NFL

NFL legend Ed Reed is concerned about Vontaze Burfict's mental health -- and is calling for the Oakland Raiders star to be "mentally evaluated" over his history of violent play.

"After all the years ... dude actually needs to be evaluated," Reed told TMZ Sports at LAX. "I think he needs to be evaluated for playing like that."

Reed is referring to Burfict's well-documented history of illegal hits on NFL players. Most recently, Burfict was suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season for a dirty helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle.

The Raiders appealed the punishment, claiming Burfict was being treated unfairly (the appeal was denied) ... but Reed says Burfict "had it coming."

"He put himself in that situation after all the years and everything he's done."

Snoop Dogg is all about forgiveness -- even if it's the guy who left his beloved team lookin' like a soap opera -- 'cause the rap legend says Antonio Brown deserves another chance in the NFL.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Steelers superfan about AB wanting to get back in the league ... and despite the state he left Pittsburgh in when he was traded (there was a bit of drama if you recall)... Snoop says he should get a shot.

"Everybody deserves a second shot. Everybody deserves a second and third shot. Look at me!"

Snoop knows about getting second chances ... he has a history of run-ins with the law, and all these years later, the drop is still hot.

As for Antonio, the Raiders and Patriots cut bait with him due to off-the-field drama ... from illegally recorded phone calls to much more serious allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct. The NFL is currently investigating Brown and some people think his career in the league is finished.

Snoop hopes there's a team willing to give AB another shot -- he's still an elite athlete -- but it's definitely an uphill battle.

In the meantime, check out Snoop's badass Bentley.

Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports if Antonio Brown doesn't start shaping up and following NFL rules ... he's NEVER going to play a down in the league again!!!

"The game will go on without Antonio Brown," Sharpe says. "He needs to understand that."

Sharpe -- co-host of FS1's Undisputed -- tells us his beef with AB is simple ... he thinks the wide receiver believes he's bigger than the league -- and therefore doesn't have to abide by its laws.

Specifically, Sharpe believes Brown is dodging NFL investigators when it comes to his civil lawsuit against Britney Taylor -- the woman who alleges Brown raped her in 2018.

"He thinks he can play by his rules," Shannon says ... "We'll see how far that takes him."

Sharpe says unless Brown has a change of heart ... NO NFL team will touch him -- not now, and not EVER -- saying the game will ALWAYS find a replacement for players, no matter how good they are.

"It's been going on for 100 years -- Joe Montana, John Elway, Deion Sanders -- some of the greats. And, the game still goes on."

New York Jets safety Jamal Adams was dancing his face off Thursday ... 'cause the league overturned his fine for hitting Baker Mayfield -- AND HE WAS STOKED!!!

Back in Week 2 ... Jamal laid a questionable hit on the Browns quarterback -- and the superstar defender was PISSED after he was fined for it.

Jamal called it "bullsh*t" and appealed it ... and after he won this week -- he did a little victory dance and rubbed it in to reporters!!!

"HA HA!!!" Adams said. "I told ya'll, if you just listen to me, I'm going to be completely honest, and I'm going to tell you straight up, I knew I was going to win it."

Adams -- who's KILLING It for NY this season -- said he's gonna do some big things with the fresh $21k that was returned to him for winning the appeal ... saying a gift for Mom is now on the way!!!

“I can spend that lovely money on my mother – for her birthday so, you know, I’m excited.”

Colin Kaepernick's team has released a 2-page "fact" sheet about the QB in the hopes of killing false rumors that have been dogging him ... and he makes it clear he still wants to play.

The document was issued by Colin's sports agent, Jeff Nalley -- who says in the 25 years he's worked in the business, he's never seen anyone treated as poorly and unfairly as Colin.

Nalley says he reached out to all 32 NFL teams but has gotten "little to no response."

"Not a single team has offered Colin a job since the 2016 season, in which he began his peaceful protest," Nalley says.

"Not a single team has brought Colin in for a workout. Seattle brought Colin in for a visit but did not work him out. Afterward, Pete Carroll said Colin is a 'starter in this league.'"

The Seahawks incident occurred around early April 2018.

"No other NFL team has interviewed or worked out Colin in the past 3 seasons, despite other false statements in the media to the contrary."

Nalley says rumors Colin is demanding a specific salary are "completely false" and the notion Colin doesn't want to play is just wrong.

In fact, Nalley says Colin has been "working out 5 days a week, for 3 years, in preparation to play again."

Nalley says Kaepernick has proved he can fit into most NFL offenses.

And, get this, Kap's camp breaks down his last NFL season -- when he played for the 49ers in 2016 -- saying Colin was great despite playing with WRs who dropped a ton of passes.

Kap's rep points out in 2016, the 49ers ranked 4th in dropped passes and 29th in pass-blocking efficiency ... along with having the worst-ranked defense in the NFL.

