July 2010 4for4 Player News Articles

Percy Harvin said he tweaked his ankle, and will keep doing some rehabiliation on it, but that he felt fine Saturday night.

That is good news for both Harvin and the Vikings. This doesn't sound like a serious issue, and Harvin remains a good player to target in fantasy drafts. He's currently at 25, and offers some upside.

New Orleans wide receiver Devery Henderson has been dealing with a sports hernia. He made it through an afternoon practice with no problems. He appeared to look gimpy after running a route in the morning practice, but he had no troubles in the afternoon.

"He's fine. He's just, again, making sure that he's 100 percent," Saints head coach Sean Payton said. "I don't know that he's quite 100 percent yet. But he's doing well. It's good to have him back out here, because we missed him for a lot of the OTAs with a sports hernia."

Henderson will likely be a feast or famine player again in 2010. He's a good guy to start on a sporadic basis because of his occasional scoring outbursts, but he's a shaky starter due to his overall inconsistency.

Houston coach Gary Kubiak thinks running back Arian Foster, an undrafted rookie in 2009, may turn out to be a major discovery. The 23-year-old Foster spent the first 10 games of 2009 on Houston’s practice squad before emerging as the team’s top backfield threat in December.

Kubiak said the 23-year-old Foster is mature beyond his years and will be tough to unseat for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart.

"He’s just growing up and becoming a totally different young man," Kubiak said. “We are not going to have a battle about how he tries to give his effort. That’s over. It’s all about football with him. He got his chance and he is going to be a fine player. We are all excited to see what he’s doing right now."

Foster is approaching this training camp with the same mindset as last year with one difference - instead of fighting for a roster spot, he’s aiming for a starting role.

"My mentality hasn’t really changed," he said. "Once you get an opportunity, you have to produce. You have to show them what you can do."

The Houston running back situation will be messy, as Foster, Steve Slaton, and rookie Ben Tate will all battle for carries. Foster is currently below Slaton and Tate in our rankings, but if he keeps making a good impression, he might be moving up.

The Tennessee Titans have agreed to terms on a deal with first-round draft pick Derrick Morgan out of Georgia Tech.

The defensive end tweeted Saturday night that he was in a break room in the team’s headquarters waiting to sign reportedly a five-year deal. Terms were not immediately available.

The Titans confirmed they agreed to terms with Morgan.

They used the 16th pick overall on Morgan hoping to boost the pass rush on a defense that ranked next to last in the NFL in 2009. He had 12 1/2 sacks as a junior when he was first-team All-American and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s defensive player of the year.

IDP owners looking for young pass rushers need to strongly consider adding Morgan to their roster.

Headlines and stories are often generated in July and August in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the home of training camp for the Carolina Panthers. And a story out of Spartanburg that will generate a buzz was the sight of wide receiver Steve Smith catching a few passes from assistant trainer Mark Shermansky, and using his broken left arm to do so.

If you're looking for signs that Smith's going to be OK for the regular season opener, that might have been a decent one.

This is good news for fantasy owners. The Panthers will continue to run the ball far more than they throw it, but young quarterback Matt Moore has shown promise and should ensure that Smith remains a top-15 receiver.

Green Bay wide receiver Donald Driver returned to full contact workouts for the first time since having arthroscopic knee surgery during the offseason.

Always a fan favorite, Driver drew applause nearly every time he touched the ball.

"They felt fine," Driver said. "I didn’t have any problems cutting today. No one got to see me during (organized team activity workouts) or minicamp, so it was fun to get back on the field and put the pads on, and the helmet, and catch balls and run routes. Basically just being with the team and getting in the flow of things."

The veteran is currently at 28 in 4for4's rankings. Driver is at the age where his skills could erode rapidly, but given the quality of Green Bay's offense and his rapport with Aaron Rodgers, he might be able to help fantasy teams one more time. His production is not likely to match up with his ADP, so it's important to select him at the right time on draft day. If you reach for him, you will likely be disappointed. If he slides lower than he should, he could be a decent value.

Rookie cornerback Kyle Wilson, picked in the first round in April's draft by the New York Jets, has agreed to terms with the team and will be in camp tomorrow.

The Denver Broncos previously signed Tim Tebow, and now they've made a deal with their other first-round pick, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Thomas, out of Georgia Tech, agreed to a five-year, $12.155 million contract, including $9.35 million guaranteed.

Thomas isn't likely to have much value in redraft leagues, but with Denver's veterans reporting today, at least he's not going to be hampered by a long holdout. He has a lengthy transition period ahead, as Georgia Tech's offense was old school and run-oriented while the Broncos like to utilize spread formations and the passing game.

DeSean Jackson injured himself after he caught a pass from quarterback Kevin Kolb in the afternoon portion of Saturday's training camp practice.

The Eagles wide receiver appeared to injure his back, but he limped off the field favoring his right leg as he leaned on a trainer. Jackson was then helped into a cart, wheeled off the field and to the locker room. He got out of the cart without assistance but walked very slowly indoors.

The play occurred during a no-pads 7 on 7 drill. Jackson pulled in a short pass in between cornerback Asante Samuel and linebacker Omar Gaither. There didn't appear to be any contact, but Jackson looked as if he had to bend awkwardly to catch the ball. He dropped to the turf, rolled over and stayed down for several seconds before the training staff ran to him.

As the trainers looked him over, Eagles coach Andy Reid came over to examine the scene. Jackson eventually got up, but he was wobbly and looked as if he might fall over again.

The Eagles will have an injury update after practice.

Oakland Raiders receiver Louis Murphy missed Saturday morning's practice with a concussion, after being hit in the head in practice on Friday.

"I took a knee to the head on an out route," he said. "Nnamdi kneed me in the back of the head. Finished practice, felt pretty good. Woke up for the second practice with a horrible headache."

Coach Tom Cable said the team has to go through the concussion "protocol" and Murphy will be out a day or so.

Murphy said he has never had a concussion before.

Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield said after practice that his broken foot is fully recovered. Winfield saw action Saturday both at left corner and inside in the nickel and said he would be fine with playing inside if that's what the Vikings want him to do.

A healthy Winfield would be a big asset to Minnesota, who we have ranked as the third-best fantasy defense. He could also be an asset to IDP owners, although Winfield probably won't be the IDP stud he used to be.

The New York Giants have reached an agreement with defensive tackle Linval Joseph, a second-round pick, on a four-year deal. The deal comes just in time, as the Giants will open training camp in Albany tomorrow.

Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin left the field Saturday on a cart after suffering an unknown injury during the Vikings' morning practice.

Harvin, the NFL's offensive rookie of the year last season, suffered a shoulder injury in 2009 but did not miss a game because of that problem. Harvin did miss several practices and one game because of migraine headaches.

The odd thing about what happened to Harvin on Saturday is no one saw him suffer an obvious injury. He did make what was perhaps the catch of the day in 7-on-7 drills when he bobbled a pass from Tarvaris Jackson but managed to catch the ball despite tight coverage from cornerback Asher Allen. Harvin's helmet popped off on the play as he made the catch, fell to the ground and then got up and tried to run.

Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said in his post-practice news conference that he didn't even know Harvin had left on a cart until told by a member of the media relations staff. Coach Brad Childress was not scheduled to speak to reporters after the practice.

The Cleveland Browns have agreed to terms with cornerback Joe Haden, their first-round pick. Haden was signed to a five-year, $50 million contract. He'll receive a $12 million signing bonus, and $26 million guaranteed.

Browns rookie RB Montario Hardesty twisted his knee before camp opened and will miss a few weeks.

This will hamper Hardesty's chances of taking over Cleveland's lead role from Jerome Harrison. Fantasy owners will need to monitor his recovery, as the sooner he gets back, the better.

Sleepless general manager Mark Dominik announced that the Bucs have signed left tackle Donald Penn and reached an agreement with first-round pick Gerald McCoy.

Penn, who arrived in Tampa on the red-eye from Los Angeles Saturday morning, signed a 6-year deal believed to be worth $43-million. He joined his teammates at practice Saturday 15 minutes after the announcement.

McCoy agreed to a 5-year deal and should be at the aftenoon practice.

"We just finalized Donald Penn's contract, we're very excited about that,'' Dominik said. "On top of that, we agreed to terms with Gerald McCoy. We're finishing up some language and paperwork. We've got a few things left. I don't know if he's going to be able to make it out to practice this morning. We're excited about having him for the afternoon practice. That should work out. So in that way, it's a really good day, it's a great day for the Bucs in terms of securing two players to long-term deals that can be really important to the organization."

St. Louis Rams rookie tight end Michael Hoomanawanui attributes his soft hands to some tough pass-catching drills with his father.

"I remember in my younger days when me and my dad would play catch in the backyard, he would beam it at me," Hoomanawanui said. "When I was younger, I would cry. I would tell him to slow down. I guess it paid off in the long run."

Hoomanawanui's father, Isy, was a former linebacker at Illinois State. So not all of those rocket throws hit off the younger Hoomanawanui's hands.

"The chest, face, you name it," Hoomanawanui said. "Being five years old trying to catch a fastball isn't that easy. Like I said, I guess it paid off."

The 6-foot-4, 264-pound Hoomanawanui (pronounced Ho-of-muh-now-wa-new-e) was a fifth-round pick in the 2010 NFL draft out of the University of Illinois. He went by the nickname "Uh-oh" in college.

Hoomanawanui's receiving skills caught the attention of Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo on the first day of training camp.

"I was watching (film) last night, and he's a very natural catcher, I think," Spagnuolo said. "He has done a lot of that at Illinois, and obviously he was very successful at it. That sticks right out, but there is a lot going in to playing tight end in the NFL, so he has a lot to learn. He's an eager guy."

You'll be saying "uh-oh" if you have to rely on a Rams tight end in 2010, but if Sam Bradford develops into a franchise quarterback, it will enhance the value of every Rams receiver. So "Uh-oh" might be worth a look in dynasty leagues with deeper rosters if he continues to impress the St. Louis brass.

Wide receiver Kelley Washington, who played with the Ravens last season but wasn't re-signed after the team traded for Anquan Boldin and signed free agent Donte' Stallworth, has joined the Philadelphia Eagles, according to several reports.

Washington played in 15 regular-season games for the Ravens, starting two. He had 34 catches for 431 yards and two touchdowns. Even better than his catches were his celebrations after each one.

He proved to be a reliable slot receiver, not afraid to go over the middle to make a catch, and was especially dangerous on third down. Washington was also a valuable member of the special teams.

Washington adds depth to the Philadelphia roster, but Philadelphia is deep at receiver and he's highly unlikely to make a major fantasy impact.

Balance.

That’s what Cincinnati offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski is preaching in the days after the Bengals signed Terrell Owens, giving them a Hall of Fame wide receiver to go with the team’s all-time receiver in Chad Ochocinco, and a former franchise player with two 1,000-yard seasons in Antonio Bryant.

But Bratkowski knows that Cedric Benson and a running game that finished ninth in the league in rushing was at the top of the food chain last year. It shortened the wins in Pittsburgh and both wins over Baltimore to take the game of attrition. It kept the Bengals close enough to survive meager offensive outputs at home by the 26th-ranked passing offense against the lowly Browns and Chiefs. It almost pulled out the playoff game.

And Bratkowski knows that in order to win a playoff game, his ecosystem of formations and the evolution of his playcalling must be balanced.

"If we get in the top 10 in both running and passing," Bratkowski said, "then we’ve got something. I’d like to see how many teams have done that and how they ended up."

It doesn’t happen every day. Elias Sports Bureau says three teams have done it in the last three seasons. Last year the Cowboys and Saints did it. Before that, it was the Eagles in 2007. The Saints won it all. The Cowboys won their first playoff game in more than a decade. That Eagles team finished last in the NFC East at 8-8.

It doesn’t guarantee anything, but most of the time it has meant big things in Bengals history, too. Since the 1970 merger, the Bengals have finished in the top 10 in both running and passing four times. They only made the playoffs once (1973), but their one losing season with it was that aberration called the 1987 strike. The ’86 team won 10 games but missed the playoffs and the ’89 team went 8-8 and missed the playoffs on the last day.

Bratkowski will say that a lot of three wide-receiver sets isn’t the best thing for the running game.

"You can’t have a steady diet of it, but it’s going to be a part of what we do. It’s always been a part of what we do. Some years more than others and we’ve done quite a bit of it," Bratkowski said. "Yet in the run game, when you’re committed to the run, very few of the top running teams are one back, three wides. You don’t see that very often. We’ll still do our fair share."

Cincinnati's offense has become quite compelling to fantasy owners. Right now, we have Carson Palmer as a top-15 quarterback, Cedric Benson as a top-20 running back, and Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens as top-20 receivers. There's young talent in Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley, and certainly Antonio Bryant can make a difference if he's healthy enough to take the field. It's going to be a fun ride in the Queen City.

Pat White is practicing with the Dolphins, after all.

White, a surprise no-show at Friday’s season-opening training camp, is practicing with his Miami teammates Saturday morning as the first of two practices get underway. A report surfaced overnight that White would miss all of training camp, if not the entire season, with a personal issue.

Chris Johnson set his sights on a big new contract, yet ended up with a deal that hardly met his expectations.

On Saturday, the running back will be on the field with the rest of the Titans for the first time since finishing the 2009 season with an NFL-leading 2,006 rushing yards.

Count Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher among those looking forward to hearing what Johnson has planned for 2010. Training camp begins at Baptist Sports Park at 3:30 p.m.

"I believe he once again has a lot to prove," Fisher said. "I’d be interested to see where he sets his sights on this year, what goals he sets out there and attempts to achieve. I remind you last year at this time he wanted to be MVP and rush for 2,000 yards."

Johnson didn’t win MVP — that honor went to Colts quarterback Peyton Manning — but he did capture the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award as the Titans stormed to an 8-8 finish after an 0-6 start.

Then he skipped all of the team’s offseason workouts because of a contract dispute that wasn’t settled until just a few weeks ago.

Over the summer Johnson said he planned to rush for 2,500 yards, which would smash the all-time record of 2,105 set by Eric Dickerson in 1984, and probably require more than the league-leading 358 carries he had last season.

Asked what a realistic goal for Johnson might be this season, Fisher said: "Help us win more games. Our plan for Chris is to get him back to where he was, and pick up where he left off."

Jeff Fisher isn't the only one who wants to hear about CJ's plans for 2010, as the speedy back is number one in our rankings. It's a relief he's in camp, as his contract situation lingered for awhile. If you have the first overall pick in a draft and can land this explosive talent, be very happy.

Albert Haynesworth did not take his conditioning test Saturday morning and will miss his third day of practice. Haynesworth had run the sprinting drill for two straight days -- and failed in both attempts -- and is apparently resting his legs today.

He is expected to tackle the test again Sunday. Coaches had said Friday that Haynesworth would take his third crack at the test on Saturday morning, but coaches and team officials were apparently privy to the decision to wait until Sunday.

Haynesworth did make a brief appearance at practice, taking the field with a jersey but no helmet or pads. He stayed about 10 minutes, did not partake in any drills, but watched his fellow linemen and conferred with line coach Jacob Burney.

Though he's missed the team's first three practices, Haynesworth had worked with coaches on the far practice field following each practice.

The Arizona Cardinals signed TCU linebacker Daryl Washington, their second-round (47th overall) selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, to a four-year contract Friday.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Washington (6-foot-3, 234 pounds) was named a first-team All-American and earned All-Mountain West honors as a senior in 2009 after leading the Horned Frogs with a career-high 109 tackles to go along with three interceptions, two sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

The native of Irving, Texas, finished his colligate career by appearing in 50 games (15 starts) with 220 tackles (148 solos), 5.5 sacks, four interceptions, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He also blocked four kicks in his career, leading the nation with three blocks in 2007.

Washington is expected to eventually capture a starting job in Arizona, and when he does, he has the potential to be productive in IDP leagues.

As a rookie, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had to fight for the starting job and find a place to live and adjust to a new city. This year, Stafford hasn't been encumbered by anything more than getting in synch with his teammates.

"I think the biggest improvement that we made in the off-season was at the quarterback position because Matt Stafford went through an entire off-season," Detroit coach Schwartz said Friday. "He was here March 16th or 17th, whatever day the first day of the off-season program was. He was here every single day. He was throwing on the field. He was working out. He was studying film. He was in the playbook -- all those different things."

Center Dominic Raiola also noticed how a year has helped Stafford and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan work better together.

"I think it's not so much more Chinese now that they're talking to each other," Raiola said. "They understand each other better, Scott and Matt. I think it's a huge advantage having that year under his belt."

Stafford is certainly a quarterback to watch heading into the 2010 season. He struggled some as a rookie, but showed plenty of heart and gave the Lions reason to hope for the future. The Lions have upgraded their offense around Stafford and while he won't be a consistent fantasy starter, he'll have some big games. If he's your backup QB, you'll like the depth he brings to your team.

Rams QB Sam Bradford becomes 1st $50 million guarantee in NFL (6 year with max of 86 million).

The “starting lineups” for 11 vs. 11 work was very similar to how the Chiefs began OTAs this spring. Expect to see plenty of movement in the early stages of camp. Once team periods went further into practice, different personnel groups were rotated throughout.

Given Jamaal Charles off season shoulder scope, this could be the way the coaching staff eases in their 2009 mvp.

Jerry Jones said that Dez Bryant's injury during training camp today was worse than originally thought and he'll now be out four to six weeks. Bryant got tangled up on next to last play of practice.

The Vikings have signed second round draft pick Toby Gerhart to a four-year, $3.67 million deal.

Offensive tackle Jared Gaither was carted off the field with what appears to be a back injury.

Gaither had ice on his lower back after being injured in the afternoon practice, according to Sun reporter Edward Lee. The severity of the injury is unknown.

Dolphins WR Brian Hartline was indeed the first WR in line to start with Brandon Marshall. But others will get opportunity.

Kansas City Chiefs first-round draft pick Eric Berry via Twitter indicated his deal with the Chiefs is done.

Contract terms are unknown at this time.

The fifth overall pick in the 2010 out of Tennessee is expected to step right into the Chiefs starting lineup at strong safety.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will not suspend Bengals running back Cedric Benson for his role in a June altercation in Texas.

Tight end Owen Daniels did not practice as he continues to recover from an ACL injury. He spent parts of practice riding a stationary bike. “I think we’re going to have a better idea in a couple of weeks,” Kubiak said about Daniels’ return date. “His rehab has picked up…We’re all hoping for opening day.”

As a fantasy GM, I really don't like the sound of "hoping" Owen Daniels can play.

Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano says RB Ronnie Brown and WR Brandon Marshall are 100% healthy and ready to go.

Ravens cornerback Dominique Foxworth has turn his ACL and will be likely lost for the season.

This is major blow to an already weakened Ravens defense.

Green Bay signed its first-round pick, Bryan Bulaga, to a 5-year contract.

All signs continue to point to Aaron Schobel playing for Bills in 2010. Hearing he's making calls to secure home to rent in Buffalo.

RE: Antonio Bryant Knee Status

Just getting his now very famous left knee healthy for the Sept. 12 opener even though he’s not at full speed right now. If a lot of guys wouldn’t have given up their number, a lot of them wouldn’t have been out here on July 29, either. But he took all his snaps Thursday morning even if it wasn’t at full speed because “I don’t want my teammates to feel like I’m cheating them,” he said.

It has been described as a bone-on-bone problem and Bryant says he’s working on getting the muscles stronger around the knee he injured last training camp. He probably came back too early for a bad Tampa team, but this is the same guy that called Joe Sweeting on Wednesday.

“I love competition. Competition brings out the best in all of us,” Bryant said. “I’ve never feared competition. I’m from Miami. Dade County. There’s nothing I fear in football. I’m probably the most vulnerable at the position because I’m dealing with something that’s nagging me. That’s football. We’ve all got something. You guys holding these things (microphones), you’re doing it with something."

Devin Hester has never lacked confidence.

He starred at multiple positions for the Miami Hurricanes, and he earned Pro Bowl honors as a return specialist in his first two NFL seasons.

But Hester said his 16-plus individual workouts with four-time Pro Bowl receiver Isaac Bruce this offseason have emboldened him.

''It's on a whole different level now,'' Hester said. ''I've got a swag now. This is going to be my breakout year. I'm going to shock a lot of people.''

With Mike Martz as Offensive Coordinator and Jay Cutler now comfortable in Chicago, it could be a big year for Hester. I especially like that he trained with Isaac Bruce.

#4 overall pick LT Trent Williams agrees to a 6-year, $60 million deal, including $36.75 million guaranteed with Washington Redskins.

At Redskins Training Camp in 11-on-11 drills, Clinton Portis and Joey Galloway lined up with starters on offense.

The Texans have agreed to terms with RB Ben Tate, their third-round pick from Auburn.

WR Steve Johnson opened training camp as the number two WR opposite of Lee Evans.

Bills QB Trent Edwards took the first snaps of camp behind a starting line of left tackle Demetrius Bell, left guard Andy Levitre, center Geoff Hangartner, right guard Eric Wood and right tackle Cornell Green. Fred Jackson was the running back.

Bengals WR Antonio Bryant looked a little gimpy running his routes and had problems planting and cutting off his left leg. This was noticeable during minicamp and more so in training camp. The coaching staff insists that there is no cause for concern, but Bryant continues to struggle coming out of his breaks. Could the PUP list be in Bryant’s future?

Newly acquired Bengals wide receiver Terrell Owens scheduled arrival at Bengals camp has been delayed. Owens was absent during the morning session after missing a red-eye flight to Cincinnati last night. He’s expected to arrive at Georgetown (Ky.) College this afternoon. There is a 50/50 chance that the All-Pro receiver will participate in the evening practice. Fans, get your popcorn ready.

The most prominent Rams newcomer missed the first day of rookie workouts Thursday. Teammates expect to see quarterback Sam Bradford soon enough.

Veteran A.J. Feeley, who will be the Rams' starting quarterback until Bradford is ready, said missing one day of practice is no big deal.

"It's not the end of the world," Feeley said. "You'd like to have him out here to work these guys, but he's been through the whole offseason program.

"Sam's a smart guy, he's bright. I don't see him lagging, I don't see him sitting at home on the couch not doing anything."

Albert Haynesworth's inability to run a third 300-yard sprint in a satisfactory time in the eyes of coach Mike Shanahan prevented him from practicing with the Redskins Thursday.

Haynesworth had to pass a conditioning test Thursday and he entered the day planning to do two sprints. According to a source, Shanahan believed Haynesworth had too much rest time between his runs and asked for a third.

Haynesworth failed the third sprint. A source said Haynesworth told Shanahan he never ran three such sprints during his best Pro Bowl seasons. Shanahan then told Haynesworth that he must not have ever been in shape, according to the source.

Nine-year veteran pass-rusher Derrick Burgess, who did not report Thursday for the start of the New England Patriots' training camp, is considering retirement from the NFL, sources confirmed to ESPN.com.

Rookie receiver Eric Decker was back on the field Wednesday after missing the offseason as he recovered from an injured ligament in his left foot that cut short his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota

“I’m excited to be on the field and just get some work in,” said Decker, a third-round pick.

Decker definitely made an early impression on quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn. “He looked good out there. He’s a big kid,” Quinn said. “He looks big out of pads, but looks even bigger in pads.”

The Panthers just announced that six players were placed on the active-physically unable to perform list, and won't practice with the team tomorrow when camp opens.

The list is headlined by RB Jonathan Stewart (ankle) and RT Jeff Otah (knee), both of whom were expected to participate in some form early in camp. Also on the list was G Duke Robinson, who failed the conditioning test, along with DT Louis Leonard (knee), WR Steve Smith ( arm) and LB Thomas Davis (knee).

Players can come off the PUP list at any time, but not having Stewart and Otah complicates the preparation of an offense that was expected to be the strength of this team. Now, RB Tyrell Sutton will get more reps with the regular offense, and Geoff Schwartz will likely work in Otah's place.

The Eagles reportedly worked out WRs Kelley Washington and Jared Perry.

Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick were given the morning off, leaving rookie quarterback Mike Kafka with all the snaps Thursday morning for the fifth and final practice of rookie/selected veteran camp.

Afterward, offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg showered the rookie from Northwestern with the highest praise possible, specifically regarding Kafka’s playbook grasp and decisive trigger.

“Within that realm, I think he could be – I’m trying to think back – the best rookie that I’ve ever had in 15, 16, 17 years or something like that,” Mornhinweg said. “So, he’s really sharp. Now, he’s sharp book-wise, but he’s also very intelligent in a football sense. He’s really picked it up very quickly.

“He’s had just terrific minicamps. He started hot and stayed hot. He had a very good practice today and took all the reps. Now, I will say this – he’s got a long way to go. There are so many things he hasn’t seen yet. We’ll see how he progresses.”

The Dallas Cowboys want Dez Bryant to get as many touches as possible. That's why they plan to use him not only as a third receiver, but also as a returner.

"He's special with the ball in his hands," special teams coach Joe DeCamillis said.

Bryant worked as a kickoff returner on the scout team Wednesday. He said he is comfortable returning kickoffs but more comfortable returning punts.

There is a concern that the issues plaguing the hip of New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora could dog him throughout the 2010 season, according to a source close to the player. Earlier this month, Umenyiora, who has been dealing with a hip condition since 2006, went for a second opinion, during which time surgery was suggested, according to the source.

Free-agent wide receiver Laveranues Coles, who played with the Jets from 2000 to 2002 and 2005-08, will work out for team officials Friday at the team's headquarters in Florham Park, N.J., a league source told ESPNNewYork.com.

Barring complications, Coles is expected to sign with his former team. The Jets report to training camp Sunday in Cortland, N.Y.

Ineffective last year with the Bengals, Coles wont offer much to fantasy owners in an already crowded Jets WR corps.

New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis announced Thursday that four projected starters - safety Darren Sharper, wide receivers Marques Colston and Robert Meachem and linebacker Clint Ingram - will start training camp on the active-physically unable to perform list.

All four can be activated at any time once they're physically able to participate in practice.

Colston, Sharper and Ingram are all coming off of offseason knee injuries while Meachem had toe surgery in the offseason.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice told WCCO Radio Wednesday night that he is not 100 percent and will need to have his lingering hip injury checked again by Vikings trainers.

Rice said it's more than a hip flexor injury, but he still intends to start in the first regular season game against New Orleans.

He's going to allow Vikings trainers to tell him what he can and can't do during training camp.

Rice had a breakout season catching passes from Brett Favre last year. He caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns to help the Vikings reach the NFC championship game. He was also named to his first Pro Bowl in his third season in the league.

Rice has fallen slightly in the WR rankings since the original news of the hip broke. We will continue to monitor this situation and see how Rice progresses through training camp. Bernard Berrian could pick up some of the slack this year, as he is coming into the season healthy. Many thought Berrian could lead the Vikings in receiving last year after coming over from the Bears where he posted two straight near 1000 yard season. Berrian was nagged by injuries throughout 2009, and finished the season with just over 600 yards. Berrian saw his yards per catch drop in 2009 to 11.2, after a ridiculous 20.4 in 2008.

The Panthers have opened camp with Matt Moore working as the first-team QB followed by Hunter Cantwell, Jimmy Clausen and Tony Pike.

Redskins third-year WR Malcolm Kelly, vying for the No. 2 wide receiver position, recently suffered a hamstring injury and might sit out practice Thursday at Redskins Park, according to people familiar with the situation. The injury occurred while Kelly participated in quarterback Donovan McNabb's "Hell Week" that began July 19.

Kelly experienced tightness in his hamstring during one of the workouts, the sources said. He immediately contacted the Redskins' medical/training staff for guidance. The Redskins plan to proceed cautiously with Kelly, who worked hard to overcome knee problems and microfracture surgery after his rookie season. Coach Mike Shanahan is expected to address Kelly's situation after the first practice Thursday.

Although the injury is not considered serious, the team would rather have Kelly rest and receive treatment than try to participate in the early stages of camp. Hamstring injuries can linger, especially when players rush back before they are completely healed.

The injury is not considered serious, but we will see how this effects Kelly through camp. We fully expect Devin Thomas to win the WR2 battle in Washington regardless, and he is the one you want on your fantasy team as a late round pick.

The Vikings likely will keep only three running backs so the competition for that third spot will be hotly contested in camp.

Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart are the top two running backs. Competing for that third spot will be Albert Young, Ryan Moats, Darius Reynaud and Ian Johnson.

Young is entering his third season with the Vikings and has a firm grasp of the offense, so he might be the early favorite.

"I love Albert," coach Brad Childress said. "He knows it forward and backward."

The Chiefs have waived TE Brad Cottam. This has no fantasy impact.

Until the Packers deem the timing right to draft an every-down back, they will keep hammering away with Grant on inside zone and outside zone runs. Unless rookie James Starks proves to be a revelation, they will go with Grant until he drops on early downs and plug in Brandon Jackson on passing downs.

"I like Grant, but he's containable," one scout said. "Let's just say there's some yards he leaves on the field. I think he's solid. I just don't think you have to defend him in the passing game that much."

Given his workload, Grant has and should rank well up among the NFL rushing leaders. Last year, he ranked sixth among NFL backs in percentage of his team's carries at 64.4% after receiving even more of the rushing load (71.4%) in 2008.

Ryan Grant sits at 9th in the current 4for4.com RB rankings, but lacks the upside of the RBs on either side of him in the rankings. Grant is about as safe a play as they come at the RB position, with his draft stock where it is because of health, consistency, a good system, and a good workload. Backs like Ryan Mathews, Shonn Greene, Michael Turner, and DeAngelo Williams all have more upside than Ryan Grant, but come with more risk.

Kellen Winslow's sixth knee surgery will not prevent him from practicing with his teammates when training camp begins Saturday. But the Bucs plan to watch Winslow closely and may limit his workload, especially during two-a-days.

Winslow led the Bucs in receptions (77), receiving yards (884) and touchdown catches (5) in his first season in Tampa Bay. He has spent the past month working out with quarterback Josh Freeman. Winslow was not able to fully participate in the Bucs' Organized Team Acitivities and mandatory minicamp.

General manager Mark Dominik said he expects all 80 players on the Bucs roster to be cleared medically to begin training camp Saturday. But he admitted that the Bucs will be careful not to put too much of a workload on Winslow in practice or preseason games.

"I think he’ll be off and on,'' Dominik said. "Again, he’s going to be able to practice and do everything. We just want to get Kellen to the season and let him go. I know what Kellen can do. Whether he goes once a day, whatever he does, I think we'll just monitor him closely and adjust it accordingly. We're not worried about limiting him that way.''

Antonio Gates will be the highest paid TE. Agrees 5 yr extenson @ 7.235 mill per yr. $20.4 mil in guarantees with Chargers.

The NFL is not going to suspend Titans quarterback Vince Young for his involvement in a Dallas strip club altercation last month, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The league is expected to make an announcement by the end of the week, possibly as early as Thursday.

Titans officials could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Greg Aiello, Senior Vice President of Public Relations for the NFL, declined comment.

Young was cited for a misdemeanor assault following the June 13 incident at Club Onyx.

"Is it that time already Colts fans. Seems just like yesterday I cleaning
out my locker getting ready for the off-season. I guest it's true when
they say, "time waits for no man". So Anderson Indiana here come the
Mighty Indianapolis Colts to invade your town for a few weeks. I hope
it's somewhere good to eat In Anderson. (first time Colts have held
training camp in Anderson Indiana in over 10 years) All of my friends
keep telling me how they can't wait for me to go back to work because
they want to see some football. Then we get into a debate about how
they cutting my vacation short. But at the same time, it's raining
everyday in South Florida due to hurricane season. So maybe it is time
to play some football. Not much else to talk about at this point in time.
I'm about to go sit by the pool with a glass of lemonade (that's right
LEMONADE) and enjoy my last few days of freedom. Talk to you soon.
GO COLTS!"

RB Ahmad Bradshaw - - He was limping much of the spring and limited in mini-camp after offseason surgeries on both feet and his ankle. He says he’ll be fine and that he feels much, much better than he did last year. But that’s a lot of surgery for a running back, especially one that makes his living off violent cuts.

Ahmad Bradshaw is ranked #27 on the 4for4.com RB Cheat Sheet. Keep an eye on his training camp progress.

Raiders Head Coach Tom Cable says Jason Campbell is the starter.

According to the Falcons' UNOFFICIAL TRAINING CAMP DEPTH CHART, Jerious Norwood is the No. 2 tailback ahead of Jason Snelling, Antone Smith and Dimitri Nance

Bengals Marvin Lewis checks in with no concern of Antonio Bryant's knee. Per Lewis, "a mountain has been made out of a molehill."

As previously mentioned, Antonio Bryant's draft stock continues to nose dive. All indications point toward a fantasy football situation worth avoiding.

According to a league source, the Seattle Seahawks and second-round wide receiver Golden Tate have agreed to terms on a four-year contract.

Tate's contract is worth $3.261 million dollars, and includes a $1 million dollar signing bonus. Overall, $1.471 million dollars of Tate's deal is guaranteed.

Report from Panthers Camp...Steve L Smith's here, no cast on broken left arm. Said he's more worried about where to find toothpaste than when he'll start practicing.

Great news for Steve L Smith fans. Smith remains a buy low candidate with an ADP of #40.

The Vikings have an interest in free agent wide receiver Kelley Washington, according to NFL sources.

Washington spent last season with Baltimore, catching a career-high 34 passes for 431 yards with two touchdowns. A third-round pick of Cincinnati in 2003, Washington played four seasons for the Bengals and two for New England before joining the Ravens.

Limited fantasy value here (if signed) unless Sidney Rice's hip injury becomes a concern.

Defensive Linemen Shaun Rogers and C.J. Mosley, plus cornerback Coye Francies, will start training camp on the Browns' Physically Unable to Perform list.

Rogers finished the 2009 season on injured reserve with a broken leg and Mosley was on IR with an ankle injury. Neither participated in spring practices or minicamp.

Unrestricted free agent quarterback Mark Brunell will will work out for the Jets in Florham Park today.

The 39-year-old quarterback visited the team’s training facility in April. The Jets believe the 17-year veteran can be a mentor for Mark Sanchez.

In a poll this offseason of more than a dozen starters that revealed that the overwhelming majority favored Kellen Clemens over Brunell as the backup to Sanchez in 2010.

"Brunell? Isn't he like 50 years old?" said one player of the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback earlier this summer.

Brunell, who will turn 40 in September, has just one start and 30 pass attempts in the past three seasons. He has one more start (10) than Clemens (9) in the past four years.

"I didn't even know Brunell was still in the league until we played them last year," said another Jets player of the long-time Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback.

Panthers rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen reached agreement with the team on a four-year contract and will report and sign today.

Clausen is the last of the Panthers draft picks to sign. He was taken with the 48th selection of the 2010 NFL draft.

On Sept. 12, the Patriots’ opponent will be the Cincinnati Bengals and the expectation is that Wes Welker will be in uniform and ready to go.

But for now, the idea is to protect Welker from another foe in his recovery from reconstructive knee surgery.

That adversary would be himself.

So as part of Welker’s comeback from a torn ACL and MCL, and a subsequent rotator-cuff surgery, the Patriots took the precaution of placing the receiver on the active/physically unable to perform list yesterday, before today’s veteran training-camp reporting date. Once Welker practices, he comes off that list.

Q - Who will get the bulk of the carries this year, Hardesty or Harrison or will they split?

A - Training camp will go a long way to determining that. Both players will get carries regardless of who wins the job. Jerome Harrison may have the job early, but I wouldn't be surprised if Montario Hardesty is the starter this year at some point.

If Harrison continues the level of play he finished with in 2009, Hardesty's play may be limited. A training camp battle is likely but barring injury, I agree with the above assessment.

Per a league source, Antonio Bryant is a strong candidate to land on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start training camp. The source says that it's believed Bryant won't be ready to practice when camp opens, given lingering knee problems.

The Bengals signed Bryant to a four-year, $28 million contract in March, not long after T.O. visited the team. There has been some scuttlebutt that the Bengals could cut the cord on Bryant; much of that depends on the amount of money they'd lose by cutting him, versus the amount of additional money they'd avoid paying out by not having him around.

At present, WR Antonio Bryant's stock is in a free fall.

"I was very impressed with Roddy White's spring," Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff said. "He wasn't worried about the contract, and he was focusing. He and Matt Ryan took it to another level, as far as developing that connection."

According to the Tennessee Titans recently released depth chart, Justin Gage and Nate Washington will enter training camp as the Titans' starting receivers.

This has all the look and feel of a Jeff Fisher motivational ploy for 2nd year WR Kenny Britt.

Well, it's happened. Receiver Terrell Owens has agreed to terms with the Bengals.

Per a league source, Owens will receive a base salary of $2 million. He can earn up to another $2 million in incentives.

The source says that the incentives are based on receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

Rumors have been going around the past couple of days, but it looks like Chad Ochocinco finally got his wish. TO will be suiting up in orange and black this season. Owens will likely fall in the WR2-WR3 range when things fully shake out, with both Chad Ochocinco and Antonio Bryant losing some value. Bryant has been dropping already, and will continue to do so with this news. Carson Palmer will get a bit of a boost. Look for fully updated rankings and the whole 9 yards at 4for4.com tomorrow.

