NFL news and notes: Antonio Brown prompts Demaryius Thomas trade; Gareon Conley could play Week 2

Kirstie Chiappelli

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NFL news and notes: Antonio Brown prompts Demaryius Thomas trade; Gareon Conley could play Week 2 image

The first week of the 2019 season officially came to an end Monday as the Saints and Raiders closed out the opening slate with wins.

Meanwhile, the ripple effect of Antonio Brown's official signing with New England has extended down to New York.

Three things that matter

Antonio Brown addition prompts Patriots trade

In the wake of the receiver's signing after his requested release from the Raiders, the Patriots reportedly traded fellow wideout Demaryius Thomas to the Jets for a 2021 sixth-round pick. Luckily for Thomas, who sat out Sunday as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles suffered last year, he has experience with coach Adam Gase after the two worked together in Denver.

As for Brown, coach Bill Belichick couldn't confirm his status for Week 2 against the Dolphins just yet.

"We'll just take it day-by-day," Belichick said. "We haven't practiced yet, so we're going through information with him like we would any new player, like we did with offensive linemen last week and just take it day-by-day and see how it goes. Get out on the practice field and after Wednesday talk about Thursday and just go through the week and see how it goes."

Malik Jackson could miss rest of season

The Eagles locked up the Pro Bowl defender on a three-year deal worth $30 million this offseason following the departures of Chris Long and Michael Bennett, so his loss is a tough blow.

Jackson had to be carted off the field Sunday and was later seen leaving the stadium in a boot. He's reportedly scheduled to have surgery next week, so a more definitive recovery timeline should be determined after the procedure. In the meantime, Philadelphia may need to consider some replacements.

Nathan Shepherd facing PED suspension

The Jets defensive tackle revealed he's set to miss six games for two separate violations of the performance-enhancing drug policy, though he made it clear he didn't consume the banned substances for performance purposes.

"The only competitive advantage I was really looking for was being able to come to camp healthy and having an opportunity to compete," Shepherd told NFL Media.

"All that was going on, I was coming off of a subpar season and a new coaching staff, new playbook, new everything. In my mindset, I didn't feel very confident with how everything had gone thus far. In my mind, I was so prepared to come into this offseason and have a successful offseason and train very hard. I felt that because of these limitations, I wasn't going to be able to do that. I made a rash decision, an unwise decision and a selfish decision to look to certain PEDs in order to help me with that recovery process so I would be ready to go."

Two things that don't matter

Odell Beckham Jr. won't ditch watch

The Browns receiver couldn't fathom what all the fuss was about and said he'll continue wearing his jewelry like he does every day.

"I’m here to play football," Beckham told reporters. "I would love for them to talk about football and what I do on the field, if I messed up on the field or if I didn’t do well on the field, talk about my performance. Don’t talk about any extracurricular, that’s just it. If anybody else would’ve worn the watch, or if it was a $20 watch, it wouldn’t have been no problem."

It was reported that Beckham violated a rule prohibiting hard objects on the field, but his Richard Mille watch — which is worth $189,000, not $350,000 — is plastic.

Nick Martin agrees to 3-year extension

The move is ironic considering the Texans gave up six sacks in their season-opening loss to the Saints on Monday night. Houston also allowed quarterback Deshaun Watson to be sacked a league-high 62 times in 2018.

Still, the fourth-year center has only allowed four sacks since Houston took him in the second round of the 2016 draft. Not bad considering he missed his rookie season with an ankle injury, which is likely why he's now among the highest-paid players at his position.

One video you have to see

It's a new season, but the same traditions for Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan after he played his ninth opener for New Orleans.

Tuesday's tweet of the day

Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley tweeted that he's going to be fine after being stretchered off the field Monday night. Raiders coach Jon Gruden even said "there's a chance" he could play in Week 2, though his status has yet to officially be determined.

 

Kirstie Chiappelli