Te’o’s slow time at Combine raises more flags

Manti Te’o’s first appearance on a football field since the BCS championship game didn’t go as well as planned Monday.

The Notre Dame star and Heisman Trophy runner-up was clocked at 4.82 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock had said Sunday anything faster than 4.7 would be “phenomenal.” Anything 4.8 or over would be a “concern.”

The workout comes more than a month after Te’o’s highly publicized online romance with a girlfriend was exposed as a hoax and that Te’o was a victim of the hoax.

Since then, he’s done a handful of one-on-one interviews and took questions Saturday in one of the craziest scenes in combine history.

Some wonder whether the story has become a distraction, and Te’o’s subpar performance Monday didn’t help.

Brady extension

Tom Brady will be a Patriot until he is 40 years old.

Brady agreed to a three-year contract extension with New England on Monday, a person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press. The extension is worth about $27 million and will free up nearly $15 million in salary cap room for the team, which has several younger players it needs to re-sign or negotiate new deals with.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the extension has not been announced.

Sports Illustrated first reported the extension.

The 35-year-old two-time league MVP was signed through 2014, and has said he wants to play at least five more years.

A three-time Super Bowl champion, Brady will make far less in those three seasons than the going rate for star quarterbacks. Brady currently has a four-year, $72 million deal with $48 million guaranteed.

Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks, at an average of $20 million and $18 million a year, respectively.

Brady has made it clear he wants to finish his career with the Patriots, whom he led to Super Bowl wins for the 2001, 2003 and 2004 seasons, and losses in the big game after the 2007 and 2011 seasons. By taking less money in the extension and redoing his current contract, he’s hopeful New England can surround him with the parts to win more titles.

Among the Patriots’ free agents are top receiver Wes Welker and his backup, Julian Edelman; right tackle Sebastian Vollmer; cornerback Aqib Talib; and running back Danny Woodhead.

Prospect problem

Top draft prospect Star Lotulelei will undergo more extensive heart tests when he returns to Utah.

Doctors at the combine found the star defensive tackle and likely high pick has a heart condition, Lotulelei’s agent, Bruce Tollner, confirmed in a series of emails with The Associated Press on Monday.

Tollner said Lotulelei would not take questions regarding the diagnosis yet. But the 6-foot-2, 311-pound defensive tackle still plans to do a full workout in front of scouts at his regularly scheduled Pro Day on March 20. The Tonga native was scheduled to fly to Utah on Monday night, Tollner said.

ESPN first reported Lotulelei has a left ventricle that is not operating at maximum capacity.

Lotulelei’s professional future could depend heavily on what doctors find.

The Utah standout is considered one of the best prospects in this year’s draft. He is trying to join Alex Smith as the only players from the University of Utah to go No. 1 overall; San Francisco took Smith with the top pick in 2005.

“You’re going to have to get all kinds of second and third opinions,” Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said.

When asked whether the Cardinals would remove Lotulelei from their draft board if those doctors confirmed the diagnosis, Arians said: “That’s exactly what would happen.”

Uncovering information like this is the reason the Combine actually began in the late 1980s. Coaches and general managers have said for years that medical checks are a crucial component of the combine, perhaps the most important data they get all week so they can make informed decisions on draft weekend.

Eagles cut DTs

The Philadelphia Eagles have released veteran defensive tackles Cullen Jenkins and Mike Patterson.

Jenkins signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Eagles in 2011 and started every game the last two seasons. He was due to make $5.5 million next season, but the rebuilding Eagles let the 32-year-old go.

After spending the first seven seasons of his NFL career with Green Bay, Jenkins left for Philadelphia. He had 51/2 sacks in 2011 and four in 2012.

Patterson, the team’s longest-tenured player, spent eight seasons with the Eagles. A first-round draft pick in 2005 out of Southern California, the 29-year-old Patterson played in 115 games with 99 starts. He made 551 tackles, 16 1/2 sacks, had four forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.

Most memorable was the Eagles’ longest fumble return for a touchdown, a 98-yarder at San Francisco in 2006.

Patterson underwent brain surgery in January 2012, but returned to the Eagles for five games last season. He was diagnosed with a brain malformation in August 2012 after suffering a seizure during a training camp practice.

’Skins shuffling

The Washington Redskins have put contract negotiations with some of their players on hold, telling agents and players they remain hopeful they can recoup some of the salary cap space that was cut by the NFL last year, The Washington Post reported, citing sources.

Redskins officials have told those agents and players that they cannot negotiate in earnest until the salary cap matter is resolved. The players include some eligible for free agency in March and others who face the possibility of release unless their contracts are reworked, sources said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team does not want such issues discussed publicly.

The team has told parties involved that it hopes to reach a resolution by late this week.

The NFL’s free agent market is scheduled to open March 12. That is also when teams must be in compliance with the salary cap, which is estimated to be $121 million to $122 million per club for the 2013 season.

The Redskins would have considerably less to spend if the salary cap cut remains in place, as several people familiar with the situation continue to expect. In 2013, the Redskins are scheduled to absorb the remaining $18 million of a $36 million reduction over two years that was imposed on them by the league, with the consent of the NFL Players Association, last March. The cut is a penalty for the way the team structured some player contracts in 2010, when there was no salary cap.

The Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, who lost $10 million in cap space over two years, challenged the penalties in arbitration last year but their case was dismissed. A federal judge has twice rejected a collusion complaint by the the players’ union that accuses the NFL and teams of operating with a secret salary cap in the uncapped year.

In the meantime, players and agents are waiting to see what will happen and are pressing the team for answers. One person said players are becoming anxious, but the team continues to tell agents it needs more time to pursue the salary cap case. Players and their agents are skeptical of the Redskins’ ability to win back cap space because of the team’s and union’s previous legal setbacks.

Shopping Smith

The San Francisco 49ers are talking to teams about a trade for Alex Smith but currently do not have a deal in place, according to The Sacramento Bee. The 49ers can discuss trading Smith, who had a 104.1 passer rating before suffering a season-altering concussion Nov. 11, but no trade can be finalized until the league year begins March 12.

For the last month, reports have consistently linked Smith to the Chiefs, who have the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and had one of the worst quarterback situations in the league last season. The 49ers undoubtedly have talked about moving Smith to the Chiefs — and the Chiefs currently may be the top suitor — but San Francisco will continue to entertain offers until March 12 and perhaps beyond. If the 49ers don’t trade or release Smith by April 1, they will owe him $8.5 million.

On Friday, coach Jim Harbaugh said the top two options were holding onto Smith or trading him. He said it's “unlikely” the 49ers would release the quarterback and insisted the 49ers have plenty of salary-cap space to fit Smith and the other pending free agents, such as safety Dashon Goldson, they are trying to re-sign.

Houston diplomacy

Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker will lead Houston’s bid to host the Super Bowl in 2017.

Baker will be the honorary chairman of the city’s bid committee. He served as Secretary of State under President George H.W. Bush from 1989-92 and was Bush’s chief of staff from August 1992 to January 1993.

NFL owners are expected to vote in May on host sites for the 2016 and 2017 Super Bowls. Miami and San Francisco are competing for the 2016 game, and the runner-up will compete against Houston for the 2017 game.

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