Dez Bryant has no problem with Roy Williams. He has no problem with the fans at the Alamodome who chant his name after every practice.

But when it comes to the media, he's not feeling the love.

The Cowboys No. 1 pick spoke about his refusal to carry Williams shoulder pads while he signed autographs and chastised the media.

"We are fine,'' Bryant said. "In fact, it's not even a situation. Me and Roy are great. Not only me and Roy, but the whole team.

"You're trying to turn us against each but it's not going to happen.''

Steven Jackson, OJ Atogwe, Roger Allen, Daniel Fells, Bradley Fletcher, Jason Smith, Jacob Bell, Chris Massey, and Saffold all cleared for the start of training camp.

So much for Steven Jackson's back issue.

Tampa Bay has signed second-round WR Arrelious Benn to a four-year deal that includes a $2.1 million bonus, per a league source.

The Bengals have signed third-round WR Jordan Shipley to a four-year deal that includes bonus of nearly $757,000, per a league source.

Should Terrell Owens be signed in Cincinnati, Shipley's value would take a hit. At present, he is battling for the #3 WR position.

Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo also isn't ruling out Brian Westbrook. He has spoken to him and remains "hopeful" but decision has to be made on both sides.

Assumed healthy, Brian Westbrook would be an immediate team upgrade and compliment to Steven Jackson.

WR Harry Douglas, DT Peria Jerry & CB Brian Williams all medically cleared to start training camp on Friday, said Falcons coach Mike Smith.

WR Harry Douglas could be a surprise player this year in some fantasy leagues.

Wes Welker was placed on the active/physically unable to perform list by the Patriots. Could come off list at any time.

This doesn't have any bearing on Welker's status for week 1 at this time. By placing Welker on the active PUP list, the Patriots reserve the right to place him on the regular PUP list to start the season. However, Welker can come off the active PUP list at any time and begin practicing with the team. This is a wait and see situation. We don't know much more today than we did yesterday.

Brett Favre believed it was over — finally — six months ago.
No more wondering.

No more offseason waffling.

No more skewering from the pundits.

Yes, the old, gray Viking was tired of being on the horns of a dilemma.

"I can remember walking off that podium with (wife) Deanna and my family thinking, 'I'm done,' " the Minnesota quarterback tells USA TODAY. "I mean, my heart … it was broken."

Please take it upon yourself to read the entire Favre story. Its a great piece in the USA Today documenting the ups and downs of Favre's continued decision process. I believe Favre will return this season and be a top 10 QB.

Osi Umenyiora tried to battle his way through a hip issue this offseason, as he figured it was simply another flare-up of a lingering injury that pops up annually during spring workouts.

One month into summer, the pain is still there for the Giants’ beleaguered defensive end. And one expert says it won’t go away without surgery.

Earlier this month, Umenyiora traveled to the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., to visit noted hip specialist Marc Philippon, according to someone informed of the trip and Philippon’s diagnosis. The person, who requested anonymity because neither the Giants nor Umenyiora’s camp has discussed his condition, said Philippon recommended surgery to repair side effects from a torn hip flexor that kept Umenyiora out of five games in 2006.

The New York Jets, who once traded for Brett Favre and signed LaDainian Tomlinson this offseason, now are exploring the idea of signing Terrell Owens, according to league sources.

The Jets have contacted Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and have debated the idea of bringing the high-profile wide receiver to training camp.

A deal between the Jets and Owens still is considered a longshot; one person estimated the Jets' chances at signing the high-profile wide receiver at "20 percent."

Look for the Dolphins to take a more cautious approach with their more precious, proven but breakable commodities.

That means even as running back Ronnie Brown approaches 100 percent while he continues to recover from foot (lifranc) surgery last season, the Dolphins are not expected to expose him to every single repetitition in every single practice right away.

Yes, there will be practices Brown does it all. But there will be practices he's held back a bit to mitigate the wear on him.

Receiver Brandon Marshall is scheduled to be ready for full work at the start of training camp after his hip surgery earlier this offseason. At last check he was very close to 100 percent, if not already there. He and quarterback Chad Henne need to work together and catch up on becoming a great pitch-and-catch combination.

But trainers and coach Tony Sparano may not put pedal to the metal on Marshall's work from the very first week of practice, which begins Friday. Marshall is scheduled to practice. But how much isn't exactly clear.

Vikings coach Brad Childress did not give Brett Favre a deadline to make his decision on whether to play when he visited his quarterback in Mississippi last week.

But Childress said he has a general idea of how long Favre will need to get ready if he does -- as everyone expects -- return for his 20th season. Childress said Favre needs "two or three weeks" of camp to prepare.

"Close to the same period as last year," he said.

Childress said Monday morning that he still doesn't know what Favre will do. It's highly unlikely that Favre will announce his decision while the team is in Mankato the first two weeks of camp.

Scratch the St. Louis Rams off the list of potential suitors for controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens.

League sources told the Post-Dispatch on Monday afternoon that the Rams will not sign Owens.

The team did in fact discuss Owens on Monday and in recent days, but their interest in Owens was never as great as portrayed in some media reports.

It looks like the Bengals are the likely landing spot for Terrell Owens now that the Rams have bowed out. The Bengals reportedly have an offer on the table to TO, and expect a decision within the next 48 hours.

Chargers rookie RB Ryan Mathews did not report to Chargers camp on Monday.

Among the veterans joining the Chargers rookies are Kevin Burnett, Jeromey Clary and Luis Castillo. All three were injured or had offseason surgery and could thus be compelled to be here.

Among other veterans working early are center Scott Mruczkowski (ankle), receiver Legedu Naanee (foot), linebackers Antwan Applewhite (hamstring) and Jyles Tucker (ankle) and guard Louis Vasquez (knee)

Ravens S Ed Reed reported to training camp Monday evening.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh said he will meet with Ed Reed one-on-one to talk about what went wrong in getting game tape to the Pro Bowl safety.

The Ravens have a policy when dealing with tapes, which Harbaugh said they "handle with care."

Harbaugh added, "Ed studies football, and if Ed needs tape, he’ll have tape. That’s very straightforward."

Harbaugh was very complimentary of Reed for how he's handled the hip injury as well as his nerve impingement.

"I agree with Ed, he has fought through injuries as well as anybody in the NFL," Harbaugh said. "I really respect that. He will be playing for us as soon as he possibly, and I believe it will be as early as he possibly can."

Bengals HC Marvin Lewis with more on TO - Terrell Owens has been a productive player. His goals and our goals match up.

The Browns have agreed to terms on a four-year deal for second-round running back Montario Hardesty, a league source told the Plain Dealer.

Hardesty, who worked primarily with the first-team offense in OTAs and minicamp, started 19 of his 49 games at Tennessee. In his final season, he rushed for 1,345 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Browns felt so strongly about Hardesty's ability that they traded a third-rounder and two fifths to move up to draft him.

Montario Hardesty will challenge Jerome Harrison for the starting gig, but both backs have talent and will be used in some type of timeshare, as is the norm in the NFL these days. Everyone out of Browns camp has been extremely positive on Hardesty since draft day. Look for him to gain more fantasy value as the season goes on.

Bengals owner Mike Brown on Terrell Owens: It is up to him. We have interest. We are talking to him.

The reports have gone back and forth on this one, but owner Mike Brown is now on the record saying the Bengals have interest. By him saying it is up to TO, it sounds as if the Bengals have an offer on the table. It would be interesting to see how TO would slot in with Chad Ochocinco and Antonion Bryant. This could be a strong indicator that Bryant continues to be bothered by injuries that plagued him last season.

Flying under the radar is nothing new to Bucs WR Preston Parker. The undrafted rookie has been doing that since he got kicked out of Florida State University and wound up playing his senior season at little-known North Alabama University. Take away the red flags that led to his dismissal from FSU - including multiple arrests - and you have a gritty pass catcher whom many scouts say possesses first- or second-round talent. With the top two receiver spots up for grabs in this camp, Parker has a chance to prove the Bucs made a wise gamble by signing him as a free agent.

The NFL has completed its investigation into the shooting at Michael Vick's birthday party last month in Virginia Beach and he has been cleared to play, a league spokesman told the Daily News today.

In an email, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "there is no change in his playing status."

The league could have disciplined Vick under the personal conduct policy even though police have said Vick will not be charged. Vick's attorney has said he was gone from the scene before the shooting took place.

Vick reportedly met with comissioner Roger Goodell, with Goodell urging Vick to tighten his circle to family and close friends. The NFL has said it will not comment on what it deems private conversations between players and Goodell.

Hopefully this will end the speculation regarding the Eagles releasing Vick. That would leave Mike Kafka as the Eagles only option behind Kevin Kolb. As we have stressed here for months now, Vick wont see enough snaps to merit drafting in any format except perhaps a very deep 2QB league.

New England and Tom Brady made enough progress in talks aimed at a long-term contract extension that some believe a deal could be completed this summer, according to sources familiar with the situation.

If a deal cannot be struck, it will be primarily because of how complex the contract is and how difficult it is to complete it without knowing the specifics of the NFL's next collective bargaining agreement.

But one person familiar with the talks said there is ongoing dialogue that he described as positive and, while no deal is imminent, one now is within reach.

When Brady and the Patriots resolve any differences - and the question now is when - it is expected to be the type of notable deal for which the league has been preparing for.

The Colts would like to re-sign quarterback Peyton Manning, the Saints Drew Brees and the Redskins Donovan McNabb. At this time, the Patriots and Brady appear to be the furthest along in their conversations, according to league sources.

It also goes against some recent dialogue. Speculation has persisted this month that Brady could hold out, but two sources dismissed the notion this weekend, insisting it will not happen.

There also was speculation that the relationship between Brady and the Patriots is strained. Yet, Brady was spotted this offseason having dinner with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and others have been adamant that the relationship between the two sides is as positive as ever.

Negotiations between the Patriots and first-round draft choice Devin McCourty have been slower than anticipated, with the sides unable to strike a deal by Sunday's reporting date for rookies.

The Patriots and McCourty's representatives would not comment on the status of negotiations Sunday night.

One reason for the slowdown seems to be the lack of other first-round signings, as only the Cowboys' Dez Bryant (24th overall) has signed a deal. Because of that, agent Andy Simms can't use other deals as a framework for McCourty's pact.

That factor, coupled with what some agents of high draft choices have said is significant oversight from the NFL Players Association as a result of the looming labor war between owners and players, presumably are the main reasons McCourty, the 27th overall pick, didn't report to Gillette Stadium on Sunday with the team's other rookies.

One source involved in negotiations with a first-round pick from a different team said the NFLPA has advised him to slow negotiations until some other first-round deals are completed, which would provide a better framework to work from.

McCourty and inside linebacker Brandon Spikes (second round) are the Patriots' only unsigned picks.

For some reason people have not been able to understand the Cowboys' stance on taking one kicker to training camp in David Buehler, who has never attempted a field goal in an NFL game.

With a team viewed as a Super Bowl threat, why would they take such a stance?

It's easy: because they can right now.

Jerry Jones is aware of some of the angst regarding the team's kicking situation, but here's his explanation:

"I've seen them missed real good by guys that have made kicks in the league before," Jones said. "I'm being cute, but Buehler is capable. We're going to have these preseason games to work on it and we don't want to clutter the water. We want to go in that direction and if we have a concern toward the end of the things, then you'd look at it differently."

Translation: they'll look at a veteran kicker later in camp if Buehler struggles.

On the Houston Chronicle website, veteran NFL writer John McClain wrote:

"I'm not convinced the Andre Johnson contract situation couldn't get ugly. When I see Johnson on the field on Friday (when Houston begins training camp), I'll be convinced."

McClain is just speculating, but given that Johnson is ranked as our number one receiver, we wanted to at least mention that someone fairly connected to the Texans is suggesting Johnson might not show up on the first day of camp. It's something for fantasy owners to know, but not something they should be overly concerned with at the moment.

Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson said he will be at training camp on time and did not miss June minicamp for contract-related reasons.

This is good news, and Peterson remains 4for4's number two back.

The Eagles quarterback who has caused the most offseason buzz in the building is not Kevin Kolb. And it’s not Michael Vick, either. It’s Mike Kafka, the team’s fourth-round pick out of Northwestern. Philly offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said Kafka has been “on fire” in offseason practices, and praised him for his quick decisions. He said Kafka has been one of the most accurate rookie passers in the offseason that he ever has seen. Sounds like this kid has an outstanding chance to develop into a starter in that top-notch Eagles system.

Kafka could be an interesting prospect for dynasty league owners to keep tabs on, but it's highly doubtful he'll have any value in redraft leagues for awhile.

Minnesota wide receiver Bernard Berrian said the hamstring injuries that bothered him last season are fine. Berrian said he is good to go.

Heading into 2009, Berrian was Minnesota's top receiver, but the injury issues clearly hampered him and enabled Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin to steal his thunder. Berrian is at 37 in our rankings, and while it's hard to see him re-emerging as Minnesota's top target, he should outperform his draft position, especially if he's healthy.

You know what people say about first impressions.

You don’t get a second chance to make a good one.

Dallas Cowboys rookie Dez Bryant made sure he got off to a good start on the first day of training camp Saturday, taking the field some 45 minutes before practice at the Alamodome.

Bryant wasn’t just early for practice, he was the first player on the field.

"I just wanted to show everybody that I’m ready to go, ready to play," Bryant said after the Cowboys opened their fifth training camp in San Antonio. "I’m ready to do whatever they ask me to do. I just want to work hard and give 100 percent. I want to bring my ‘A’ game every day."

Bryant was an instant hit with the record crowd of 19,437, drawing cheers every time he caught a pass. Fast and quick, Bryant looked smooth as he came out of his cuts and wowed fans with several nifty catches.

In one drill, he brought a pass down with one hand near the sideline and stayed inbounds.

"I had a good time," Bryant said. "It’s great to play in front of so many fans. They gave me great support. I owe it to the fans to work hard when I’m out there."

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said he wasn’t surprised to see Bryant connect with the crowd.

"People recognized him," Phillips said. "They know he’s our No. 1 draft pick. What they see is a guy running and catching the ball, and they don’t look at whether he’s being covered. They just saw him catching those passes. I thought he gave good effort and caught the ball well, but I’ll have to look at the film of practice and see how he ran all his routes."

That said, Phillips left no doubt what he thinks of Bryant’s talent.

"He looked as good as any player at any position, on the first day, as anybody I’ve seen in a long time," Phillips said. "He’s got a lot of ability."

Right now Bryant's stock is higher in keeper leagues, but if he wins the starting job opposite Miles Austin his stock will rise in redraft leagues. He's currently at 54 in our rankings, with his competition for the starting job, Roy Williams, at 45. They could easily flip-flop before the regular season begins.

The St. Louis Rams have intensified discussions in hopes of signing free agent Terrell Owens, according to sources close to the player and team.

The Rams asked Owens through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, if he would consider a serious contract proposal, even though they are not considered a playoff contender. Rosenhaus told the team Owens would definitely consider it, sources said.

A high-ranking Rams official said a formal offer for Owens could come on Monday.

The Rams believe Owens would take heat off their young wide receiver corps that includes Donnie Avery, Laurent Robinson and rookie Mardy Gilyard, as well as loosen up opposing defenses from focusing on running back Steven Jackson.

The Cincinnati Bengals, as reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, are also engaged in talks with Owens. The Bengals signed free-agent receiver Antonio Bryant during the offseason but Bryant has struggled so far. According to a team source, that has motivated the Bengals to take another look at Owens.

One source said the Rams have gotten very aggressive in their pursuit of Owens and it's possible that Owens will sign with the Rams or Bengals within the next 48 to 72 hours.

However, the Bengals still have given no indication they're ready to offer a contract. They want to get a good look at their young wide receivers and have five preseason games to do it. They need some of those guys to play special teams. Chad Ochocinco, Bryant and Owens would not be special teams-type guys, so it's uncertain how quickly the Bengals would react if they sensed he was about to sign with someone else.

Quarterback Carson Palmer is definitely pushing for Owens, however, and there is quite a bit of concern over Bryant's performance in the offseason after the Bengals signed him to a four-year, $28 million free-agent deal.

Sergio Kindle, the Ravens’ first pick in the 2010 draft, suffered a head injury in a house he was visiting Thursday night in Austin, Texas. It is believed that Kindle fell down two flights of stairs.

Kindle is in stable condition and is being treated and observed. Members of the Ravens’ medical staff are in communication with doctors at University Medical Center Brackenridge.

Kindle, who played linebacker at the University of Texas before being a second-round pick, will not report to McDaniel College with other rookies this Monday when the team’s training camp starts.

"Members of our medical staff, including Bill Tessendorf and Dr. Andy Tucker, have spoken with doctors in Texas," Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "We understand Sergio is stable at this time and that he is being tested and observed."

It could be a moot point, given the recent ESPN reports about the pursuit of Terrell Owens, but the Atlanta Falcons are the latest franchise to disavow any interest in the free agent wide receiver.

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reported Saturday that the St. Louis Rams are interested in signing Owens and could make a contract offer by Monday. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that the Cincinnati Bengals are engaged in discussions about the peripatetic receiver, but have yet to make a formal contract proposal.

"I don’t think (we’ll show an interest in Owens)," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said during a radio interview that included ESPN.com NFL reporter Len Pasquarelli as a guest host. "We like the guys we have. No, I don’t see us doing that."

Roddy White and Michael Jenkins are projected as the Atlanta starters. Both players are former first-round choices, Jenkins in 2004 and White in ’05. The Falcons have invested heavily in recent years in the two players.

White, who has gained over 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons and been chosen for the Pro Bowl each year, signed a six-year, $50 million contract last summer. In 2008. Jenkins received a $20 million extension for four years.

Almost as important, the Falcons feel confident that two-year veteran Harry Douglas, who missed all of the 2009 campaign with a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in training camp last summer, will return for this year. Douglas was the team’s No. 3 receiver, and registered 23 catches as a rookie in 2008. The Falcons are enamored of Douglas, feel he can be a breakout player in 2010, and he is the heavy favorite to be the club’s slot receiver.

In addition, the Falcons have several promising young receivers, and under Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith have avoided taking on older players who might be a distraction to the team’s young core.

In 2010, teams and agents have haggled over the timing of the option bonus to be paid in 2011 to first and second round picks. If there's a lockout, the player won't see the option bonus, at least until the labor situation is resolved.

The Pats and tight end Rob Gronkowski have found a way around the situation - he's getting no option bonus. But he's still getting paid.

Instead, per a league source, Gronkowsi's deal pays a signing bonus of $1.76 million and a one-time incentive based on minimum playing time in the amount of $830,000.

