The Sports Xchange

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL Players Association have filed the expected lawsuit seeking to void the NFL’s four-game suspension of Brady.

The petition was filed in Minnesota district court on Wednesday and alleges that the NFL did not give Brady advance notice of the punishment and that the punishment and appeal were unfair.

The NFLPA is expected to ask Judge Richard Kyle to rule by Sept. 4 or to issue an injunction allowing Brady to play until a ruling is made. NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler thinks the situation can be resolved by Sept. 4, per USA Today.

Brady’s four-game suspension for his alleged role in underinflating footballs before the AFC Championship Game was upheld by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Tuesday.

—Patriots owner Robert Kraft harshly criticized Goodell’s decision to uphold Brady’s suspension, calling it “unfathomable.”

Kraft apologized to the team’s fans on Wednesday morning — “I was wrong to put my faith in the league” — and expressed regret for not taking legal action against the NFL.

“There are those in the league office who are more determined to prove they were right rather than admit any culpability,” Kraft said. “The decision handed down by the league yesterday is unfathomable to me. It is routine for discipline in the NFL to be reduced upon appeal. In the vast majority of these cases, there is tangible and hard evidence of the infraction for which the discipline is being imposed, and still the initial penalty gets reduced. Six months removed from the AFC Championship Game, the league still has no hard evidence of anybody doing anything to tamper with the PSI levels of footballs.”

—In a strongly worded and lengthy response to Goodell’s decision to uphold his suspension, Brady posted on his Facebook page early Wednesday morning that “neither I, nor any equipment person, did anything of which we have been accused.”

“I am very disappointed by the NFL’s decision to uphold the four-game suspension against me,” Brady wrote. “I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either.

“Despite submitting to hours of testimony over the past six months, it is disappointing that the commissioner upheld my suspension based upon a standard that it was ‘probable’ that I was ‘generally aware’ of misconduct. The fact is that neither I, nor any equipment person, did anything of which we have been accused. He dismissed my hours of testimony and it is disappointing that he found it unreliable.”

—The NFL has asked police to keep an eye on Goodell’s house on the Maine coast following his decision to uphold Brady’s suspension.

The NFL contacted Scarborough police on Tuesday, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Goodell and his wife own a $6.5 million house in Scarborough, Maine, an area where most fans follow the Super Bowl champion Patriots. Goodell has vacationed in Scarborough for years and recently built a home at Prout’s Neck.

—The Washington Redskins signed linebacker Ryan Kerrigan to a multi-year contract extension.

Terms were not disclosed, but NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported Kerrigan received a five-year extension worth $57.5 million, including a $16 million signing bonus. Kerrigan is scheduled to earn $7.03 million this season on the fifth-year option the Redskins picked up.

Kerrigan’s deal makes him the NFL’s third-highest-paid linebacker, behind Kansas City’s Justin Houston and Green Bay’s Clay Matthews.

—Defensive end Jeremy Mincey began training camp as a holdout on Wednesday when the rest of the Dallas Cowboys arrived in Oxnard, Calif.

Mincey, 31, is in the second year of a $3 million deal he signed prior to last season and wants a restructured contract.

The Cowboys drafted a defensive end in the second round for the second year in a row — Nebraska’s Randy Gregory — and signed Greg Hardy, a former Pro Bowl selection from the Carolina Panthers who must serve a four-game suspension to start the season.

—Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor has informed team officials that he wants a new contract and is “strongly considering” a holdout, NFL Network reported Wednesday.

Chancellor has three years remaining on the four-year, $28 million extension he signed in April 2013. He is due to make $4.55 million in 2015.

Defensive end Michael Bennett also has asked the Seahawks for a restructured contract and has hinted that he might hold out as well.

—Chicago Bears first-round draft pick Kevin White will not practice when the team takes the field at the start of training camp.

General manager Ryan Pace said the wide receiver suffered a shin injury near the end of organized team activities in June. He did not practice with the team during minicamp, but the Bears had not revealed the nature of the injury until now.

The Bears also announced that third-string quarterback David Fales will start training camp on the non-football illness list.

—The Miami Dolphins signed defensive tackle Calvin Barnett, wide receiver Kai De La Cruz and tackle Chris Martin.

The team also waived defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy, placed safety Don Jones and wide receiver DeVante Parker on the physically-unable-to-perform list.

The team also has placed tight end Gerell Robinson on the non-football injury list.

—The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed cornerback Jude Adjei-Barimah, safety Kimario McFadden and cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz.

The Bucs also waived safety Deshazor Everett and safety Derrick Wells. Wells had been placed on the active/non-football injury list Tuesday, prior to being waived.

—The New England Patriots signed veteran cornerback Tarell Brown.

Brown, 30, is an eight-year veteran who spent last season with the Oakland Raiders after playing his first seven seasons for the San Francisco 49ers.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder has played in 114 career games, recording 295 tackles, 11 interceptions, 59 passes defensed and two fumble recoveries. He started all 14 games he played in for the Raiders, finishing with 55 tackles and four passes defensed.

—Carolina Panthers wide receiver Stephen Hill was cited by police for possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the Charlotte Observer, Hill was cited Tuesday by Concord, N.C., police with two misdemeanors: possession of marijuana paraphernalia and failure to wear a seatbelt.

Hill, a second-round pick in 2012, played two years with the New York Jets, catching 45 passes for 594 yards and four touchdowns. He joined the Panthers’ practice squad last September.

—Right tackle Gosder Cherilus visited the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday, two days after he was released by the Indianapolis Colts.

Cherilus started all 29 games he appeared in for the Colts over the past two seasons but landed on injured reserve before the playoffs.

The Bills parted with guard Chris Williams and tackle Wayne Hunter in the past week and have holes across the offensive line.

—Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver James Wright cleared waivers and reverted to the team’s injured reserve.

Wright was placed on the team’s season-ending waived/injured list on Tuesday because of a knee injury suffered during a Week 13 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year that required surgery. There are reports that Wright might be facing another surgery.

As a rookie out of LSU last season, Wright played in 11 games and had five receptions for 91 yards and carried three times for 30 yards. He also contributed on special teams.

—The Indianapolis Colts signed undrafted cornerback Raymon Taylor.

The 5-foot-10, 184-pound Taylor worked out with the Houston Texans on a tryout basis during rookie minicamp but was not signed.

Taylor appeared in 46 games (31 starts) at cornerback at the University of Michigan and finished with 171 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries, 16 passes defensed and six interceptions. In 2014, he played in 10 games (eight starts) and registered 38 tackles.

—The Atlanta Falcons signed offensive lineman DeMarcus Love.

A sixth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2011, Love has played with the Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars (2013).