t season with a torn ACL. He got involved early with a 14-yard TD catch

On Aug. 5, Larry Fitzgerald caught a Hail Mary?that would elude most wide receivers older than 30: He snagged an $11 million contract extension.As starting salaries escalate, surveying the market for aging wide receivers in their 30s?is becoming as painful as going across the middle of the field against an awaiting safety. The crash point is around?32, although some veterans can buy more time by playing at a lower wage.Last season, 25 wide receivers who were 30 years old or older caught at least one pass. Thats significantly fewer that the number of 30-or-older receivers who caught at least one pass in 2008 (37). There could be as few as 20 in 2016.Each year the league says goodbye to big names who filled fantasy leagues. Look at the current group of unemployed wide receivers: Wes Welker, Roddy White, Jerricho Cotchery, Jason Avant, Marques Colston, Dwayne Bowe, Devin Hester and Miles Austin. All are 31 or older. James Jones just landed a job with the San Diego Chargers. Andre Johnson had to accept a $975,000 salary to sign with the Tennessee Titans. Greg Jennings, Malcom Floyd and Lance Moore retired.The only aging receivers going strong in?both pay and play are Fitzgerald, of the Arizona Cardinals, and the New York Jets Brandon Marshall. Both are 32, though Fitzgerald turns 33 on Aug. 31.With Larry and I, you never know, but we are feeling good, Marshall said. We are living in the moment and we have no plans of slowing down anytime soon.Fitzgerald caught 109 passes for 1,215 yards last season. Marshall, dumped by the Chicago Bears for a fifth-round pick, had 109 catches for 1,502 yards. He makes $8.6 million per year.I think I can play as long as I want to, barring any significant injury, Lord willing, Marshall said. My game has never been built off speed. Its built on separation and understanding the game and knowing what Im doing. The big thing is using my body and my strength, and you have until you are 50, 60 and 70 years old using your strength. Im still pretty fast and pretty quick, which still gives me the ability to go for 1,500 yards.But both players know the NFL stands for Not For Long. Any drop in production could lead to a drop in salary and a quick career exit. Last month, Fitzgerald said he would be lying if he didnt think about retirement, but hes not close to that point yet.I have lot of good football left in me, Fitzgerald told the NFL Network. But I feel great. I can still play at a high level, so I just take it one year at a time.Now he has another year and contract through the 2017 season.Normally, aging receivers have to adjust their mindset as they maneuver toward their 30s. An ESPN?study showed the peaks and valleys of receivers as they age. The study reviewed receivers who had at least four years of experience dating back to 2001 through last season; it took into account the 50 most productive receivers during that 15-year period.The study showed that the top?50 receivers peaked at 27, averaging?79.2 catches?and 1,083 yards at that age. There was?little drop-off in yards over the next two years, from?1,049 at age 28 to 1,027 at 29. By age 30, the receivers average yards per season dropped below 1,000, to 962, though there was a slight uptick at the age of 31 to 990.The big fall took place at age 32, when the receivers average yards per season dropped all the way down to 827.Declining numbers means declining pay.Coaches tend to move outside receivers into the slot as they cross the 30-year-old barrier, and that usually lessens their salaries. Anquan Boldin was lucky enough to get a two-year, $12 million deal at the age of 33, but he just took $2.75 million, at 35, to be a slot receiver for the Detroit Lions. At the age of 33,?Steve Smith Sr. went from $7.5 million a year to $3.5 million.For a 32-year-old receiver to accept playing for less than half his old salary is tough. Marshall joked that he could go into TV?rather than take the big pay cut, even though he loves the game.In fact, Marshall loves the game so much he it took to heart this spring when Jets coach Todd Bowles asked him to?lose weight. Marshall?usually weighs between 240 to 245 pounds in the offseason. He remembers Michael Strahan once telling him the older a player gets, the more weight he needs to lose.So he did it. Marshall is now around 220 pounds and is having a good camp.Odds still go against receivers once they?reach the age of 32. Since 2010,?only four (Fitzgerald, Johnson, Smith and Reggie Wayne) have had?1,000-yard seasons at that age, and only two have had 1,000-yard seasons at 33 (Boldin and Wayne) and 34 (Boldin and Smith).Can Fitzgerald and Marshall break the trend and follow up their monster 2015 seasons with huge numbers again? Only time will tell. Football Jerseys China .