The contract includes minimum base salaries ($320,000 in 2010, $405,000 in 2011, $490,000 in 2012, and $575,00 in 2013). The 2013 base salary is fully guaranteed for skill and injury. Also, $255,000 of the 2012 salary is guaranteed.

The future guarantees suggest that the Pats have no concerns about any long-term consequences arising from the back injury that knocked Gronkowski out for all of the 2009 season.

In all, $2.59 million is guaranteed. The one-time incentive, which some regard as guaranteed even though it isn't, pushed the number to $3.42 million.

The deal also includes $30,000 in workout bonuses for the last two years, triggered if the one-time incentive is earned.

Bottom line? These numbers suggest to us that the Pats believe they got a steal with the 42nd overall pick in the draft.

Gronkowski probably won't be an instant sensation (he's not even in our rankings at this point) but he's an intriguing prospect for keeper league owners to take a look at.

Free-agent RB LenDale White has shown flashes of brilliance during his four-year NFL career, but questions about his work ethic and consumption of alcohol and marijuana have left him without a team and suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season. Not surprisingly, White told Fox Sports Radio’s “Petros and Money” show that his phone has been silent.

"Nobody’s called me, but I’m preparing to play in the NFL and that’s what I’m going to keep continuing to work on," White said (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "That’s the highest league that we have. I’m not taking any shots or disrespecting any other leagues, but it’s the National Football League that everybody wants to play in. I’m preparing to play for a team this year in the NFL."

White was abruptly cut by the Seahawks this offseason, not long after they traded for him. The move surprised many, especially considering that White’s former college coach, Pete Carroll, had taken the reins in Seattle.

"It is what it is … it’s unfortunate," White said. "I regret everything, if I did anything wrong or whatever I did. But it just wasn’t the place for me."

Although Brandon Marshall has one starting receiver spot locked up, Brian Hartline, Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo and perhaps others will get a chance at the other spot.

Hartline just seems like the best combination of size and speed to win that job. Now all he has to do is prove it.

"I like my chances,'' Hartline said. "The opportunity is definitely there, and that's all you can ask for in the first place. If you have the opportunity and you take care of your job and be consistent every day, that's what it's all about. A lot of guys can do it, but I think it's about doing it every day. That's the mind-set I'm trying to have.''

Hartline said he spent this offseason trying to add some bulk to his body. He was listed at 195 pounds last year but that seemed more like an early season number that turned into a late-season wish.

"I wanted to add a dimension to my game where I'm not just a little quick guy,'' Hartline said. "There's a physical side of the game to the NFL, and that was kind of my focus and where I wanted to go with things this offseason. I think I've done a pretty decent job with that.

"I'm coming around 195 to 196 pounds. I was pushing that early last season, but it didn't feel as good. I'm carrying the weight well now. My strength is there. I definitely made a step, but there is no reason I can't make more of a step during preseason activities.''

It is no secret Hartline faces a legal question regarding a July 3 auto accident in which a truck registered to him hit a parked car along Interstate 595. The truck was found abandoned.

Hartline has been advised by his attorney not to discuss the matter.

But that legal speed bump doesn't seem likely to derail the player's attempt to win a starting job.

Hartline has talent, but Marshall is expected to be the only Miami receiver with any significant fantasy value. We have Hartline at 70 in our rankings, three spots behind Davone Bess, who has proven to be an effective slot receiver in the past for the Dolphins. Bess will likely see plenty of playing time even if he isn't a starter, helping to negate Hartline's potential value.

Former University of South Florida cornerback Jerome Murphy, now a rookie with the St. Louis Rams, was arrested near USF's campus on Saturday afternoon and charged with a misdemeanor count of driving without a valid license.

Murphy, 23, a third-round draft pick of the Rams who signed a four-year contract last month, was arrested at 1 p.m. by Hillsborough County Sheriff's officers. He was booked into county jail and released two hours later on $250 cash bond. He was stopped at Fowler Avenue and 56th Street, less than a mile from USF's athletic facility, where the Bulls were conducting a large 7-on-7 football camp for high school students Saturday.

Murphy, of Elizabeth, N.J., did not immediately return a call seeking comment Saturday night.

Former Buffalo Bills linebacker John DiGiorgio has decided to retire from the NFL due to knee injuries.

He announced his retirement on his Facebook account.

"I just wanna say thank you to everyone that has ever supported me throughout my career," DiGiorgio wrote. "I've done everything I could in therapy to try to get my knee healthy and get back and play the game I love most. Unfortunately I fell a bit short. I recently decided to retire from the NFL and gladly accept a teaching and coaching job at Chippewa Valley High School. Thanks for all the support, Go Bills!"

DiGiorgio started 14 games in 2007 for the Bills, recording 113 tackles and two sacks.

DiGiorgio was signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2006 out of Saginaw Valley State.

DiGiorgio was waived last year after failing his physical. He had a season-ending surgery to repair bone damage in his right knee.

In the battle to be Miami's backup quarterback behind Chad Henne, Chad Pennington clearly has an experience edge over Tyler Thigpen and Pat White. But the coaches, and possibly Pennington's surgically repaired throwing shoulder, won't even let him enter this position battle.

According to coach Tony Sparano, this contest is between his two young arms. Thigpen, who started in Kansas City, has an experience edge over White. He also has a tendency to make things happen through improvisation. White, who struggled with his accuracy last season, has shown some improvement during the offseason. But will it carry over into camp and the exhibition season? White's bigger and stronger this season, but still has a ways to go before he proves he's an NFL quarterback.

It took a lot longer than anyone expected, but the Giants believe they’ve finally filled their hole at middle linebacker.

Yesterday, just eight days before training camp begins, the Giants signed veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck. He got a one-year deal that could be worth as much as $2.5 million.

And yes, he is expected to start.

The move had been rumored for weeks, but was still somewhat surprising since the Giants appeared to be committed to youth at that position. In the spring workouts and mini-camps they had been rotating 24-year-old Jonathan Goff, a third-year pro, and 23-year-old rookie Phillip Dillard, a fourth-round draft pick, at the middle linebacker spot.

But they apparently prefer to lean on the leadership of the 33-year-old Bulluck in their efforts to replace the departed Antonio Pierce. Their only concern is the health of his left knee. He tore his ACL last December and missed the final two games of his 10th season with the Tennessee Titans. He worked out for the Giants last Monday and they were obviously satisfied with the results. And Bulluck told the Daily News yesterday that he’s not experiencing any swelling and that his knee “is 90 % and it’s getting better.”

He’s been doing football drills on his own since May and is expected to be on the field when the Giants hold their first practice of the summer next Sunday afternoon at the University at Albany.

If he is healthy, Bulluck certainly will be a stabilizing presence at a key position that was going to be a major question mark for the Giants. And he’ll certainly help bridge the gap until the promising Dillard is ready to step in to a bigger role.

It will be interesting to see how Bulluck fares in the middle since he spent his time in Nashville playing outside linebacker. He was a big-time IDP performer during most of his Tennessee tenure, and if he can prove he's healthy he could rack up a decent number of tackles with the Giants.

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo and Rams General Manager Billy Devaney will be meeting Monday morning to make a firm decision on Terrell Owens.

Wade Phillips said he does not expect Martellus Bennett to miss much practice time in training camp with the sprained left ankle he suffered last week while working out.

The Cowboys placed Bennett on the non-football injury list, as well as safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, on Saturday, because he did not suffer the injury while under the Cowboys' care.

Phillips actually praised Bennett's off-season work. He said Bennett was at the facility last week working out in the heat by himself. Bennett watched a little bit of practice after receiving treatment on Saturday.

"It'll be a couple of days for him," Phillips said.

Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett was placed on the non-football injury list prior to the first practice of training camp on Saturday.

Bennett injured his left ankle running routes last week at the team's Valley Ranch training facility. Cowboys officials said that the ankle has some swelling and Bennett was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Saturday.

"He'll be back quick," owner/general manager Jerry Jones told ESPNDallas.com following Saturday's practice. "It's not serious."

Coach Wade Phillips said he was working out in the weight room as Bennett was injured on the practice field.

Rookie safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (shoulder) was also placed on the NFI list.

Lorenzo Washington, a defensive end, was placed on the physically unable to perform list with a hamstring injury. He joins Stephen Hodge (knee), who isn't expected to practice for a while.

The Cowboys also missed backup wide receiver Sam Hurd, who's wife had a baby Friday. Hurd is expected to arrive for Sunday's practices.

The Chargers, according to their general manager, have accepted they will be without two of their best players for the majority, if not all, of the 2010 season.

Tackle Marcus McNeill and wide receiver Vincent Jackson, according to those close to them, are committed to seeing their holdouts through.

The sides have not spoken since mid-June.

A week from today, Chargers veterans will be in their second day of training camp, going through their third and fourth practices. McNeill and Jackson almost certainly won’t be there, unhappy that they’re not getting long-term deals and unwilling to play for one-year contracts that shrank in June from $3 million-plus to around $600,000 apiece.

It must also be pointed out there has been talk about both players sitting out the entire season.

Jackson has been dropping in our rankings for awhile and this news won't help matters. He's at 28 on our board, while teammate Malcom Floyd has risen during the offseason and now stands at 33. Given what's transpiring with Jackson, and the fact he's also suspended for the first three games of the season, Floyd is probably going to end up as the better prospect. This could be a challenging season for Philip Rivers if his number one wide receiver and top pass protector aren't in the lineup, but for now Rivers remains a top-ten fantasy signal caller.

Keith Bulluck is coming home.

Adam Schein of FOX reports and Pro Football Talk has confirmed that the longtime Titans linebacker and New York native has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the New York Giants. Bulluck can make up to $2.5 million this season.

The deal came together after Bulluck worked out for the Giants last week and "blew them away" because he looked so good only seven months removed from ACL surgery.

The Cardinals also made a late push to sign Bulluck after Gerald Hayes' recent surgery, but the lure of New York was too difficult for Bulluck to avoid.

Bulluck played on the weak side in Tennessee; that's where Michael Boley lines up in New York. Clint Sintim plays on the strong side and middle linebacker is wide open.

The Giants may be looking for Bulluck to help fill a leadership void in New York, while slowly working into the mix as he recovers from surgery.

At times, Bulluck was an excellent IDP player during his years in Nashville. It's hard to see him reaching that elite level with the Giants, but this is a good move for a New York defense that is eager to rebound from a disappointing 2009 season. The Giants are currently at 14 in our rankings, and have the potential to move up.

The St. Louis Rams have intensified discussions in hopes of signing free agent Terrell Owens, according to sources close to the player and team.

The Cincinnati Bengals, as reported by ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, are also engaged in talks with Owens.

The Bengals signed free-agent receiver Antonio Bryant during the offseason but Bryant has struggled so far. According to a team source, that has motivated the Bengals to take another look at Owens.

One source said the Rams have gotten very aggressive in their pursuit of Owens and it's possible that Owens will sign with the Rams or Bengals within the next 48 to 72 hours.

Once Owens lands on a roster, we'll analyze his position in the fantasy world. He would have more value in Cincinnati than St. Louis, because while he might take a back seat to Chad Ochocinco in the Queen City, the Bengals are a much better team than the Rams and have Carson Palmer at quarterback as opposed to journeyman A.J. Feeley and unproven Sam Bradford.

Focused, even at an early age. That's a good word to describe Raiders rookie Lamarr Houston, and it might help explain to his teammates why the defensive end was unable to let up at the team's minicamp and workouts this summer.

Running back Rock Cartwright was slammed and sent to the ground by Houston on one play, and loudly reminded him, "We ain't got no (expletive) pads on, man!"

The rookie also drew the ire of offensive tackle Langston Walker, until Walker shoved Houston to the ground and deposited his 360 pounds on top of him after one play.

One might call it a nasty streak that the mild-mannered Houston unleashes on the field, but there's nothing malicious about pushing yourself to be the best. All the time.

"He's relentless," said Oakland coach Tom Cable, whose team starts training-camp practices Thursday in Napa. "Every play, he's a pain in the rear for the guy he's going against, and that's important."

Houston, a second-round pick from Texas, has spent the last couple of weeks working with a personal trainer and watching videotape of retired New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan.

"I am going to work and work and work," Houston said. "There is a great tradition with the Raiders, a winning tradition, and I am going to do all I can to help turn things back around in that direction."

At the University of Texas, he started 21 games at defensive tackle and 12 at end, and he held rushers to 24 yards on 60 run plays directed at him. He also killed eight scoring drives with one fourth-down and seven third-down stops.

Houston has power and speed, as evidenced by his 4.85 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine. He was moved back from defensive tackle to end after the Raiders drafted him. And they could move him up and down the line to give opponents different looks.

"I just want to win; I don't care where I play," Houston said. "They could put me in the defensive backfield if we won."

If Houston and fellow rookie Rolando McClain can make a big impact on Oakland's defense, the Raiders might finally turn into a respectable team again. For now, the Raiders are at 25 in our rankings. They aren't worth drafting, but might be worth acquiring during the season if they show improvement and have a favorable matchup.

Unsigned Eagles first round draft pick Brandon Graham looks like a no-show for the first day of training camp on Monday, when rookies and selected veterans must report to the dorms of Lehigh University, according to league sources.

Graham, the 13th overall pick out of Michigan, also will likely miss the first few days of practice. This could impact his ability to slide right into the situational pass-rushing role at left defensive end that head coach Andy Reid had planned for him.

Graham is a long way from signing his rookie deal, league sources say. So far, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and Graham’s agent, Joel Segal, have engaged in what a league source described as only "early conversations." Based on the rookie salary structure, Graham is due about $14.8 million in a signing bonus alone - making him one of the most expensive rookies signed by the Eagles since they drafted Donovan McNabb in 1999.

The Eagles, who rarely suffer through contract holdouts at training camp, are already heavily invested in Graham. Philadelphia traded two third round picks and the No. 24 overall pick to move up 11 spots in the first round to select Graham. He is expected to provide immediate help to a defense that badly underachieved under first year defensive coordinator Sean McDermott in 2009.

With training camps opening over the next seven days, only a handful of first and second round picks are signed. The Eagles second round pick, safety Nate Allen, is also unsigned. Allen has been penciled in as the starting free safety.

The Green Bay Packers might have themselves a burgeoning star in Jermichael Finley.

Last season Finley began showing the kind of playmaking talent that teams search for high and low. Then in the offseason, the Packers saw signs that at age 23 he might be ready to take off in 2010.

"He’s really taken ownership of the offense from a knowledge standpoint," said Ben McAdoo, the Packers’ tight ends coach. "We’re working on the fundamentals and the details now, we don’t spend much time talking about assignments. That’s exciting because when you have a chance to polish up the way you play the game, that’s when you really make strides."

Finley came into the NFL in 2008 as a talented but wholly unprepared rookie after his redshirt sophomore season at Texas, and the issue with him from the start has been maturity. He played only two seasons of college football at a college program that has a reputation for being something of a country club, and thus his rookie year was an unsurprising washout.

But in the final eight games of 2009, including the Packers’ playoff loss at Arizona, he caught 44 passes for 575 yards and four touchdowns. Over a 16-game season, that projects to 88 receptions, 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns, which among all NFL tight ends in ’09 would have ranked third, second and tied for fourth, respectively.

The remaining unknowns are whether he can sustain a high level of play over 16 games, and just what heights he can reach. Whether he’s crossed some sort of professionalism threshold over the past nine months will be proven on game days, but the Packers were encouraged this offseason by his improved attention to detail, which is one of the markers of how seriously a player is taking the game.

We have Finley at number six in our rankings, and he's got the upside to approach the top spot. But his current ADP has him being taken ahead of players who have a better base of history on their side, meaning Finley could be a slight disappointment. He seems highly unlikely to be a bust, but don't reach for him.

Word came yesterday courtesy of “Gresh and Zo” on 98.5 The Sports Hub, that Wes Welker would be “a full participant” when Patriots training camp begins Thursday.

"He still has to be cleared medically, but sources say that will happen," was the way co-host Andy Gresh put it on the midday show.

Later in the day, a source close to the situation wasn’t as definitive with Welker’s status, telling the Herald it was more likely the wide receiver would start camp on the Active PUP list as a precaution, but that it was all subject to the evaluation by the medical staff. So while the inclination is to start Welker on the PUP list, there is a possibility he could dodge it based on what the Patriots doctors report and how coach Bill Belichick feels putting all the information together.

Should Welker avoid being put on the PUP list, it would be significant.

Obviously, given the usual recovery time from reconstructive ACL surgery, Welker would continue to stun people and defy logic. But more than that, his progress since the February surgery apparently would impress the Patriots to the point that they would forgo the ability to put him on the Reserve PUP list down the road, losing the opportunity to hold his roster spot for the first six weeks of the season.

Although a player on the Active PUP is ineligible to practice, he can be removed from the list at any time during camp. A player must be on Active PUP in order to be considered for the Reserve PUP. Players on the latter list aren’t eligible to play for the first six weeks of the season, which seemed to be the logical place for someone with Welker’s injury.

However, Welker not landing on the list would mean Belichick and the Patriots are comfortable enough with his status for him to be able to start the season as an active player.

Again, the main thing is that Welker has made considerable progress and fantasy owners might not need to shy away from drafting him after all. We'll continue to track this story and keep you updated on Welker's potential rise up the fantasy rankings.

Wes Welker’s work during the Patriots spring organized team activities and minicamp was no mirage.

It’s now in the books as another step in a speedy recovery from reconstructive knee surgery. And the next step comes Thursday.

Welker is ready to open training camp and compete in all drills – contact included – with his teammates, according to an NFL source. He still has to pass his pre-camp physical, but there is little doubt he’ll do so.

The Globe reported in June of a “likelihood’’ Welker would be available for the team’s opener Sept. 12 against the Bengals, and this is a big step in that direction.

The significance of the decision to let Welker practice Thursday is underscored in the team’s roster management.

The club has the option to place Welker on the Active Physically Unable to Perform list prior to training camp. That would keep the Patriots All-Pro receiver out of practice, but leave open the possibility he would be placed on the Reserve PUP, which would sideline Welker for the first six weeks of the season and allow the team to use his roster spot for another player.

To be eligible for the Reserve PUP in September, players must start training camp on the Active PUP.

In essence, by putting Welker on the field this week, the Patriots would burn the chance to fill his place on the roster for the first six weeks of the season, which is significant with the league’s stringent roster limits.

Welker tore his ACL and MCL in the team’s regular season finale in Houston Jan. 3. He allowed the MCL to heal, before having the ACL reconstructed Feb. 3. Welker also had offseason surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff suffered during the season.

