BENJAMIN WATSON

When Benjamin Watson was at the NFL Combine in 2004, he was interviewing with all the teams, but one of his sit-downs was unlike any other.

The NFL has issued a warning to teams that they could lose a draft pick and face significant fines if club representatives conduct themselves unprofessionally in interviews with draft prospects.

The NFL is exploring changes to the annual NFL scouting combine to improve the professional and medical experience for draft prospects, a person familiar with those discussions told The Associated Press.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Members of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) on Thursday said player safety would have to come first amid discussions over the potential addition of a 17th game to the regular season. NFLPA vice-president Benjamin Watson, who plays tight end for the New England Patriots, acknowledged that while there were different opinions on an extended season player safety was paramount in the violent game. The NFL also used data to shape how to improve player safety, he added. We dont look at it just as do we have a 17th game. The league kind of pretends that theyre interested in (player safety and longevity), pretends that they care about it, makes all these rules, fines all these players, but then still proposes players play an extra game, said Sherman.

They also swept the two-game season series against their AFC East rivals for the fourth straight year, outscoring the Jets (1-5) 63-14 in the two meetings this year. And, the top-ranked Patriots defense was a big reason in this one. Darnold was the AFC offensive player of the week after leading New York to a 24-22 win over Dallas last Sunday in his return from missing three games with mononucleosis. He was miserable against New England, finishing 11 of 32 for 86 yards and a 3.6 quarterback rating. ___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL