NFL Notebook: Colts GM Ballard says QB Luck ready for camp

Quarterback Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts, who has not played in a game for more than a year because of a shoulder injury, is "good to go" for training camp, Colts general manager Chris Ballard told Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star. There has been speculation that Luck might have to start camp next week on the physically unable to perform list. "He's throwing the ball pretty well," Ballard said. Ballard added that Luck will have no limitations, but the Colts will monitor him on a regular basis and give him scheduled days off to rest his surgically repaired right shoulder. The Colts probably will give Luck some reps in preseason games, as Ballard said he "needs to play (in games)." The 28-year-old Luck, first overall pick of the Colts out of Stanford in 2012, underwent surgery in January of 2017 to repair a torn right labrum. Luck returned to practice in October, but developed inflammation in the shoulder and was placed on the injured reserve list on Nov. 3, ending his season. He first injured the shoulder in 2015. A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Luck has passed for 19,078 yards and 132 touchdowns with 68 interceptions, while also rushing for 14 scores in five seasons with the Colts. Luck has a 43-27 record as a starter and is 3-3 in the playoffs, including a 45-7 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game after the 2014 season. The Patriots went on to beat Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX. --President Donald Trump has been bashing the NFL for more than a year, since some players began kneeling during the national anthem, with hardly any push-back from the league or team owners. Finally, New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch has spoken up. "Hopefully he'll have much more going on that he's going have to deal with, and should deal with, and must deal with than worrying about what NFL players do," Tisch told Mark Malkin of The Hollywood Reporter. "He has no understanding of why they take a knee or why they're protesting. When the new season starts, I hope his priorities are not criticizing the NFL and telling owners what to do and what not to do." Tisch added: "We support our players. They are not going to be punished. There is not going to be any punitive action taking place against them." Fellow Giants co-owner John Mara said last season that he received numerous letters from fans threatening to never attend another game if any Giants protest during the anthem. Defensive end Olivier Vernon later did, although he said he wouldn't do it this season if he was going to be fined. The NFL has put in place a new national anthem policy that requires players and league personnel to either stand for the anthem or remain in the locker room. The policy also subjects teams to a fine if a player or any other personnel do not show respect for the anthem. However, the NFL Players Association filed a grievance on July 10 against the new policy, which is on hold while the NFLPA and the NFL negotiate over the issue. President Trump told Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that his position on the anthem protests is a "very winning, strong issue." With midterm elections approaching and based on Trump's history, he isn't likely to remain silent. And Tisch figures to hear from Trump on Twitter. --Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. of the Jacksonville Jaguars was suspended for the first game of the season without pay for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy, the team announced on Friday. Fowler will miss Jacksonville's Week 1 game against the New York Giants and return the next week against the New England Patriots. He is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games. "We were informed today of Dante's one-game suspension and we will abide by the league's ruling," Tom Coughlin, the Jaguars' executive vice president of football operations, said in a statement. "We'll work to get Dante ready to play when he is able to return." The 23-year-old Fowler was sentenced to probation and fines in March after pleading no contest to three misdemeanor charges stemming from his July 2017 arrest in St. Petersburg, Fla. Fowler, the third overall pick of the 2015 draft by the Jaguars out of Florida, was arrested after he was seen punching a man following a "brief verbal confrontation" in a St. Petersburg parking lot. The police report said Fowler also stepped on the man's glasses, "breaking a lens." Florida State prosecutor Bernie McCabe's office believed Fowler intentionally caused bodily harm against the individual in addition to "willfully and maliciously" damaging the man's property. Fowler missed his rookie season because of a knee injury before accounting for 12 sacks over the last two campaigns, with eight of them coming in 2017. --New York Jets wide receiver ArDarius Stewart, who caught only six passes as a rookie last season, is facing a potential two-game suspension, the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported, citing sources. Stewart reportedly violated the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. The league had not made an official announcement as of Friday afternoon. Stewart, a 2017 third-round pick out of Alabama, tested positive for a diuretic or masking agent, according to Rapoport. Stewart isn't high on the offseason depth chart, with Robby Anderson, Quincy Enunwa, Jermaine Kearse as projected starters, plus Terrelle Pryor as another top option. Second-year man Chad Hansen emerged in offseason camps/workouts. There is depth, but Anderson might be the only one with the game-breaking ability to be a potential No. 1. The Jets recently released oft-injured 2015 second-rounder Devin Smith. --New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman won't pursue further legal action and will accept his four-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy, according to a report from NFL.com. Edelman considered suing the league following a recent decision by an arbitrator to uphold the suspension on appeal. His appeal had been focused on the league's lack of recognition on what drug caused the positive test, and, according to ESPN, there was also an alleged chain of custody issue. The 32-year-old Edelman will miss the Patriots' season opener against the Houston Texans (Sept. 9), road games vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars (Sept. 16) and Detroit Lions (Sept. 23), as