NFLWIRE.Net

The New York Jets have hired Scott Cohen for their newly created position of assistant general manager, according to a person with the team. Cohen will work with general manager Mike Tannenbaum on day-to-day operations, the person said on condition of anonymity Friday night because the team hadn’t yet announced the hiring.

The Philadelphia Eagles extended the contract of general manager Tom Heckert through 2011 on Friday and replaced vice president of player personnel Jason Licht. Howie Roseman, formerly its vice president of football administration, will replace Licht, the team said. Heckert was named general manager in 2006 after originally joining the team as the director of player personnel in 2001.

Tiffany said each ring, made of white gold and diamonds, has an estimated value of roughly $25,000.

The New York Giants will get their final reward for winning the Super Bowl when they are given their championship rings. The private ceremony will be held Thursday night at Tiffany and Co. It will bring an end to a four-month celebration that followed the Giants’ stunning 17-14 win over the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Feb.

Five months before the Saints and Chargers kick off at Wembley Stadium, tickets already are going fast. The first 40,000 tickets made available for the NFL’s second overseas regular-season game were sold in 90 minutes Thursday. The game will be Oct. 26, a Saints home game. Because of the demand, the NFL released an additional 5,000 to go on sale immediately.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers lineman Thomas McHale, who was found dead at a friend’s Tampa-area home on Sunday, was using anti-depression medicine and cocaine the night before he died, authorities said. According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office report released Wednesday, a friend of Thomas McHale told deputies he saw McHale take several Xanax pills and use cocaine.

Former Denver Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun pleaded guilty Wednesday to disturbing the peace in a confrontation with a taxi driver last December and was sentenced to perform 24 hours of community service. But outside the courtroom, Sauerbrun insisted he is innocent and said he accepted a plea deal with prosecutors only because his record could be cleansed after a year.

The New York Jets signed free-agent running back Musa Smith on Tuesday. Smith played the last five seasons for Baltimore, where he set career highs last year with 264 yards rushing and 27 catches for 192 yards. The former third-round pick out of Georgia in 2003 has rushed for 496 yards and four touchdowns, and caught 27 passes for 363 yards in a five-year career shortened by injuries.

Matt Schaub had more than a little bad luck in his first season as a starter. The Houston Texans quarterback had helmet-to-helmet hits in consecutive weeks that led to a hip injury and a concussion before missing the last four games with a dislocated shoulder that required surgery. When he was on the field, he was often without his starting running back and top receiver.

Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry’s hamstring injury is healing slowly and the team doesn’t expect him to return to offseason workouts until next week. When he does get back on the field, he’ll find even more competition for snaps. The Broncos agreed to a one-year deal on Tuesday with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman, agent Drew Rosenhaus told The Associated Press.

The Washington Redskins acquired defensive end Erasmus James on Tuesday for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, a low-risk deal for a former first-round pick whose career is threatened by a pair of serious knee injuries. The Vikings announced on Friday that they were placing James on waivers after he failed to pass a physical, but the Redskins called before the paperwork was filed.

Houston Texans select defensive tackle Amobi Okoye with 10th pick at NFL draft

Authorities are investigating the death of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Thomas McHale, who was found dead at a friend’s home. He was 45. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said McHale was found by the friend early Sunday in the Tampa-area home. Authorities say foul play is not suspected. An autopsy has been scheduled.

Harry Carson, the Giants Hall of Fame linebacker, inducted Vince Lombardi into the New Jersey Hall of Fame recently, and according to Carson, the Super Bowl champions had better be prepared for every game.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Minnesota Vikings released Erasmus James, a first-round draft choice in 2005, after the defensive end failed a physical, the team announced on its Web site (www.vikings.com) on Friday.

The Minnesota Vikings cut ties with former first-round pick Erasmus James on Friday, essentially tying a bow on a monumentally disappointing 2005 draft. The Vikings waived James after he failed to pass a physical and now have hardly anything to show for a 2005 draft that was supposed to shore up several weak spots in the post-Randy Moss era.