"In summary, it is difficult to think of another young player in NFL history with statistics and character as impressive as Colin's not being given an opportunity to earn a spot on an NFL roster after what he has accomplished."

Antonio Brown has such a great relationship with the police in Hollywood, Florida ... they're letting him work out on their official football field -- and he looks damn good.

Check out this footage of AB running routes and catching passes during a Thursday afternoon workout ... he's clearly the best unemployed WR on the planet.

When we started digging around about the location of the workout, we learned the venue is the official football field of the Hollywood Police Athletic League.

We called the HPAL and a staffer told us AB has been working out there for years -- since his Pittsburgh Steelers days -- and he's got a great reputation with the cops.

In other words, they're happy to host Brown while he tries to get back in the NFL.

What's weird is that Brown is alleged to have raped a woman in Hollywood, Florida in 2018 -- and while the accuser never filed a criminal complaint against him, her civil lawsuit is currently active.

For the record, Brown has adamantly denied the allegations against him.

What are YOUUUUUU doing here?!!?

Andrew Luck returned to the Colts headquarters in Indianapolis on Thursday -- the first time we've seen him back there since retiring in August ... and he looks happy!

The QB hung up his cleats right before the regular season kicked off, explaining he couldn't handle any more physical abuse.

Of course, Jacoby Brissett took over as QB1 and he's been doing pretty well so far ... the Colts are 3-2 and coming off a huge upset victory over the KC Chiefs.

The Colts are on a bye this week -- but a bunch of players were still at the facility on Thursday including T.Y. Hilton, Jacoby ... and Andrew Luck!?

Yep!

In fact, the healthy-looking Luck even posed for a pic with Brissett, actor Mike Epps and Amp Harris, a big-time promoter/manager.

Remember, the fans in Indy booed Luck off the field when they learned of his impending retirement ... and Luck said the boos hurt his feelings.

But, seems it's all water under the bridge now ... which is good to see.

30-year-old Luck -- who reportedly made more than $109 MILLION during his NFL career -- has said he wanted to travel the world and live life away from football.

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict had support from his coach and star QB during his appeal of a season-ending suspension … with Jon Gruden and Derek Carr vouching for the controversial player.

Burfict was banned from the league for the remainder of the 2019-2020 season after his violent helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle during their Week 4 match-up.

The 29-year-old spoke with league officials for more than an hour on Wednesday ... in an attempt to get back sooner than next season.

According to ESPN's Josina Anderson, the Raiders pointed out that despite Burfict's violent history, he hadn’t been flagged in over 190 plays ... until the one against Doyle.

Burfict himself reportedly broke down the play in question, explaining why the hit happened and emphasizing that he was not trying to injure Doyle.

The Raiders also pointed out that Burfict has been trying to change his playing style and was named team captain for his leadership.

Carr praised Burfict last week, saying, “He’s one of the most genuine, awesome people I’ve been around. He’s a great teammate. He works his tail off and he’s a great guy.”

The NFL seemed adamant to make an example out of Burfict, handing him the longest suspension for an individual play in league history.

Rihanna is opening up on her decision to turn down the NFL's invitation to perform at the Super Bowl last year ... saying she "couldn't dare do that" to Colin Kaepernick.

It was widely reported RiRi rejected an offer to perform on Feb. 3 2019 for the SB 53 halftime show -- the biggest entertainment event in the world -- because she believed the controversial NFL QB was being blackballed.

In her cover story with Vogue, the singer confirmed she was taking a stand against the league.

"I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people," Rihanna says ... "I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler."

"There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”

Antonio Brown says the Patriots are gonna have to cough up the money he believes they owe him ... and he wouldn't mind catching some TDs for them in the process.

The controversial NFL superstar has made it clear that he wants back in the league after getting cut by New England last month ... and on Wednesday, he told his followers to "tell [the Patriots] to call me" during a mid-workout live stream on IG.

"They still gotta pay me, might as well let me earn it," Brown said.

Of course, Brown filed grievances against the Patriots earlier this month in an attempt to get his $9 million signing bonus and remaining guaranteed salary from New England.

Richard Sherman wants to extend an olive branch to Baker Mayfield ... saying he's sorry for causing a massive controversy by alleging the Browns QB snubbed him of a handshake before Monday's game.

Sherman went OFF on Bake after the San Francisco 49ers destroyed Cleveland on Monday Night Football ... saying, "What's amazing and annoying was him not shaking hands at the beginning ... "That's some college s***."

The 4-time Pro Bowler went on to say Bake's non-dap was "disrespectful to the game" and the Niners saw it as motivation.

But, after footage seemed to contradict Sherman's side of things ... he decided to come out and say Mayfield deserves an apology for all the hubbub he started.

"It's definitely my bad," Sherman told "The Pat McAfee Show" on Wednesday. "I never want anybody to have to deal with some stuff that they didn't do."

"And, so the questions that he's gonna get and the annoying, nonsense questions about some stuff that happened in a game that's already been done, sure he'll get an apology for that."

