FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - NFL owners continue to discuss the possibility of a 17- or 18-game regular season, but they don't plan to vote on it at the spring meeting, which concludes today.
Owners continue to analyze the issue, which also has entailed the possibility of expanding roster sizes from 53, and potentially altering the injured-reserve rules.
"We have tried to look at this from every different perspective, because you want to know the intended consequences and the unintended consequences," commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Whenever you're dealing with the quality of the game, that's a key factor, and you want to make sure you don't miss anything.
"That's why we've had a very lengthy process. We want to talk to all parties, internally and externally. We talked to our media partners and they see value in additional regular-season games. We will begin negotiations and discussions with the players about what we've found in our analysis."
Goodell said there is no consensus among owners when deciding between the possibility of a 17- or 18-game regular season.
Questions for Vick
Quarterback Michael Vick will be released from federal prison today for two months of home confinement, which will spark discussion on his potential return to the NFL. Goodell previously said Vick will have to show remorse to be reinstated, and he was asked yesterday to expound on those remarks.
"That's going to be up to Michael," he said. "Michael is going to have to demonstrate to myself and to the general public, and to a lot of people, did he learn anything from his experience? Does he regret what happened? Does he feel he can be a positive influence going forward? Those are the questions that I would like to see when I sit with him."
Vick is serving a 23-month sentence after his 2007 dogfighting conviction. He is scheduled to return to Virginia this week to serve the final two months of his term in Hampton. He is expected to be released to supervised probation July 20 after receiving two months off his term for good behavior.
Vick apparently wants to work with an unlikely ally - the Humane Society of the United States - on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens.
Society president Wayne Pacelle said he recently met with Vick at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., and that Vick said he eventually wants to work with the group.
Billy Martin, one of Vick's attorneys, said Vick requested the meeting. "Michael is very interested in putting this together," Martin said.
Super excited
New Orleans was awarded the 2013 Super Bowl. South Florida and Arizona were the other candidates. "It's a great day for our community," Saints owner Tom Benson said. "We're thrilled. We're getting a new Superdome and now we're going to get a Super Bowl on top of that. It couldn't be any more exciting than that." . . . Owners could vote today on an anti-tampering policy that would allow teams to speak with agents in a set time period before free agency. Another vote could come on a minor tweak to the waiver system in the offseason. . . . New NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith addressed the owners yesterday morning. "I think it was well-received and I think the owners were glad to hear from him directly," Goodell said. "It was a good chance for him to show his passion and interest in the game."
DeCamillis back
Cowboys special teams coach Joe DeCamillis was supposed to take six weeks off to recover from a broken neck. Two weeks turned out to be plenty. Wearing a neck brace and shouting into a bullhorn, DeCamillis was back on the practice field in Carrollton, Texas. That's only 15 days following surgery to repair broken vertebrae from the collapse of the team's indoor practice facility. "He is showing a lot of toughness and dedication," tight ends coach John Garrett said. "I don't know as a special teams player how you can sit in a meeting room and not feel 100 percent dedicated while you are out there." DeCamillis was injured when the tent-like structure fell apart during a storm May 2. Eleven others were hospitalized, including scouting assistant Rich Behm, whose spine was severed. The 33-year-old father of three is paralyzed from the waist down.
Jones to return
Jets Pro Bowl running back Thomas Jones will rejoin his teammates next week after sitting out voluntary team activities while in a contract dispute, according to his agent . . . Despite a report in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, a source told ESPN.com that quarterback Brett Favre did not have an appointment with Dr. James Andrews yesterday and doesn't consider surgery on his partially torn biceps tendon to be imminent. Favre remains focused on nonsurgical options, including cortisone injections and natural movements like light throwing and biceps curls that might cause the tendon to release naturally, the source told ESPN.com. If the tendon releases and the pain subsides, Favre is virtually certain to play again, but if he has surgery and his arm strength diminishes or the pain remains, he will remain retired, the source added.
Hargrove signs
The Saints signed free agent defensive end Anthony Hargrove . . . Bengals coach Marvin Lewis moved guard Andrew Whitworth to left tackle for the start of the team's voluntary offseason workouts. Andre Smith, Cincinnati's top draft pick, will line up at right tackle when he reaches a contract agreement . . . An Ohio judge granted more time for Bills defensive back Donte Whitner to fight charges from an altercation with Cleveland police outside a nightclub, delaying the case until June 19.
Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com; material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
