Fells is still learning to play football after transitioning from basketball, but head coach Bruce Arians has already slotted him as a starter, saying it'll be tough to beat him out. At six-foot-seven, Fells looks like a matchup nightmare as a blocker and deadly red zone target.
Atlanta Falcons: Devonta Freeman, RB
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Age/Experience: 23, second season
One thing to know: Under a new coach and offensive coordinator, Freeman will get more carries and have the chance to become Atlanta's primary running back, especially now that Steven Jackson is gone.
Baltimore Ravens: Timmy Jernigan, DE
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Age/Experience: 22, second season
One thing to know: Despite missing five games in his rookie year, Jernigan still compiled four sacks and 23 tackles last year. With Haloti Ngata no longer in Baltimore, Jernigan will have a bigger role this season. He was blowing people away early on in camp.
