Off the wire

FOOTBALL Titans switch backups

The Tennessee Titans have switched backup quarterbacks all in the span of a few hours, going from veteran Matt Hasselbeck to Ryan Fitzpatrick. A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Monday night that the Titans have agreed to a two-year deal with Fitzpatrick, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been announced by Tennessee officials, who met with Fitzpatrick at the NFL meetings in Phoenix. The move comes hours after Hasselbeck, 37, was released Monday because of his $5.5 million contract and a $7.5 million salary cap hit. Fitzpatrick, 30, was released the day free agency opened, a day before the team was due to pay him a $3 million bonus. Hasselbeck spent the past two seasons with Tennessee, leading the Titans to a 9-7 record and just missing the playoffs on a tiebreaker in 2011 in Coach Mike Munchak’s debut season coming off the NFL lockout. Hasselbeck threw for 3,571 yards, the fourth-best passing season in the team’s history and the third highest of his career. Even after first-round draft pick Jake Locker became the starter last year, Hasselbeck still started five consecutive games after Locker hurt his left shoulder and played in eight overall. He threw for 1,367 yards with seven touchdowns. The 14-year veteran has 34,517 yards passing for his career with 201 touchdowns.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said his team’s contract offer to Wes Welker was better than what the receiver got in Denver. Kraft also says Welker’s agent, David Dunn, “misrepresented” Welker’s market value. When asked about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady being upset that Welker left after Brady reworked his own contract, Kraft added Monday: “I don’t answer to Tom Brady. He’s an important member of the team and we chatted. He has never put a demand” on the Patriots. Welker got a two-year, $12 million deal with the Broncos. Kraft said Welker could have received $8 million in the first year of a two-year contract with New England as opposed to $6 million he gets in Denver “and there is no guarantee that he plays the second year there.” Also, New England signed free agent offensive tackle Will Svitek on Monday. Svitek is a seven-year veteran who spent three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and the past four with the Atlanta Falcons. He was on injured reserve all last year with an arm injury. Svitek has played in 61 games with 16 starts since being drafted by the Chiefs in the sixth round in 2005 out of Stanford.

The NFL won’t be adding playoff teams for 2013, and the champions of last season, the Baltimore Ravens, could open on the road because of a conflict with the Baltimore Orioles. As the owners meetings opened Monday in Phoenix, scheduling was a main topic. Traditionally, the season has opened with the Super Bowl winners playing host on the Thursday night after Labor Day. The Ravens don’t have that option unless baseball’s Orioles, who share parking lots at Camden Yards with the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, will move their night game Sept. 5 to the afternoon. So far, there’s been no progress, and Sept. 4 is not an option because it’s the first night of Rosh Hashanah, said Commissioner Roger Goodell, who also said expanding the playoffs will be discussed for the future, but not for next season.

The NFL has agreed to pay $42 million as part of a settlement with a group of retired players who challenged the league over using their names and images without their consent. The league will use the money to fund a “common good” trust over the next eight years that will help retired players with an array of issues including medical expenses, housing and career transition. The settlement also establishes a licensing agency for retired players to ensure they are compensated for the use of their identities in promotional materials. Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea and five other retired players filed the federal class-action lawsuit in Minneapolis in 2009 accusing the NFL of blatantly exploiting retired players’ identities in films, highlight reels and memorabilia to market the league’s “glory days.” The other players listed in the suit are Jim Marshall, Ed White, Joe Senser, Fred Dryer and Dan Pastorini. The Common Good fund will be administered by a group of retired players approved by the court. And the licensing agency will for the first time market retired players’ publicity rights in conjunction with the NFL, thereby making it easier for retired players to work with potential sponsors and advertisers. The settlement only covers those players who are currently retired, but Gustafson said players who do retire in the future will have the chance to utilize the newly formed licensing agency. The NFL will also pay another $8 million in assorted costs associated with the settlement, including money needed to help set up the licensing agency and pay attorneys. The settlement needs court approval, and a preliminary approval hearing was scheduled for Friday.

The Dallas Cowboys have resigned linebacker Ernie Sims to a one-year deal worth a reported $715,000. Sims joined the Cowboys in midseason last year when defensive leader Sean Lee was lost for the season with a toe injury. The seven-year veteran ended up making six starts and finished with 42 tackles in 10 games. The 28-year-old Sims was a first-round pick by Detroit in 2006 and spent four seasons there before a year each in Philadelphia and Indianapolis.

The New York Jets have signed free agent linebacker Antwan Barnes to a three-year contract and re-signed long snapper Tanner Purdum to a two-year deal. The team announced the signing of Barnes on Monday, while Purdum and agent Robert Roche confirmed their deal on Twitter. Barnes spent the past three seasons with the San Diego Chargers, mainly as a pass-rushing specialist. He has 23½ career sacks and five forced fumbles.

Right tackle Tyler Polumbus agreed Monday to a two-year deal to return to the Washington Redskins. Polumbus started a career-high 15 games last season. He was expected to be the backup to Jammal Brown, but Brown sat out the year with a hip injury.

The New Orleans Saints have signed veteran tight end Benjamin Watson to a three-year contract, and have also re-signed special teams leader Courtney Roby and reserve linebacker Ramon Humber for another season. The 6-3, 255-pound Watson spent the past three years with Cleveland, where last season he caught 49 passes for 501 yards and 3 touchdowns. Drafted at the end of the first-round by New England in 2004, Watson has 321 career receptions for 3,776 yards and 28 touchdowns.

BASKETBALL Bynum set for surgery

A person familiar with the decision says Philadelphia says 76ers center Andrew Bynum will have season-ending arthroscopic surgery on both knees today. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday night because the surgery had not yet been announced. Bynum has not played this season because of bone bruises in both of his knees. The 25-year-old is an unrestricted free agent and may never play a game for the Sixers. Bynum was shut down in training camp as a precaution and the Sixers originally hoped he’d be ready by opening night Oct. 31. Bynum said since training camp he would play this season. But after he experienced swelling in his right knee after a 5-on-5 scrimmage late last month, he acknowledged a return might not be possible. Bynum was acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a four-team trade.

ATHLETICS NCAA suspends rules

The NCAA’s board of directors is suspending two recruiting rules changes that were passed two months ago. Citing an outcry from colleges over the impact on recruits and their families, the board decided to shelve new legislation that deregulated which staff members can perform recruiting tasks and what printed materials can be sent to recruits. Suspended rules do not take effect until modifications are made. The board did not change its stance on the most contentious rules changes, which eliminate restrictions on how recruits are contacted and how many times coaches can contact recruits outside of official no-contact periods. Forty-eight schools want those measures overridden. Seventy-five schools must sign the override petition before Wednesday’s 4 p.m. Central deadline to put those rules on hold.

HOCKEY

Perry gets 8-year extension

The Anaheim Ducks agreed to an eight-year contract extension with right wing Corey Perry on Monday, keeping the former NHL MVP with the club through the 2020-2021 NHL season. Perry was named league MVP in 2011, when he won the Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal-scorer with his first 50-goal season. The physical forward has 453 points in 555 games with the Ducks. He set career highs with 50 goals and 98 points during his MVP season, but Perry has scored at least 27 goals in each of the past five seasons, getting at least 60 points in each of the past four.