well as a home game against the Miami Dolphins (Sept. 30). Edelman missed the 2017 season after sustaining a torn ACL in a preseason game in August. Edelman has been a favorite target of quarterback Tom Brady when healthy over the last several seasons. He caught 98 passes for a career-high 1,106 yards in 2016. A converted college quarterback who was a seventh-round draft pick of New England in 2009, Edelman has recorded 425 receptions for 4,540 yards and 24 touchdowns in 103 career games. Brady's receiver group has plenty of questions. Last year's leading receivers Brandin Cooks (65 catches) and Danny Amendola (61) are now in Los Angeles and Miami, respectively. New England added Jordan Matthews and Cordarrelle Patterson this offseason and selected Braxton Berrios in the sixth round of the 2018 draft to join a depth chart that includes Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, Malcolm Mitchell and Kenny Britt. Hogan should be the No. 1 returning option, but he missed seven games over the second half of last season because of a shoulder injury and didn't have a great spring. Matthews brings more size than a traditional Patriots slot option and is a proven NFL producer when healthy, but he will need to build a rapport with Brady. Mitchell missed all of last season with a knee injury after showing promise as a productive rookie in 2016. The former fourth-round pick just can't be counted on to stay on the field -- practice or game -- given his health history. Britt and Dorsett were both in the mix last fall, but will need to make major strides to earn regular roles, something Patterson has never really been able to do in his career in either Minnesota or Oakland. --The NFL and its players association "have come to a standstill agreement on the NFLPA's grievance and on the NFL's anthem policy," they said in a joint statement. The NFLPA filed a grievance on July 10 against the NFL's new national anthem policy that requires players and league personnel to either stand for the anthem or remain in the locker room. The policy also subjects teams to a fine if a player or any other personnel do not show respect for the anthem. Now, that policy is on hold while the NFLPA and the NFL negotiate. "No new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks while these confidential discussions are ongoing," the joint statement read. "The NFL and NFLPA reflect the great values of America, which are repeatedly demonstrated by the many players doing extraordinary work in communities across our country to promote equality, fairness and justice. "Our shared focus will remain on finding a solution to the anthem issue through mutual, good faith commitments, outside of litigation." The anthem issue has been a divisive one, with some feeling that players who don't stand for the song are being disrespectful to, among others, the U.S. military. Others feel it is the players' right to protest perceived social injustice peacefully. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the movement in 2016 to kneel during the national anthem as a protest to perceived police brutality against African-Americans, social injustice and racial inequality. Kaepernick and former 49ers safety Eric Reid have filed collusion cases against the league after failing to land jobs as free agents. The anthem topic became a central issue for the NFL after President Donald Trump criticized the movement during a speech last September, stating players should be fired for not standing. --Deshaun Watson claims he is ready for his encore season after his promising rookie year was cut short by a torn ACL. The Houston Texans quarterback, talking on the NFL Network on Thursday night said: "I feel great," as he prepares for the opening of camp on Wednesday. "I'm getting ready for next week when we report to The Greenbrier; I'm going to be full-go," he said. Watson threw 19 touchdown passes in seven games -- including five scoring throws in a loss to Kansas City -- before sustaining the injury in practice. The 2017 first-round pick out of Clemson completed 126 of 204 passes for 1,699 yards, with eight interceptions. The dual-threat also ran 269 yards and two touchdowns. Watson earlier this week posted a video on his Instagram account, showing his agility while doing footwork drills. He said earlier this year that the knee injury won't change his playing style. "A lot of people would think that I'd come back hesitant," Watson said. "But I'm going to make sure I don't and come back more forceful with a stronger and more intense attitude." The Texans averaged 34 points in Watson's six starts, including 39 per game in his last five starts. Given the pace of Watson's rehab, he figures to get some postseason snaps, even if the coaching staff eases into him drills and wants to be cautious with his recovery. --Chicago Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson, limited throughout the offseason by a torn ACL suffered in the 2017 season opener, was ready to roll as the team opened training camp. "I feel great," Robinson said. "It's a process that we've taken a little bit slower, but I think that was for the best. It just was all about getting me ready for this time right here, so I feel great. I feel 100 percent and I'm ready to go." That's what Chicago wanted to hear after the Bears signed Robinson to a three-year, $42 million contract in March after he spent his first four seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Robinson has 202 career receptions for 2,848 yards and 22 touchdowns, but he has played only two full seasons and a total of 43 games in four years after the Jaguars selected him in the second round (61st overall) out of Penn State in the 2014 NFL Draft. The one aspect missing in last year's Bears offense was a No. 1 wide receiver threat and go-to target. Robinson's presence is expected to help the development of second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who made 12 starts as a rookie. "I feel a lot more comfortable than last year," Trubisky said. "I know my role. I know exactly what I need to do. I know the offense. I can just go out there and be myself." Robinson (6-3, 209) is the key to the receiving corps, as Chicago lacked a tall playmaker on the outside last season after letting Alshon Jeffery leave in free agency. "He has done everything he possibly can do to this point to get to where he's at," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "Mentally, he's in a good spot. Physically, he's in a good spot. We just have to put it together now."