D6 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 , 2019
FROM NEWS SERVICESOdell Beckham Jr.’s custom-
ized, orange Rolls-Royce is run-
ning smoothly.
His engine has some issues.
The Browns’ new star wide
receiver is still slowed by a hip
injury that sidelined him in the
preseason but shouldn’t prevent
Beckham from making his highly
anticipated debut for Cleve-
land on Sunday against Tennes-
see.
The three-time Pro Bowl selec-
tion, whose arrival from the New
York Giants in a blockbuster
trade in March has made the
Browns a trendy Super Bowl
pick, said he hasn’t been able to
run as fast as he can.
The Browns kept Beckham out
of their four exhibition games to
manage the unspecified ailment.
He’s still not 100 percent.
“I’m confident in me,” he said
Thursday following practice. “I
remember one game I didn’t
practice the entire week, couldn’t
run even up to pregame because
of a hip pointer and swelling, and
I still went out there and played
over in London, taped it up, went
out there and just did what I can
to help the team, so I’m confident
in me.
“And you know, once you get
out there, it’s a different energy
that you have. It’s a different
adrenaline. I feel like nothing
will get in the way of that.”
Beckham was added to Cleve-
land’s injury list after not being
on it Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Beckham
didn’t give any specifics of his
injury but likened himself to a
car needing a tuneup. He has
dealt with leg injuries in the past,
playing in only 16 games the past
two seasons.
“It’s getting better,” Beckham
said. “It’s as good as it’s going to
be until the season starts. It’s
something that hopefully that
keeps progressing and gets bet-
ter and not worse.”
SAINTS: Quarterback Drew
Brees said he has been unfairly
and incorrectly portrayed as an-
ti-gay after recording a video
encouraging Christian students
to take their bibles to school.
The video was disseminated
by an organization called Focus
on the Family, which has promot-
ed policies widely viewed as
hostile to the LGBTQ communi-
ty. Brees said Thursday his only
intention was to encourage
Christian students to practice
their faith with confidence on
National Bring Your Bible to
School Day.
Brees says he was not aware
“at all” that Focus on the Family
was associated with anti-gay
messaging, inequality or “any
type of hate.”
FALCONS: Julio Jones and
Atlanta have not agreed on a
contract extension, but the nine-
year veteran wide receiver is
expected to play in Sunday’s
season opener against the Min-
nesota Vikings without a new
deal.
Although Jones has two years
remaining on his contract, Fal-
cons officials said all offseason
that they anticipate reaching a
new agreement. Owner Arthur
Blank has said Jones will be the
highest-paid wideout in the
NFL.
Jones, a five-time Pro Bowl
selection, led the league last
season with 1,677 receiving yards
on 113 receptions. He holds eight
franchise receiving records.
RAMS: Tight end Tyler Hig-
bee agreed to a four-year con-
tract extension worth
$31.025 million with Los Ange-
les. A person with knowledge of
the deal said Higbee is guaran-
teed $15.5 million and could
make $36 million over the course
of the contract, which runs
through the 2023 season.
Higbee has played in every
game during his three seasons
with the Rams. He has 60 career
catches for 672 yards and four
touchdowns and is a dependable
blocker....
Rams owner Stan Kroenke, his
team and the NFL want the
Supreme Court to hear why a
lawsuit over the team’s 2016
departure from St. Louis
should be settled behind closed
doors.
A day after the Missouri Su-
preme Court ruled the relocation
lawsuit should be decided in a
St. Louis courtroom — and not in
arbitration — Kroenke’s lawyers
filed a motion to halt the court’s
order until they can make their
pitch to the nation’s highest
court.
Kroenke’s lawyers said the
Missouri high court’s ruling will
cause “irreparable harm” to the
Rams by denying the team’s “bar-
gained-for right to resolve this
case outside of court in an effi-
cient and cost-saving manner.”
The lawsuit — the biggest of
four filed by fans and govern-
ment entities after the team’s
exodus to Los Angeles — was
filed 15 months after the Rams
left. The dome authority, St. Lou-
is and St. Louis County sued the
Rams, the NFL and the 31 other
NFL teams and owners alleging
breach of contract, fraud, illegal
enrichment and interference in
business by the Rams and the
NFL, causing significant public
financial loss.
JETS: Trumaine Johnson
might be the most important
player for New York not named
Sam Darnold, Le’Veon Bell or
Jamal Adams.
The veteran cornerback is be-
ing counted on to anchor a
suspect secondary — and to
bounce back from what was a
subpar season. A hamstring inju-
ry kept him out for all but three
snaps this preseason, but he’s
preparing to start in the opener
against Buffalo.
