Seau's brain to be researched

The San Diego Chargers' chaplain reportedly said late Thursday the family of the late Junior Seau has agreed to allow the NFL star's brain to be studied.

"The family was considering this almost from the beginning, but they didn't want to make any emotional decisions," Chaplain Shawn Mitchell told The Times. "And when they came to a joint decision that absolutely this was the best thing, it was a natural occurrence for the Seau family to go forward."

Seau, a 12-time Pro Bowl player who played 13 seasons with the Chargers, died of a self-inflicted wound Wednesday in his hometown of Oceanside, Calif. The coroner's office ruled his death a suicide Thursday, though he did not leave a suicide note.

Boston University School of Medicine has requested his brain as well as other former NFL players to study the links between concussions and depression.

The family has not decided who will be allowed to study Seau's brain.

Boston University previously studied the brain of Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson, who also died of a self-inflicted wound. Researchers found Duerson had a neurodegenerative disease, possibly caused by the concussions that triggered his depression.

--NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's ruling to suspend four players in the New Orleans Saints bounty program reportedly has been contested by the Players Associaton.

The NFLPA filed a grievance, claiming Goodell cannot punish players for conduct prior to the current collective bargaining agreement, which took effect Aug. 4, according to ESPN.com.

The grievance was filed with arbitrator Stephen Burbank. The law professor at the University of Pennsylvania was selected to serves as the "system arbitrator" for the NFL and the union.

"In connection with entering into the 2011 CBA, the NFL released all players from conduct engaged in prior to the execution of the CBA, on August 4, 2011," the grievance said, ESPN reported.

The union claimed that "only the system arbitrator -- and not the commissioner -- has authority under the CBA to punish players for their alleged participation" in the bounty program.

Also, the union is upset that it never received the evidence from the NFL's investigation and the NFLPA did not recommend discipline for any of the players, ESPN reported.

On Wednesday, Goodell announced that two current and two former Saints players were suspended. Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for 12 games, Packers Anthony Hargrove eight games, Saints defensive end Will Smith four games and Browns linebacker Scott Fajita three games. All four were with the Saints during the 2009 season.

The Saints bounty scandal already has earned, among others, Saints coach Sean Payton a season suspension, general manager Mick Loomis eight games and former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams an indefinite suspension.

--Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Andrew Luck reportedly received rave reviews after his first minicamp Friday.

Luck, who was the No. 1 overall pick in last week's NFL Draft, was called "unflappable" by new coach Chuck Pagano, according to the Indianapolis Star.

"He's a natural leader," Pagano said after the rookies-only practice.

Third-round pick T.Y. Hilton, a wide receiver, said he was nervous, but Luck "settled me down."

Second-round pick Coby Fleener, who was teammates with Luck at Stanford, was impressed how quickly the quarterback had picked up the NFL playbook.

"(He was calling plays) with like 30 words in them," said the tight end. "He's the same Andrew. He's as brilliant as ever."

Luck said he didn't get "melodramatic" about his first pro practice.

"It's nice to get back and practice football," he said.

--The Washington Redskins have signed seventh-round picks Cornerback Richard Crawford and Jordan Bernstine, the team announced Friday.

Terms of the deals were not revealed.

Crawford, a cornerback, played at SMU where he had 106 tackles and six interceptions in two seasons. Bernstine, a safety, played at Iowa where he had 108 tackles and one interception in 44 games.

The team also announced it waived free agent running back Michael Shaw.

--Veteran running back Ryan Grant is scheduled to visit the Detroit Lions this weekend with the Packers showing little interest in bringing the unrestricted free agent back to Green Bay.

The Lions' murky depth chart, topped by Jahvid Best (concussions) and Mikel Leshoure (marijuana arrest; possible suspension), includes only injury-prone veteran Kevin Smith as the one sure thing.

Grant also visited the Patriots. He could be effective in a rotation but hasn't shown the same burst through the line of scrimmage or speed he did in 2008 and 2009, when he posted back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons.

Grant played in only one game in 2010 and has 143 carries in the past two seasons. The Packers are content using James Starks as the lead running back in a rotation that would also include 2011 third-round pick Alex Green (Hawaii), who is recovered from an ACL tear as a rookie.

The Packers' running back depth comes from a collection of undrafted free agents, including former Ohio State starter Brandon Saine and ex-USC running back Marc Tyler.

--Cornerback Drayton Florence was released by the Bills.

Florence played 46 games, including 45 starts, in his three seasons with the Bills, who drafted cornerback Stephon Gilmore in the first round of the 2012 draft.

Florence signed a three-year, $15 million contract as a free agent in 2009. He was a second-round pick in the 2003 draft out of Tennessee-Chattanooga when current Bills general manager Buddy Nix worked in the Chargers front office.

Nix said in a statement released by the team Thursday that the young talent behind the 31-year-old made the decision easier for the Bills.

"I want to thank Drayton for all he's done for our team during his three years," Nix said. "But we have some good, young talent at the cornerback position that has tremendous upside. They need to take as many of the reps at practice as they can to continue to develop that talent. Our defense has gone through a number of changes since the end of last season and we feel that it's necessary to give these young corners the opportunity to be in the lineup."

--Not surprisingly, Jets coach Rex Ryan didn't agree with the mediocre draft grades pundits from regional and national media assigned the franchise in the days immediately following the three-day event.

According to Ryan, everyone seemed to forget a certain fourth-round pick.

"Everybody put everybody (in the AFC East) ahead of us, which I think is hilarious, but I think we had a heck of a draft," Ryan told reporters at a charity function.

Ryan said he counted Tim Tebow -- whom the Jets acquired from the Broncos in March for a fourth-round pick -- as part of the Jets' draft.

"When you put Tim Tebow in there as a fourth-round pick, it looks even better," Ryan said.

Tebow's role remains somewhat of an unknown outside the team headquarters but his past makes it predictable -- he'll be a change of pace runner and sometimes passer or receiver to keep defenses honest.

Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano wasn't as forthcoming with his plans for Tebow as Ryan has been in his first chat with reporters since the former Dolphins head coach was hired to replace Brian Schottenheimer. Ryan predicted Tebow would play about 20 snaps per game, and players have said the Tebow scheme might even include a separate playbook.

"I believe that what coach (Ryan) said is he can play anywhere from one to 20 snaps, somewhere like that," Sparano said of Tebow's role. "And I would say what coach said is 100 percent correct. As far as how we'll use Tim or what we'll do with Tim that way, we're going to keep that to us right now.

"Whether we run wildcat or a version of (it), or something else, I'm not going to tie myself down to just one thing."

Sparano's Dolphins used the QB-less formation prominently, often shifting running backs Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams behind center to take a shotgun snap. The franchise also drafted West Virginia quarterback Pat White, an established runner but erratic passer, in the second round only to release him as an abject failure in that offensive design.

Tebow brings NFL experience and versatility -- he lined up at receiver early last season with the Broncos when injuries thinned the depth chart on game day -- that should be valuable in establishing the 45-man gameday roster.

"I think that's the great thing about having a player that has the flexibility that Tim has. Obviously our first goal here is to continue to work with Tim and to continue to have him mature as a quarterback," Sparano said.