Welker returned to practice at OTAs in the beginning of June, but was limited to individual drills during those practices and into the team’s full squad minicamp June 15, 16, and 17. Welker spent much of the spring rehabbing in California with a specialist, and did football-specific drills with quarterback Tom Brady in his time there as well.

The next step is full participation in football drills during practice.

Welker’s recovery timetable and the surgical procedure he underwent were not unlike what Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers went through in 2008. That January, Rivers tore his ACL, played in the AFC title game against the Patriots, had surgery days later, and returned to be a full participant in San Diego’s offseason program.

When the Patriots open their season, it will have been more than seven months since Welker had the surgery. Add that to what Welker’s already accomplished, and his availability for Week 1 seems a certainty.

"Seven months out? Yeah, it’s definitely a possibility," Dr. James Gladstone, co-chief of sports medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, told the Globe in June. "That would be good for anyone to get back that quickly, sure. But if he’s doing the things you’re describing at four months, then it’s quite possible, if not likely."

Welker is currently at 29 in our rankings, which is lower than where he normally would be if he was fully healthy. Preseason action will tell the full story. If Welker looks crisp in those games, feel confident in drafting him. This is also good news for guys like Tom Brady and Randy Moss.

The resume is there - playoff games, Super Bowl, the catches, the yards, the testimonials from the likes of Bill Belichick about the way he plays.

But in eight previous seasons in the NFL, Jabar Gaffney never has led his team in catches, or receiving yards. He may finally be in position to change all that. With Brandon Marshall taking his off-the-field baggage and three 100-catch seasons to Miami, the Broncos are a team with an opening for a go-to guy in the offense.

"I'm looking at it the way I've always looked at it, going in like I was the No. 1," Gaffney said. "Just waiting for my opportunity to make more catches, have more impact, more chances to make more plays.

"I'm a team-first guy; that's what keeps me around. So you just embrace the opportunities you have. If it happens to be more catches, more opportunities, more balls coming your way, then you try to make the best of it and be ready for it."

Gaffney isn't the biggest receiver on the Broncos' roster, and he isn't the fastest, but if knowledge is power, he may be the most powerful.

He played in Josh McDaniels' offense in New England before he arrived in Denver last year, and he is proficient at as many as five wide receiver spots, depending on how deep the coaches go into the playbook to open up the formation.

"(Gaffney's) always where you need him to be and where you expect him to be," Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton said. "And he does that at every spot. As a quarterback, if you know what you're getting from a receiver, that's always going to help."

Belichick, renowned for tossing praise around like anvils, once described Gaffney as "a tactician." He is a player who can beat you with his head as well as his feet and hands.

When Marshall was benched by McDaniels for the 2009 season finale, it was Gaffney who was Orton's leading target in the ill-fated season-ending loss to the Chiefs. In a game when the Broncos elected to throw the ball 56 times against the league's 31st-ranked run defense, it was Gaffney who finished with 14 catches for 213 yards.

In Gaffney's favor, the Broncos have a reasonably easy schedule, but as number one receivers go, he's one of the worst. Gaffney is currently at 56 in our rankings. He might be worth a spot start against an easy opponent, but that's about it.

For the first time since 2005, the Redskins will enter training camp without any pre-camp storylines focusing around the identity or security of the starting quarterback.

(Two years ago, remember, Jason Campbell was coming back from injury. And last year, Sports Illustrated wrote that Campbell "might be under the harshest spotlight of any NFL player as training camps open across the country.")

Still, there will be quarterback questions this summer, and they'll revolve around Donovan McNabb's long-term future in Washington, and the status of his contract extension talks. GM Bruce Allen discussed that issue with Comcast SportsNet in an interview that aired on Thursday, and he seemed pretty definite about the future.

"We really haven't started [talks]," Allen said. "Donovan is so excited about this new opportunity -- the team has embraced him, our fans clearly have embraced him. We'll have plenty of time to get something done with him. We see him as part of our future. We would not have made the trade unless we see it that way, and he knows it."

"He's a mature player who knows that he's gonna be paid well, but there'll be a right time. We made a great investment in trading for him and we like the guy, we really like him as a leader on this team, and the players have really accepted him. And we think he's gonna be a great Redskin for years to come."

Tom Zbikowski sprinted through the Ravens' offseason workouts like a man in search of his true identity.

Is he the strong safety who starred at Notre Dame in a down era for the Fighting Irish, a player scouts said had coverage weaknesses and would be a "box" safety playing close to the line in the NFL?

Or is he the playmaker he seemed to be his redshirt sophomore season in South Bend, Ind., when he made five interceptions and scored four touchdowns -- two on punt returns -- on a bowl-bound team?

The Ravens, who open training camp Monday in Westminster for rookies, quarterbacks and selected veterans, are about to answer those questions once and for all.

While Ed Reed rehabilitates his surgically reconstructed hip, Zbikowski, 25, will likely get the first shot at replacing the team's Pro Bowl free safety. It is no small matter in a secondary that will also be missing two cornerbacks and on a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations.

If passing camps meant anything, Zbikowski is ready to step in. He showed better quickness and more understanding of the defense this summer than in either of his previous two seasons with the Ravens.

It was enough that secondary coach Chuck Pagano said he sees an "aura" about Zbikowski now and characterizes it with a reference to the silver screen.

"He's like that guy that plays Jason Bourne in 'Bourne Identity' Matt Damon," Pagano said. "He's a steely-eyed assassin. Things don't affect him. You know those guys whose hands don't shake when their finger's on the trigger? He's one of those guys."

"He's not here," Pagano said, holding his left hand high. "He's not here," he added, moving his hand low. Then he moved his hand chest-high. "He's always right here. And usually 99 percent of the time, he's on point."

It's an identity born of Zbikowski's newest offseason workout regimen and his comfort zone with the Ravens. He made the first four starts of his career in December when Reed was out. In his first start in Green Bay, he had perfect coverage in the end zone against Jermichael Finley, but the Packers' 6-foot-5 tight end caught a short alley-oop floater over the 5-foot-11 Zbikowski for a touchdown.

In his second start, against Detroit at home, he drew Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson, also 6-5, on a double move -- and broke up the deep pass.

Zbikowski, a third-round draft pick in 2008, had two interceptions in those four games and more than held his own.

Baltimore's secondary is thin right now and opponents will likely take to the air in an attempt to beat the Ravens. This could make Zbikowski a player to watch in IDP leagues. The Ravens are 4for4's number three defense.

The Miami Dolphins agreed to terms on a two-year deal with former New York Jets defensive end Marques Douglas.

Douglas has made the rounds over the past several seasons, but knows the 3-4 defense well and will give Miami some needed depth.

ESPN insider Chris Mortensen indicated that one factor to watch for in a possible union of Terrell Owens and the Cincinnati Bengals is wide receiver Antonio Bryant, whose knee was still a problem during the off-season.

No deal for free-agent wide receiver Terrell Owens is imminent, but his connections to Cincinnati are increasing.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has been working out regularly with Owens in California and has been highly impressed, according to a team source. Palmer has gone so far as to tell Bengals officials what an asset Owens could be and how much talent he still has.

If nothing else, it has gotten Cincinnati thinking and talking about a receiver it hosted for a free-agent visit in March. Back then the Bengals opted for Antonio Bryant, but a team that has been short-handed at wide receiver knows it never hurts to stockpile talent at the position.

Owens also has another strong supporter in Chad Ochocinco, his close friend and reality TV colleague. The two have helped each other promote their respective shows on VH1.

Another Bengals source said Owens' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, visited Cincinnati this week, though it is possible he was there for Ochocinco's football camp.

"We will see as we get closer to training camp," a Bengals source said Friday night. "Nothing now that I know of."

Jets OL Nick Mangold told NFL Network he will NOT hold out. "It doesn't seem to me to do any good to do it, so I'll be there with bells on."

All off-season long the Cowboys have said re-signing Miles Austin to a long-term deal was their top priority. Stephen Jones reiterated the point today inside the Alamodome but did not have a timeframe on when a deal could be struck.

"When we make sure we've got our hands around everything, he's first and foremost," Jones said.

Austin is set to make $3.168 million this season. The club has had cursory talks with his agent, David Dunn, and those could increase now that the team has signed all of its draft picks. Jones said nothing is concrete in terms of meeting with Dunn, however, it should be noted Dunn's offices are not far from Oxnard, Calif., where the Cowboys will hold their second half of training camp.

Jones said the decision to give Austin a big money has little to do with wanting to see the wide receiver repeat his Pro Bowl season from 2009.

Might as well start with the Panthers running backs, because trust me, as the series goes on, the news won't stay this good.

In DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers have arguably two of the NFL's top 10 backs. In fact, there's a legitimate argument as to which is better here. Remember, it was Stewart who led the Panthers in rushing last year (1,133 yards), when Williams (1,117) finished the season hurt. And while Stewart gets dinged for rarely practicing, he hasn't missed an NFL game yet.

That they were the first duo in league history to each top the 1,100-yard mark was impressive, but perhaps not as much so as their relationship.

The fact they get along so well with each other is a boon to the Panthers, because lesser duos have disintegrated over jealousy, both coveting the ball, thinking they could do more with it.

To their credit, Williams and Stewart have figured out the big secret, that each is good for the other's longevity. Between them, they could continue to top 2,000 yards per season as long as they're together, even though either could be a 1,500-yard back (or more) alone.

One other thing worth mentioning, RB DeAngelo Williams is playing to get paid. He's in the final year of his contract.

New York media is still waiting on QB Mark Brunell to be signed by the Jets. Many hearing this could take a few days.

Sources tell 98.5 The Sports Hub that Patriots WR Wes Welker is expected to be cleared to fully participate in training camp.

Very exciting news...if true. 98.5 The Sports Hub is breaking this news, and it is has not been confirmed, but the New England Sports Network is also running with the story. If this pans out, it means that Welker would avoid the Physically Unable to Perform list, and could be available for a remarkable return in week 1. Julian Edelman's value is tied directly to Welker missing games.

Inside linebacker Sean Lee agreed to terms on a four-year contract Friday, meaning all of the Dallas Cowboys draft picks will report for the opening of training camp.

Lee, selected in the second round with the 55th overall pick, was the last of the Cowboys' seven picks to agree to a contract. The Cowboys open training camp Saturday in San Antonio.

The Cowboys gave up their fourth-round pick to move up four spots in the second round to draft Lee. They ranked the former Penn State linebacker as the No. 16 player on their draft board.

The 6-foot-1, 236-pound Lee will compete with Jason Williams, the Cowboys' third-round pick last year, to fill the nickel linebacker role this season. Lee will back up veterans Keith Brooking and Bradie James, but Wade Phillips has said he expects the rookie to get significant playing time this season.

Michael Vick is back in court again-this time in civil court facing charges that he made and authorized illegal gifts to friends and family in the months leading up to his bankruptcy.It's uncertain how this new dispute will end. One of Vick's bankruptcy lawyers is already belittling the claim. Attorney Paul Campsen says the legal proceeding filed earlier this month is nothing more than "a garden-variety attempt to collect money."

It is an attempt to collect money, but there's nothing garden-variety about it. In the next few months, Vick will find himself trying to explain what to most people would be an embarrassing series of financial decisions.

Between October 2006 and November 2007, for example, Vick wrote and cashed 67 checks that he made payable to "cash." According to court records, the total cash he collected from his 31 bank accounts during this period was $751,765. That's an average of nearly $54,000 in cash in his pocket each month during the final seven months of his dogfighting operation and the first seven months of investigations and charges that led to his incarceration.

Even a saint like Tim Tebow can become a training camp holdout. His baptism into the financial aspects of football could put at risk Tebow's reputation as one of the world's do-gooders.

As of Thursday night, only the 24th first rounder Dez Bryant has been signed and only three of the first 64 picks are under contract. Time is running out and it is doubtful all of these first rounders will be signed by training camp next week.

This could particularly affect Tebow's 2010 season as recent history shows quarterbacks who hold out have the hardest time catching up with their peers. Tebow, currently No.3 on the depth chart behind Kyle Orton and Brady Quinn, cannot afford to miss much time.

Tom Brady is not happy with current contract talks. It's not a rumor. It's not hearsay.

Third-year quarterback Dennis Dixon isn't your typical late draft pick. A knee injury blunted his Heisman Trophy hopes and pushed him down to the fifth round, where the Steelers were able to steal him.

Dixon made his lone NFL start last season at Baltimore when Ben Roethlisberger was a late scratch because of a concussion. Dixon displayed promise in the Steelers' 20-17 overtime loss, and he is expected to be No. 2 on the depth chart behind veteran Byron Leftwich when training camp opens a week from today.

Despite Dixon's upside, agent Jeff Sperbeck doesn't believe his client practiced with the first-team offense enough during offseason workouts for the coaching staff to fully evaluate his development. Dixon is competing with Leftwich to replace Roethlisberger, who will miss at least the first four games due to a suspension.

Linebacker will occupy the Cowboys' thoughts as players report today to training camp in San Antonio.

Inside linebacker Sean Lee, a second-round choice, is the club's only unsigned draft choice. Stephen Jones, chief operating officer and director of player personnel, said he would be "very surprised" if the Cowboys do not work out a deal soon.

Mike McCartney, who represents Lee, could not be reached for comment. McCartney said this week the sides were talking "but nothing is imminent."

Jones said the Cowboys could still "make a move or two" with the roster by Saturday's opening camp practice. If they added a player, it probably would be a linebacker to add depth for camp.

With Lee, the Cowboys have 11 linebackers on the roster, but two will be limited. Stephen Hodge is headed to the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from knee surgery, and the Cowboys plan to be careful with Keith Brooking, at least during the San Antonio portion of camp.

In many rookie only drafts, Sean Lee has been in the top 5 for LBs. Good pick-up for dynasty leagues. Given the amount of LBs on the Dallas roster, playing time will be limited for Lee this season.

David Cornwell, the lawyer for Bengals running back Cedric Benson, confirmed via text Thursday evening they met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in New York City about the assault charge in Austin, Texas. He’s not sure if Goodell will make a call before the season or wait to see if the case is resolved in court.

“The Commissioner and Cedric had a frank and productive discussion regarding the benefits of playing in the NFL as well as the price to enjoy those benefits,” Cornwell wrote. “Cedric is his best advocate and I believe the Commissioner was pleased with their discussion.”

Benson also has an advocate in his head coach. Marvin Lewis said earlier this week that Benson was “jumped” and “sucker-punched.”

Benson is rated 17th among running backs at 4for4 and is projected to be an early fourth round pick. He's coming off a good year last season, so he's going to be counted on this year as an RB2 on a lot of teams. This will be an important ruling to keep an eye on.

The Dallas Cowboys announced they agreed to terms with first-round pick Dez Bryant on Thursday.

The deal is for five years and $11.8 million, with $8.5 million guaranteed, a source said. Bryant's agent, Eugene Parker, said some of the language of the contract is still being worked out.

Bryant, the 24th pick of the draft, is expected to report on time for Cowboys training camp on Saturday in San Antonio.

Bryant, who was unavailable for comment, becomes the first first-round pick to agree to a contract, coming to terms before St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters – Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell. Backups – Dwayne Jarrett, Armanti Edwards, Wallace Wright, Charly Martin, Kenneth Moore, David Gettis. Others – Trent Guy, Dexter Jackson, Oliver Young.

Keep Jarrett’s name in pencil because although he’s working with the starters right now, he could easily be released before the start of the season if he doesn’t start producing. Now entering his fourth season, Jarrett has only appeared in 29 games and caught just 33 passes with one touchdown.

The Panthers need someone to step up and take pressure off Smith, which is why they drafted LaFell and Edwards in the third round. LaFell is Jarrett’s primary competition for the No. 2 spot opposite Smith. He has the ability to make plays downfield and is a decent blocker. It also helps that new receivers coach Tyke Tolbert is a former LSU graduate and pushed for the team to draft LaFell.

Edwards is a project. He played quarterback for Appalachian State, but the Panthers plan to make him a receiver and returner, although he could see some action in the Wildcat as well. Edwards is fast and has surprisingly good hands, but you have to wonder if his smallish frame will hold up.

Smith will miss most of training camp with a broken arm he sustained playing flag football but he should be ready for the season. Wright will make the roster because of his special teams ability but hopes to play some receiver. Martin, Moore and Gettis, a late-round draft pick, will battle for the fifth receiver spot. Gettis has great straightaway speed (think Drew Carter here). LEAGUE RANKING: 27th out of 32 teams.

LaFell may eventually have some value as the WR2 in Carolina, although young receivers don't tend to produce fantasy-wise right away. He could be someone to watch out for as the season moves along, though. Currently he just barely cracks 4for4's top-100 WRs [number-99] but doesn't have an ADP.

Just one day before rookies are due to report for training camp, the Cleveland Browns secured their potential quarterback of the future.

Third-round pick Colt McCoy agreed to a four-year deal Thursday worth up to $5 million, according to a league source. The normal slot is approximately $3.275 million. But McCoy got the "quarterback premium," which shows the faith Cleveland has in McCoy as its long-term solution at quarterback.

Brad Childress: "I don't know if Favre is going to play next year, and I don't know if he knows." ... "Believe whatever you want."

"I think he's back."

Those are the words from Philadelphia offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg on Eagles quarterback and Newport News native Michael Vick.

"In our mini camps, you could see that great, great athleticism," Mornhinweg told the Daily Press' David Teel during a stop at the Top Gun football camp in James City County.

"I would expect great things from Michael Vick this year," Mornhinweg said.

Vick is entering his second season with the Eagles and is due to earn $5.2 million. A three-time Pro Bowl pick, Vick is Kevin Kolb's backup and the most experienced quarterback on the roster following the trade of Donovan McNabb to the Redskins.

Vick should be better this year after getting used to the speed of the NFL again, but it's still doubtful he's a legit fantasy QB unless something happens to Kevin Kolb. Vick has more of a chance to take away production from Kolb than producing enough to be a fantasy starter.

Is Bruce Gradkowski really competing to be the starter? So is it really a competition?

Doubtful.

Not when Gradkowski is under for contract at around $1.8 million per year after being tendered as an unrestricted free agent, and Jason Campbell was brought in at more than $3 million and extended an additional year to over $4 million.

You probably haven't heard much about Shawnbrey McNeal yet, but I'm told that first-round pick Ryan Mathews isn't the only rookie running back worth paying attention to in San Diego this season. McNeal, an undrafted free agent out of SMU, made people notice him during the Chargers' offseason workouts and there's a belief within the organization that he could wind up being the guy who replaces third-down back Darren Sproles in 2011.

The Chargers franchised Sproles in 2009 and protected him via a one-year, $7.28-million restricted free-agent tender this spring (first and third-round compensation level), a move they had to make after giving Tomlinson his freedom. But while Mathews, the draft's 12th overall pick out of Fresno State, is expected to get No. 1 back duties this season, San Diego is eager to see if McNeal can prove to be a more affordable third-down specialist in the role Sproles has owned in recent years.

