Johnson was apprehended by Fort Lauderdale, Fla., police over the weekend for allegedly head-butting his wife during an argument. The Dolphins terminated Johnson's contract on Sunday in response to the incident.
League, refs still at an impasse
League executives said they now foresee starting the 2012 regular season with replacement officials.
At a time when players are openly criticizing replacement officials and coaches are privately grumbling about them, the NFL and NFL Referees Association are not making any progress toward a new deal, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Economics play a part in the stalemate, but league brass said there are two other issues hanging over and hanging up negotiations.
For starters, the NFL wants to make a group of officials, who work only part time for the NFL, work full time. But more than 90 percent of those officials already have full-time jobs and they are unwilling to leave them and the revenue they provide.
The other issue is that the NFL wants to add three additional crews to give officials more rest and the league more officiating options, but the locked-out officials oppose this.
Rams dropping two London dates
The St. Louis Rams are dropping plans to play home games in London in 2013 and 2014, citing a need to focus on negotiations on their lease and ease fan discontent.
The Rams said that they will play the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 28 while withdrawing their commitment for home games in London the following two seasons.
"We want to grow globally, but we need to make sure we're on solid footing first here in St. Louis," said Kevin Demoff, chief operating officer, at a news conference.
Giants' Nicks cleared to play
Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks has been taken off the physically unable to perform list by the New York Giants and can start practicing with the team.
The Super Bowl champions made the move after Nicks passed his physical. The four-year veteran will be limited for his first three workouts. His first could be Tuesday.
Nicks missed the first two weeks of training camp at the University at Albany while completing rehabilitation on a broken right foot that he hurt in May during OTA. Last week, he started running some pass patterns for trainers and felt good.
McFadden shines in Raiders' loss
Darren McFadden picked up where he left off before a foot injury cut last season short for him by gaining 38 yards on Oakland's first three plays of the exhibition season, and the host Raiders went on to lose to the Dallas Cowboys, 3-0.
To the delight of the Raiders fans, McFadden, who missed the last nine games of 2011 with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, opened with a 4-yard run, an 18-yard reception, and a 16-yard run.
