Source: NFL’s Jaguars to play some home games in London

A person familiar with the situation said Monday that the Jacksonville Jaguars will play multiple home games in London beginning in 2013.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL and the team are waiting to announce the deal Tuesday in Jacksonville. The person said the Jaguars will play four home games in London, one each year between 2013 and 2016.

New owner Shad Khan has made it clear he wants to play games overseas in hopes of increasing the team’s brand globally. He even mentioned it during his introductory news conference last year.

TheSt. Louis Ramshad been scheduled to play a home game in London in 2013 and 2014, but they pulled out last week, citing a need to focus on lease negotiations and ease fan discontent.

Jacksonville wasted little time scooping up the available games — plus some.

“The NFL is going to be developing an international fan base. Why shouldn’t it be the Jaguars?� Khan said in December. “In all honesty, internationally, they don’t know the difference between the Jaguars and the Steelers.�

Khan said the reason former owner Wayne Weaver had been reluctant to play in London was because of “moveophobia,� the fear that fans would take it as a sign that the franchise was in jeopardy of relocating. Khan is so confident things will work in Jacksonville that he has no concerns about playing overseas.

“I’m very open,� he said last year. “I think it would serve Jacksonville well to play a game or two overseas, to get the name Jacksonville out. If you look at some of the international Premier League teams, they have a huge fan following overseas in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, etc.

“I think the NFL, in the long run, will probably be doing something like that. Why shouldn’t we be one of the flag carriers?�

Although the Jaguars haven’t blacked out a home game since 2009, they have struggled to fill EverBank Field the last two seasons, often needing to find creative ways to sell tickets to keep games on local television.

Playing in London or elsewhere would lower season-ticket prices and possibly improve the chances of enticing new fans in a tough economy.

Jake Locker to be Titans’ starting quarterback

The Tennessee Titans have selected Jake Locker as starting quarterback over veteran Matt Hasselbeck, choosing to wait no further to play the quarterback they drafted with the eighth overall pick in 2011 for their future.

Coach Mike Munchak announced the decision, saying Locker’s time is now in giving the Titans their best chance to win the AFC South.

The Titans had let the quarterbacks compete, with each starting an exhibition game. Munchak says Hasselbeck was way ahead of Locker last season. But Locker caught up and won the job this season with his ability to move the team and score points.

Ryan Tannehill is selected Dolphins’ starting quarterback

With his NFL debut still more than two weeks away, Ryan Tannehill can already boast of an achievement unprecedented among Miami Dolphins quarterbacks: He won a starting job in his first training camp.

New Coach Joe Philbin gave Tannehill the job, meaning the Dolphins will have a rookie quarterback start a season opener for the first time when they play at Houston on Sept. 9. Tannehill beat out Matt Moore, who started the final 12 games last year.

“It was a close competition,� Philbin said. “You’re trusting your instincts in terms of what’s in the best interests of the team. … We like a lot of things about Ryan. He has a chance to be a very good player.�

Tannehill, who played at Texas A&M;, was drafted with the eighth overall pick, which made him the first quarterback selected in the opening round by the Dolphins since Dan Marino in 1983.

Tannehill didn’t talk to reporters after the announcement.

Colts’ Austin Collie diagnosed with concussion

Indianapolis Colts receiver Austin Collie has been diagnosed with at least his third concussion in less than 22 months.

Coach Chuck Pagano said Collie returned to the team complex and “felt good,� but the team would not use him again until he was cleared to play by the team’s medical staff.

Collie sat out seven of the final eight regular-season games in 2010 season after suffering two concussions. He suffered the latest one in the team’s 26-24 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks works out

New York Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks practiced for basically the first time since the Super Bowl champions opened training camp in late July.

Nicks was taken off the physically unable to perform list last week. The four-year veteran made a nice catch against cornerback Corey Webster in a seven-on-seven drill and caught a touchdown on a fade pattern during a late two-minute drill.

Neither Nicks nor Coach Tom Coughlin would speculate whether Nicks would play in either of the final two exhibition games.

Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali is suspended

Pro Bowl linebacker Tamba Hali will sit out Kansas City’s Sept. 9 game against the Atlanta Falcons without pay after violating the NFLs substance-abuse policy, the league said.

Hali will be fined an additional game check and be eligible to return in Week 2.

The league did not disclose the nature of the violation and Hali did not speak to the media after practice, instead issuing a one-paragraph statement through the team.

“I accept the discipline from the league and will return Week 2 of the NFL season with a commitment to erase this mistake with my play on the field and my conduct off of it,� Hali said.

Vince Young could be Bills’ backup quarterback

Vince Young has the inside track to win the Buffalo Bills’ backup quarterback job.

Coach Chan Gailey made the announcement after the team returned to practice following a two-day break.

