NFL: National Football League roundup

(The Sports Xchange) - Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who committed suicide in jail while serving a life sentence for murder, had an advanced stage of degenerative brain disease. Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine said in a statement Thursday that Hernandez was dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Dr. Ann McKee, the director of the school's CTE Center and Chief of Neuropathology at the VA-BU-CLF Brain Bank, said Hernandez had Stage 3 CTE, with Stage 4 the most severe of the disease that has plagued numerous NFL players. Hernandez's lawyer, Jose Baez, told Deadspin.com that his law firm filed a federal lawsuit against the NFL and the Patriots on behalf of Hernandez's daughter and Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, who was engaged to the player at the time of his death. The lawsuit said Hernandez had "the most severe case of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) medically seen in a person of his young age of 28 years" by Boston University researchers. According to the filing, Hernandez's Stage 3 CTE is "usually seen in players with a median age of death of 67 years." - - - Tyler Eifert sat out practice and is unlikely to play in Sunday's game at Green Bay due to back and knee injuries. After injuries dogged Eifert in 2016, he is off to a slow start and back on the shelf. Eifert was targeted once in the season opener and has only four catches in two games. - - - The Green Bay Packers' Nick Perry is scheduled to undergo surgery on his hand for the second straight year. Coach Mike McCarthy announced the news but did not reveal how long Perry will be sidelined or even if the injury will keep him out of Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals (0-2). - - - The Baltimore Ravens placed Jeremy Langford on injured reserve and signed fellow running back John Crockett from the practice squad. Langford sustained an undisclosed injury during a special teams drill on Wednesday, according to the Baltimore Sun. Crockett played with the Green Bay Packers in 2015, recording nine carries for 21 yards in two games. - - - Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles was carted off the field in the middle of the third quarter Sunday with what was expected to be a severe injury. On Thursday, the team's first-round pick participated in practice and could be on the field for Week 3 at Buffalo despite a "deep bone bruise." Bradley Roby (ankle) was also back at practice Thursday after sitting out Wednesday. - - - Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long (ankle) went through a full practice for the first time since the season started, and has been in successive practices this week. Long is expected to play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers after he practiced Wednesday on a limited basis. How he handles practicing in succession will be a key to whether he's able to play all of Sunday's game. The Bears are in need of Long's return because right guard Josh Sitton hasn't practiced this week due to a rib injury and backup guard Tom Compton is trying to practice despite a hip injury. - - - The New Orleans Saints cut John Kuhn, the second time in less than three weeks they released the veteran fullback. New Orleans let Kuhn go because it needed the roster space after signing defensive lineman Kendall Langford, per the New Orleans Times-Picayune.