>>Rams Add Former QB Jeff Garcia To Coaching Staff
The St. Louis Rams have added former NFL quarterback Jeff Garcia to their coaching staff.
Garcia will serve as an offensive assistant, primarily with receivers coach Ray Sherman. He spent the 2014 season coaching quarterbacks for the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.
In a 17-year career that included NFL stops with San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, as well as a successful four-year run in the CFL, Garcia threw for nearly 42,000 yards.
The San Jose State product was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was also a four-time CFL All-Star and the league's 1997 MVP. He led Calgary to a Grey Cup title in 1998, then joined the 49ers in 1999.
>>Panthers, Newton Agree To Mega-Deal
The Carolina Panthers announced on Tuesday that quarterback Cam Newton signed a new five-year contract extension.
Multiple reports indicate the pact, which is set to expire in 2020, is worth $103.8 million and includes $60 million guaranteed. Additional sources revealed the deal will pay Newton $67.6 million over the first three years, the most in league history for that span.
Newton led the Panthers to a second consecutive NFC South title despite a 7-8-1 record and guided the club to their first postseason victory since 2005. He finished with 3,127 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over 14 games, while adding 539 rushing yards and five more TDs.
>>AP Returns To Vikings
Adrian Peterson is back with the Minnesota Vikings for the first time in almost nine months and says his return to the team went "smooth."
Peterson returned for organized team activities on Tuesday after missing last week's initial spring workout sessions due to friction with upper management.
"I had a long time to really think about things and ultimately what it came down to was getting back in the building," Peterson said.
"I've been working really hard to keep my body in shape and it came down to getting back in the building, being around my teammates, being around the coaches and getting back into the swing of things," he said. "So I reached out and gave them a heads up that, hey, I'll be in town and I'll be coming in."
Peterson missed nearly all of last season after he was indicted in Texas on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child, having admitted to hitting his 4-year-old son with a tree branch last May.
On Tuesday, Peterson, who has been undergoing counseling, said he "made a mistake."
"I know a lot of people don't view it that way based on what they've seen, but ultimately that's what it was and my son knows that," he said. "He knows I love him and my other kids know the same."
Peterson said the first person he apologized to was his son.