"I'll probably reach out to him via text or social media to actually get ahold of him and talk to him on the phone."

"Yeah, because that sucks. He definitely deserves an apology, and that's my bad on that."

Sherman says he meant what he said though ... that he DID feel disrespected by how Baker acted at midfield prior to the beatdown on the Browns.

Baker has yet to speak out on "HandshakeGate" ... but it's only a matter of time.

"That gentleman just barehanded the ball, he was excited. He got an $8 baseball!"

That gentleman is Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end O.J. Howard, who went home with a souvenir after impressively snagging a foul ball during the Rays playoff game against the Houston Astros Tuesday night!!

Of course, the 24-year-old was the offensive MVP at Alabama when the Tide won the title in 2016, and went on to be a first-round pick to the Bucs in 2017.

The video is great ... Howard throws his arm up in the bottom of the 8th inning to grab the ball with ease, like he was catching a throw from Jameis Winston.

O.J. secured the ball, and proceeded to lose his mind with excitement!!

At first, the announcing crew didn't recognize O.J. ... but when they showed the replay of the highlight play, they weren't as shocked the pro TE was able to come down with the ball.

"Of course, he has good hands, it's Bucs tight end O.J. Howard!!," Kenny Albert said on the broadcast.

"Yeah, he better catch it!!" Joe Girardi joked.

Broncos cornerback De'Vante Bausby says he temporarily couldn't move after he took a scary hit during Sunday's game ... but he's doing much better and eventually wants to "come back and play."

Bausby and teammate Alexander Johnson accidentally made helmet-to-helmet contact in the 2nd quarter of the Broncos' game against the Chargers ... when both players tried to tackle Austin Ekeler.

Bausby was carted off the field and taken to a local hospital to get checked out ... and while he says he was awake for the whole thing, the 26-year-old explained he couldn't move for 30 minutes.

“I was never unconscious," Bausby told reporters on Tuesday. "I just couldn’t move, but I was still talking and everything. The [doctor] said I would be fine. I just kind of trusted him."

"After 30 minutes I was able to wiggle my toes and after a couple hours I gained full mobility. So, I was straight, I was fine.”

Bausby was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury ... and there's no timetable for his return.

“Right now, we’re just going to take it really slow and just gain my strength back," Bausby said.

Here it is ... the last moments of Jay Gruden in D.C. right before he boarded a plane and got the hell out of town.

The footage was shot Monday at Dulles International Airport ... just hours after Jay got the chop in Washington. Jay was heading for Orlando, where he has a home.

And, ya gotta hand it to the guy, because despite JUST losing his job -- we're told he couldn't have been nicer to people who recognized him in the airport.

He even posed for pics and shook some hands before getting on the plane.

One witness described the scene this way ...

"He was ready to leave and kept his head low. I talked to him for a few minutes and wished him good luck on his next job. He was at the bar with his wife. It looked like he was having a long day."

No matter what happens on "Monday Night Football" ... 49ers D-lineman D.J. Jones is still winning -- 'cause the guy proposed to his GF before the game -- AND SHE SAID YES!!!

The scene was amazing ... just an hour or so before Jones' Niners squared off with the Browns -- he decided to pop the surprise question to his girlfriend, Kayla Fannin.

Jones told her to look up at the sky ... and when she turned her head, the 24-year-old quickly got down on one knee.

When she turned back around ... the magic happened -- 'cause he asked her to marry him, and she told him of course!!!

The two have been dating for a few years now ... she's been coming to his games every so often -- and the couple is adorable!!!

As for Jones' on-field play, he's been a regular starter for the Niners this season ... and we'll all be watching to see if the good pregame news gives him a boost.

Antonio Brown is fighting like hell to make sure video of his condo-trashing deposition doesn't see the light of day ... the NFL star just filed docs in court to try to keep the footage under wraps.

As we previously reported ... Brown is accused of being a "belligerent" monster when he sat down for his depo as part of a lawsuit with his old luxury condo complex.

The attorneys for the place -- The Mansions at Acqualina in Miami, Florida -- say AB was not only late for the meeting, but he was also "pugnacious," "defiant" and "profane."

The attorneys also say Brown "chanted, over and over" during the depo ... and they claim all of his actions were recorded on video.

But, in court docs just filed last week, Brown is asking the court to make sure footage from the depo is never made available to the public ... filing a motion to make it all confidential.

In the docs, Brown says if the video is seen ... it'll destroy his ability to get fair treatment in the lawsuit.

As for his actions during the depo ... Brown -- in separate court docs -- said the attorneys' descriptions of his actions were unnecessary, calling them "scandalous, redundant and immaterial."

Brown adds the attorneys only released a description of his depo to "turn this into a media circus" for their "personal gain."

Brown wants the court to NOT impose sanctions against him ... but he adds he IS willing to retake his deposition.