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Nashville, Tenn. • Titans linebacker Jonathan "Tig" Willard says he helped rescue a family from a burning vehicle on his way to Tennessee training camp.
The rookie was driving on Interstate 40 Tuesday when he noticed a sports utility vehicle smoking. He first told TigerNet.com that he flashed his lights and honked his horn to get the driver to pull over when he saw flames shoot out the back.
"As soon as I got to the car, I saw three small kids in the back seat and a dog," Willard said Wednesday at the Titans' headquarters. "So for me, I'm thinking, 'Hurry up and get the kids. Hurry up and get everybody out and get them away from the car.' You could see probably up under the engine, all that was still on fire. So I'm thinking that the car might go up anytime."
Willard said he handed an infant to the woman before pulling out another child. A second man who had stopped rescued a third child and the family's dog.
Around the league
Patriots • New England coach Bill Belichick broke his silence Wednesday on the arrest of Aaron Hernandez, saying the club will learn from "this terrible experience" and it's time to "move forward."
Four weeks after the former Patriots tight end was charged with murder and cut by the team, Belichick addressed the issue during a 22-minute news conference one day before his team opens training camp.
Browns • The legal entanglement of Cleveland owner Jimmy Haslam is not tying up his NFL franchise, the team's top executive says.
On the eve of training camp, CEO Joe Banner said the federal investigation into fraud at Haslam's Pilot Flying J truck-stop business has not hindered the club's daily operations or impacted the owner's vision for turning the Browns into perennial winners.