Bills TE Joe Klopfenstein is no longer on the active roster.

The tight end was placed on injured reserve Thursday. Klopfenstein was limited for much of the spring workouts with an indisclosed ailment. No word from the club as to whether that was what led to the I-R assignment.

If his injury is not necessarily season ending an injury settlement could wind up being the final resolution. In that case he would be able to play in 2010 for another NFL team, but not the Bills.

TE Greg Olsen vs. TE Desmond Clark
This is the sleeper battle of the summer. Olsen might be eight years younger than the 33-year-old Clark, but there is something about Clark that has caught the eye of the Bears' new offensive coaching staff. Clark went from 41 catches to 19 last season and his playing time went from 78 percent to 38 percent of the snaps. Although Olsen gradually has put up better numbers in each of his three seasons and is coming off a 60-catch, eight-touchdown year, the Bears' staff still thinks he could be doing more. This summer offers him a big challenge with Clark on board.

Olsen is just 4for4's 17th-best TE this year. We've said it before, it's a very deep position so there isn't a need to take any chances. There looks to be someone of quality available just about any round you wanted to address it.

For the critics who believe offensive coordinator Bruce Arians needs to call more running plays, that he needs to get back to the type of blue-collar Steelers football that provided the organization so much success over the years, he has a revelation.

"We need to run the ball better," Arians said, "not necessarily more."

That's what Arians took away from meetings with the organization's higher-ups, including team president Art Rooney II and coach Mike Tomlin, after last year's 9-7 team missed the playoffs. The veteran offensive coordinator couldn't agree more with the theory.

Rashard Mendenhall is rated 4for4's seventh-best RB and is a low-end first round pick this summer. He should be given the chance in short yardage, and more importantly goal line situations, which would really help his value. He's a real nice option for those picking at the bottom of the first round.

Bernard Scott, the first Bengals rookie running back to have a 100-yard game since Corey Dillon, idolized another great back closer to home in Vernon, Texas. And he hopes when the Bengals open their season in 18 days in the Hall of Fame Game against Emmitt Smith’s Cowboys that he’ll finally be able to meet the game’s all-time leading rusher the day after his enshrinement in Canton.

“He wasn’t that big and he wasn’t that fast, but he ran with a lot of heart,” Scott says. “Plus, the Cowboys were my team. I still follow them.”

Scott, of course, backs up another Texas guy in Cedric Benson heading into his second season and depending how Benson’s meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell goes Thursday, Scott could get a shot at another 100-yard game. ProFootballTalk.com has reported the two will meet to discuss Benson’s May assault charge stemming from an incident in a Texas bar and while Goodell has suspended players before their cases get heard in court, the Bengals sound optimistic that Benson won’t get docked games because he ended up defending himself.

Just how much "wild horse" offense should we expect to see this season? Or, to put it another way, just how much Tim Tebow?

My guess is more than you think. In fact, my guess is the Broncos will lead the league in what other teams call wildcat plays, unless Tebow's place in the formation determines what you call it, in which case the counting could get complicated.

As you may have heard, Josh McDaniels, the Broncos' second- year head coach, is not lacking for confidence. So I would be surprised if he drafted Tebow in the first round to be a clipboard holder for even one year. That would be the conventional approach, but conventional does not seem to be what McDaniels is after.

On the other hand, based on the team's extensive work during offseason minicamps, McDaniels made no secret of the fact that last year's starter, Kyle Orton, is well ahead of backups Brady Quinn and Tebow in the base offense. No surprise there. It is Tebow's first pro offense, and Quinn is reaching back to his college days for a similar scheme.

Tebow may have some value in scoring leagues, along the lines of Mike Vick. But still, with so many better options at the position, it seems really risky to play Tebow or Vick in your lineup over a bottom top-ten QB, like Eli Manning for example.

In an online chat with Adam Caplan, he had some comments on Philadelphia Eagles QB Kevin Kolb.

Adam Caplan: I think he'll finish in the top-15 possibly top-10. His understanding of the scheme will really help. I think the Eagle fans will be surprised at how much of a command he has on everything. I know privately the coaching staff has felt he could have started all season last year and done well.

Nothing changed in TE Vernon Davis' game last year -- only the perception of his game. The major difference was that offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye used him as a route-runner, not a blocker, in the passing game.

As a result, Davis posted exceptional numbers: 78 catches, 965 yards, 13 TDs. Davis is seeking to become the highest-paid tight end in the league at $8 million per season, NFL sources say. It's doubtful the 49ers will go that high.

Columnist Monte Poole thinks so.

Terrell Owens is a man everywhere and nowhere at all, constantly on exhibition yet still awaiting an audition.

The Raiders are a franchise that has spent recent months making logical moves in hopes of shedding years of failure and an appreciable decline in business.

T.O. is an accomplished veteran wide receiver seeking employment; the Raiders have zero accomplished veterans at wide receiver.

He says he wants a job, wants to contribute to a team's offense; they have said Owens is not someone they've discussed, despite playing the worst offense in the NFL.

Is there anyone on earth who can't see what's wrong with this picture?

If the Raiders were in the midst of a dynasty, or even coming off a winning season, there would be no need for them to consider Owens. Their success would provide reasonable explanation for such a stance. They, like most of the NFL, could ignore T.O.

Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham have showed playmaking abilities. If Nicks and Manningham can show better consistency, Eli Manning will have a fearsome threesome. The explosive Nicks could emerge as the Giants’ best big-play threat. He is determined to start and will battle Manningham in camp for the No. 2 spot.

Nicks and Manningham will be an exciting training camp battle.

Hakeem Nicks, the Giants first-round draft pick in 2009, had an impressive rookie season. The wide receiver caught 47 passes for 790 yards and six touchdowns, and established himself as a playmaking threat in the young Giants receiving corps. Nicks revealed in April that he played the season on a broken toe, which required offseason surgery to repair. The toe will be healed in time for the start of training camp, Nicks said, and that his preparation for 2010 has been "all football."

He's averaged 50 catches over the past three years, but as tight end Bo Scaife prepares for his sixth NFLseason, both he and the Titans believe he has another level.

"It would be good to see him be the go-to-guy, the first-down maker, the guy that keeps the chains moving … that type of thing,'' tight ends coach John Zernhelt said.

Scaife changed things up a bit this offseason, working out with a personal trainer in Denver for several months — even at the expense of missing some of the Titans' voluntary practices. But he said he believes it will be for the best when the season rolls around.

"I feel good that nothing is nagging on me, nothing like that,'' Scaife said. "My body feels strong, so hopefully it plays out and works out for me.''

Bo Scaife could surprise folks this year and be a solid #2 TE. He's also playing for a contract renewal.

New Orleans Saints prepared to add veteran QB Patrick Ramsey this week, with restrictions on their free agent signings lifted Thursday.

DeSean Jackson is unlikely to get - or even want - his contract restructured despite the revised deal that Tennessee running back Chris Johnson reportedly agreed to Monday, according to a league source familiar with the way the Eagles negotiate contracts.

The Eagles wide receiver, like Johnson, expressed dissatisfaction with the contract he signed as a rookie. But Jackson's situation is much different from Johnson's, even though both 2008 draft picks have become offensive stars after two seasons.

Eagles President Joe Banner is one tough SOB on contracts. This is a team that just traded "company man" Donovan McNabb and released Brian Westbrook and fan favorite Brian Dawkins (in 09). I highly doubt any consideration will be given to DeSean's current deal.

Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he's happy with the 10 wide receivers on the Bengals roster.

Asked about the possibility of bringing in Terrell Owens, who visited the Bengals in March, for a second look, Lewis said: “I don’t want to speak (about) Terrell. We’ve been down that road before.”

Packers WR Jordy Nelson continues to be in a big battle against James Jones for the No. 3 receiver role. John Clayton thinks Nelson will win it and have his best season.

This is complete speculation by John Clayton. Both Jordy Nelson and James Jones have performed well in the off-season. The only way to determine this battle is training camp. Stay tuned.

Kevin Demhoff, Rams Vice President of Football Operations/Chief Operating appeared on 101ESPN in St. Louis and discussed Sam Bradford's contract.

Nobody is being absurd; everything is within reason," Demoff told the radio station. "But there are some points to iron out and some feelings we both have on the way this wants to go. Those aren't necessarily public discussions. The goal is to come to an end product that makes sense for both sides and I think we'll do that."

Demoff also said there is a lot of precedent to work with. Lots of quarterbacks have been chosen first overall. Bradford's agent, Tom Condon, has experience in these situations.

"You try to piece together what you like and some of the changes you'd like to make maybe in the language or different spots," Demoff said. "But this isn't Mideast peace or putting a cap on an oil well. This is essentially trying to figure out the right number and trying to create a contract that lives for a long time. A lot changes in that time period and you want a deal that both sides don't wake up after a couple years and say, for better or worse, 'We don't like this.' "

2010 third round draft pick Brandon LaFell has signed a four-year contract with the Carolina Panthers.

LaFell is expected to compete for a starting WR position opposite of Steve L Smith.

Free Agent OG Chester Pitts was scouted by the Steelers and Colts on Tuesday.

Contrary to perceptions around the league, there is no open quarterback competition in Carolina. Barring injury or "a mental breakdown of Jake Delhomme proportions", Matt Moore will open the season as the starter. The more relevant question is who will be Moore's primary backup and defacto starter if Moore gets injured. Hunter Cantwell, an undrafted free agent who was on the scout team last year, has impressed coaches and appears to be No. 2 on the depth chart at present. Reed believes, however, that Jimmy Clausen will emerge to take that spot by opening day.

The Jets have kept seat warm for QB Mark Brunell, who will sign Thursday at the earliest. Wouldn't be shocked if DE Marques Douglas re-signs.

Interesting club house move (potentially) by the Jets given most the locker room supports Kellen Clemens.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was asked if he thought running back Cedric Benson would be suspended for a game or more following his arrest last month for assault in an Austin, Texas, bar. According to the following statement, Lewis is another who by the tone of his statements thinks that it is unlikely.

Said Lewis: “I don’t know why we we’re even talking about Cedric being suspended a game. I don’t even know why we’re bringing it up. To me it’s unbelievable. It wouldn’t be brought up in 31 other cities in the country I think.”

Lewis went on to say later: “As Cedric’s has come out the truth about Cedric’s is that Cedric got sucker punched in a bar. That’s the thing. And only because it was Cedric Benson does it become news.”

The NFL is still reviewing the case and has not made a final decision.

Tom Brady's rags-to-riches story has been inspiring to many in the New England area. He was Drew Henson's backup at Michigan. He was drafted in the sixth-round of the 2000 NFL draft and served as Drew Bledsoe's backup. When Bledsoe was injured in week 2 of the 2001 season, Brady took over and hasn't looked back delivering 3 Super Bowls in four years for the Patriots.

Brady seems to have gone Hollywood, and Patriots Nation has struggled with one question: Has Brady’s new lifestyle impeded his on-the-field performance?

Brady used to be the model Patriot in offseason workouts, the first to arrive and last to leave and earned a preferred parking spot. But now Brady is spending more time in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.

But Brady hasn’t won in a while and New England is already growing restless. Whether fans want to admit it or not, some of them question whether Brady will ever be the same guy who led the Patriots to those Super Bowl wins over the Rams, Panthers and Eagles. They wonder what changed -- they wonder whether the problem is the knee injury or the Hollywood persona that Brady has adopted.

Oh how I love off season news. Reporters and some fans look for anything to pin the previous season record on. Training camp is right around the corner!

It’s kind of amazing. The Jets led the NFL in rushing, yet 50% of that league-leading backfield is gone – Thomas Jones and Leon Washington. Training camp will be about trying to define roles for Shonn Greene (is he well-rounded enough to play on any down?), LaDainian Tomlinson (can he adjust to a complementary role?) and Joe McKnight (can he replace Washington as the third-down back?)

On many levels, this will be a new experience for Tomlinson. In San Diego, he barely broke a sweat in pre-season games, but now he’ll be asked to carry a decent workload as he assimilates into the Jets’ system and tries to convince the coaches he’s still worthy of a significant role. Greene missed a chunk of his rookie camp with a sprained ankle, so his No. 1 goal is to stay healthy. The coaches are eager to see if his receiving skills have improved to the point where he can be trusted in any situation. Don’t expect to see a lot of Tony Richardson in camp; at 38, he’ll be used judiciously. That will allow to the two young battering rams, rookie John Conner and Jason Davis, to receive more reps.

If Shonn Greene's receiving skills improved this offseason, he could see more third down opportunities. This could be huge in PPR formats.

Rock Hill Herald's Darin Gantt believes the Panthers' starting WR job opposite of Steve Smith is Dwayne Jarrett's to lose.....or "until he coughs it up."

Interesting speculation from Gantt. Clearly, this is a make of break year for Dwayne Jarrett.

Pretty much every first-rounder since the dawn of the draft has stated he wanted to be in camp when it started.

Now, "on time" is a term that can be debated. If on time means when rookies report, then the chances are significantly less that Ryan Mathews will be at Chargers Park. Rookies report Sunday.

On time, however, is generally understood to be before the first full-squad workout. Chargers veterans report July 29 and the first full-squad practice is the next morning.

"It's also a business," Mathews said. "That's what I have to realize. ... I want to be on time. Hopefully that happens. If not, there's nothing I can do."

It didn't take the Cowboys and Dez Bryant long to agree that he would wear the No. 88.

Now the two sides are working on a different number.

Contract negotiations between the club and its first round draft pick began Monday. In past seasons, the Cowboys let the first round market develop before talks intensified. The Cowboys do not have that luxury this summer since it will be the first team to report to training camp.

There is a little-known rule in the NFL's collective bargaining agreement that is having a big-time impact on the New York Jets' stalled negotiations with star cornerback Darrelle Revis -- and it likely will sabotage any chance of signing Revis to a contract extension before the start of the season.

It's called the "reallocation rule,” and it explains, in part, why the Jets’ offer to Revis includes virtually no fully guaranteed money. By “fully” guaranteed, we mean it’s guaranteed against skill and injury, ensuring the player gets paid no matter what.

The rule states that, when doing a contract extension in an uncapped year, future guarantees against skill and injury must fit under the team’s 2009 salary cap. In the Jets’ case, that doesn’t leave much at all, as they had only about $300,000 in leftover cap space -- a relative drop in the bucket. They can offer more than that for skill or injury, but not both.

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll just told 710ESPN Seattle that his team will not be pursuing Terrell Owens this offseason.

"I go way back with T.O.," Carroll said. "I was there (as an assistant coach) when he showed up with the 49ers. ... I really like him. ... We won't be able to do that this time around. We're going to continue to work with the guys we've got. ... I think our situation is OK with where we are."

Injuries could always change the outlook, but those statements from Carroll seemed pretty firm. I think we can draw a line in pencil through Owens' name as it pertains to Seattle.

Tim Hasselbeck expects a strong 2010 season from Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan.

There were a lot of factors that went into a down year last season, and the Atlanta coaches were pleased with Ryan’s overall play. A toe injury to Ryan hurt his numbers a bit and so did injuries to running back Michael Turner.

Ryan also didn’t get much support beyond starting receivers Roddy White and Michael Jenkins. With Harry Douglas coming back after missing last season with an injury, the Falcons should have a quality No. 3 receiver.

Hasselbeck says he thinks Ryan can throw for about 3,500 yards and 25 touchdowns this season.

Hasselbeck must be checking out 4for4.com's rankings... We've predicted very similar numbers for Ryan for weeks now. Ryan is still considered a backup, but a high-tier backup you may want to go after early if you don't get a top-7 guy you know you can depend on week-in and week-out.

A league source tells us that the Tennessee Titans and running back Chris Johnson have agreed to terms on a new contract that solves the financial problems between team and player.

At least for 2010.

As expected, the arrangement will pay Johnson more money this year, with no additional years being added to the contract. Johnson currently is signed through 2012.

The new deal has not yet been signed, so we suppose it could fall through. But at this point it's unlikely.

It's pretty much a safe bet Johnson will not hold out now, allowing him to assume his number-one spot atop of most fantasy rankings.

Joe Flacco is unsure how the addition of new backup Marc Bulger will affect the chemistry of the quarterback group.

Flacco said it’s been an enjoyable experience working with quarterbacks Troy Smith and John Beck. But the recent signing of Bulger likely means Smith or Beck will get cut at the end of the preseason. There’s a chance that both won’t make it past the final cutdown.

While Flacco believes Bulger will be “a great backup,” he is wondering whether there will be some uneasiness amongst the quarterbacks.

“Hopefully, we just all get along well,” Flacco said over the weekend. “When you have a little bit of tension in the room, it doesn’t lend to playing well. Yeah, he might bring a thing here or there that helps me out. We’ll see. It’s all about going out there, preparing during the week and having a good time doing that. Hopefully, we can do that.”

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress is in Hattiesburg, MS, today apparently trying to find out if his star quarterback is coming back.

Childress and Brett Favre were both seen Monday morning at The University of Southern Mississippi's 7-on-7 passing camp for area high school athletes.

Childress would not comment on camera about his visit but said, "You can fill in the blanks."

Guessing game begins: Drew Rosenhaus texted he is "very confident" that Terrell Owens will have a new deal "within the next few weeks.

Browns coach Eric Mangini said last month that he wasn't ready to declare Jake Delhomme his starting quarterback. But Delhomme will definitely go into camp with a leg up on Seneca Wallace.

Mangini told our own Mike Florio on The Dan Patrick Show that everything Delhomme did during the Browns' organized team activities indicated that he's ready to be the Browns' starting quarterback.

"It's really Jake's job to lose, and he did a great job during OTAs," Mangini said. "I couldn't have been happier with him, not just in terms of the way he learned the information but the way he ran the offense."

Delhomme isn't going to be a highly-targeted fantasy QB this August. You already know six of his games will be against Pittsburgh, Cincy and Baltimore, making him most likely an unsafe start. He'll also see the Jets and New England. He looks to be a QB that won't see a lot of good fantasy matchups this year, based on 4for4's strength of schedule for passing.

The Cowboys last season were among 10 teams that had three backs with 60-plus carries. Look for the time-sharing arrangement with Marion Barber, Tashard Choice and Felix Jones to continue. It worked well enough for the Cowboys to rank seventh in rushing with 131.4 yards per game.

The decision that must be made during camp is how to divide the usual total of about 28 carries per game. More specifically, can the Cowboys continue to give Marion Barber about 15 carries per game?

