Football News With All The Top NFL Teams

The NFL has had great success playing games in Mexico City, and now it has to clean up a major embarrassment.

Monday night’s marquee matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles, scheduled for Mexico City, has been moved to Los Angeles because of an unplayable field.

“We have worked extensively with our partners at Estadio Azteca for months in preparation for this game,” said NFL Executive Vice President of International Mark Waller said in a news release on Tuesday.

“Until very recently, we had no major concerns. But, the combination of a difficult rainy season and a heavy multi-event calendar of events at the stadium, have resulted in significant damage to the field that presents unnecessary risks to player safety and makes it unsuitable to host an NFL game. As a result, we have determined that moving the game is the right decision, and one that we needed to announce now in order to allow our teams and fans to make alternate arrangements.”

As the designated home team for this game, the Rams were required to keep their stadium available just in case. They were going to train at altitude in Colorado this week to be prepared for Mexico City’s thin air.

The other key NFL item: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, unhappy that the team designated him as its franchise player for a second year in a row, had until Tuesday to report and collect the remaining portions of the $14.4 million contract the Steelers tendered.

He did not show up. He cannot play this season and likely will be a free agent next year. His place has been taken more than adequately by James Conner.

A good move by Bell, who skipped training camp a year ago over the same issues? Well, principle counts for something and he wanted a long-term deal at specific numbers. The Steelers wouldn’t go that high. A bad move? He left $14.4 million on the table and he didn’t get younger in the process. Not that he’s old – at 26, he should have three or four solid years left in him.

Most teams, however, prefer to draft a running back with no NFL mileage than to shop around in free agency and pay more for a used vehicle.

The fact that a player will sit out an entire season, however, is remarkable in today’s NFL.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman