Goodell, union set meeting

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL will meet on April 8 with the players union to discuss improving the workplace environment.

In the wake of the Miami Dolphins’ bullying scandal, league representatives have met with some 40 players in the last three months, as well as with the Dolphins and outside organizations, Goodell said Monday at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, Fla. The league is trying to get “as much input as possible. It’s more about people understanding the importance of a proper workplace.”

Goodell noted that improving the workplace environment involves “a culture change.”

Ravens, Jets get four compensatory picks

The Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets each will receive four compensatory picks in this year’s draft for free agents they lost in 2013.

The number of picks a team receives equals the net loss of compensatory free agents up to a maximum of four.

Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and St. Louis each received three compensatory picks. Cincinnati, Green Bay and Detroit got two apiece, while New England, San Francisco and the New York Giants were given one each.

League gives $45M Heads Up Football grant

The NFL Foundation is giving USA Football a five-year, $45 million grant to expand the already burgeoning Heads Up Football program that teaches safe tackling to youngsters.

Foundation chair Charlotte Jones Anderson announced the grant at the league’s owners meetings after the NFL saw the early success of the program.

Heads Up Football had nearly 2,800 youth football organizations teaching it during its first year.

Funds also will be used to increase NFL flag football leagues for boys and girls ages 5-17.