Barber has had two consecutive mediocre and injury-plagued seasons. A year ago, he ranked 16th in yards per game (62.1) and 14th in per-carry average (4.4) among the 22 backs with 200-plus attempts. He had only 18 yards on 11 carries in the playoffs.

Jones did well when given increased work. In the final six games, including playoffs, Jones ran for 475 yards with a per-carry average of 6.0 yards. Tashard Choice, who did his best work out of the single-wing Razorback formation, is also pushing for more time.

This could be the most fiercely contested area in camp. Barber is not the undisputed No. 1 back. He must earn the spot, or lose it.

"When you have a number of guys who are so capable, you're always going to feel like they can do better if given more chances," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "You're always going to feel like there's more meat on the bone for them."

The article points out that Barber was among the top-five least affective backs in third and fourth and short, which is where you hope he'd make his fantasy living. Dallas backs look to be nothing more than RB2 or flex spots until things get sorted out a bit more.

Robert Weintraub of Football Outsiders provides his look at the position: “Jermaine Gresham was a matchup nightmare at Oklahoma, averaging well over 14 yards per catch for his career. Our projections don’t foresee quite that high a number, but provided he stays healthy (a big IF when talking about Bengals tight ends), he should approach double-digits in yards every time he hauls one in, which should be often enough, given we project Gresham to catch about 75% of the balls thrown his way.

There's been a lot of positive words about Gresham this offseason, but there doesn't seem to be a need to reach for him at all this summer in fantasy drafts. TE is a very deep position and there doesn't seem to even be a need to reach for the more consistent, year-to-year guys. That said, a good fantasy GM look for bargains in the very late rounds and perhaps Gresham could be one of those guys you take a shot at.

There's another player who will be a constant presence this week with Donovan McNabb and the other offensive specialists: quarterback Colt Brennan. Brennan began working out with Brett Fischer of Fischer Sports back in January, several weeks before he and McNabb would share the same locker room at Redskins Park.

"The first day he was here, he came in wearing sandals. He forgot his sneakers," Fischer said with a chuckle. "He didn't even know Donovan then. It was one of Donovan's first days back after the season. I asked Donovan, 'Do you have an extra pair of shoes?' He said, 'Of course.' He went and got them from the back of his car. Little did any of us know they'd be teammates later."

Brennan and McNabb have been working out together at Fischer Sports, studying the playbook, going through the same sets of drills. And that will continue this week, when some of their other teammates arrive for "Hell Week."

Speaking on nfl.com, NFL analyst Mike Lombardi reports that Carolina Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart is finally healthy from all his injuries, and will have a great year. Lombardi spent some time with Stewart recently, and he is excited about the season.

Stewart is technically the number two back in Carolina behind DeAngelo Williams, but he's going to get lots of playing time and will outperform top rushers on other teams. We currently have him ranked at 15 and believe he will outperform his draft position, since he'll often be picked after lesser players simply because he's not at the top of the depth chart.

Kansas City starting quarterback Matt Cassel had a disappointing preseason in 2009, frequently being overshadowed in practices by Brodie Croyle before suffering a knee injury in a preseason contest against Seattle. The starting job unequivocally belongs to Cassel, but his throws have to become crisper and more fundamentally sound. He too often made off-balance passes last season and missed open targets.

He’s as much a reason as any as to why head coach Todd Haley hired coordinator Charlie Weis, who will work closely with Cassel to fine-tune his throwing motion and decision-making.

Cassel had his adjustment year in 2009. Now, there are no more excuses. He should know his offense, his teammates and himself enough to show that he’s worth the money and faith the Chiefs have invested in him.

With the emergence of Jamaal Charles and the acquisition of Thomas Jones, Kansas City's attack won't be centered around the passing game. Right now Cassel is at 25 in 4for4's rankings, meaning he'll likely go undrafted in a lot of leagues. But the Chiefs do have an easy schedule that features the likes of the Browns, Bills, Jaguars, and the entire NFC West, so it's possible Cassel could help fantasy teams on occasion.

The Arizona Cardinals have taken distinctly different approaches when it comes to signing, or not signing, key players.

More than two years ago, receiver Larry Fitzgerald got paid. In significant fashion.

The four-year, $40 million deal prompted receiver Anquan Boldin to ask for a raise. Repeatedly. Two years later, the Cardinals shipped him to a team that would give him one, the Ravens.

Linebacker Karlos Dansby, after two seasons of playing under the franchise tag, walked away and signed with the Dolphins. Ditto for Antrel Rolle, who was cut in lieu of being paid a huge amount in 2010 and then signed with the Giants.

When it comes to defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, however, it appears that the Cardinals will choose to take a crow bar to the coffers.

"We're going to get it done," coach Ken Whisenhunt recently told Bickey and MJ of Xtra Sports 910 in Phoenix. "I have such great respect for Darnell and what he does."

Still, it's unclear when a deal will get done. Like many other teams, it could be that the Cardinals will wait for the next labor deal to be finalized before extending Dockett's deal.

"It's a different economy in the NFL right now," Whisenhunt said. "There's a lot of things that are unsettled that are facing us in the future. We're trying to work through those things."

At one point, Dockett had been clamoring loudly for a new deal. Eventually, however, he accepted the fact that the Cardinals do what they damn well please when they damn well please to do it, and it has put him in line to get paid.

That said, he's still under contract for two more years, at salaries of $3.75 million and $4 million. So the Cardinals can force him to bear for two more years the risk of serious injury, and then they can give him a big raise once he emerges from the other side of the next 32 regular-season games unscathed.

The Washington Redskins don't report for training camp until July 29, but Donovan McNabb's "Hell Week" is scheduled to get underway bright and early Monday morning in Arizona.

While the weeks that lead up to training camp are generally treated as down time across the NFL, the Redskins quarterback has invited some of his new teammates to his Phoenix-area home for a week of grueling workouts and team building.

"I think it's important for the specialists on the offense to have that chemistry, to have that bond," McNabb says, "where they can trust me and I can trust them."

To that end, McNabb invited the Redskins' receivers, tight ends and running backs to Arizona to take part in his regular offseason workout program. It's the same opportunity he offered in the past few years to his former teammates in Philadelphia. Receivers Devin Thomas, Santana Moss and Malcolm Kelly are among those expected to participate.

McNabb calls it "Hell Week" because of the demanding nature of his workouts, but also because of the extreme summertime heat. Temperatures around Phoenix this week are expected to climb as high as 112 degrees.

"It's a different mindset," McNabb said of the week. "I prepare guys the way I prepare."

The Redskins' players were expected to land in Phoenix Sunday with an itinerary waiting for them. The week was expected to begin with an early wake-up call and the players reporting each morning to Fischer Sports, the 20,000-square foot workout facility where McNabb does most of his offseason training.

There, Brett Fischer, McNabb's trainer, will lead the group through workouts and exercises nearly identical to the ones the quarterback does during the offseason.

"For them, I think it's an eye-opener what we're doing," said Fischer, whose resume lists him as a physical therapist, an athletic trainer and a strength-and-conditioning specialist. "I think it's an eye opener for them, comparing themselves with their quarterback, with how hard he's working out here. To me, it's him telling them, 'Hey, I'm taking this thing seriously to the next level. Let's go to the next level.'"

The daily routine focuses on the athlete's core -- abdominals, the lower back, gluteal muscles and hips -- and involves everything from traditional weights to resistance bands. Fischer likes to focus on balance, flexibility, joints and areas that most athletes tend to ignore in their regular workouts.

The group also will spend plenty of time on cardio, running steep hills in the desert heat until they finally take a break in the early afternoon.

As the Ozark Mountain Daredevils once sang, if you want to get to heaven, you got to raise a little hell. Certainly McNabb and his teammates hope this week of hell will lead to lots of heavenly moments in the regular season. McNabb is currently ranked at 12 in 4for4's rankings, and if he showcases a good rapport with his receivers during training camp and the preseason, he has a decent chance of moving up. It's also worth mentioning again that Donovan will play the Rams, Lions, and Buccaneers in 2010. McNabb might not be the sure-fire bet in Washington he would have been in Philadelphia, but at worse he'll be a spot fantasy starter with some upside.

Tennessee quarterback Vince Young has had a really, really good offseason and is primed for a big year. In fact, Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger mentioned that out of Young’s hundreds of passes in OTAs and minicamp, he threw only two interceptions. That’s really impressive.

Tennessee's run-first approach will limit Young's upside, but he could be a good backup for fantasy teams. He's currently at 18 in 4for4's rankings.

Young Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles is expected to be the centerpiece of the Chiefs’ offense, and he must prove early that he’s up for the attention that he’ll receive — defensive coordinators know about him now. Kansas City head coach Todd Haley has to keep Charles grounded throughout the preseason, reminding the youngster that he’s not a star yet and that veteran back Thomas Jones would gladly accept the starting job if Charles regresses.

Charles spent the 2009 offseason working on conditioning and strength; he should have repeated that routine this year. Now he must show signs that he can keep improving and that last year’s statistics weren’t a fluke.

The presence of Jones will likely keep Charles from approaching the top five at the running back position, but his explosiveness will help fantasy teams win plenty of games in 2010.

Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis, recovering from his second torn ACL in his right knee, continues the rehab process he's growing to know well.

Davis, who blew the knee June 8 and had surgery June 12, said last week he's still in the early stages. He's started running in a pool - which keeps any impact or weight off the repaired joint -but doesn't know when he'll begin running on dry land.

He described his time frame as a "wait and see process," but was encouraged by things so far. While a comeback this year seems unlikely, neither Davis nor the team is prepared to pull the plug at this point.

Reggie Wayne was at Conseco Fieldhouse to play basketball Saturday evening, but he took a moment to talk football. Indianapolis Colts players report to training camp at Anderson University on August 1 and Wayne's timely arrival is an open question.

"I want to be there on time but we're just going to do our part and let them do all the negotiations," the Colts' four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver said before the Amp Harris & Reggie Wayne "Saving Our Youth" Celebrity Basketball Game. "We done talked a little bit but it's just talk. That was it."

Wayne is dissatisfied with his contract, a six-year, $39 million deal that has two years to run with base salaries of $5.47 million this season and $5.95 million in 2011. He did not participate in the club's offseason voluntary organized team activities or mandatory minicamp.

That doesn't mean he won't play this season -- even if he doesn't get a new contract.

"I play football. That's what I do," he said. "I love the game. It goes deeper than contract talks; I like doing this. I ain't getting any younger and football is my passion."

So are splashy entrances.

In 2006, Wayne reported to training camp wearing former Colts teammate Edgerrin James' Arizona Cardinals jersey. In 2007, he wore military camouflage and last year he showed up in a dump truck, hardhat on his head, lunchbox in hand and announced the Colts were "under construction for the Super Bowl."

"I've always got something planned," Wayne said. "Hopefully everything falls into place and I end up at Anderson on time."

While some wide receivers can rightfully be called divas, Wayne has never fit into that category. Given his generally good character, it's hard to see his contract situation becoming a major issue, but Wayne may not live up to his draft position this year with the emergence of guys like Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. He won't be a total bust, but he might not be able to anchor the wide receiver position for fantasy teams the way he did in the past.

Terrell Owens, the transient receiver and darling of ESPN and social networkers, is a chopper in trouble now, seeking a safe place to put down. One of those havens is rumored to be Chargers Park. There are three chances of that — slim, none and fat.

He will not be cleared to land or even enter the airspace.

"We’re all set right now with our receivers," says Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith, back from vacation a week before the opening of training camp. "I don’t want to be involved. A lot of people have us targeted, but they know I wouldn’t do it."

T.O. will land somewhere, eventually, and the reason the Chargers are even brought up is because it’s perceived they need help at the position. Vincent Jackson, their top wide receiver, not only was a restricted free agent who refused to sign anything but a long-term deal, he also has been suspended three games in 2010 for his duet of DUI arrests.

There was a time when the interest between Terrell Owens and the Bengals was mutual, but that ship has sailed. Right now the courtship is one-sided.

For the last month people close to Owens have been talking about how much he wants to play for the Bengals. Owens even mentioned the Bengals during an Associated Press interview on Tuesday. His agent Drew Rosenhaus also mentioned Cincinnati during an interview on ESPN's NFL Live on Friday.

The Bengals keep being brought up for a variety of reasons - it's the only team he has visited so far during free agency, the friendship with Chad Ochocinco and Owens' desire to come to a team on the cusp of making a playoff run this year.

However, there are just as many reasons why the Bengals are unlikely to take a second look at Owens - the drafting of Jordan Shipley and Dez Briscoe, the signing of Antonio Bryant to a four-year, $28 million contract and the fact that Owens struggled in Buffalo last year with just 55 receptions.

While some fans are still dreaming of Ochocinco and Owens on the same team, those odds are even more remote after the drafting of two receivers. Shipley has the potential to become that clutch third-down inside receiver that was missing last year and Briscoe's knack for making the tough catches look routine at Kansas could give him the edge for one of the final two spots among the six receivers the team is expected to keep.

To Owens' credit, he did keep his mouth shut and said the right things during a frustrating year in Buffalo, but many still see him as a problem player throughout the league - a 37-year old problem player.

Rosenhaus also said on Friday that five teams have expressed an interest in Owens, including a new one that has "aggressively entered the picture." During the owners meetings in March, Rosenhaus said there were three teams. In either case, he's still unsigned.

By the time the season kicks off, Owens will be back in the league and don't be surprised to see him end up in Seattle. T.J. Houshmandzadeh (sports hernia) and Deion Branch (knee) are coming off surgeries with Golden Tate, Deon Butler and Mike Williams being the backups.

Will Cedric Benson get suspended or not? Right now with the information that he has been made public the odds are very good that he will avoid punishment by the league. However, they are still looking at the case. If Benson were to miss multiple games, Cedric Peerman could get a chance to stay on the roster since he is a back that is more Benson’s style (straight ahead, between the tackles). If Benson were to miss only one game, Bernard Scott could fill in and do well based on his start in Oakland last year.

Benson is currently at 17 in 4for4's rankings, but any kind of suspension could cause him to drop. There were times in 2009 that he performed like a number one fantasy back, but in 2010 he looks better as a number two back.

Former Southeast High School and Oklahoma Sooner standout Gerald McCoy stopped by AT&T Bricktown Ballpark to throw the ceremonial first pitch at the Oklahoma RedHawks' game against the Iowa Cubs on Saturday. The third pick in the 2010 NFL Draft signed some autographs as well and sat down with The Oklahoman.

There were reports that you injured your leg during minicamp. How's your leg now?

"Nothing is wrong with me; it's the media, they make stuff up. It was one of those things when anything happens you have to let the trainers know. Something was up with my hip, so the trainers told me to sit down for the day. And they turned it into a big deal."

You had your first experience of minicamp. How does it compare to camp at OU?

"Our minicamp wasn't really like minicamp; it was like a real practice, just a little shorter. Real intense, we just didn't wear pads. If we did something like that at Oklahoma it would just be walk-through. It was pretty intense to be mini-camp."

How are contract discussions coming?

(shrugs shoulders) "I definitely want to be on time, but we just have to see how it goes."

What do you think of former teammate Sam Bradford's contract situation?

"King Sam! Sam will get his deal done. I think Sam will be there, and as soon as Sam gets his deal done, mine will be done."

Are you waiting on Sam to sign?

"It's kind of one of those deals where you would rather let the first pick sign first. You don't want to do your deal first and his contract is way higher than yours. But if you waited yours would have been higher."

Once Bradford signs, others will follow. It would be nice for McCoy to be in camp early, as Tampa is counting on him to help revive the Buccaneers defense. Right now, the Bucs are at 27 in 4for4's rankings, so they aren't worth drafting. If Gerald is the real McCoy and the other pieces blend well around him, maybe the Bucs will be worth acquiring during the season.

It seems the writing is on the wall for Lions quarterback Drew Stanton.

Obviously, Stanton has no shot at supplanting Matthew Stafford as the starting quarterback. And with the team signing backup Shaun Hill to a one-year extension earlier this week, it's unlikely he'll ever climb above No. 3 without Stafford or Hill becoming injured.

Stanton is heading into the final year of a four-year rookie contract that will pay him a little more than $1 million this season. Stanton is fairly cheap for an experienced NFL quarterback -- in NFL terms -- and he knows the offense, which means he won't need a lot of reps.

Stanton was continuing to struggle with his accuracy during the team's organized team activity practices and minicamp. He had a particularly rough day on the second day of a June minicamp when he threw three interceptions during various drills. The wind was whipping pretty good that day and Stanton couldn't negotiate the conditions with his notoriously weak arm.

Asked if the wind affected Stanton's performance that day or if he's been tinkering with his mechanics, Lions coach Jim Schwartz said: "Drew throws the ball the way he always has. There is nothing different with his mechanics."

That's not exactly a vote of confidence from a head coach.

Stanton will play out the 2010 season as an emergency option with experience. He and the Lions will likely part ways after the season.

Once upon a time, Stanton was the quarterback of the future in Detroit, but Matthew Stafford has that role now and he looks like a long-term keeper.

New York Giants WR Domenik Hixon cleared waivers on Friday, clearing a path for the Giants to place him on injured reserve. He'll miss the 2010 season with an ACL tear.

Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt wants guard Deuce Lutui to be in the "lower 340s" weight-wise, same as he was last season. Lutui recently reported to the team at 396 pounds and Whisenhunt was not happy.

"When Deuce came in and signed his contract, that was one of the things we talked about," Whisenhunt told XTRA910. "You guys know me pretty well and I have very little tolerance for that. Because, listen, this offseason, we had our guys in there working about as hard as I have ever been around. They are focused because everybody said we don't have a chance, we lost all these players and we can't do it. Our guys have really taken that challenge and worked hard. And it's difficult when you have guys in there busting their tails and one of the players isn't in there and then when he comes in and signs his contract, he's pretty heavy. That is frustrating. The onus is on Deuce."

William Perry used to be known as "The Refrigerator" but that conjures up chilly thoughts, and it doesn't get cold in Arizona all that often. Maybe "The Big Cactus" would fit for Deuce. Seriously, though, Arizona doesn't need a lot of turmoil on their offensive line with Beanie Wells expected to take on a larger role and Matt Leinart unlikely to fare as well as Kurt Warner at quarterback. Of course, if Lutui doesn't get in shape, Arizona might be better off without him.

It's been more than 14 years since a hit by Jacksonville Jaguars safety Chris Hudson knocked Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly into retirement. In the time since, the Bills have tried the old, the new, the mobile and the immobile in attempt to fill that void left by their Hall of Fame passer.

They're still looking.

Maybe Trent Edwards, one of the 10 quarterbacks who has started a game since Kelly left, summed the situation up best.

"Trying to fill the shoes of Jim Kelly is difficult to do," Edwards said.

