NFL notebook: McDaniels spurns Colts

New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had a change of heart about taking the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job late Tuesday. "After agreeing to contract terms to become the Indianapolis Colts' new head coach, New England Patriots assistant coach Josh McDaniels this evening informed us that he would not be joining our team," the Colts announced in a statement on Tuesday. "Although we are surprised and disappointed, we will resume our head coaching search immediately and find the right fit to lead our team and organization on and off the field." The news comes after the Colts had scheduled a press conference with Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard to introduce McDaniels on Wednesday. That press conference has been cancelled. --New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler was essentially a spectator in Super Bowl LII after a "perfect storm" of events, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Butler was relegated to just one snap on a special teams play in Sunday's 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. While the 27-year-old said he "could have changed that game" if given the chance, coach Bill Belichick said after the end of the contest and again on Monday that he had to make decisions that were best for the team. Belichick did not go into detail on those decisions, but Rapoport reported that Butler violated a team rule related to curfew. He also said that the cornerback had a bad week of practice as he battled flu-like symptoms. Butler denied the curfew report via social media. "During my four-year career with (the) Patriots I have always given everything I have to play at a high level, and would never do anything to hurt my teams' chances of winning a game, including this year's Super Bowl where I visited with my family every night," Butler wrote on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. "During Super Bowl week I never attended any concert, missed curfew, or participated (in) any of the ridiculous activities being reported. They are not only false, but hurtful, to me and my family." --The Baltimore Ravens did not violate the Rooney Rule when they announced that Eric DeCosta will replace Ozzie Newsome as the team's general manager after the 2018 season. The NFL announced as much last week and the Fritz Pollard Alliance did the same in a statement on Tuesday. "Several years ago, Eric DeCosta and the Baltimore Ravens reached agreement that DeCosta would succeed Hall of Famer and legendary General Manager Ozzie Newsome when Newsome steps down," the Fritz Pollard Alliance said in a statement released on Tuesday. "Under Rooney Rule protocol, when a Club has established a firm succession plan that involves an internal coach or executive replacing a departing Head Coach or General Manager, no external search is required. Examples of such circumstances include Jim Caldwell's succession of Tony Dungy as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Jim Mora's succession of Mike Holmgren as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks." --Police are investigating a burglary at the Foxborough (Mass.) home of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, multiple outlets reported. Per Boston 25 News, police were called to the home at 6:18 p.m. on Monday and remained there until approximately 11 p.m. Gronkowski had been with the Patriots in Minneapolis since last Monday in preparation for Super Bowl LII. He left with his team on Monday, one day after the Philadelphia Eagles posted a 41-33 victory. "There were items stolen," Foxborough Police Chief William Baker told reporters Tuesday morning. "We're not going to release the nature of the items stolen." --Safety Malcolm Jenkins, defensive end Chris Long and wide receiver Torrey Smith reportedly are among a number of players on the Philadelphia Eagles that are planning to boycott any potential congratulatory trip to the White House. President Donald Trump congratulated the Eagles on Twitter shortly after their 41-33 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII on Sunday. He did not, however, extend a public invitation to the team and famously rescinded one to the Golden State Warriors after the NBA club said it didn't want to go after its most recent championship season. Jenkins said he'd skip the trip to see Trump during an interview on CNN Monday, and he offered the following reason: "My message has been clear all year. I'm about creating positive change in the communities that I come from, whether it be Philadelphia, New Jersey, Ohio, Louisiana, or this entire country," Jenkins said. "I want to see changes in our criminal justice system. I want to see us push for economic and educational advancement in communities of color and low-income communities." --The Baltimore Ravens looked north of the border to bolster their receiving corps by signing 2017 Grey Cup MVP DeVier Posey to a contract, the team announced. Posey struggled in his previous stint in the NFL before flourishing in the Canadian Football League. The 27-year-old wide receiver reeled in seven receptions for 175 yards and a touchdown to lift the Toronto Argonauts to a 27-24 victory over the Calgary Stampeders in the Grey Cup in November. The Argonauts opted to release Posey so that he could pursue an NFL contract after he collected 52 catches for 744 yards