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. Cheap Football Jerseys China . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. http://www.cheapfootballjerseys.us.org/ . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Football Jerseys Sale . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. DENVER -- The start of a new season rekindled some old -- and troubling -- issues for the NFL.Nobody could attest to that better than Cam Newton.The Carolina Panthers quarterback was victimized by helmet-to-helmet hits at least three times in a 21-20 loss to the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Net result of those hits: Zero penalty yards.The Super Bowl rematch was every bit as good as promised -- it came down to a last-second field goal attempt -- but it was a brutal affair that put Newton, Broncos receiver Jordan Norwood and linebacker Brandon Marshall in evaluation for concussions. None were held out.Its not fun getting hit in the head, said Newton, who threw for 194 yards, one interception and a touchdown. But we didnt lose the game off that.At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Newton absorbs more punishment than the typical QB, in part because he runs the ball a fair amount. He took three sacks, eight more hits while trying to throw and also took some thumps after his 11 rushing attempts.Two of the most vicious hits had a direct impact on the game. The first came early in the third quarter, when DeMarcus Ware pulled Newton down and Von Miller hit him, facemask-to-facemask. No flag was thrown, but Newton was doubled over in pain after that drive. He went 7 for 15 the rest of the game after starting 11 for 18 and leading the Panthers to a 17-7 halftime lead.With under 40 seconds left, Broncos safety Darian Stewart went helmet-to-helmet with Newton. A flag was thrown but it was nullified because officials also called Newton for intentional grounding.Still dont understand how thats possible to get intentional grounding when you get personal fouled, tight end Greg Olsen said. Weve just got to treat Cam like a quarterback. I know hes the biggest guy on the field, but hes still a quarterback.Had that roughing call stood, Carolina wouldve had the ball in field goal range with a few more plays to move closer. Instead, Graham Gano had a 50-yarder to win that he pushed wide left.Newton took the high road about the hits. Coach Ron Rivera said hed wait to see the replays.Certainly, theyll be watching them in the NFL offices, as well. For a league concerned about head hits and concussions, thiis was a violent start to the season.dddddddddddd.Other things we learned as the Broncos rallied to beat the Panthers:SIEMIAN CAN PLAY: The Broncos were the first defending champion to come into the following season with a starting quarterback who hadnt thrown an NFL pass. Now, Trevor Siemian has thrown 26, and he has his first win to show for it. Siemian was far from perfect -- he threw a pair of interceptions and his 69.1 passer rating wont remind anyone of Peyton Manning in his prime. Then again, Manning wasnt in his prime when the Broncos won the Super Bowl last season. We played in a lot of big games last year against a lot of great teams, so I tried to simulate that feeling as much as I could, Siemian said. But no doubt, its different when you get out there.RETURN OF THE FULLBACK: Turns out, the fullback position didnt go into complete extinction in the NFL. Its actually alive in Broncos coach Gary Kubiaks offense. Rookie Andy Janovich took a shallow handoff, went around the right end and sprinted 28 yards for a score in the second quarter.ROOKIE RISK: Punter Britton Colquitt was arguably the second-most valuable player for Denver in the Super Bowl, limiting the Panthers to 2 yards on three returns and twice pinning them inside their 20. But he wouldnt take a pay cut, so GM John Elway released him in favor of rookie Riley Dixon. The seventh-rounder from Syracuse had a 42-yard punt in the closing minutes, allowing Carolina it start its final drive on the Panthers 40-yard line.RETURN OF BENJAMIN: The Panthers had one of their top threats back after receiver Kelvin Benjamin missed all last season with a torn ACL. He got involved early with a 14-yard TD catch from Newton. He finished with six catches for 91 yards.CAROLINA BLUE: The Panthers are 17-1 against the rest of the world since the start of last season and 0-2 against the Broncos. Start thinking about the next one, said Rivera, whose team plays San Francisco on Sept. 18. There are still 15 games left to play.---AP National Writer Eddie Pells and AP Sports Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed. ' ' '