Invitations go out to 30 prospects for NFL draft

The NFL said 30 top prospects, including Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, will attend the draft next month in New York.
Among other players scheduled to appear at Radio City Music Hall include Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins and Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack.
The prospects are expected to be selected in the first three rounds.
The first round will be Thursday, May 8, with rounds 2-3 the next day.
Jones rehab on schedule for Falcons: Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith isn’t sure when receiver Julio Jones will return to full speed.
Smith said Jones, whose 2013 season ended with a broken foot in Week 5, is “progressing well” following surgery last October.
“Our focus on Julio is one thing, and that’s having him prepared for our opener,” Smith said. “We’re not going to do anything to hinder his timeframe in terms of getting back to work with us.”
Jones led the NFL with 41 catches and ranked second in yards receiving through Atlanta’s home loss to the New York Jets last Oct. 7.
Jones, the sixth overall draft pick three years ago, was a first-time Pro Bowl selection in 2012.
Buffalo pays for oversharing: The Buffalo Bills are going to pay up for oversharing.
The team has reached a settlement with fans who say the team sent them too many texts, agreeing to issue debit cards for the Bills store worth $58 to $75 each.
Along with the $2.5 million worth of cards, the Bills will pay $562,000 in legal fees under terms of a class action settlement approved by a federal court in Florida last week.
Bills fan Jerry Wojcik of Tampa Bay, Fla., brought the case in 2012 after signing up to get Bills alerts on his cellphone. He says the Bills routinely exceeded the promised limit of five messages per week, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The complaint said the extra messages were aggravating and an added cost for consumers who pay for texts and data.
Wojcik said he received six messages one week, including three on a single day, and seven messages in another week.
The Bills, who initially moved to dismiss the lawsuit, maintain the program complied with the law, according to a statement provided to The Associated Press Wednesday.
The team discontinued its text service in October 2013.
Saints mull over Ingram’s future: The New Orleans Saints have not decided whether to exercise a 2015 team option on running back Mark Ingram’s contract, coach Sean Payton said Wednesday.
New Orleans already has exercised a similar option on defensive end Cameron Jordan worth $6.97 million in base salary. The club has until May 3 to do so for Ingram, who like Jordan was a 2011 first-round draft choice.
The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner said this week he isn’t sure what New Orleans will do.
“We’ve got time to do all of that. So there’s nothing we’ve decided permanently,” Payton said before teeing off at the pro-am for the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic. “I know we made the transaction with Cam. But it’s pretty common with the new CBA at least to have that flexibility.”