NFL draft coming to Vegas in 2020

December 13, 2018 at 12:00a.m.

DALLAS

The NFL draft is heading to Las Vegas for 2020.

It almost certainly will arrive before the Raiders do.

“We believe the draft will be the kickoff to our inaugural season,” said Raiders owner Mark Davis, who is moving the team from Oakland.

The league announced Wednesday at an owners meeting that the city where the Raiders will begin play in September 2020 will host the draft that April.

“Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world and will provide a tremendous experience for the NFL and its fans,” Davis added.

The NFL began to bring the draft to different cities in 2015, when it was in Chicago. It was held there in 2016, too, then went to Philadelphia in 2017. Last April, the Cowboys hosted it in their stadium in Arlington, Texas, and next year it will be in Nashville.

April 23-25 will be the dates for the Las Vegas draft, which the league said will be held on and around the Strip.

Joe Flacco benched for Lamar Jackson

OWINGS MILLS, Md.

Joe Flacco has lost his job as Baltimore Ravens starting quarterback and will be the backup Sunday for the first time in his 11-year NFL career.

Flacco is finally healthy after missing the past four games with a right hip injury. The Ravens went 3-1 during his absence under rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson, and coach John Harbaugh has decided to stick with the first-round draft pick with Baltimore striving to end a three-year playoff drought.

Harbaugh said Wednesday: “Every decision is based on making us the strongest possible team we can be.”

Jackson will start Sunday when the Ravens (7-6) host Tampa Bay (5-8).

The 33-year-old Flacco has been a starter since his rookie season in 2008 and was Super Bowl MVP when the Ravens beat San Francisco to end the 2012 season.

Phillies finalize deal with McCutchen

LAS VEGAS

All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen and the Philadelphia Phillies have finalized to a $50 million, three-year contract, a deal that includes a team option for 2022.

The 32-year-old was an All-Star each season from 2011-15, topping .300 in batting average from 2012-14. He was the NL MVP in 2013.

McCutchen spent nine years with Pittsburgh before he was traded to San Francisco last winter. He was dealt to the New York Yankees on Aug. 31 and hit .255 with 20 homers and 65 RBIs in 155 games overall this year.

McCutchen has 223 homers, a .287 average and 790 RBIs in 10 major league seasons.

Philadelphia remains interested in Bryce Harper, the top free agent on the market, but has a surplus of outfielders, including Odubel Herrera, Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr and Roman Quinn.

Rhys Hoskins is moving from left field to first base after the team traded Carlos Santana to Seattle for infielder Jean Segura last week.

Herrera, a former All-Star, is a trade candidate.

He struggled in the second half last season and finished with career lows in batting average (.255) and on-base percentage (.310).

French soccer games postponed

PARIS

Two French league soccer matches have been postponed at the request of authorities.

Nice’s home game against Saint-Etienne on Friday and Saturday’s match between Nantes and Montpellier will be played at a later date.

The French league says the reason for both cancellations is because police forces are being stretched.

However, the league says it may move the match between Nice and Saint-Etienne to Sunday in order to avoid a backlog because both sides had their games postponed last weekend amid security concerns about anti-government protests.

Staff/wire report