“Oh, man, I’m so excited,”
Johnson said. “Not playing in the
preseason and, of course, then
with that injury, just to go out
there and practice, it’s been good
for me, so I’m excited for Sun-
day.”Excerpted from
washingtonpost.com/redskins
Reed still in protocol
but on track to return
Washington Redskins tight end
Jordan Reed went through a
second consecutive practice
Thursday but remains in the
concussion protocol.
Things seem to be trending in
the right direction for his return,
and the team hopes to have him
available for the season opener
Sunday against the Philadelphia
Eagles.
“He’s been taking tests,” Coach
Jay Gruden said. “Now it’s just a
matter of how he does on those
tests and how he feels at night
sleeping, in the morning when he
wakes up and when he goes
through the drills. [If ] he
continues to pass the tests and
continues to progress, then they’ll
allow him back on the field.”
Reed missed a week of practice
after being on the receiving end of
a helmet-to-helmet hit against
the Atlanta Falcons in the third
preseason game. He has been
around the team and socializing
in the locker room the past two
days.Moreau response key
Cornerback Fabian Moreau
(ankle) continued to miss
practice but was on an adjacent
field working with a trainer in the
rehab area. Gruden said Friday
will be a big day in determining
whether Moreau can play against
the Eagles. The coach wants to
see his top slot corner go through
team drills and monitor how he
responds.
“That’ll probably be a telling
tale,” Gruden said. “If he’s out
running around and taking some
team drills, there’s a possibility. If
he doesn’t take any team drills
tomorrow, then probably
doubtful that he goes. We’re semi-
encouraged with the way he’s
improving.”
— Kareem Copelandhim in a long time.”
This led to a question about
whether Peterson thinks Wil-
liams will end his holdout soon, a
position former Redskin DeAn-
gelo Hall took earlier in the week.
Peterson smiled again.
“I don’t know,” Peterson said.
“I don’t want to get into all that.
It’s Thursday. He won’t be in this
week for sure. But that’s not
really what we talked about. We
just caught up and saw how he
was doing and how things are
going for him.”
During a radio interview on
WMAL on Thursday, team presi-
dent Bruce Allen didn’t offer a
timeline for when Williams
might return, saying the team’s
focus was on the players on the
roster for Sunday’s season opener
in Philadelphia.
“We have a lot of respect and
like for Trent, but right now we
have to focus on the task at
hand,” Allen said.
Peterson went on to say the
seven-time Pro Bowl selection
was curious to know how things
have been around the team and
that he has been working out and
has kept himself in shape should
the holdout end. Peterson has
said previously that he hopes
Williams will end his holdout,
now four months long, and re-
turn to the team.
“He’s doing good,” Peterson
said.
Eventually the topic turned to
Peterson, who is going into the
season in the awkward position
of not being the starting running
back.
Coach Jay Gruden said this
week that Derrius Guice will be
the starting running back and
did not lay out a clear plan for
how Peterson will be used.
In fact, Gruden refused to
guarantee that Peterson will even
play against the Eagles, suggest-
ing a scenario in which he will
dress only three running backs,
one of whom will have to play
special teams.
With Guice being the starter
and Chris Thompson the third-
down back, that probably would
make the newly claimed Wendell
Smallwood the third running
back.
Gruden was quick to say that
scenario is one of many he is
considering and could depend on
the availability of tight end Jor-
dan Reed, who is dealing with a
concussion, and even defensive
lineman Caleb Brantley, who has
been slowed with a foot injury.
“Ifs,” Gruden called these pos-
sibilities.
Then he paused.
“If a hurricane hits, then weREDSKINS FROM D1won’t have a game, so there’s a lot
of ‘ifs’ we have to worry about,” he
added. “So we’re just going to go
tomorrow and see who’s active
and see who can play, and then
we’ll make the determination
come Sunday.”
Still, even the suggestion of
not playing had to hit Peterson
hard, just a year after he rushedfor 1,042 yards and was one of the
team’s lone bright spots on of-
fense. Peterson didn’t address the
possibility but seemed to under-
stand how his role has changed
now that Guice has recovered
from the torn ACL he suffered in
preseason last year, one of several
injuries at the position that ne-
cessitated the signing of Petersonin August 2018.
“I knew when I came in what
the scenario was, and I came in
and was able to fill the void for a
period of time.... [Guice has]
been working hard to get back
onto the field,” Peterson said. “At
the end of the day, I’m going to do
what they ask me to do.”
