NFL: Tottenham stadium turns out to be black hole; Raiders-Seahawks game moves to Wembley Stadium

NFL games will be played at Wembley Stadium on three consecutive weekends for the first time because the new stadium being built for English Premier League club Tottenham won’t be ready.

Tottenham said Monday that it would be unable to host the Seattle Seahawks and the Oakland Raiders on Oct. 14 due to “issues with the critical safety systems” at the 62,000-seat stadium in the final stages of construction.

“We appreciate the support our partner the NFL has shown since the extent of this issue became evident today,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said Monday.

The teams won’t have to adjust plans significantly because Wembley, English soccer’s national stadium, is only 12 miles across north London from Tottenham.

Wembley will also stage the Oct. 21 game between the Tennessee Titans and the Los Angeles Chargers, and the meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars a week later.

Tottenham’s new stadium, which is built on the site of the now-demolished White Hart Lane stadium, was designed as much for soccer as American football. The grass soccer pitch can be retracted and kept under lights below the stands when the artificial surface is required for the NFL. The dressing rooms can also cope with NFL teams without adjustments.

The NFL won’t say if the 10-year contract at Tottenham only officially starts when the stadium is ready to stage games.

“We totally understand the issue,” Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice president of international, said. “We shall continue to work with them towards making our future games at Spurs a huge success. The new stadium will be an amazing venue for the NFL and we are very excited about our long-term partnership with Tottenham Hotspur.”

Tottenham has been forced to continue playing home games at Wembley after its new home wasn’t ready for this month’s Premier League season start.

“Urgent follow-up meetings with (construction firm) Mace and the trade contractors are now taking place,” the club said in a statement. “We are reviewing the situation and planned timetable to rectify and re-test, after which we shall be in a better position to outline a revised timetable.”

Tottenham has postponed test events that were planned for Aug. 27 and Sept. 1. They are yet to be rescheduled so local authorities can decide whether to grant the stadium with a safety certificate.

Tottenham will now have to play at least three home league games at Wembley. The club said the venue for home games in the Champions League group stage, which starts in September, will have to be “determined following discussions” with tournament organizer UEFA.

“At the start of the project we asked for your support during what we knew would be a complex and challenging build and now we ask for your continued patience and forbearance,” Levy said in a message to fans.

Bills’ McCoy sued by ex-girlfriend following home invasion

LeSean McCoy’s ex-girlfriend is suing the Buffalo Bills running back for failing to protect her after she was bloodied, beaten and had $133,000 worth of jewelry stolen during a home invasion last month. Delicia Cordon also alleges in a lawsuit filed in Fulton County, Georgia that McCoy would “often brutally beat his dog,” and would also “aggressively” discipline his young son.“ A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press the lawsuit will not affect McCoy’s status on the team.

LeSean McCoy’s ex-girlfriend is suing the Buffalo Bills running back for failing to protect her after she was bloodied, beaten and had $133,000 worth of jewelry stolen during a home invasion last month.

Delicia Cordon also alleged in a lawsuit filed in Fulton County, Georgia on Friday that McCoy would “often brutally beat his dog,” and would also “aggressively, physically discipline and beat his young son.”

Without blaming McCoy for playing a role in the home invasion, Cordon accused him of breaching his duty to protect her because he owned the home. She also alleged McCoy “permitted a hazardous condition to exist” by installing a new security system and cameras and denying her access to arm the system.

Cordon’s face was bloodied during a home invasion in the early hours of July 10.

Details of the lawsuit were first reported by WKBW-TV in Buffalo on Monday.

Police in Milton, Georgia, are still investigating and have not identified a suspect.

Phone and email messages left with McCoy’s lawyer, Don Samuel, were not immediately returned.

McCoy previously said he had no involvement in the home invasion and had no contact with Cordon in months.

He also said allegations made by Cordon’s friend last month that he beat his son and dog as being “totally baseless” and “completely false.”

A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press the lawsuit will not affect McCoy’s status on the team.

No. 2 draft pick Saquon Barkley strains leg catching pass

The New York Giants had a hold-your-breath moment with rookie running back Saquon Barkley during practice Monday. It turned out to be only a minor scare.

The No. 2 overall draft pick caught a swing pass out of the backfield from fellow rookie Kyle Lauletta and was injured either stretching to make the catch or running down the sideline after the catch.

Barkley seemed to be favoring a leg as he walked back up the field. He eventually put his hands on his knees and then went to the turf and lay on his back while head trainer Ronnie Barnes examined him.

An ice pack was put on his left leg. However, it had been removed before he left the field after the roughly 70-minute practice, which was moved indoors because of rain.

“Saquon has a mild strain, and we’ll be smart with him as we move along here,” coach Pat Shurmur said later in the afternoon.

Barkley had the perfect start to his Giants’ career in the 20-10 preseason loss to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night. He took a handoff from Eli Manning on the first play from scrimmage and scampered 39 yards. The former Penn State running back finished with five carries for 43 yards.

The Giants will practice for three days against the Detroit Lions in Allen Park, Michigan, starting on Tuesday.

Given Barkley’s injury, it’s uncertain how much work he will get or whether he will play in the preseason game on Friday night.

“We want our guys to be smart, we want our guys to compete, be smart, we want to stay off the ground, we want to eliminate all that chatter and just keep it encouraging,” Shurmur said. “That’s part of being a pro is being able to practice not only with your team, but with other teams. I understand competitive spirit. Those are two teams and that’s their experience. We’re going to try to guard against it.”

One thing neither Shurmur nor Lions coach Matt Patricia will want is a melee like the one the Jets and Redskins had this past weekend.

“I think it’s important that you need to learn how to compete and compete at a very high level,” Shurmur said, “but I think it’s always important to keep your composure.”

Vikings put G Nick Easton on IR, add Kaleb Johnson for depth

The Minnesota Vikings have placed guard Nick Easton on injured reserve with a neck injury that required surgery and has likely ended his season.

The Vikings made the move Monday, filling Easton’s roster spot by signing guard Kaleb Johnson.

Easton, who started 12 games at left guard last year, had a procedure done on Thursday to repair a bulging disk in his neck. Tom Compton is the front-runner to replace Easton, with Danny Isidora and Aviante Collins also being considered during the preseason.

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Johnson has joined his sixth NFL team. Undrafted out of Rutgers in 2015, Johnson has not appeared in a regular-season game. He was released by Chicago on Saturday.

49ers bringing in Alfred Morris to add depth in backfield

The San Francisco 49ers are bringing in Alfred Morris to provide depth at running back while they deal with injuries at the position, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday.

Morris, 29, was a sixth-round draft pick of Washington in 2012 when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator. He rushed for 2,888 yards and 20 touchdowns during his first two seasons. The move won’t become official until he passes a physical.

“Alf did a great job for us in the two years I was with him,” Shanahan said. “It’s not flashy, but he runs extremely hard. He’s very reliable.”

The 49ers are dealing with injuries to their top-two running backs following their preseason opener. Jerick McKinnon suffered a calf injury Sunday and is expected to be out at least a week. His backup, Matt Breida, separated his shoulder against Dallas on Thursday and could miss the entire preseason.

Morris has played six seasons, including the past two with the Cowboys. He started five games in 2017, rushing for 547 yards on 115 carries. His 4.8-yard average was his highest since his rookie campaign. Morris logged at least 1,000 yards during his first three seasons in Washington and has 5,503 yards rushing with 32 touchdowns during his six-year career.