NFL-National Football League roundup

Nov 19 (The Sports Xchange) - New England Patriots defensive end Jabaal Sheard did not travel with the team to the Bay Area and will not play in Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers. Sheard, 27, was not on the team's injury report this week but was left home because of a performance-based decision, NFL Network's Rapoport reported Saturday. Sheard posted on his Instagram page Friday night that he was attending the Boston Celtics-Golden State Warriors game after the team flight had taken off. The post has since been deleted. Sheard, in the final season of a two-year, $11 million contract, was demoted as the starter for last Sunday's 31-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. He has 18 tackles and 3.5 sacks in nine games this season. Trey Flowers started in Sheard's place and had two sacks against Seattle. -- President-elect Donald Trump says Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is "totally innocent" in the Deflategate scandal. Trump's comments, shared in a video clip by TMZ Sports, aired Friday on FOX News in a special that was filmed on Sept. 15 at the then-presidential candidate's home. "He's a friend of mine, he's a great guy, and he's a great athlete obviously, but he's a winner," Trump said of Brady. Brady was suspended four games by the NFL to start the 2016 season after determining he had knowledge of the Patriots using deflated footballs in the AFC title game in 2015 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Pats went on the win the Super Bowl. "He played better when he had the other ball," Trump said, noting Brady's performance in the AFC title game with a fully-inflated football. "I think Tom is totally innocent ... I know him and he's an honorable guy, and I'm with him all the way." -- The Indianapolis Colts placed defensive end Kendall Langford on the injured reserve list. Langford, 30, had already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans with a knee injury. -- Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam has been subpoenaed to appear in a videotaped deposition in a civil lawsuit against his family business in Tennessee. Haslam, CEO of the Pilot Flying J truck-stop chain, is scheduled to appear at the deposition in Knoxville, Tenn., on Dec. 13 to answer questions by lawyers involved in the lawsuit filed over diesel fuel rebate fraud. The business is owned by the family of Haslam and his brother, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam. The lawsuit was filed by companies that declined to participate in an $85 million settlement between Pilot Flying J and 5,500 trucking companies. Pilot also paid a $92 million federal penalty to the U.S. Department of Justice. Haslam has denied any knowledge of the fraud and has not been charged. (Editing by Larry Fine) ))