NFL Notebook: Texans S Hal diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma

Safety Andre Hal of the Houston Texans has been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, the team announced on Friday. Hal is undergoing testing and evaluation at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston after he was given the preliminary diagnosis by team physicians. "My faith in God and the support from my family, friends, teammates and coaches will see me through this difficult time," Hal said in a statement. "I will not let this diagnosis stop me from fulfilling my dreams and I do not want anyone to feel sorry for me. I know how to beat this and I will beat it." The 26-year-old Hal was drafted by the Texans in the seventh round (216th overall) out of Vanderbilt in the 2014 draft and has made 172 total tackles and nine interceptions in his five seasons. The Texans re-signed him to three-year contract last year. Drafted as a cornerback, Hal was switched to strong safety three years ago and became the starter. "The news of Andre Hal's diagnosis weighs heavy on the hearts of everyone in the Houston Texans family," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said in a statement. "Andre epitomizes what it means to be a Houston Texan through his leadership, community involvement and team-first attitude. We are confident that Andre's resiliency and infectious positivity, along with treatment and care from the best medical community in the world, will guide him through his recovery." Texans tackle David Quessenberry was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin T-lymphoblastic lymphoma in 2014, but returned to the team last season. --Former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II was arrested on burglary charges in California. Winslow was charged with one felony count of first-degree burglary, according to a report by NBC San Diego. The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow, he was jailed for five hours following his arrest in Encinitas, Calif., before posting bail. Winslow II last played in the NFL with the New York Jets in 2013. He was the No. 6 overall selection of the Cleveland Browns in 2004 and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2007. According to authorities, the 34-year-old Winslow was arrested at 2:30 p.m. local time after police responded to a report of a burglary at a mobile home park. Winslow was confronted by a man who didn't recognize him before he drove off in his SUV. Deputies tracked down the vehicle and arrested Winslow, per police reports. A court appearance is schedule for Monday for Winslow, who played 10 seasons with the Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots and Jets. He also spent time with Seattle but never played a game for the Seahawks. Winslow finished his career with 469 receptions for 5,236 yards and 25 touchdowns. He had a career-best 89 receptions in 2006 and had his only 1,000-yard season (1,106) after making 82 catches for the Browns in 2007. --The reported four-game suspension of New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman could impact the team beyond his on-field contributions. Edelman is facing a ban for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy and plans to appeal the punishment, multiple media outlets reported Thursday. However, an emerging subplot of the story is Edelman's ties to trainer Alex Guerrro, who also serves as Tom Brady's body coach and business partner and was alleged to be among the reasons behind a reported rift between the quarterback and head coach Bill Belichick last season. Belichick banned Guerrero from New England's team facilities and the sideline last season, and Edelman's PED violation isn't like to endear the trainer to the team's hierarchy despite the cozy relationship with the franchise's star quarterback. Edelman has voiced his support for Guerrero's methods in the past, telling a Boston radio station last season: "I am a huge advocate of it. I feel like it helps me with a lot of my stuff and I like consulting with Alex." However, those remarks came while the veteran receiver was rehabbing from a torn ACL that caused him to miss the entire 2017 campaign. Guerrero, for his part, released a statement Thursday in which he expressed disappointment with the suspension while squelching the notion that his methods could be tied to Edelman's suspension. "I've known Julian since his rookie year and he is a phenomenal athlete who takes his training seriously -- it's disappointing to hear today's news," said Guerrero in the statement. "Elite athletes sometimes work with multiple coaches and health professionals as part of their training. Here at our facility, we take a natural, holistic, appropriate and, above all, legal approach to training and recovery for all of our clients. "And anyone who would suggest otherwise is irresponsible, and just plain wrong." An ESPN report last season detailed a power struggle between Belichick and Brady over myriad issues, including the trade of former backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco and the four-time Super Bowl MVP's relationship with Guerrero. Belichick reportedly was furious and demoralized when team owner Robert Kraft sided with Brady on the decision to trade Garoppolo, who won all five starts with the 49ers. Guerrero's presence also was reported to be a thorny issue, with ESPN noting that "new players felt the surest way to earn Brady's trust was to join Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and others by seeking advice from Guerrero at his TB12 clinic -- and not team doctors, which Belichick preferred." Brady did not participate in voluntary team workouts this offseason for the first time since 2010, but both he and Belichick insisted during this week's minicamp that their relationship is fine. --The Detroit Lions will conduct a pair of joint training camp practices in advance of their first two preseason games, the team announced. The Lions will hold separate sessions with both the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants during the first two weeks of August. Detroit will head to Napa, Calif., to train with the Raiders on Aug. 7 and 8 before its exhibition opener against the Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on Aug. 10. The Lions will return home the following week to host New York on Aug. 14-16 before clashing with the Giants on Aug. 17 at Ford Field. It will mark the third consecutive year the team has held joint training camp sessions. The Lions worked out with Indianapolis last year and visited the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016. First-year head coach Matt Patricia participated in such joint sessions while he was serving as defensive coordinator with the New England Patriots. "I think any of those situations that are advantageous to help