Roger Goodell remains unsatisfied with the level of minority hires for head coaching roles in the NFL, while he has also revealed his hope that international games can return in 2021.
Only two of seven vacant head coach positions have been filled by a diverse candidate, with the New York Jets hiring Robert Saleh – the first NFL coach known to be Muslim – and the Houston Texans appointing David Culley, who becomes just one of three black head coaches currently in the league.
NFL commissioner Goodell noted positives in other positions but said alternative avenues to encourage more diversity will be explored.
"It's much broader than just head coaches for us, but the head coaches are important, and we put a lot of our policies and focus on that this year as you know," Goodell said at a pre-Super Bowl LV news conference.
"We had two minority coaches hired this year, but it wasn't what we expected and it's not what we expect going forward.
"So, for us we want to continue to look and see what went right and what went wrong. There needs to be visual discussions with candidates both successful and unsuccessful candidates of the teams and try to understand it.
"They're not the outcomes we wanted and we're committed more than ever to make sure that we do that but we want it to be a natural process. We want it to be a process that is what we believe in diversity is making us better ultimately."
The coronavirus pandemic led to the cancellation of five games that were due to take place in London and Mexico City last year due to uncertainty over travel amid the global health crisis.
Goodell is planning for the international fixtures to return to the calendar this year, though warned the league is ready to pull the plug again if the situation demands such action.
"We are planning for our international games in 2021. That's the approach we're going to take, we obviously are going to stay in close contact with our partners in the UK and in Mexico and make sure that we are doing that safely," he added.
"If at any point in time, we don't think we could execute that safely we will make that determination like last year. I think we ended up deciding not to play the international sometime right before the schedule was announced.
"I think it was in April and that I think that was done after a lot of consultation not only with our medical officials, but also looking at the risks with the Players Association of travelling the entire party over in a stadium where we weren't able to implement our protocols.
"So, we hope to get back there and we're planning for it and we'll make that decision whenever we have enough information to do so."
Foster Moreau puts NFL career on hold to fight cancer
NFL tight end Foster Moreau revealed he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma during a physical with the New Orleans Saints.
The 25-year-old is a free agent following his release from the Las Vegas Raiders, who drafted him in 2019, and was diagnosed during a visit to his hometown team in free agency.
Moreau's hunt for a new team will now be halted as he prepares for treatment, though he plans to continue his NFL career in the future.
"Through somewhat of a miraculous process, this free agency period has been life changing for me," he posted on Twitter.
"During a routine physical conducted by the Saints medical team down in New Orleans, I've come to learn that I have Hodgkin's lymphoma and will be stepping away from football at this time to fight a new opponent: Cancer.
"I'm grateful for the support and thankful for the people who have stood firm with me. There hasn't been a single step I've taken without hundreds of people lighting the path before me and I will continue to seek their guidance.
"That being said, I'll go kick this thing's ass and get back to doing what I love."
In four seasons with the Raiders, Moreau had 91 receptions for 1,107 total yards, including a career-high 420 in 2022.
Jets reach deal with Hardman, trade fellow WR Moore to Browns
The New York Jets have added a wide receiver while getting rid of another, agreeing to a one-year contract with free agent Mecole Hardman and trading Elijah Moore to the Cleveland Browns.
According to NFL.com, New York will receive the Browns' second-round pick (42 overall) in this year's draft and will send Cleveland their third-round selection (74 overall) for Moore, who showed promise as a rookie in 2021 but had his role diminished this past season and requested a trade in October.
Moore became expendable after the Jets struck a deal with Hardman that could be worth up to $6.5million. The former Kansas City Chief joins a revamped receivers corps that also includes ex-Green Bay Packer Allen Lazard, who agreed to a four-year, $44m contract last week.
Swapping Moore also allows New York to boost its draft capital for a much-rumoured trade for four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Lazard's former Green Bay team-mate.
Hardman figures to replace Moore as the Jets' primary slot receiver and recorded career highs of 59 catches and 693 receiving yards in 2021.
The four-year veteran's numbers dropped to 25 receptions and 297 yards last season as he missed nine games with an abdominal injury that later required surgery, causing him to miss most of the Chiefs' playoff run to their second Super Bowl title in four years.
A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Moore caught 43 passes for 538 yards and a team-high five touchdowns during his rookie year but began to be phased out of the offense after the first four games of last season. The soon-to-be 23-year-old had just 22 catches, 254 receiving yards and one touchdown over the Jets' final 13 games.
Moore was also benched for one game after reportedly getting into a heated disagreement with then-offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur in October, which prompted a trade request the Jets would not grant at the time.
He now joins a Cleveland team in need of a slot receiver to pair with 2022 starters Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
The Browns are now without a pick until the 74th selection of the upcoming draft. Cleveland previously traded their first and third-round choices to Houston in the deal that sent quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Texans to the Browns.
Three-time Super Bowl champion Hightower retires from NFL
Former New England Patriots linebacker D'Onta Hightower has retired from the NFL.
A first-round pick in the 2012 draft out of Alabama, Hightower spent his entire career with the Patriots, playing a pivotal role in three Super Bowl championships.
After helping the Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at the end of the 2014 season, bringing down Marshawn Lynch short of the endzone on the play prior to Malcolm Butler's game-winning interception, Hightower made a key contribution in their remarkable comeback against the Atlanta Falcons two years later.
His strip sack of Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter gave the Patriots the ball deep in Falcons' territory, allowing New England to cut it to a one-score game as they incredibly fought back from 28-3 down to prevail in Super Bowl LI.
Hightower also capped the 2018 season with a title, the Patriots' defense holding the Los Angeles Rams to a field goal in a 13-3 success in Super Bowl LIII having lost a thriller to the Philadelphia Eagles a year earlier.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Hightower did not play in the 2022 season after his contract expired.
Hightower wrote in an article for the Players' Tribune: "Today, I am officially retiring from the NFL. I know these announcements always feel bittersweet, but I can't think of a better story than the one I wrote in New England. A decade, three Super Bowls, two Pro Bowls, and the birth of my son — all playing for one franchise. How many guys have a story like that?
"So this is a happy day for me, and I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate you embracing a Southern kid from Lewisburg, Tennessee.
"I appreciate everyone who helped me make this dream come true. But I especially want to thank my mom. None of this happens without her. Now that I got my own 40-pound two-year-old running around the house like a little wrecking ball, I don’t know how you held it down for us all by yourself.
"I just want to say thank you for helping me live my dream.
"To you, to my beautiful wife, Morgan, to all my coaches, my team-mates, my mentors, my teachers, my friends, my entire family, and to all the fans at Bama and New England....
"Thank you. Just, thank you. I wouldn’t rewrite a single chapter of this story."
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