and seven touchdowns last season. Posey recorded just 22 receptions for 272 yards in 26 games over three NFL seasons with Houston after being selected by the Texans with a third-round pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. --The New Orleans Saints released Nick Fairley after the defensive tackle spent last season on the reserve/non-football illness list because of a heart condition. The move -- which was initially reported by The Times-Picayune and ESPN -- comes prior to Wednesday, which is when Fairley's $4.25 million salary and $750,000 roster bonus would have become fully guaranteed. Fairley's contract status is also up in the air as both sides filed grievances last year. He signed a four-year contract worth $28 million -- including an $8 million signing bonus -- before he was ruled out. The 30-year-old Fairley's NFL career is likely over, according to The Times-Picayune's Josh Katzenstein. --Cornerback Dave Amerson is looking for a new job and his first stop will be a visit to the Chicago Bears. Amerson, released by the Oakland Raiders on Monday, already is drawing interest from a number of clubs, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, who first reported that Amerson is scheduled to meet with Chicago on Wednesday. A foot injury caused Amerson to miss the final nine games this past season. If he was still on Oakland's 53-man roster on Wednesday, Amerson's $5.5 million base salary would have become guaranteed. --Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson posted a video over social media of him running on a treadmill for the first time since sustaining a season-ending torn ACL injury. The Instagram video showed Watson's jog on an anti-gravity treadmill on Monday with the following caption: "Officially day 1 of the 2018 NFL season today.. and today is officially my first day back running! Crazy how God works!" The Texans' season spiraled down the drain after Watson sustained the injury on a non-contact play in practice on Nov. 2. Prior to the injury, Watson threw for 1,699 yards with 19 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 103.0 passer rating. He added 269 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. --The Tennessee Titans addressed both sides of the ball by announcing three additions to Mike Vrabel's coaching staff. Terrell Williams was named as the Titans' new defensive line coach, while Keith Carter and Tony Dews were added on the offensive side. Carter was named as the new offensive line coach and Dews will coach running backs. Williams served as a defensive line coach with the Miami Dolphins for the past three seasons. Carter was an assistant offensive line coach with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 and 2016 before shuffling to running backs coach last season. Dews spent time as a running backs coach at West Virginia last season and has 20 years of college coaching experience under his belt. --Joe Judge's contract as the New England Patriots special teams coordinator has expired, but he may not have trouble getting a new job. Both the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts want Judge to be their special teams coordinator, as former New England offensive coordinator and new Colts head coach Josh McDaniels may be battling Bill Belichick for Judge's services. WEEI reported Monday that McDaniels would bring in Judge to be the Colts' special teams coordinator. But Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported Tuesday that the Patriots are making a play to keep Judge. --Los Angeles Chargers right tackle Joe Barksdale has shed light on a very dark time in his life. Barksdale told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times that he has battled severe depression and nearly took his own life in November. The 29-year-old opted to share his feelings with the newspaper in a bid to potentially help others. "If I could save another person, maybe that's why the attempts (to harm myself) didn't work," Barksdale told the newspaper. Barksdale was overcome with emotion in November after he learned he would miss a third straight game with an injured foot. He went home and sharpened a knife before his wife, Brionna, talked him into putting it down. --Running back Jay Ajayi let his former coach know he was thinking of him after the Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII. Ajayi posted a photo to his Instagram account on Monday that showed him kissing the Lombardi Trophy on the heels of the Eagles' 41-33 win over the New England Patriots. Nothing wrong there, but the caption that accompanied the photo took a not-so-subtle jab at Miami Dolphins coach Adam Gase. "THEY may have tried to discredit you, discount you, throw dirt on your name...none of it matters now," Ajayi wrote. "LEGACIES LAST FOREVER. funny how they were GASsEd over journalistic...look at me now. ONLY GOD" --Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz could not play in Sunday's Super Bowl victory, but he had reason to celebrate when he announced his engagement to his longtime girlfriend, Madison Oberg. Wentz made the announcement on his Twitter account: "She said YES! And now Maddie and I both got us a ring. Can't wait to marry my best friend! God is doing some amazing things and I can't thank him enough!" Wentz also shared photos of his proposal to Oberg on Twitter. Wentz and Oberg went public with their relationship in November.