you evaluate your team, especially in training camp or be able to maybe change the scenery of training camp is always a good idea, if it works out," Patricia told the Detroit News earlier this spring. "It's always about improving, so those are tough situations. ... Everything's highly competitive, but you're really trying to get good evaluations of your players through those types of situations." --Former Virginia Tech cornerback Adonis Alexander is entering the NFL's supplemental draft, according to his agent. Alexander, who was dismissed from the team at Virginia Tech last month, will hold a pro day at the school on June 20, agent Andy Ross posted on his Twitter account. Ross wrote that Alexander formally entered the supplemental draft that will be held on July 11. Academics led to Alexander's dismissal with the Hokies, the Roanoke (Va.) Times reported, citing a source. It was the latest transgression for Alexander, who missed three games at the school due to suspensions. One of the infractions was marijuana-related, the newspaper reported. The 6-foot-3, 207-pound Alexander started 15 of 34 games over three seasons at Virginia Tech, recording seven interceptions. He was expected to vie for a starting job prior to his departure. --Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson has been unable to practice this week due to an undisclosed injury. Johnson was a spectator on the sideline during Thursday's offseason team activities, according to the Arizona Republic. However, first-year head coach Steve Wilks declined to specify the injury to Johnson, who missed nearly the entire 2017 season after suffering a dislocated wrist in Week 1. "It's the offseason, and I'm not going to really indulge in injuries or things like that," Wilks told the newspaper. "We're going to talk about the guys that are out there." Any injury to Johnson is a concern for the Cardinals. Much like was expected last season, he will be the focal point of the offense in 2018. A third-round draft choice out of Northern Iowa in 2015, Johnson burst onto the NFL scene by joining Gayle Sayers as the only rookies with at least four rushing and four receiving touchdowns along with a kick return for a scorer. Entrenched as the starter in 2016, Johnson rushed for 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also caught 80 passes for 879 yards and four scores as Arizona had the league's sixth-highest scoring offense at 26.1 points per game. However, the injury in the 2017 season opener revealed Johnson's impact on the offense -- the Cardinals averaged nearly eight points fewer than in 2016. Wilks was impressed with how Johnson looked at OTAs last month. Johnson already has placed high expectations on himself, telling the NFL Network his goal is to become the third player in NFL history to gain 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. The Cardinals will hold a three-day minicamp next week. --Chicago Bears linebacker Leonard Floyd, who has been slowed by injuries in his first two seasons, says he will be healthy for the start of training camp. The 26-year-old Floyd injured his right knee last November and was lost for the season. "I feel great," Floyd said. "I've been up here (at Bears headquarters) the whole offseason, working hard, trying to get back in shape, trying to get my leg right so I can be ready for the season. I'm ready to get to training camp, put the pads on and see how I do." Floyd, selected by the Bears with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Georgia, was expected to be an impact player, but also has sustained head and neck injuries. Floyd has played in 22 of a possible 32 games in his first two seasons and has shown he could be a real force if he stays healthy, making a total of 67 tackles, including 11.5 sacks -- seven in his rookie season. --The Los Angeles Rams signed defensive back Nate Holley, the team announced. Holley played for four seasons at Kent State from 2013-2016, registering more than 100 tackles in each of his last three years, including a career-best 139 as a junior. During his senior season, Holley was limited to nine games but averaged a nation-leading 8.9 solo tackles. Holley joins his brother, Nick Holley, on the Rams' roster. Nick, who saw time at wide receiver, running back and quarterback at Kent State, was signed by Los Angeles last month. --Wide receiver Tyler Lockett appeared to be an emerging star after earning Pro Bowl honors as a rookie with the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. Following two injury-plagued seasons, the 25-year-old Lockett again is making an impression in Seattle during organized team activities this week. Although Lockett has missed only one game since he was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft out of Kansas State, he was slowed by a knee injury in 2016 and sustained a compound fracture in his right leg at the end of his second season that hindered him in 2017. Now that he's healthy, the Seahawks are hoping Lockett can regain that form that led to a career-best 51 receptions for six touchdowns as a rookie. He also averaged 9.5 yards on punt returns that year. "It's really been a blessing for him to be able to get his legs back underneath him," Seahawks coach Peter Carroll said, per the Seattle Times. "Last year was a struggle for him, the offseason for certain, but throughout the season itself he was not able to do things in the same manner that he had done it in years past, and that's really just workload." Lockett sustained a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg late in the 2016 season, an injury that occurred one week after he set a career best with 130 yards receiving on seven catches. Although his recovery time was expected to be four to six weeks, Carroll said Lockett never was completely right last season. He finished with 45 catches for 555 yards and two scores. "He just couldn't do as much, had to take care of his legs more," Carroll said. "So he's back at it, he's really playing fast, he has no restrictions of any kind or after effects of the surgery of last year or since he's been hurt. So that's a real positive. He looked great today, in particular." --The Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced that Byron Kiefer has been promoted from National Scout to Senior National Scout, among several moves in their scouting department. In addition, Antwon Murray was promoted from NFS/Combine Scout to area scout and Brian McLaughlin moved from Scouting Assistant to NFS/Combine Scout. The Buccaneers also hired Sean Conley, Will Edmunds and Zach Smith as Scouting Assistants. Kiefer is entering his 14th season with the Buccaneers, having worked as a national scout for the last three seasons. Murray spent the last two seasons as the Buccaneers' NFS/Combine scout, while McLaughlin enters his fifth season with the Buccaneers.