Tom Brady tried to say he will practice Thursday as many different ways as possible, though coach Bill Belichick made his usual pointed one-sentence remark about matters involving the New England Patriots.
"I just missed practice, that's all," Brady said regarding Wednesday's session, according to ESPNBoston. "Not much more than that, really. I'm just trying to find ways to get myself prepared to play. We're facing a great team, great challenges—certainly the best team we've faced all year. Everyone needs to be at full strength, though. It's going to be a very physical, tough, hard-nosed game. We need everyone at full strength."
The Patriots star quarterback sat out Wednesday's practice for a left shoulder ailment that was reported the week prior to the team's regular season finale vs. the Dolphins. Brady was limited in practice that week, but still played vs. Miami.
—New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was back at Thursday's practice after having to leave early the previous day due to a stomach virus. Manning, who on Thursday said he felt 100 percent, took his full practice work load and will play on Sunday.
—Cincinnati Bengals receiver Jerome Simpson faces possible jail time and suspension from the NFL after being indicted on one count of marijuana trafficking of more than eight ounces. The felony count could mean up to five years in prison for Simpson, if he's found guilty.
Federal authorities say they tracked a package that contained 2 1-2 pounds of marijuana to his northern Kentucky home last September.
The indictment comes just a day after Adam "Pacman" Jones, who also completed the final year of a contract with the Bengals, received community service and probation for a disorderly conduct charge stemming from an incident at a Cincinnati bar.
—The Dallas Cowboys and the NFL, in separate filings Wednesday, pursued the dismissal of a lawsuit against the parties for failing to provide some spectators seats to last year's Super Bowl.
The Cowboys say they are not responsible for breach of contract or fraud, as the suit alleges, since they say it was the NFL, and not the organization that sold tickets for the game.
The team received five percent of the ticket sales but said the plaintiffs would not be able to prove they purchased the tickets from the Cowboys.
—Jets owner Woody Johnson defended quarterback Mark Sanchez but said the team's commitment to him won't prevent them from investigating other options.
Johnson, in a meeting with the team's beat writers, said wide receiver Santonio Holmes' future with the team was also secure. Holmes signed a five-year, $45 million deal in July as an unrestricted free agent but was criticized and accused of quitting by teammates following a Week 17 loss at Miami that eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.
"They've won a lot of games together, and one is good for the other," Johnson said, per the Newark Star-Ledger. "Santonio makes the quarterback a lot better, and vice versa. So they have a good reason to iron this thing out. I think they can do it."
—A record-breaking 65 underclassmen have been granted special eligibility for the 2012 NFL Draft in the official list released by the league Thursday. The previous high was 56 last year.
So much for the theory that less lucrative contracts for high draft picks would curtail the mass exodus of young players into the NFL.
Prominent among the list, of course, is Stanford's Andrew Luck, Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Alabama running back Trent Richardson and a host of other supremely talented underclassmen.
—It's not Irving, it's not the Cowboys and it isn't even the NFL but Terrell Owens will be playing professional football again.
"T.O." tweeted on Wednesday night he will play and become co-owner for the Allen Wranglers of the Indoor Football League.
The move comes after Owens failed to draw interest from any NFL team despite catching 72 passes for 983 yards and nine touchdowns in 2010 for the Bengals.
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