FALCONS
Punter avoids injury
ATLANTA -- Atlanta Falcons Coach Dan Quinn says punter Matt Bosher avoided a serious injury to his chest when he was knocked out of Thursday night's preseason victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Quinn said Friday he doesn't know if Bosher will be available for next week's preseason game at Miami. Quinn says the team will hold a workout for another punter, but he expects Bosher's injury will be a "short-term thing."
Quinn also said he'll ask the NFL to review Browns linebacker Tank Carder's hit on Bosher in Atlanta's 24-13 victory.
Falcons kicker Matt Bryant was held out with leg tightness.
Linebacker Vic Beasley Jr. was held out with a shoulder injury that Quinn said isn't related to an injury he played through last season.
GIANTS
Cruz on road with Giants
The Victor Cruz Watch hits the road this weekend as the injured receiver is traveling with the New York Giants to Buffalo for today's preseason game against the Bills.
Cruz did not practice with the team on Friday, instead working on the side with trainers as he has for most of this week. It remains extremely unlikely that he'll play in the game.
But he could participate in pregame warmups, which would be a step toward his return to the practice field for what is shaping up to be the most important week of his career.
If Cruz is unable to practice next week and does not play in the game against the Jets next weekend, the likelihood of the Giants holding a roster spot for him diminishes greatly. He has not played in a game of any kind since October 2014 because of knee and calf injuries and has not practiced this summer since Aug. 9 because of a groin injury.
Brown's wife wouldn't talk
The NFL said the former wife of suspended Giants placekicker Josh Brown turned down multiple requests to speak to the league about her allegations of being the victim of repeated domestic violence.
In a statement issued Friday, the league said that it conducted a 10-month investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Brown in May 2015 in Woodinville, Wash., on a fourth-degree domestic violence charge.
In the course of the investigation, the league said its investigators became aware that Brown's wife had filed a statement with the county court alleging previous altercations between the spouses.
"Despite multiple attempts to speak with her about this incident and her previous statements, she declined to speak with us," the league said. "We understand that there are many reasons that might have affected her decision not to speak with us, but we were limited in our ability to investigate these allegations."
The NFL added that local law enforcement officers also declined to provide information on the case and previous allegations.
Brown, who was suspended by the league for the opening game of the regular season, admitted Thursday that he grabbed his wife's wrist in the incident that led to his arrest. He called it a momentary thing.
The King County prosecutor's office investigated the case and did not file a charge, saying there was insufficient evidence.
After its investigation, the NFL said it had insufficient information to corroborate prior allegations.
"In addition, no criminal charges were brought forward regarding the incident in question or prior allegations," the league said.
"The NFL therefore made a decision based on the evidentiary findings around this one incident as provided to us by the District Attorney."
The league said it suspended Brown for a game because he had violated the personal conduct policy.
"We did so based on the evidence of this one incident as presented in the police report, Mr. Brown and his wife's statements to police that evening, and his statements in interviews with the NFL," the league said Friday.
PACKERS
NFL, players to meet
Outside linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers of the Green Bay Packers have asked to meet with NFL investigators next week, according to a report by USA TODAY Sports, prior to the league-imposed deadline of Aug. 25.
The proposed meetings would be held at the Packers' facility in Green Bay.
In doing so, Matthews and Peppers join linebacker James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers -- a third player named in the controversial Al Jazeera report alleging the use of performance-enhancing drugs -- as individuals who agreed to speak with the league and took steps to arrange the necessary meetings.
Harrison, though, said he would meet with league officials at the Steelers' facility on Aug. 30, five days after the deadline to trigger indefinite suspensions for non-cooperation.
Free-agent linebacker Mike Neal, formerly of the Packers, is the fourth active player being investigated by the league. He became the last player to consent to an interview when he finally agreed Friday afternoon, according to the report from USA TODAY Sports.
Neal said he will meet with investigators in Chicago, though the date of a potential interview is unclear.
Two Major League Baseball players whose names appeared in the same report by Al Jazeera were exonerated Friday. The league announced that, after an investigation of its own, it did not "find any violations" of the drug policy by first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals or first baseman Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Sports on 08/20/2016