OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys have released receiver and kick returner Lucky Whitehead after the third-year player was linked to a shoplifting arrest in his home state of Virginia, with his agent saying he believes it was a case of mistaken identity.
Whitehead said he "didn't know about that" as he was escorted off the field by a member of the Cowboys' public relations staff after the first morning walkthrough practice of training camp Monday in Oxnard, California.
Prince William County Police Sgt. Jonathan Perok said 25-year-old Rodney Darnell Whitehead Jr. was arrested around 1:30 a.m. June 22 for taking about $40 worth of food and drink from a convenience store.
Perok said he couldn't confirm that the man arrested was the Dallas receiver, but online records matched his name and birthdate. The Cowboys' media guide lists Whitehead's given first name of Rodney (see full story).
Colts: Luck to be placed on PUP list
INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will be placed on the physically unable to perform list when the team opens training camp on Saturday.
Luck had surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder and only began throwing last week. It's still unclear when he will be cleared to practice, but general manager Chris Ballard says he is hopeful that Luck will be activated before the Sept. 10 season opener in Los Angeles against the Rams.
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Ballard also says safety Clayton Geathers will go on the PUP list with a neck injury that will keep him out of at least the first six games of the regular season (see full story).
Vikings: RB Murray to PUP list, Floyd on non-football injury
MANKATO, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings placed running back Latavius Murray on the physically unable to perform list Monday, and put defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd on the non-football injury list.
Murray was signed away from Oakland for a three-year, $15 million deal as a free agent, with $8.55 million guaranteed. But he missed the entire offseason program following ankle surgery in March. The Vikings said they were aware he needed the surgery when they signed him.
Floyd missed all but the 2016 opener after having right knee surgery and then experiencing complications in his recovery. He has missed 20 games over the last three years.
Minnesota also placed rookie linebacker Shaan Washington on the PUP list (see full story).
Bears: Freeman saves man with Heimlich
AUSTIN, Texas -- Chicago Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman saved a man from choking at a Texas airport over the weekend.
Freeman tells the Chicago Tribune that he was eating at a restaurant in the Austin airport while awaiting a flight to Chicago on Sunday when he noticed a man frantically running around a neighboring table. A woman recognized the man was choking and tried the Heimlich maneuver, but Freeman says she wasn't forceful enough to dislodge the food stuck in the man's airway.
Freeman says he rushed in like he was "ready to make a tackle" and successfully performed the maneuver.
The man told him his name, Marcus Ryan, before the pair posed for a picture that Freeman posted on Twitter (see full story).
NFL: No sex assault charges for Michael Irvin
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Prosecutors say there's insufficient evidence to file sexual assault charges against Michael Irvin, a former football star for the Dallas Cowboys and the University of Miami.
A 27-year-old woman accused Irvin of drugging and sexually assaulting her at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale in March. The 51-year-old Irvin denied the allegations.
Broward State Attorney's officials said in an email that there was insufficient evidence to file charges, adding that they would have had a difficult time getting a conviction.
Irvin's lawyer Ken Padowitz has called a 2 p.m. news conference in Fort Lauderdale to discuss the case.
No further details were immediately available (see full story).
