The New England Patriots expect to have wide receiver Julian Edelman back in time for the divisional round of the playoffs.
Edelman, who has not played since breaking a bone in his left foot on Nov. 15, is on track to return, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday.
The Patriots dropped their regular-season finale to the Dolphins in Miami 20-10 Sunday.
Edelman did not travel with the team for the game. He was leading the Patriots with 61 receptions at the time of his injury.
The Patriots, who were 9-0 with Edelman in the lineup, have gone 3-4 in the seven games he has missed.
Browns fire coach, GM
The Cleveland Browns fired general manager Ray Farmer and head coach Mike Pettine on Sunday.
Farmer, who joined the organization in March of 2013 as the assistant general manager before being promoted in February of 2014, was fired before Sunday’s season-ending loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers that left the team with a 3-13 record.
Pettine, who was named the 15th full-time head coach of the Browns in January 2013, compiled a 10-22 record in two seasons. He was fired Sunday night after he said he was not told anything about his job status by owner Jimmy Haslam immediately after the game.
Haslam also reportedly announced the promotion of executive VP, general counsel Sashi Brown to executive VP of football operations at a Sunday night press conference.
Manziel spotted in Vegas
Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel reportedly was spotted in Las Vegas on Saturday night despite being sidelined for the team’s season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a concussion
Manziel was seen at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood casino, employees and patrons who interacted with the quarterback told USA TODAY Sports.
USA TODAY reported that Manziel paid cash for a meal at a restaurant in the casino, according to Tina Samira, a waitress who served Manziel and his guests at Heart Bar at Planet Hollywood.
Manziel also sat down at a blackjack table and a casino employee examining his photo ID exclaimed, “We’ve got Johnny Manziel with us tonight,” John Hornacek, a 43-year-old casino patron who witnessed the exchange told USA TODAY.
Browns vice president of communications Peter John-Baptiste would not confirm for USA TODAY if Manziel was in Cleveland. He told Cleveland.com the report was untrue when USA TODAY first tweeted it. John-Baptiste added that Manziel was at the Browns facility on Saturday morning.
Because Manziel has been diagnosed with a concussion, he does not have to attend the game, Cleveland.com reported.
Manziel, 23, has been videotaped drinking, including on Christmas Eve. Manziel spent 73 days in inpatient addiction-rehab center in the offseason.
Giants’ Coughlin not talking future
New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was not ready to talk about tomorrow.
In the minutes after a pick-six gave the Eagles a 35-30 win over the Giants in what could be Coughlin’s final game as Giants coach, Coughlin said he would address what’s next when the time is right.
“You’ve got your questions prepared for what direction I’m going to go,” said Coughlin. “I’m not going to answer anything about that. The season just ended. There’ll be time for that.”
The Giants ended the season 6-10, the third consecutive losing season for a franchise that had gone 35 years since that last happened.
Entering the game, quarterback Eli Manning said he was disappointed that he had potentially failed to do enough to help Coughlin keep his job. ESPN reported Sunday that Coughlin invited his entire family to MetLife Stadium and hinted that the 69-year-old could retire.
Giants president John Mara said before the season that winning was the expectation. He is scheduled to meet with Coughlin Monday morning.