NFL notebook: Whaley lands gig with NFLPA

The job primarily will focus on the evaluation and selection of pro prospects
for the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

"I'm grateful to the NFLPA for entrusting me with this opportunity to work
with a marquee collegiate showcase," Whaley said in a press release. "We are
an organization that will be with the players for their entire careers both on
and off the field. I'm thrilled to serve in this capacity of introducing them
to the union, our partners and the many great programs available to help them
make the most of their experience."

Tony Softli resigned from the position to become the scouting director for the
Alliance of American Football. Whaley, 45, had been working for tech firm
Impellia since his dismissal from Buffalo in April 2017.

--Recently retired NFL referee Jeff Triplette is joining ESPN to be the new
rules analyst for Monday Night Football, according to a report from Football
Zebras.

The report adds that the NFL specifically steered ESPN to hire Triplette, who
was one of two of the league's referees to retire after the 2017 season, along
with Ed Hochuli. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Triplette entered the NFL as a
field judge in 1996 and became a referee in 1999.

Triplette will replace Gerry Austin, who had served a MNF's rules analyst
since 2012. Austin, an NFL official from 1982-2007, was hired last week by
former MNF color analyst and current Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden to
be a consultant for the team.

--A day after he was waived by the Cleveland Browns, offensive tackle Roderick
Johnson was claimed by Houston, the Texans announced.

A fifth-round pick out of Florida State in 2017, Johnson didn't see the field
in the regular season with Cleveland, spending his entire rookie campaign on
injured reserve with a sprained medial collateral ligament and meniscus damage
in his knee.

To make room for Johnson on the 90-man roster, the Texans waived tackle
Kendall Calhoun, an undrafted rookie out of Cincinnati.

--The Denver Broncos' home -- formerly known as Sports Authority Field at Mile
High -- will temporarily be called Broncos Stadium at Mile High, the team
announced.

The district that operates the taxpayer-built stadium approved a proposal for
the temporary name while the franchise continues to seek a new naming-rights
partner. Sports Authority, the previous sponsor, declared bankruptcy in 2016,
but its name remained on stadium for nearly two years until signs were taken
down in January.

The team's first home -- where the franchise played for its first 41 seasons
-- was called Mile High Stadium from 1968 until its demolition in 2002.

--Field Level Media