NFL meetings: Safety is top concern

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NFL owners are convening in Tampa today and Tuesday for their annual fall meeting, which includes a state-of-the-league address from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Player safety is atop the agenda, and Goodell will tell the group that he will be quick to suspend and not simply fine players who endanger others on the field. The league has already suspended two players this season, matching its total number of suspensions from 2003 through ’07.

Owners will also discuss the restructuring of the regular season, possibly replacing some of the exhibition games with games that count. That could mean a 17- or 18-game regular season, although no decision will be made at this meeting. Besides, the networks and the players’ union has to sign off on any decision, so that call will be made down the road.

This is the first meeting after the death of NFLPA head Gene Upshaw, and owners will get an update on the progress of naming a successor. The union has hired a Chicago-based executive search firm and is expected to have a list of finalists compiled by January. The union’s new leader should be selected in March.

-- Sam Farmer