[email protected]NFL NOTES
Beckham expects to play
despite the injury to hip
REDSKINS NOTESPHELAN M. EBENHACK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Running back Adrian Peterson, right, said holdout left tackle Trent Williams, left, is in the D.C. area.Peterson unclear on Williams’s status and his own
professional Football
BY BARRY WILNERchicago — The Monsters of the
Midway showed up for the NFL’s
season opener. They were wear-
ing gold, green and white.
In a defensive battle also
marked by sloppy offense and
penalties, the Packers used the
Bears’ usual trademark, a staunch
defense, and just enough from
Aaron Rodgers on Thursday night
to kick off the league’s 100th sea-
son with a 10-3 victory over their
archrivals.
A lack of action in the pre-
season clearly damaged both of-
fenses, and Rodgers at times
looked uncomfortable in the at-
tack designed by new coach Matt
LaFleur, the former Redskins as-
sistant coach. But he is a two-time
league MVP, and he hit Jimmy
Graham in the second quarter for
the only touchdown.
From there, it was an aggres-
sive defense that would have
made Vince Lombardi proud in
the latest edition of the NFL’s
longest rivalry, which the Packers
lead 98-95-6. Green Bay has won
16 of the past 19 regular season
meetings, and Rodgers is 17-5.
Chicago’s defense hardly
slacked, getting five sacks — tying
the most it has had against Rodg-
ers. But it could do little with the
ball, and the Packers had five
sacks of Mitchell Trubisky, who
never found his stride and was
sacked on Chicago’s final offen-
sive play. Former Bears safety
Adrian Amos picked off an end
zone pass into double coverage
with 1:58 remaining, the only
turnover of the contest.
Mason Crosby made a 39-yard
field goal in the final quarter for
Green Bay, while defending NFC
North champion Chicago got a
38-yarder from Eddy Pineiro with4:09 left in the first quarter.
Bears fans rejoiced in relief on
the first score of the season. The
last field goal at Soldier Field was
Cody Parkey’s double-doink off
the goal post and crossbar that
sent Chicago home from the wild-
card round with a loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles. Pineiro, a
second-year player from Florida,
was an immediate hero in theWindy City.
The NFL opted to go for a
history-tinged opener rather than
having the Super Bowl champions
host the first game. New England
will be at home to Pittsburgh on
Sunday night, and it’s unlikely
that game will be so dominated by
defense.
Or by mistakes.
Each team had 10 penalties.There were only 467 yards of of-
fense combined and several
drops. At one point, Chicago had
three straight penalties to put it in
a first and 40. No, the Bears didn’t
convert.
Still, take nothing away from
either defense. They both con-
trolled the line of scrimmage al-
most throughout the night, and
Trubisky was particularly both-
ered by it, going 26 for 45 for
228 yards.
“Three points is ridiculous,”
Coach Matt Nagy said. “Any Chica-
go Bears fan... should be upset.”
Rodgers was 18 for 29 for
203 yards, hardly a vintage night
and certainly unlike his perform-
ance in leading the Packers back
from a 20-point hole in the second
half of the 2018 opener against the
Bears.
Of course, he had all that sup-
port Thursday night from the
likes of newcomers Preston Smith
(1^1 / 2 sacks) and Za’Darius Smith (a
sack), enough to give Green Bay
the boost it needed.
The opening series couldn’t
have been uglier for Green Bay. A
run and a pass netted zero yards,
then Rodgers was sacked heavily
by Roy Robertson-Harris for a
10-yard loss.
Well, maybe it could. Rodgers
was sacked again on the next
three-and-out, and Chicago took
over at the Green Bay 36 after a
punt. Chicago had forced 17 yards
in losses on those series, and the
Packers had minus-12 yards
through one period.
Rodgers erased such ineffec-
tiveness quickly at the start of the
second quarter, launching a 47-
yard completion to Marquez
Valdes-Scantling. Two more com-
pletions got the Packers to the 8,
and Graham did what most for-
mer basketball players turned
tight ends should, winning a jump
ball in the end zone.
By halftime, Green Bay had
outgained Chicago 119 yards to 98.
— Associated PressDefense leads the way for Green Bay
PACKERS 10,
BEARS 3TANNEN MAURY/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK
Aaron Rodgers, in his first game under new coach Matt LaFleur,
threw for 203 yards and the game’s only touchdown Thursday.JASON MILLER/GETTY IMAGES
Odell Beckham Jr. missed all
four of Cleveland’s preseason
games with a hip injury.