Local News

Bears' Briggs Still Being Sidelined By Injury; NFL Notes

 width=>>Bears' Briggs Still Sidelined By Injury

The Chicago Bears are not ruling out Lance Briggs for this weekend's game. They're also not saying whether the seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker will play against the Dolphins.

Briggs sat out last week's win at Atlanta because of a rib injury. He did not practice Wednesday, and coach Marc Trestman does not expect him to Thursday, either.

The Bears host Miami on Sunday. As for whether Briggs will play, Trestman said Wednedsay, "We'll see."

Trestman also said there's no indication Briggs has broken ribs. Briggs did not make himself available for comment.

>>Slumping Jets Play Surging Pats On "Thursday Night Football"

(Foxboro, MA) -- The Thursday night NFL spotlight shines on the AFC East this week as the New York Jets play the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Gang Green is riding a five-game losing streak following a 31-17 home setback to Peyton Manning and Denver on Sunday. Quarterback Geno Smith was 23-of-43 for 190 yards, two touchdowns and a pick-six in defeat.  width=The Jets' lone win this season came in Week One at home against the 0-and-5 Raiders. The Patriots are coming off a 37-22 win at Buffalo that has them atop the division at 4-and-2. Tom Brady lit up the Bills for 361 yards and four touchdowns through the air, while the defense had three takeaways and sacked Buffalo QB Kyle Orton five times. The Pats and Jets split their season series a year ago.

>>Panthers' Kelvin Benjamin Has Concussion

(Charlotte, NC) -- Carolina Panthers rookie wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin is dealing with a concussion. The first-round pick suffered the head injury on a hit from Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, and the play resulted in an unnecessary roughness penalty. Burfict has been fined for two other incidents that happened during the game that ended in a 37-all tie. Benjamin has 416 receiving yards and four scores in his first six games as a pro. He must pass through the league's concussion protocol in order to play Sunday against Green Bay.

>>Lions WR Johnson Still Dealing With High Ankle Sprain

(Allen Park, MI) -- The Detroit Lions may not have star wide receiver Calvin Johnson again this weekend. "Megatron" missed his first game of the season this past Sunday at Minnesota with a high ankle sprain. He said at practice Wednesday that there is no point in being on the field until he's able to go out and do what he does at a high level. Johnson has 22 catches for 348 yards and two touchdowns this season, but only three catches for 19 yards in his last two games. The 4-and-2 Lions host the 2-and-3 New Orleans Saints this Sunday at Ford Field.

>>NFL Ban Gives Beats Millions In Free Media Exposure

(Undated) -- The NFL's deal with audio maker Bose is paying off for Beats by Dre. The deal banned players from wearing Beats, but "Bloomberg" reports that data from the firm Front Row Analytics shows the ban gave them the equivalent of over two-million-dollars worth of free media exposure. Much of that exposure came after the league fined San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick for wearing Beats headphones. The company got even more free advertising following reports that Kaepernick continued to wear the headphones, but covered the Beats logo with tape.

Meantime, "Billboard" reports that Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine told a crowd at USC that he couldn't believe his luck when he heard about all the free exposure the ban had given the company.

Townhall Top of the Hour News

Local Weather - Sponsored By:

CLINTON WEATHER

Local News

DeWittDN on Facebook