Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 8-28-18

Sports
Browns’ Offer To Dez Bryant Was Less Than $5M
DEZ BRYANT
Dez Bryant did not sign with the Cleveland Browns de- spite visiting with them over a week ago. The fact that there is mutual interest between the sides coupled with a deal not being reached suggests the sticking point could have to do with money.
The Browns’ offer to Bryant was reportedly for less than $5M.
It’s unclear how much Bryant is seeking as a free agent, and it’s unclear just how far under $5M the offer was. But it seems that there is a gap between what the Browns are offering and what Bryant wants.
The fourth week of the pre- season is coming up, meaning Bryant is running out of time to join a team. And with certain teams seemingly out of the pic- ture for him, he’s also losing leverage.
Josh Gordon Fully Reinstated By Browns
JOSH GORDON
Josh Gordon has cleared the last hurdle that stood be- tween him and a full return to the Cleveland Browns.
Gordon was reinstated by the Browns on Saturday, meaning he’s good to go for full practices and games effec- tive immediately.
This was a quick return for Gordon, and it comes exactly one week after he announced his return to camp. It means we may see Gordon before the preseason wraps up, and he’s a near-certainty to suit up and have some role in the Cleveland offense for the start of the regular season.
Hall Of Famer
Ray Lewis Helps Open New Park In Lakeland
Former football player Ray Lewis speaking to a crowd on Saturday at the opening of a new park in Lakeland.
Jameis Winston
Intends To Hire
Agent Soon
After Thursday’s presea- son finale for the Buccaneers, quarterback Jameis Win- ston will begin his three- game suspension. One of his first orders of business while he’s prevented from engaging in football business will be to hire a new agent.
Winston has reportedly whittled his list of finalists to three. Before training camp, he interviewed five different agencies.
The sooner Winston has representation, the better. Though he undoubtedly has a plan in place for training and other work in preparation for his return from suspension after a Monday night Week Three game against the Steel- ers, having an agent who can work directly with him for
JAMEIS WINSTON
the duration of his involun- tary absence from the NFL will be useful if not critical.
Winston fired his former agents not long after the three-game suspension was imposed. The move had been in the works for a while; they were baseball agents with limited football experience.
Buccaneers
Lose A Pair Of
Wideouts To Injury
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers’ game against the Lions on Friday night was delayed an hour due to weather and that meant they were warming up for kickoff on a wet field when they got the green light to play.
That wet field contributed to a season-ending injury for wide receiver Sergio Bai- ley. Bailey slipped on the field and is on injured re- serve after having surgery on his ankle.
“When we were in the team segment [of warm-ups] — four plays — and it’s just, the tempo of that is probably 60 percent tempo,” Bucca- neers head coach Dirk Koetter said. “On the sec- ond or third play — first play, maybe, of team — Serge planted and he got back on his heels. It [was] a wet field
[and] he looked to me like he slipped. I just thought he got his weight back and slipped; but the way he went down, he was immediately pointing at his foot. I thought maybe he was cramping. I guess when he planted, he either dislocated or broke his ankle.”
The Bucs also waived wide receiver Jake Lamp- man with an injury designa- tion. He played against the Lions and the nature of his injury was not disclosed by the team.
The city of Lakeland opened its newest park in grand fanfare Saturday morning, with Pro Football Hall of Famer and former linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens Ray Lewis as its guest speaker.
The park is named after Douglas Cook, a business- man who donated the 18-acre plot of land worth $2.25 mil- lion to the city before he died.
His family owns the Lake Gibson Village Senior Living Complex across the street.
The park is now home to Lakeland’s Police Athletic League football, baseball and cheerleading programs. For ten years, the programs did- n’t have a permanent home.
“Our mission is filling playgrounds, not prisons," said Tim Abram, the Lake- land Police Athletic League's Executive Director. "So whenever we’re able to keep kids off of the street and keep them in an area where we can supervise them better and watch them develop into pro- ductive citizens in our com-
munity, is always a plus.”
As part of his homecom- ing celebration, after just being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Lewis arrived in a Rolls Royce with a busload of people to accom- pany him during the celebra-
tion.
He gave a fiery message to
the kids.
“Kids use your minds,"
Lewis said. "And dream big. If I don’t tell you nothing else in life, dream big. Don’t let what our circumstances say can’t happen. All things are possible.”
Bob Donahay, Lake- land’s Director of Parks and Recreation, unveiled a sign that will be placed in his honor on US Highway 92 and Interstate 4. It’s down the road from Kathleen High School, where Lewis was an All-American Linebacker and State Champion wrestler.
“This is just one thing that we’re starting in Polk County. I want to show kids you can do anything you put your mind to,” Lewis said.
OBJ Deal Close, But Not Done
There’s a rumor making the rounds that a deal be- tween the Giants and receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. is done. But it’s not quite done
yet.Word is that Beckham is privately claiming that a new contract is in place. Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, the deal is close but not done.
The Giants and Beckham seem to be targeting Week One for a new contract. Sev- eral weeks ago, competing re- ports emerged regarding whether the Giants are willing to make Beckham the high- est paid receiver in the league, with characterizations of the
ODELL BECKHAM, JR.
team’s offer hinging on the “new money” fiction.
Whatever the dollars he wants (and he has said he wants more than $20M per year), it’s looking like the Gi- ants may have finally made Beckham an offer he can’t refuse.
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2018