National Football League
The Latest: NFL rules 9/11 cleat tribute out of bounds
National Football League

The Latest: NFL rules 9/11 cleat tribute out of bounds

Published Sep. 11, 2016 1:43 p.m. ET

The Latest on Week 1 of the NFL season (all times Eastern):

12:40 p.m.

The NFL has already ruled at least one 9/11 tribute out of bounds on opening weekend.

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Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson has been told to shelve a pair of cleats he planned to wear to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

According to The Tennessean , Williamson was informed by the league he would be fined for a uniform violation if he wore the shoes. New York Giants receivers Odell Beckham and Victor Cruz are expected to wear similar shoes. Other players, including Atlanta's Julio Jones, already wore similar cleats during warms-ups.

''I don't want to draw negative attention, so I'm just going to focus on playing the game,'' the newspaper quoted Williamson saying. ''Once I heard from them, I didn't even try to argue anything. I just left it alone.''

Williamson's cleats were to be painted red, white, and blue and emblazoned with ''9-11-01'' and ''Never Forget'' on each shoe. Williamson will auction them off to benefit Operation Warrior Wishes.

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12:25 p.m.

Left behind by the team bus, two members of the Buffalo Bills opted to take Uber to the stadium for the opener against the Ravens.

Linebacker Jerry Hughes posted a video on Instagram showing him and linebacker Zach Brown in a car, supposedly en route to M&T Bank Stadium.

A Bills official said the two players could have waited for a second team bus leaving from the hotel.

- David Ginsburg in Baltimore.

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12:20 p.m.

With Jimmy Garoppolo starting for the Patriots, Carson Wentz behind center for the Eagles and Shaun Hill or Sam Bradford - who really knows? - throwing passes for Minnesota, the first week of the NFL season will play out Sunday with plenty of uncertainty about what to expect.

Other players expected to be absent in Week 1 include Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski and Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, while some are returning from injury, including Green Bay wideout Jordy Nelson and Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

The early games include: Tampa Bay at Atlanta, Minnesota at Tennessee, Cleveland at Philadelphia, Cincinnati at New York Jets, Oakland at New Orleans, San Diego at Kansas City, Buffalo at Baltimore, Chicago at Houston and Green Bay at Jacksonville.

Games expected to start after 4 p.m. Eastern include: Miami at Seattle, New York Giants at Dallas and Detroit at Indianapolis, with New England playing Arizona on Sunday night.

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12:10 p.m.

Tampa Bay made three late additions to its roster count. Wide receiver Cecil Shorts, running back Peyton Barber and linebacker Josh Keyes, all added this week, are on the active roster for Sunday's opener against the Atlanta Falcons.

Shorts, who also played for new Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter in Jacksonville, was signed following his release last week from the Texans. Shorts' experience was attractive to Tampa Bay, which lacked proven backups to starters Vincent Jackson and Mike Evans.

- Charles Odum in Atlanta.

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AP NFL websites: http://pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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