Eagles will take chance on Moffitt as replacement at OG

Well before Patrick Willis and Chris Borland made waves with early retirements, offensive lineman John Moffitt seemed like the originator of the trend.

Two games into his third NFL season and first with Denver in 2013, Moffitt abruptly retired, citing concerns over his long-term health.

Now he’s back.

Moffitt signed a one-year contract with the Eagles on Monday, placing him as a frontrunner to help Philadelphia replace departed guards Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans. Matt Tobin, Andrew Gardner and Dennis Kelly are also in the mix. The team released undrafted free agent Cole Manhart to make way for Moffitt.

As it turns out, Moffitt’s original departure from football was far more complex than he initially let off. During his rookie season he was suspended for using performance-enhancing drugs, and was arrested for battery and possession of illegal drugs at a night club in his first year away from the game.

He has spent the last several months training with Fox Sports reporter Jay Glazer, who does that in between getting every conceivable NFL scoop from the guys he works out with.

“I have never been so proud of a guy I’ve trained than I am of John Moffitt,” Glazer wrote on Twitter. “Retired two years ago (because) he knew he had drug issues, took time to go to rehab, clean up his life, beat his demons and he has taken his life back! Guy inspires us every day.”

Hyundai takes over as NFL’s official vehicle sponsor

The NFL isn’t the biggest deal in South Korea, but that hasn’t stopped Korea’s largest automaker from shelling out buku bucks to become the official vehicle of the league.

Hyundai is taking over for General Motors in that role for the next four seasons at a cost of $50 million per year, according to ESPN. That’s double the amount GM paid for its sponsorship.

The deal also allows the NFL to make a separate truck sponsorship so it can provide the Super Bowl MVP with a real manly-type vehicle.

“We are huge football fans at Hyundai and feel there is no better venue to reach consumers, increase consideration and tell the Hyundai brand story,” Hyundai Motor America president and CEO Dave Zuchowski, president and CEO said in a statement.

He probably has a point – the Hyundai brand doesn’t necessarily resonate with the typical burger-and-wing snarfing American male, so this is a pretty good calculated risk on their part. Hyundai also is part-owner of Kia, so if you’ve ever dreamed of seeing a commercial with Matt Forte driving a Kia Forte, it appears that you may now get that chance.

Lions fan pays price for laser-pointing Orton

If you attempt to artificially distract one of the premier athletes of our generation as he is practicing his craft, expect to pay a heavy price.

The Detroit Free Press reports that 18-year-old Lions fan Marko Beslach paid a $235 fine and must serve 80 hours of community service after trying to distract Bills quarterback Kyle Orton with a laser pointer during Buffalo’s October game against the Lions at Ford Field.

Orton said after the game that he had noticed “a couple of times” when the laser pointer was directed at him during the game, though apparently he was not sufficiently cat-like to be fazed by its appearance. Then-coach Doug Marrone also complained to NFL security after noticing the pointer directed at the eyeballs of kicker Dan Carpenter as he attempted and missed a 50-yard field goal. (Can someone find similar evidence to finally bail out Scott Norwood?)

Beslach’s efforts were in vain as the Lions lost 17-14 – you may remember former Lions head coach and then-Bills defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz getting carried off the field afterwards – and he was promptly banned from Ford Field after bragging about his exploits on social media. As the kids would say, “SMH.”

“We’ve dealt with it swiftly and with every weapon at our disposal, so to speak, and we certainly hope that the attention that we’ve paid to this will deter anybody who was thinking of doing this in the future,” Lions president Tom Lewand said at the time. “Now they understand the ramifications and, certainly, our security will be on guard for looking for things like laser points.”