NFL notebook: UMaine’s Miller fractures forearm during Giants’ practice

Andre Miller, the UMaine wide receiver who signed as a free agent with the New York Giants to play tight end, broke his forearm in Sunday’s practice in New Jersey, according to several reports.

He was to have surgery on Monday. There is no word yet from the Giants on whether Miller will need to be placed on injured reserve.

Miller had been receiving some first-team reps working mostly as a fullback. He caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Jones on Friday during Fan Fest.

He has been lined up as both a traditional tight end and a fullback, or H-back role.

Miller is one of three undrafted free agent tight ends on the Giants’ 90-man roster. The others are Jeremiah Hall, who has also been working at fullback, and Austin Allen.

Later Monday night Miller tweeted “Glad this isn’t the first time I’ve been battle tested #Built4It.

• With the Giants ramping up practices in the middle of a heat advisory days before their first preseason game, it was only a matter of time before tempers erupted.

In a span of four plays, running back Saquon Barkley plowed over cornerback Aaron Robinson and linebacker Tae Crowder got into it with free agent running back Antonio Williams.

The main attraction was starting center Jon Feliciano seemingly kneeing Crowder on an ensuing play, an incident that emptied both sidelines onto the field.

Linebacker Cam Brown eventually grabbed the back of Feliciano’s jersey and dragged him out of a scrum of 50 players. The center then got on his feet and threw a haymaker at Brown that seemed to connect with his helmet. Brown tried to swing back but didn’t seem to connect.

Shortly after teammates separated the two, offensive line coach Bobby Johnson pushed Brown.

The incidents caused Coach Brian Daboll to call the team together and he spoke for five minutes before practice resumed without incident.

Daboll did not speak to reporters. The team refused to take requests from reporters to speak with Feliciano, Brown, Barkley and Crowder.

JETS: The injury to offensive tackle Mekhi Becton’s surgically repaired right knee is more serious than initially believed after he left early in practice.

A person with direct knowledge of the injury told The Associated Press that Becton will continue to have tests on the knee, and it is unrelated to the one that sidelined him for almost all of last season. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the team did not announce details on the injury.

NFL Network first reported that the injury to Becton was more concerning than the team originally thought.

The 6-foot-7 Becton, entering his third NFL season, was run-blocking at right tackle on the second play of team drills when he went down on the grass and immediately grabbed his knee. The 2020 first-round draft pick was down for a few moments before trying to get up, and needed assistance from trainers to walk off the field.

He took off his pads and eventually walked very gingerly on his own to the locker room with a noticeable limp.

RAVENS: The Baltimore Ravens agreed to a four-year contract extension with star kicker Justin Tucker.

Tucker’s previous deal was through 2023.

A five-time All-Pro, Tucker has been a game changer for the Ravens in his 10 years with the team. He’s made a record 91.1% of his field-goal attempts, and his 1,360 points are the most ever by a player through his first 10 seasons.

He set another record last year with a 66-yard kick at Detroit that won the game. He is 16 of 16 on field-goal attempts in the final minute of regulation and has converted 58 straight in the fourth quarter and overtime, the longest active streak in the league.

PACKERS: Quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ use of the hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca during an offseason retreat is not considered a violation of the NFL’s drug policy.

Rodgers discussed on “The Aubrey Marcus Podcast” last week how he went on an ayahuasca retreat to Peru in 2020, before the third of his four MVP seasons.

Ayahuasca is defined as a psychoactive beverage native to South America and is often used for religious, ritualistic or medicinal purposes.

NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said that it wouldn’t have triggered a positive test result on either the substance abuse or performance-enhancing substance policies collectively bargained by the NFL and its players’ association.

Rodgers said on the podcast that the retreat gave him “a deep and meaningful appreciation for life” and added that “I came back and knew I was never going to be the same.” Rodgers said he believed the experience helped pave the way for his success that year.

LIONS: Rookie offensive tackle Zein Obeid has retired, the fourth player to end his career with the team in two months.

Coach Dan Campbell said Kendall Lamm was signed to fill Obeid’s roster spot. The 30-year-old Lamm has started 28 of 86 NFL games with Houston, Cleveland and Tennessee.

Obeid, who played at Ferris State, was an undrafted rookie as were recent retirees Jermaine Waller, a defensive back from Virginia Tech, and Corey Sutton, a former Appalachian State receiver.

Defensive tackle John Penisini retired in late July after starting 12 games as a sixth-round pick in 2020 and playing in 16 games as a reserve last year.

SAINTS: Quarterback Jameis Winston left practice with what Coach Dennis Allen described as an apparent foot injury.

“He tweaked his foot a little bit,” Allen said after practice.

Winston did not receive treatment on the field and continued to practice for a period after he first felt discomfort before deciding to walk to the training room.

Allen said Winston was rolling out during a seven-on-seven drill when the quarterback “kind of felt it tweaked a little bit, so he wanted to go in and get it evaluated.”

Winston is New Orleans’ projected starter despite tearing ligaments in his left knee in a game against Tampa Bay last Oct. 31.

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