Since signing with Buffalo in May, Young has been competing with returning backup Tyler Thigpen for the No. 2 job. The odd-man out is expected to be cut, because the third-string job is going to receiver/wildcat specialist Brad Smith.

Gailey said that rookie Cordy Glenn will be the team’s starting left tackle.

Shawne Merriman is cut by Bills

The Bills cut former All-Pro Shawne Merriman and General Manager

Buddy Nix said the decision was based in part on the potential the team saw in two younger players who had been competing with Merriman for the fourth defensive end spot.

“We think we’ve been patient, but it comes to a point where we felt like we needed to move on and look down the road,� Nix said. “We need to look past this week. We need to look further down the road.�

Although Nix wouldn’t say which two players were competing for the roster spot left open by Merriman’s release, the Bills’ latest depth chart had Robert Eddins move up into the backup position behind Mario Williams. Kyle Moore, a third-year player signed off Detroit’s practice squad in November, has looked impressive through the first month of training camp.

The move allows the Bills to save a portion of the $4-million salary Merriman was scheduled to make in the final year of his contract.

49ers’ Brandon Jacobs might be ready for opener

San Francisco 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh said that running back Brandon Jacobs, who injured his left knee in an exhibition game at Houston on Saturday, could be healthy enough for him to start the regular-season opener at Green Bay on Sept. 9.

Running back LaMichael James, the team’s second-round pick out of Oregon, said he’s ready to practice after injuring his left ankle and riding a cart off the field in the fourth quarter at Houston.

“Brandon for the opener is possible,� Harbaugh said. “Again, we just have to see how the treatment goes, how the body responds.�

Giants deny incident was hazing

Although they understand the public’s concern over what might be perceived as an apparent hazing incident involving Prince Amukamara, several Giants insist that throwing the second-year cornerback into a tub of ice water was a football tradition and not bullying.

Amukamara andJason Pierre-Paul, the Pro Bowl defensive end who threw him into the metal ice tub, maintained Monday that they are friends and there was nothing personal involved.

Neither would say what triggered the incident.

Most players on the Super Bowl champions seemed more concerned that punter Steve Weatherford posted the video, and that it might give youngsters the idea that bullying and hazing are OK.

“First of all, absolutely none of us condone bullying,� defensive captain Justin Tuck said. “We’ve heard that. So just go ahead and put it out there. None of us condone bullying. And you don’t want to put anybody in a situation where they can get hurt. With that said, we just got to do a better job of being conscious of how that looks and how people can perceive it.�

Weatherford posted the obscenity-laced video of the recent training camp incident Saturday night. He took it down Sunday and apologized Monday to teammates and fans.

Amukamara acknowledged he was lucky that he wasn’t injured, but he was adamant that he was not the victim of hazing. He said Pierre-Paul did not owe him an apology.

Renovation plans for Rams’ stadium are released

The agency that operates the home of the St. Louis Rams released a revised renovation plan that it believes will put the 17-year-old stadium among the top tier in the NFL.

The 30-year lease that lured the Rams from Anaheim in 1995 allows for the franchise to leave after the 2014 season if the Edward Jones Dome is not deemed among the top 25% of all NFL stadiums.

The Rams and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, which operates the facility, entered arbitration earlier this year after rejecting each other’s proposals.

The CVC’s 128-page plan submitted to the Rams on Friday calls for, among other things, replacing the existing roof, expanding concourse levels and adding about 3,000 club seats. It also calls for a new glass exterior.

CVC President Kitty Radcliffe said the biggest addition to the plan is replacing a 50,000 square-foot building connecting to Baer Plaza, across the street from the dome, with the glass exterior.

The Rams had no immediate comment about the proposal.

The Rams have asked for a retractable dome, but Radcliffe said such a feature is prohibitively expensive and “just not necessary.� Radcliffe said the handful of NFL stadiums that have retractable roofs generally keep them closed to satisfy fans.

The dome was built with taxpayer funding from the city, St. Louis County and the state of Missouri.

Negotiations began early this year. The CVC privately proposed to the Rams a $48-million plan in January that would have been publicly funded. When that was rejected, the CVC in February announced a plan for $124 million in improvements that included better amenities and a massive scoreboard. It would have required to Rams to pay for $64 million of the cost. Voter approval in the city and county would have been required for the rest.

The Rams countered with a much more elaborate plan calling for a roof with a sliding panel, replacing much of the brick exterior with a glass front, even re-routing a nearby street.

The team did not provide a cost estimate but a city official said at the time that the team’s plan would cost about $700 million and the dome, which also holds conventions, would have to be closed for renovation for up to three years, potentially costing the city $500 million in revenue.

The CVC did not specify a cost for its revised plan, but said the bottom line would not be significantly higher than the original proposal.