INDIANAPOLIS – It’s official: Andrew Luck will be the No. 1 choice in Thursday night’s NFL draft.
Rather than keeping the NFL’s worst-kept secret under wraps until Luck’s name rolled off the lips of commissioner Roger Goodell, general manager Ryan Grigson decided there was no reason to delay the inevitable: Luck will become the successor to Peyton Manning as Indianapolis’ quarterback and the new face of the franchise.
“We didn’t the see the point in prolonging what the world already knows,” Grigson told reporters Tuesday after a voluntary mini camp workout. “It’s about Andrew, and we wanted to do the right thing by him.”
Grigson said last week that the team made its decision a couple of weeks earlier and that was one reason they didn’t have Griffin come to Indy for an interview.
The Stanford quarterback plans to have his entire family in New York on draft night. He’ll fly to Indianapolis on Friday.
Authorities looking at Saints allegation
A joint Louisiana state police and FBI task force is investigating allegations that the New Orleans Saints set up general manager Mickey Loomis’ booth in the Superdome so he could listen in on opposing coaches.
State police Col. Mike Edmonson confirmed the joint effort after discussing the matter with Dave Welker, special agent in charge at the FBI’s New Orleans field office.
Loomis and the Saints have called the allegations “1,000 percent false,” and have said they are reviewing legal recourse after an ESPN report in which anonymous sources described a setup that would have allowed the general manager to eavesdrop on opponents from 2002 to 2004.
Around the league
The NFL has been sued by 28 former players in federal court in Houston, accused of covering a known link between concussions and permanent brain injuries. The lawsuit was filed on behalf NFL Hall of Famers Randy White, Bob Lilly and Rayfield Wright and other former Cowboys and NFL stars are among the plaintiffs. …
A person familiar with the talks says Atlanta is trying to acquire cornerback Asante Samuel from Philadelphia before the draft. … New Orleans outside linebacker Jonathan Casillas has rejoined the club for offseason workouts. …
Former Dallas star Deion Sanders was charged with misdemeanor simple assault in the wake of an altercation with his estranged wife that got her arrested at their mansion in suburban Dallas, police said late Tuesday. Police said further investigation led to citations against both Deion and Pilar Sanders. The charge doesn’t warrant arrest.
