Associated Press
| Associated Press
Jacksonville, Fla. – Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen announced Friday that his 7-year-old son, Wesley, is recovering from cancer.
Hines-Allen and his wife, Kaitlyn, provided the news in a three-minute video released on social media. They said the diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia came after Wesley spiked a fever and started bleeding from a tooth days before last year’s season finale, which Hines-Allen missed for personal reasons.
“It just kind of like hit me, and then nothing else mattered after that,” Hines-Allen said in the video.
Wesley underwent chemotherapy for six months. He has a few treatments remaining before he gets to ring the bell next month at Nemours Children’s Health in Jacksonville.
“Wesley is doing great,” Kaitlyn said in the video. “He’s swimming every day. He’s running around. He’s playing sports.”
Added Hines-Allen: “He’s got back to being the big brother that he is.”
Hines-Allen and his wife also announced Friday that their nonprofit foundation, Four One For All, will launch a season-long campaign called “Four One For Hope” to give back to four cancer-focused non-profits each month of the NFL regular season.
Money raised will go to Nemours Children’s Health in September, the American Cancer Society in October, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Jacksonville in October and the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation in December.
“Our goal is to ensure that families going through something similar feel the same level of love and support as we did,” Hines-Allen said in a statement.
Hines-Allen is a two-time Pro Bowl pass rusher who has 53 career sacks in six seasons in Jacksonville, two shy of the franchise record held by Tony Brackens. He signed a five-year, $141.25 million contract that included $76.5 million fully guaranteed before the 2024 season.
Jefferson has ‘mild’ hamstring strain
The Minnesota Vikings will keep wide receiver Justin Jefferson off the field for awhile because of a mild strain of his left hamstring.
Coach Kevin O’Connell said before practice on Friday that Jefferson would be re-evaluated next week. The two-time All-Pro, who has the most receiving yards in NFL history through a player’s first five years, felt some tightness in his leg during the team’s session on Thursday and cut short his participation as a precaution. The Vikings sent him for an MRI exam afterward.
O’Connell described the injury as “very mild” and said he had no concern about Jefferson being ready for the season opener at Chicago on Sept. 8, which is more than six weeks away. Still, considering his value to the team, the type of the injury and the demands of his position, Jefferson figures to miss more than just a few days of training camp practices.
Raiders didn’t rush decision on Wilkins
Raiders coach Pete Carroll said Friday the club didn’t rush into its decision to release defensive tackle Christian Wilkins the day before over a dispute regarding his recovery from a broken foot.
“We took a long time to make our decision,” Carroll said. “We watched our way through the whole thing. We’re keeping it really clear with what we said. I think there was no clear path to his return, so we just had to move on.”
His comments largely echoed the statement issued by the Las Vegas organization on Thursday. The Raiders didn’t mince worse with an unusually strongly-worded statement, saying that Wilkins failed to provide a “clear path or plan for future return to play.”
Wilkins was injured in Week 5 last season and had some sort of setback in his recovery that took him out of offseason practices and landed him on the physically unable to perform list shortly before training camp opened Wednesday.
Wilkins, 29, was the Raiders’ marquee free-agent signing last year, agreeing to a four-year, $110 million contract with $82.75 million guaranteed. The Raiders reportedly are voiding the remaining $35.25 million of Wilkins’ deal.
Pugh retires after 11 seasons
Longtime NFL guard Justin Pugh announced Friday he is retiring after playing 11 seasons with the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals.
Pugh returned to Giants training camp to call it a career a few weeks before his 35th birthday with his wife, daughter and mother among those in attendance. The Syracuse product from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, played in 134 regular-season and playoff games from 2012-23.
“Even though I never dreamed of being an offensive lineman, it was my calling,” Pugh said. “I was built to work alongside other guys. I was built to be part of a five-man unit that had to work as one.”