In Houston, Brian Smith noted Texans Vice Chair & COO Cal McNair "has taken a more active role in recent years," and will at some point "take over for his father," team Owner Bob McNair. The elder McNair said, "We're grooming him to be the leader, and I think he'll be a good one." Meanwhile, one year after "revealing that he overcame two forms of cancer, the 78-year-old McNair has a white-blood cell count that's higher than it has been in a decade." He said, "I'm getting stronger. I'm still a little thinner than I was. But I've gained about half the weight I lost" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 7/26).
VIRTUAL INSANITY: USA TODAY's Tom Pelissero cites a source as saying that the Vikings have finalized a deal with STRIVR Labs to use the company's "immersive training solution." This comes as the NFL's "virtual reality revolution is moving quickly enough" that Commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly "toured STRIVR's facilities last week." The Cowboys and 49ers "previously were known to have signed on with STRIVR," and the Patriots reportedly "will use the technology as well." The Buccaneers signed with competitor EON Sports (USA TODAY, 7/27).
SAINTS GO MARCHING IN: THE MMQB's Peter King notes LB Junior Galette "was informed Friday that the Saints would be releasing him," which is the "latest example of the debacle that the Saints’ salary cap situation has become." Galette was "arrested on a domestic violence charge, but the charges were dropped." For the Saints, "firing a player just 10 months after handing him" a four-year $41M deal "is a deathblow to a team trying to get out from under an avalanche of shaky contracts." The team, "incredibly," will have $17.55M less to spend on its cap in '15 and '16 because of the Galette deal (MMQB.SI.com, 7/27).
I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE: In Miami, Adam Beasley noted the Dolphins’ annual bicycle race, which has raised more than $11M for the Univ. of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, "will now be known as the Dolphins Cancer Challenge." The event will now "also include a 5K run/walk and a mini music festival in the Sun Life Stadium parking lot, featuring multiple Grammy Award-winning performers." The DCC, now in its sixth year, "has become the Miami Dolphins Foundation’s signature health initiative." All of the money raised "goes directly to Sylvester to fight cancer." Formerly a two-day event, it has been "condensed to one" in '16, scheduled for Feb. 20 (MIAMIHERALD.com, 7/24).
