NFL Notes: Buccaneers, Chargers, Cowboys & Patriots

Buccaneers

Buccaneers HC Dirk Koetter admitted that’s “very concerned” about QB Jameis Winston and his turnover issues.

“Very,” Koetter said, via the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m very concerned. He’s not regressing, but we’ve got to take care of the football. I mean, we’ve got to take care of the football. We can’t turn it over three times in a half. We just can’t do that.”

Chargers

San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer is endorsing the Chargers stadium ballot measure after reaching agreement with the team on a series of new financial safeguards and other concessions.

“This is about working toward common goals that will get solutions for the public good,” said Faulconer, via the Union-Tribune San Diego. “We put aside differences to find common ground.”

The measure would raise San Diego’s hotel taxes from 12.5 percent up to 16.5 percent to help finance a downtown stadium for the Chargers.

The Chargers in return agreed to cover any escalation in construction and land costs beyond that the current estimates. The Chargers also agreed to:

• Give the city all revenue from non-NFL events at the new stadium.
• Commit to staying in San Diego until the initial debt on the project is fully paid off.
• Reimburse the city for all preliminary costs if the team leaves San Diego before construction begins.
• Replace parking the Padres would lose in Tailgate Park, which is part of the site where the project would be built.
• Address quality of life concerns raised by downtown groups and residents to the mayor’s satisfaction.

Cowboys

According to Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys LT Tyron Smith is dealing with a bulging disk in his back that has forced him to miss the last two games.

Smith said after the Cowboys’ win over the 49ers that his disk is beginning to “calm down” and he should have an opportunity to return in Week 5.

For what it’s worth, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones doesn’t consider Smith’s back injury to truly be a “bulging disk” and instead refers to his injury as “more like a muscle spasm.”

“Tyron has something that probably a huge percent of this league has,” Jones said. “It is not something that we would directly list on our report. And so it’s very common. It’s more like a muscle spasm. I would couch it as a muscle spasm. Treatment is more like that than it is anything to do with what I would consider traditional looks at bulging disks and things like that.”

Patriots

• Mike Reiss reports that the initial diagnosis on Patriots RB Brandon Bolden is that he avoided a season-ending type of injury yesterday. Even so, Reiss says that Bolden could still miss some time.