OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens have given coach John Harbaugh a contract extension, even though the team has missed the playoffs in three of the past four years.
Harbaugh started this season with a contract that stretched through 2018. The Ravens did not disclose the length of the new deal.
Since his arrival in 2008, Harbaugh has taken Baltimore to the postseason six times. The Ravens played in the AFC title game in 2008, 2011 and 2012, and he guided Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory in the 2012 season.
In nine years with the Ravens, Harbaugh is 85-59 during the regular season and 10-5 in the playoffs.
Over the past four years, however, Baltimore has had one winning season. The Ravens were 8-8 in 2013, 10-6 in 2014, then 5-11 and 8-8 last season.
Texans: Team longs for Houston home after storm
FRISCO, Texas -- Tom Savage longs to hold his tiny daughter and spend some quality time with his wife.
J.J. Watt wants to do more than raise money via video on social media about 250 miles from Houston with the city swamped by floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey.
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While wanting simply to be home with family and friends, the Texans are instead stranded in the Dallas area. And now what was supposed to be a home preseason game against Dallas will be played at the Cowboys' stadium Thursday night.
"It's very, very tough," said Watt, the star defensive end who posted Monday that a fundraising effort that included selfie videos had raised more than $500,000 within 24 hours. "It's very difficult to watch, your family, your friends, your city, go through a time like this and not be there to help."
After losing an exhibition game at New Orleans on Saturday, the Texans essentially flew over their flood-stricken city on the way to Dallas. They practiced Monday at Cowboys headquarters, and were hotel hopping because of the uncertainty over what was next.
The NFL said late Monday afternoon that the exhibition game Thursday night was being moved to Arlington "due to public safety concerns resulting from the ongoing weather emergency related to Hurricane Harvey." The statement said the league and Texans would continue to closely monitor the situation in Houston and adjust the team's plans as necessary (see full story).
Bengals: Burfict suspended 5 games for hit
CINCINNATI -- Linebacker Vontaze Burfict missed the first three games last season because of his hit to Antonio Brown's head in the playoffs. He'll miss the first five this season thanks to another rattling hit, this time during a preseason game.
The NFL has suspended the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive leader for leveling a Chiefs running back in violation of its player safety rules, the latest in Burfict's history of egregious hits that have drawn fines and suspensions.
Burfict hit running back Anthony Sherman in the chest this month during a pass play in which he was not the intended receiver, knocking him to the ground. The NFL has been cracking down on such hits as part of its emphasis on player safety.
Burfict was suspended for his hit to Antonio Brown's head on an incomplete pass during a first-round playoff game in the 2015 season. The resulting personal foul moved the Steelers into field goal range in the closing seconds for an 18-16 victory at Paul Brown Stadium (see full story).
Chiefs: LB Ragland acquired from Bills
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Linebacker Reggie Ragland will get a fresh start in Kansas City after the Chiefs acquired the second-year player in a trade with the Buffalo Bills.
In exchange, the Bills acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2019 draft.
The Chiefs land a player with the potential of being an upgrade for Josh Mauga, who was released earlier in the day. Ragland also gets a chance to play in a three-lineman, four-linebacker-styled defense, which he was accustomed to at Alabama.
For the Bills, they cut ties with a 2016 second-round draft pick who was in jeopardy of being cut this weekend when teams establish their 53-player roster.
The Bills drafted Ragland because he was considered an ideal fit in former coach Rex Ryan's defense. That changed when Ryan was fired and replaced by Sean McDermott, who prefers a 4-3 system.
Ragland missed all of last season after tearing a ligament in his left knee during training camp.
