Roger Shoals, an offensive lineman who spent a total of nine seasons in the NFL with the Browns, Lions and Broncos, has died at the age of 86.
Shoals played his college football at Maryland and was a 16th round pick of the Browns in the 1961 NFL draft as well as a 34th round pick of the Dallas Texans in the 1962 AFL draft. It wasn’t until 1963 that he chose to turn pro and picked the Browns and the NFL, and with that choice he became a member of one of the best teams in the league. In his second season, the Browns won the 1964 NFL Championship Game, and half a century later he still considered that his career highlight.
“That was heaven. The league sent us our rings. I still wear mine all the time even though people look at this old man and think ‘What the hell is he doing with a diamond?’” Shoals told the Baltimore Sun in 2014.
After two years in Cleveland, Shoals was traded to Detroit, where he became a starter on the Lions’ offensive line. He spent six years with the Lions before he was traded again to the Broncos, retiring after one year in Denver in 1971.
The investigation into the death of John Elway’s longtime friend and agent, Jeff Sperbeck, officially has ended. California authorities cleared Elway, who was driving a golf cart that Sperbeck fell out of in April, hitting his head.
The Riverside County sheriff’s office said in a press release that Sperbeck’s death was a “tragic accident” and it found “no evidence of criminal activity or intent.”
“Consequently, no criminal charges will be filed at this time, and the case will be documented as an accidental death,” the release reads.
Sperbeck was 62 when he died April 26.
He had represented Elway since 1990 when Elway still was playing quarterback for the Broncos. Elway was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2004.
“This has been a very difficult situation for everyone,” Elway’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, said in a statement. “We always knew John had done nothing wrong, but that doesn’t lessen the sadness associated with this situation.”
The investigation included video evidence of Sperbeck falling from the cart.
With training camps opening, more draft picks than usual remain unsigned. The official number stands at 32.
Thirty of them come from round two, thanks to the fact that the first two players taken in the round received fully-guaranteed deals. The third through 32nd players remain unsigned. There’s a way for them to band together and pressure the teams, if the NFL Players Association is able to herd the agent-cats. (Or to even try.)
The other two unsigned players were taken in the first round. One is Bengals edge rusher Shemar Stewart. He’s the 17th pick. His impasse with the team has been well documented; they’re haggling over the impact of a default on future guarantees.
The other unsigned draft pick is Broncos cornerback Jahdae Barron, the 20th overall pick. The delay in his contract possibly relates to the spike in training-camp roster bonuses in that range of round one. The player taken in front of Barron (Bucs receiver Emeka Egbuka) had his training-camp roster bonus percentage for years two, three, and four jump from 70 percent to 96.2 percent. The player taken behind Barron (Steelers defensive tackle Derrick Harmon) had his training-camp roster bonus percentage for the same three years increase from 52.34 percent to 84.93 percent.
Barron’s slot in 2024 was at 61.93 percent.
Regardless of the specific reason(s) for Barron not being signed, he’s one of two non-second-round picks to not sign. In another other year, it would only be Stewart and Barron without contracts.
This year, thanks to the fight over round-two guarantees, 13 percent of all draft picks remain without contracts as training camps prepare to open.
And while these players fairly can be called “holdouts” (they’re “holding out” for better deals), no financial penalties apply to their absences. They can’t be fined. Their signing bonuses can’t be attacked. They are not employed by their teams, because they have not yet agreed to terms.
In late April, former NFL agent Jeff Sperbeck died after falling from a golf cart being driven by Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway. Elway soon will be officially cleared of any responsibility for the incident.
Via Mike Klis of 9News.com, the Riverside County, California sheriff’s office plans to make a formal announcement in the coming days that there was no criminal activity in connection with Sperbeck’s death, and that it was an accident.
“It’s over,’’ Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco told Klis. “We’ve talked to everyone involved and we found nothing new. There was nothing criminal, it was what we’ve been saying all along that this was a tragic accident.”
The investigation included video evidence of Sperbeck falling from the cart.
“I’ve looked at video 100 times and there’s no explanation as to why he fell off, he just fell off,’’ Bianco told Klis.
The investigation remained open so that authorities could track down any and all available video evidence of the incident.
Per Klis, there was no horseplay or swerving. Alcohol was not a factor. Sperbeck simply fell off the cart and struck his head.
There was a hearing on Wednesday in the civil lawsuit against Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. There wasn’t supposed to be.
Attorney Tony Buzbee has informed PFT that the lawyers had agreed to postpone the July 9 hearing.
Buzbee shared this statement from Sharpe’s legal team: “We are apologizing to the Court by letter for wasting the Court’s time. There was a mutual agreement among counsel to postpone the motion scheduled for July 9. As a result, there was no expectation by our team that her legal team would appear in person.”
It’s odd that Sharpe’s lawyers would have shown up for the hearing, if the hearing had been postponed. It’s odd that, if/when the judge expressed disappointment regarding the failure of the plaintiff’s lawyers to appear, Sharpe’s lawyers wouldn’t have said that the lawyers had agreed to postpone the hearing.
Regardless, that’s the explanation for why Buzbee wasn’t there.
The case otherwise continues. At some point, Sharpe will respond to the complaint. Unless, of course, the case settles. In theory, that can happen at any time.
The civil lawsuit against Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe went to court for the first time this week. Per KLAS-TV, via AwfulAnnouncing.com, the attorney representing the plaintiff didn’t show up.
