NFL Wire Notes | Not driving, McNair gets DUI charge

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair was charged with driving under the influence Thursday even though police said his brother-in-law was behind the wheel of the pickup registered to the former Tennessee Titan.

Although McNair was a passenger, he was charged with a misdemeanor under a Tennessee law that prohibits a vehicle owner from letting it be driven by someone who is inebriated.

Police pulled over McNair's 2003 Dodge pickup just before midnight Wednesday because it was speeding. The driver, 31-year-old Jamie Cartwright, smelled of alcohol, failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a breath-alcohol test, a police spokesman said.

Cartwright said he was McNair's brother-in-law and acknowledged drinking at least two beers, police said.

The law used to charge McNair doesn't consider whether the vehicle owner was drinking, but only if the driver was impaired.

Ravens coach Brian Billick spoke with McNair, and the quarterback issued a statement through the team that he was trying to act responsibly.

"I have to go through the court process now, and I understand that," McNair said.

McNair was arrested on DUI charges once before in Nashville in May 2003, when he also was charged with illegal gun possession.

After a year of legal wrangling, a judge dismissed those charges, ruling police didn't have sufficient reason to pull over McNair.

Johnson to meet Goodell

NEW YORK — Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson will have a hearing about his off-field problems with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday.

Johnson, a former Washington Husky, will be released from jail Sunday after serving 60 days of a 120-day sentence for violating parole in a 2005 case.

On April 30, the 25-year-old pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge stemming from a Dec. 14 police raid on his Gurnee, Ill., home that found six unregistered firearms. In that case, he was given a 45-day sentence that he was allowed to serve concurrently with the four-month sentence.

The Chicago Tribune used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the list of 147 names on the Cook County Jail visitor records for Johnson. The visitors included many teammates, such as star linebacker Brian Urlacher, coach Lovie Smith and owner Michael McCaskey. Jesse Jackson also paid Johnson a visit. Johnson has had as many as 19 visitors in one day.

Notes

• Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, suspended for the 2007 season, is scheduled to meet with Goodell at an undisclosed location Friday in New York to appeal the length of his suspension.

• Former Pitt running back Kevan Barlow signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers and will take part in the team's mandatory minicamp Friday.

• Two friends of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick are convinced he has been involved in illegal dog fighting at a home he owns in Virginia, they told SI.com, despite Vick's denials.

• The Falcons released cornerback Jason Webster.

• Newly acquired defensive tackle Darwin Walker won't report to the Buffalo Bills until he receives a contract extension.

• The NFL is investigating adding a 17th regular-season game and playing it outside the United States. The extra game would take the place of one in the exhibition season, allowing every team to play once abroad without sacrificing a home match.

• The NFL Network will appeal a New York judge's ruling that Comcast, the nation's largest cable-television operator, can distribute the channel separate from its digital package.