METAIRIE, La. (AP) — A day after attending a back-to-school event like a typical 41-year-old father of four, John Kasay was on a morning flight from Charlotte to New Orleans and resuming is two-decade career as an NFL kicker.
“That’s how fast life changes,” said Kasay, who joined the Saints in time to practice Tuesday evening, two days after Garrett Hartley hurt his right hip while kicking an extra point in New Orleans’ victory at Oakland on Sunday night.
As suddenly as Kasay found himself back in the pros, former Saints starting defensive end Alex Brown was looking for a job.
Brown, who has played nine NFL seasons and started every game for New Orleans in 2010, was among 11 players let go by the Saints on Tuesday, when NFL teams were required to trim preseason rosters to 80.
Brown was slated to earn $3 million in base salary this season and the Saints had added depth at his position in the offseason, drafting California standout end Cam Jordan 24th overall last spring, then signing former Detroit defensive end Turk McBride shortly after the NFL lockout ended.
“It was a hard decision. We spent a lot of time on it,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “It wasn’t that we just drafted a young player at that position. I think you try to factor in all the practice snaps, all the game film and it was something that, after going through it all and also looking at the timing of it, there’s still that opportunity within the next week that he’ll have a chance to sign with someone else.
 
NCAA: 8 Miami players must sit out games
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP)—Quarterback Jacory Harris and 11 other Miami players who accepted extra benefits from former booster Nevin Shapiro will be allowed by the NCAA to play again, the first sanctions in a scandal that continues to overshadow the Hurricanes.
In all, 12 players must pay at least some restitution. Of those, eight will miss at least one game.
The harshest penalties handed down Tuesday were reserved for those who took gifts from Shapiro while being recruited. Defensive lineman Olivier Vernon will sit out six games, while Ray Ray Armstrong—considered among the nation’s top safeties—and tight end Dyron Dye will miss four games apiece.
They are three of eight players, including Harris, who must sit out games and make restitution before they can be reinstated.
“I think it was probably fair,” Miami coach Al Golden told The Associated Press Tuesday night. “Clearly, whatever transpired, it wasn’t as over-the-top as everybody was initially reporting and all of those things. The NCAA and the university felt there was mistakes made … and I’ve accepted that. And now we’re moving