The deal to bring Freeney to the Chargers came four days after outside linebacker Melvin Ingram tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a padless practice. The addition of Freeney also helps cushion the loss of outside linebackers Antwan Barnes and Shaun Phillips to free agency. Freeney, a seven-time Pro Bowler, never seemed comfortable after moving from a 4-3 defensive end, where he spent his first 10 NFL seasons, to a 3-4 outside linebacker.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Bills defensive end Mario Williams isn't any closer to getting back his $785,000 diamond engagement ring from his former fiancee, Erin Marzouki. [...] Marzouki's attorney, Tony Buzbee, upped the ante on Friday by releasing a series of text messages he said were between his client and Williams that indicate how despondent the player was over their breakup in November. Accusing Williams of experiencing "dramatic mood swings" throughout the engagement, Buzbee also released an exchange of texts between the two he said he copied off his client's phone. Though they didn't mention Marzouki or the lawsuit, the messages posted were in defense of his character. In these times it's how you respond and portray yourself to others that shows the ethics, character and true morals of a person. Williams filed a lawsuit in Texas' Harris County district court May 3, demanding Marzouki return the ring and accusing her of breaking off the engagement in January. In March of last year, the Bills signed the free agent to a six-year, $100 million contract — the richest awarded to an NFL defensive player. On Friday, Buzbee accused Williams of filing the lawsuit out of anger after Marzouki refused to reconcile after the last breakup.

According to state police, Goodson was a passenger in a vehicle driven by 31-year-old Garant Evans of Roselle. State Police Sgt. Adam Grossman said both men were charged with marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and weapons offenses stemming from a 45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, that included a hollow-point bullet, found in the vehicle. Goodson was expected to compete for playing time with Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight, and was brought in to be an asset in new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's West Coast system because of his speed and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

(AP) — Seattle Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin was suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season on Friday after the league announced he violated the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. Irvin was expected to start at defensive end with Chris Clemons likely to miss the start of the season while recovering from knee surgery after being injured in Seattle's playoff win at Washington last January. With Clemons out, Irvin got the start against Atlanta in the NFC playoffs and appeared overwhelmed by the Falcons' offensive line while trying to be the main pass rusher on the Seahawks line. Irvin's suspension also continues a troubling trend of Seattle players running afoul of the league's policies on banned substances. Since 2011, five Seahawks players — John Moffitt, Allen Barbre, Winston Guy, Brandon Browner and Irvin — have received four-game suspensions.

The 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year would've traveled to the Bay Area from Denver after meeting with the Broncos on Wednesday, but he had charity obligations this weekend to support Mott Children's Hospital. The eight-time Pro Bowl player said he's scheduled to meet with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie and members of the coaching staff on Tuesday. The fund has spent $350,000 this year, according to Dr. Dr. Valerie Castle, to support two surgeons and two cardiologists trying to find ways to keep donated hearts alive for more than three days to improve the success rate of transplants. Having two healthy boys, running around and enjoying life, it makes you want to do whatever you can to improve somebody else's situation.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Doug Whaley was promoted to take over as Buffalo Bills general manager, making the team's near top-to-bottom offseason overhaul complete. In becoming the Bills' 12th GM and fifth in 12 years, Whaley's challenge now becomes turning around a franchise that has not finished with a winning record since 2004, and has not made the playoffs in 13 years — the NFL's longest active drought. Though it was unclear when Nix would step down, the Bills began laying the groundwork for the transition in February by signing Whaley to a long-term contract extension. Though the Bills secured Byrd's rights by placing a franchise tag on him this offseason, the player has yet to sign his contract. Whaley, who is black, snaps an NFL trend this offseason during which no minorities were hired to fill eight coaching and seven general manager vacancies. Whaley played both linebacker and safety at Pitt and broke into the NFL in 1995 as a Steelers pro personnel assistant. Jim Overdorf, senior vice president of football administration, will continue in his role as the team's chief negotiator and salary-cap manager, who answers directly to Brandon. In drafting Manuel, the Bills hope to have addressed a quarterback position that's been unsettled since Hall of Fame standout Jim Kelly retired following the 1996 season.

The weight of the franchise was foisted upon his shoulders from the very second word leaked out that former No. 1 draft pick would be sent from the San Francisco 49ers to the Chiefs during a topsy-turvy offseason. If he wasn't considered the leader in the huddle then, he certainly is now, as the Chiefs toil away in summer-like heat during the first full week of voluntary practices. [...] when a concussion forced him from the field, Colin Kaepernick stepped in and emerged as the next big thing in an era of mobile quarterbacks. [...] when Andy Reid was hired as the new coach in Kansas City, and longtime Packers executive John Dorsey came aboard as GM, they made an upgrade at quarterback their priority and targeting Smith their primary mission. [...] that may be when Smith is at his best. Yet during these early growing pains, Smith has become a sort of traffic cop, pointing wide receivers and running backs to the right places and adjusting his offensive line's protection. The Chiefs signed FB Braden Wilson, one of their two sixth-round picks, who played college football at Kansas State. OL Donald Stephenson continued to move around on the offensive line, spending time at RG with the first-team offense.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A woman has sued Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, claiming he or a body guard hit her, threw a drink at her and tossed her off a party bus on the New Jersey Turnpike last December. The bus left without her after a stop at a service plaza after she told others she had called police, the suit says, adding she had bruises on her arms, head trauma, a disc protrusion and lumbar sprain. State Police Sgt. Brian Polite said Wednesday that a trooper interviewed her around 4:30 a.m. that morning at the Thomas Edison service plaza in Woodbridge and took a report that an unknown man had thrown her to the floor of the bus and then onto the road.

The 23-year-old McClain played three seasons with the Oakland Raiders before signing a one-year contract with Baltimore as a free agent on April 12. Ten days after signing with the Ravens, McClain was arrested in Decatur, Alabama, and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Before joining the Ravens, McClain spent his first three NFL seasons with the Oakland Raiders.