As noted here earlier in the week, the hearing was scheduled in connection with three different motions to associate counsel.
Per the report, Judge Anna Albertson expressed “disappointment” that the plaintiff was not represented for the hearing. The complaint identifies two lawyers representing the plaintiff: Tony Buzbee and Micah Nash.
Given the information in the court records, the hearing did not involve anything critical to the case. Still, if the judge expects the lawyers to be there, it’s probably a good idea to be there.
The next hearing is set for September 3.
Sharpe, as of our last posting, had yet to respond to the $50 million complaint. His primary options are filing a motion to dismiss or answering the allegations, one paragraph at a time. If/when Sharpe answers the complaint, he also can file a counterclaim against the plaintiff. His lawyer has said that Sharpe plans to do so.
UPDATE 1:28 p.m. ET: Attorney Tony Buzbee tells PFT that the hearing had been postponed by agreement of counsel.
Safety Justin Simmons has been named a second-team All-Pro and a Pro Bowler over the course of his nine-year NFL career, but he’s never appeared in a playoff game and changing that is the top thing on his mind as he looks for a place to play in 2025.
A report in June indicated that the Panthers were interested in the veteran, but that no signing was imminent and it might not come together if Simmons continues to prioritize the chance to get to the postseason. Simmons signed with the the Falcons last year after his eight-year run with the Broncos came to an end and Simmons said that he’s taking his time before signing anywhere else because he wants to make sure the team is in position to succeed.
“I think Atlanta I would still pick 10 out of 10 times if I was in the spot last year,” Simmons said, via Sean Keeler of the Denver Post. “But in terms of where I’m at now, being a little bit more picky where we want to go and where we want to call home next . . . the next two years, a year, whatever it is . . . but a contender is No. 1 on the list right now.”
The Broncos ended their own playoff drought without Simmons last year and Simmons said there’s no “bad blood” after he was cut loose for cap reasons, but it doesn’t seem likely that a reunion is a likely place for Simmons to end his current employment search.
Wide receiver Marvin Mims wasn’t around for most of the Broncos’ eight-season playoff drought, but he was around long enough to notice a difference in the team heading into the 2025 season.
The Broncos snapped that drought by qualifying for the playoffs last season. They were quickly ousted by the Bills, but Mims said the returning players now “know what it takes to get there” and that the experience new additions like linebacker Dre Greenlaw and safety Talanoa Hufanga bring to the team makes for a different atmosphere in Denver.
“You can really feel that the times are changing for us,” Mims said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “People always like to say a “win now” mode. With the way things went last year — we were projected to be last in the league last year and wound up making the wild card. Guys that were here last year, they believe. The guys that are coming in, they want to make an impact too. I think everyone’s hungry.”
The flip side of the Broncos gaining that experience last year is that no one is going to take them lightly this season, but Mims appears confident in the team’s chances of succeeding in the face of higher expectations.
Thursday’s #PFTPM including a simple question: “What are your thoughts on a potential Bills-Rams Super Bowl?”
My thoughts are it could happen, because both teams are firmly in the Super Bowl window.
In any given year, not many teams truly are. And while teams not apparently in the window can, in theory, win their way in, the salary-cap system has matured to the point where some teams have cracked the code — and some teams can’t crack their way out of a paper bag.
It also helps to have drafted and developed a franchise quarterback.
In most years, roughly 10 teams are in the window, roughly 10 teams aren’t, and the remaining 12 could break either way. This year, the AFC’s true short-list contenders are the Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, Bengals, and Texans. The Broncos and Chargers could force their way into the conversation.
In the NFC, it’s the Eagles, Lions, Rams, 49ers, and Commanders. Maybe the Buccaneers. Maybe the Vikings.
Again, things can and will change. That’s why they play the games, as someone once said. All the time.
For those who like a little variety, it would be nice for someone other than the Chiefs to get a turn in the Super Bowl. And for someone other than the Eagles, 49ers, or Rams to emerge from the NFC.
Since 2017, it’s been the Eagles three times, the 49ers twice, the Rams twice, and the Bucs once. For the AFC, it’s been only the Patriots, Chiefs, and Bengals.
That’s it. Over eight seasons, seven total franchises have taken the 16 total Super Bowl berths.
Free agency, the salary cap, and a draft process that rewards failure should be enough to mix things up. But the reality is that good teams stay good, and bad teams stay bad.
The days preceding the draft were dominated by news of a sexual assault lawsuit that had been filed against Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. An ill-advised P.R. blitz, which included his lawyer, Lanny Davis, that Sharpe had offered at least $10 million to settle the case, fueled the coverage for multiple days.
Then, things died down.
Now, more than two months after the case was filed against Sharpe, he has not responded to the civil complaint. In most jurisdictions, a response is due within 30 days after service. Extensions are commonly granted among lawyers as a courtesy.
The electronic database for the Clark County, Nevada civil court system shows various filings regarding the lawyer(s) who will be associated with the case. A hearing on three different motions to associate counsel is set for July 9, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. local time. The hearing originally had been set for June 30.
Davis said in a press conference held two days after the filing of the case that Sharpe will file a counterclaim against the plaintiff. For now, though, there has been no formal response by Sharpe to the civil complaint.
Less than a week after the case was filed, Sharpe stepped away from his employment with ESPN until the start of the NFL preseason. With the preseason looming (the Hall of Fame game happens on July 31) and the case still in its infancy, it remains to be seen whether Sharpe will indeed return by the end of the month.
