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San Francisco • Call it the Odell Beckham Jr. Rule.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is pushing to require the ejection of any player who is flagged for two personal fouls in a game.
"We should take that out of the hands of the officials when it gets to that point. They will obviously have to throw the flag, but when they do, we will look to see if we can reach an agreement on the conditions for which [a player would] be ejected," Goodell said Friday at his annual state-of-the-league news conference ahead of the Super Bowl.
In December, Giants receiver Beckham was allowed to stay in a game despite drawing three personal-foul penalties for unnecessary roughness, including one for a diving helmet-to-helmet hit on cornerback Josh Norman, whose Carolina Panthers will play in Sunday's Super Bowl. The two players engaged in all sorts of shenanigans throughout the game, and Beckham eventually was suspended for New York's next game.
Goodell said he had already recommended to the league's competition committee that it consider the rule change.
Giants owner John Mara, a member of that committee, said Friday's discussion of the proposal was the first he'd heard of it, but that he is "inclined to go in that direction.
He noted that there would need to be careful consideration of which personal fouls would be counted toward an ejection; an incidental facemask penalty, for example, should not, in Mara's view.
Goodell also addressed the degenerative brain disease found in dozens of former NFL players. Days after researchers said late quarterback Kenny Stabler's brain showed signs of the disease, Goodell said: "The concussion issue is something we've been focused on for several decades ... and we have made great progress."
Goodell also announced that the Oakland Raiders will host the Houston Texans in a Monday night game on Nov. 21 at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Panthers' Davis, Allen are expected to play
Coach Ron Rivera says he expects linebacker Thomas Davis and defensive end Jared Allen to start for Panthers on Sunday in the Super Bowl.
Davis missed the second half of the team's NFC championship game win over the Arizona Cardinals with a broken right forearm. He had surgery to have 12 screws and a plate inserted into the arm and will wear a protective brace Sunday.
Allen missed the Arizona game with a small broken bone in his foot, but has had three weeks to recover.
Rivera said Friday "we are pleased with what we got from both of those guys. I'm excited about having them back on the football field. ... I believe they will be given the 'all clear.'"
Both participated in all drills in practice Friday.
Manziel's father fears for QB's safety
With Johnny Manziel's professional career in doubt and his personal life crumbling, his father fears for the troubled quarterback's safety. Manziel is facing a criminal investigation by police following allegations that he hit his former girlfriend last weekend in Texas. He was dropped by his agent Friday, was ordered this week to stay away from his ex for two years and will be released by the Cleveland Browns next month after two tumultuous seasons.
"I truly believe if they can't get him help, he won't live to see his 24th birthday," Paul Manziel told The Dallas Morning News.
Manziel's father said the family has made two unsuccessful attempts in the past week to get the player into a rehab clinic.
Ball arrested
Former Wisconsin and Denver Broncos running back Montee Ball was jailed early Friday in Madison, Wis., on a felony battery charge after an apparent dispute with his girlfriend.