The Bills open training camp in two weeks and there is no definitive starter at quarterback. Instead, there's an open competition, according to first-year coach Chan Gailey.

Translation: They still don't have that guy.

Edwards is considered the favorite in the competition heading to camp. The others are Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm, none of those names exactly the type to conjure images of Kelly running that old K-Gun offense.

That offense under Kelly helped the Bills go to four Super Bowls, losing all four. Since he retired, the Bills haven't won a playoff game and haven't been since 1999.

Last season, the Bills started Edwards, Fitzpatrick and Brohm, but all three struggled. It didn't help they played in a bad offensive system and the offensive line wasn't good -- and that's being nice.

Edwards opened the season as a starter, struggled early, and then was knocked out for a couple of games with a concussion. He lost his job to Fitzpatrick, and he finished with seven starts. Fitzpatrick had eight and Brohm had one.

It really didn't matter who played -- Buffalo finished 30th in the league in passing. They had just 31 pass plays of 20 yards or more, third lowest total in the league. For comparison sake, the New Orleans Saints won a Super Bowl with 58 passing plays of 20 or more yards.

In this era of the pass, you can't win without consistent quarterback play and big-chunk yards in the passing game.

"Not to use a cliché, but this is a quarterback-driven league," Edwards said.
"I have to look at it as an open competition, because that's what it is. I have to use it to make me better."

Gailey likes his quarterbacks mobile. Fitzpatrick and Edwards both can move, but Edwards has the better arm. That had led to the talk that he's the leader going to camp, even if Gailey won't say.

In terms of the 4for4 rankings, Edwards is the highest ranked Bills quarterback, but he's not worth drafting even if he wins the job. Buffalo's quarterback, whoever it is, just needs to do enough to help their running backs and Lee Evans post decent fantasy numbers.

The National Football League suspended defensive end Johnny Jolly on Friday, indefinitely and without pay, for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

The suspension will last at least through the 2010 season. Jolly is eligible to apply for reinstatement after Super Bowl XLV.

Ted Thompson, the team’s general manager, issued a statement:

"Johnny is a good player that loves everything about the game of football. We appreciate the contributions he has made to the Packers the past four seasons. His focus and priorities now lie elsewhere – our thoughts are with him during this difficult personal time."

The team declined further comment.

Green Bay has been planning for life without Jolly, as they drafted a pair of defensive ends in April's draft and still have a solid threesome of Ryan Pickett, B.J. Raji, and Cullen Jenkins up front. The Packers are 4for4's number two defense and should remain a top fantasy option even without Jolly thanks to playmakers like Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews.

Seahawks LB Leroy Hill is suspended one game for violating league's policy on substance abuse.

Steelers second-year receiver Mike Wallace surprisingly topped Football Outsiders' prospects list. Here's what Barnwell had to say about Wallace:

What Wallace did a on a per-play basis last year as a rookie was pretty remarkable. He led the league in yards per catch (19.4) and finished fourth in DVOA (29.6 percent) among qualifying receivers. Wallace finished 16th in DYAR, our advanced metric measuring total value, despite being thrown only 72 passes. ...

And yet, there are still places we can expect him to go in 2010, even with Ben Roethlisberger suspended for the beginning of the season. His 54 percent catch rate was nice for a rookie, but low considering the offense he was in; he should be closer to 60 percent next year. He only averaged 3.4 YAC despite running routes as deep as anyone in football, and that should improve. The departure of Santonio Holmes and the injury to Limas Sweed virtually guarantee him 30 more targets than he had as a rookie.

The list of players that averaged more than 18 yards per catch as a rookie with more than 30 receptions includes quite a few stars with similar stat lines to Wallace's rookie year, including Michael Irvin and Jerry Rice. Wallace isn't in their category, but he's almost a sure thing to be a valuable starter. He has a fair amount of potential as a franchise player going forward.

Wallace is currently ranked #20 on the 4for4 WR Cheat Sheet. He could slip in many drafts due questions surrounding the Steelers passing game. Stash him on your roster.

Free-agent wide receiver Terrell Owens isn't expected to join the Ravens this season, agent Drew Rosenhaus said on ESPN's NFL Live on Friday.

"The Ravens are not one of the teams that I would bank on at this time, nor are we having any discussions with them," Rosenhaus said. "I wouldn't bank on seeing Terrell in a Ravens uniform."

The Ravens appear set at wide receiver with Anquan Boldin, Derrick Mason, Donte' Stallworth, Mark Clayton and rookie David Reed.

Rosenhaus said the Ravens had expressed interest in Owens early in free agency.

"Before they acquired Anquan Boldin and re-signed Derrick Mason, [general manager] Ozzie Newsome had been in touch with me about Terrell Owens," Rosenhaus said.

The Ravens traded for Owens in March 2004 before the wide receiver successfully got it rescinded. Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, who was in studio for the same NFL Live show, said Owens has changed since that time.

Suggs also said Owens could "absolutely" could fit into Ravens locker room. "I talked to T.O. on several occasions, and I would love to have him as a teammate," Suggs said.

Rosenhaus said he is in conversations with five teams about Owens. One new team has "aggressively entered the picture," according to Owens' agent.

"It's really picking up," Rosenhaus said, "and this isn't just agent rhetoric. I'm very encouraged as of late."

He added, "I'm very optimistic that Terrell will have multiple options to choose from between now and the start of most training camps."

With the only remaining big-name free agent on the market doing everything he can to generate interest, the fate of Terrell Owens has emerged as a key topic for those of us who follow this stuff on a regular basis.

And so when Redskins coach Mike Shanahan appeared on WFAN from the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf event produced annually by our friends at NBC, the former Broncos coach was asked about his potential interest in Owens.

In April, Shanahan said on ESPN's schedule-release show as to T.O., "We will not go in that direction right now." On Thursday, Shanahan said that "right now" continues to apply.

Rumor out of Washington is that Shanahan is presently very happy with Santana Moss and company.

A month ago, New Engalnd Patriots guard Logan Mankins went public about his frustration with his contract. Since then the Patriots and Mankins have not communicated.

At this point, it is unknown if Mankins will show up for training camp on July 28th. He has skipped all organized team activities and minicamp.

“There’s nothing that’s happened. We haven’t heard from them,” Mankins’ agent, Frank Bauer, told the Herald last night. “Everyone in the NFL is on vacation. We just have to see what happens.”

Mankins had refused to sign his one-year restricted free agent tender worth $3.26 million, and the Patriots reduced it to $1.54 million. He is not under contract at this point.

Sources have indicated the Pats offered Mankins a deal worth $7 million annually, the guard’s camp puts it at seven years and $6.5 million annually. The guaranteed money is not clear. If 2010 had a salary cap, Mankins would have been a free agent.

“I think any time the door opens, a deal can get done,” Bauer said. “Look, I’m good friends with Bill (Belichick), I know Bob Kraft real well. But (labor) circumstances came out and turned everything sideways. But you never know who is going to pick up a phone and say, ‘We need to get this thing done.’ ”

Any time you read articles regarding starting offensive linemen holding out, it is reason to worry about the fantasy players they protect. Keep an eye on this situation if you are interested in QB Tom Brady.

Free-agent offensive lineman Chester Pitts, who is recovering from microfracture surgery on his right knee, should be ready to workout for teams starting next week, according to his agent Andrew Kessler.

Pitts, 31, told Sirius NFL Radio earlier this offseason that five teams, including the Vikings, had expressed interest in him and at that time he indicated he planned to workout for the teams today.

It's not certain if Pitts will now workout for teams all at the same time or if he will workout for teams at their facilities.

Nothing like adding an experience offensive lineman to bolster a team's running game. (i.e. Washington).

We’re coming to the point where the closest Terrell Owens will come to catching a pass from an NFL quarterback this year would be if he masqueraded as an Oak Grove High School student.

Owens removed himself from consideration by the Chiefs on Wednesday. Which assumes, of course, that the Chiefs had any interest in the enigmatic receiver. But a high-profile coach and a high-profile linebacker took their teams out of the running for Owens’ services Thursday.

Panthers LB Jon Beason told NFL enthusiasts during his chat that there was “no way” that T.O. could play for Carolina.

“There’s no way T.O. could be a Panther,” Beason wrote. “Based on the fact that our ownership and coaches believe that the locker room is important and based on T.O.’s history, for whatever reason, he’s been a distraction in the locker room.”

That’s a pretty strong statement, considering Panthers WR Steve Smith once broke a teammate’s nose during a training-camp fight.

Colts owner Jim Irsay said Wednesday that discussions with Tom Condon, the agent for quarterback Peyton Manning, are ongoing but “there is nothing to report right now.”

Manning’s contract expires at the end of the 2010 season, but Irsay is committed to making the NFL’s only four-time MVP the highest-paid player in league history.

“We’re working through the timing,” Irsay said. “It’s not only keeping Peyton going forward, but being able to surround him with the right people. We need both.”

For whatever it's worth - former Redskins Ladell Betts and Cornelius Griffin are "taking their time" per a source in finding new homes.

In April, when Terrell Owens first began talking about a reunion with Donovan McNabb, Mike Shanahan quickly doused the fires, saying "we will not go in that direction right now." Sounds like "right now" might have meant "ever."

Shanahan appeared on New York's WFAN Thursday afternoon to promote the American Century celebrity golf tournament, and he was asked yet again about Owens -- who has mentioned the Redskins as a team he'd like to join twice in recent weeks.

"I made a commitment relative to T.O., that we were not gonna go in that direction," Shanahan said. "There's a lot of factors involved, but bottom line is...."

Well, I'm not quite sure what the bottom line is, because Shanahan's cell phone cut out. But the tone of his voice made it pretty clear: no T.O. in D.C.

It’s second-year man Zach Miller, after all, who’s supposed to be this great piece for Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to use creatively.

But while Miller was banged up and missing work, it was Wilford who got a lot of featured time during offseason work. Wilford might be the big surprise among David Garrard's pass targets and tight ends.

“We think Zach can be that guy, we have high hopes for him,” Koetter said. “The guy that’s really shined bright in [organized team activities] in Zach’s absence is Ernest Wilford. Back in [2007] when we did go to the playoffs, Ernest was our leading receiver. I think Ernest has been kind of reborn.

Any hopes Johnnie Lee Higgins had of building on a second season when he had established himself as one of the NFL’s most explosive players were ended in Week 1, when he took a ferocious hit from San Diego’s Eric Weddle. Higgins was knocked out on the play, and although he insisted he was fine when he resumed play in Week 3, statistical evidence suggests the hit KO’d his season as well.

He finished the season averaging a miniscule 5.4 yards per punt attempt with no return longer than 19 yards. On offense, Higgins caught 19 passes for 233 yards. In 15 games, Higgins never reached the end zone. One year after having nine plays which measured 35 yards or more, Higgins had none.

Contrast that with 2008, when Higgins was one of the few bright lights, scoring a team-high six of the Raiders’ 22 touchdowns. He gave Oakland the capability of scoring from anywhere on the field, with punt return scores of 93, 89 and 80 yards and touchdown receptions of 84, 56 and 29 yards. Higgins’ six touchdowns came from an average distance of 71.8 yards.

Don't be surprised if Clinton Portis is among the top candidates for this season's NFL comeback player of the year award.

Although Portis has said little about his personal goals for 2010, the eight-year veteran is determined to show he's still an elite back capable of rushing for a 1,500-yard season, people familiar with his thinking said recently. Eager to prove his critics wrong, Portis has done everything Coach Mike Shanahan has asked of him, team sources said, and is expected to hold off fellow Pro Bowl backs Larry Johnson and Willie Parker for the starting job. Portis has surprised many in the organization with his positive outlook and hard work throughout the offseason program.

The news isn't really a shock and it looks like you can move Portis up your draft board at running back, at least slightly. Before this news, he's rated as RB number-44 at 4for4.com with an ADP of the 11th round. Roles will still have to be determined, of course, but Portis is probably the best of the three candidates and has apparently impressed the organization. He could be a productive mid-to-late round pick if things work out.

Can't call it now ... Leon Washington, Julius Jones & Justin Forsett are all in it.

Many in the fantasy world would like to see Forsett come away with this job as he seems to have the best potential to be the better back, from a fantasy standpoint at least. Forsett is ranked 26th by 4for4 and has an ADP of the 10 round, which could make him a real steal if he emerges at some point this season. Look for that to really climb if he's announced the starter prior to the season.

Robert Weintraub of Football Outsiders provides his look at the position: “Our game charters noted only 15 percent of Palmer’s throws as “deep” or “bomb.”

By contrast, noodle-armed Chad Pennington threw 19 percent of his balls deep or bomb in 2008 in a similar scheme. Palmer threw long 23 percent of the time in 2007. He saved his best play for clutch situations, as though recognizing that his arm had only so many throws in it.

Besides the comebacks, his third/fourth down efficiency was superb, 26.0 percent DVOA, and was even better in the red zone (51.3 percent DVOA). On the other hand, he tied for the league lead (with Brett Favre) in penalties for QBs with 11 — mostly delay of game calls. Our projections see a slight decrease in completion percentage, and an uptick in interceptions.

The depth behind Palmer is worrying. J.T. O’Sullivan is a sub-replacement level backup and Jordan Palmer’s main contribution to the team are his iPhone apps.”

Panthers are hopeful star WR Steve Smith will be back for final preseason game. He's making good strides in recovery from broken arm.

This would be good news for anyone targeting Smith. His ADP may take a little hit, but the lower you get him the better the value you're going to have. It seems like he'll be ready to go for Week 1.

The Lions likely are going to run by committee this season and use Jahvid Best in the Reggie Bush mode (some touches in between the tackles -- and he's busted a couple big runs during OTA; toss plays, screen passes and as a receiver).

Best has shown that when he gets in the open field, he's dangerous, and the Lions will try to get him in as many as those situations as they can.

This counters some other things we've been hearing about Best early this offseason, and how he would most likely emerge as the lead back. Most teams use a committee to some degree, but if Best is as talented and dynamic as he's being made out to be, it would be hard for the Lions not to use him as much as possible - unless they feel there are health risks.

Best is rated as the 30th best back at 4for4 with an ADP of the fifth round. He still has a chance to give you value this year, but monitor the situation leading up to your draft.

Darryl Drake is the wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears and offered some comments on his group of players.

• There’s no doubt in my mind that Devin Hester can be [an elite WR]. There’s no doubt in my mind that Devin Aromashodu and Johnny Knox can be as well.

• [Knox has] got to take another step and continue to work. Ninety percent of this game is mental in terms of understanding where to be and what to do.

• [Aromashodu's] got size, speed, explosiveness and the ability to make plays. He catches the football in a crowd. There are just so many things that he gives us from a physical standpoint and a blocking standpoint.

I think [last season] helped him with his confidence. He’s been in the league a while. He realizes that the sand in the hourglass has been running and it’s time for him. It’s his time to show and do what we all think he can do. The talent and ability are there. It’s just a matter of him going out and having the opportunity, which he will.

• It’s a night and day difference compared to last year [with Juaquin Iglesias]. He started to come on last year at the end of the season. But right now he’s really making a push. He’s doing some really good things. He’s caught the eye of the coaches and the quarterbacks. He’s doing really well and he needs to continue to do that.

PewterReport.com has learned that earlier in the spring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked up an option in the contract of second-year quarterback Josh Freeman. The option ensures that Freeman's contract runs a full five seasons, and Freeman has more guaranteed money over the remaining four years. If the Bucs had not exercised the option, Freeman would have been a free agent after his fourth NFL season.

The Buccaneers traded up to the 17th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft to select Freeman out of Kansas State. Tampa Bay signed Freeman to a contract totaling $36 million over those five seasons. Initially $10.245 million was guaranteed, but since the option was picked up in Freeman's contract more money will be guaranteed in the future.

This shows the team has some confidence in him and likes the direction he's going, especially with the young, emerging WRs the Bucs drafted this year.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart has taken a large number of snaps with the first-team offense the past three months, but that doesn't mean the rumors about his job security aren't just as numerous.

One day, the talk is his job isn't secure. The next, he's heading to camp as the starter, taking over for the retired Kurt Warner, with a solid hold on the job.

Some have even speculated that there's a lack of trust coming from inside the Cardinals building for Leinart, that the staff isn't enamored with him as their guy.

"I don't know where that came from," Whisenhunt said here Wednesday after a practice round for the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament. "That's not the case. He's the starter."

There, he said it. But he also added an addendum.

"I think people say that because we have competition at every position," Whisenhunt said. "I'm not going to discount that Derek Anderson is a good football player. If he plays well, he'll have his opportunity. My expectation is that Matt will continue to improve and do the things he's been doing."

Is this a quarterback controversy before camp even begins?

Whisenhunt said no. Later in our conversation, he reiterated that Leinart was the guy, but you can sense that if things don't go well, he wouldn't be hesitant to make a change.

If Leinart was the clear-cut choice, there would be a lot more raving about him, one would think. But that doesn't seem to be the case so far this offseason. This is a situation to watch, because the winner of the ARI QB job should have some fantasy value heading into this season, and could be a lower-round bargain - eventually. Leinart's only rated 22nd among QBs at 4for4, and with his ADP, he won't even get drafted in many leagues.

"I'd like to run it more than we have the last couple of seasons," head coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "That being said, I'd take the production we had offensively. We will do what's best for us to be successful. I still think we will have multiple-receiver sets. Matt Leinart has run that for us. Derek Anderson is learning how to do it."

Seems like it depends on the success of whoever is at quarterback, but running the ball more successfully would certainly help the passing game to some extent, especially without the services of Kurt Warner this season.

Bucs Raheem Morris offered assurances that tight end Kellen Winslow will be ready to go when training camp starts in just more than two weeks. He has been at One Buc Place working with the training staff this week as he completes his recovery from offseason knee surgery.

If healthy, look for Kellen Winslow to be a favorite target for Josh Freeman.

When asked about RB Leon Washington, Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carrol responded "he's coming back strong & should be practicing in camp."

Given the slew of RBs in Seattle, Leon Washington will have minimal fantasy appeal.

Michael Vick not only has the backing of the Eagles front office, quarterback Kevin Kolb is also in his corner.

Kolb and Vick have become friends since the Eagles signed Vick last August. They have been texting each other after the shooting at Vick's birthday party.

Kolb said "I just told him that it was unfortunate what he had to go through. I just said, ‘If there’s anything I can do, whatever is I don’t care, just holler.’ And, of course, he said, ‘I appreciate it.’

“I think people misunderstand Michael a little bit," Kolb said. "They don’t understand how good of a guy he is. But I think [Eagles players and coaches] all see that. I just hate – and this is what he’s upset about – that he got his name drugged back through the mud. For an outsider looking in … they don’t even know what the story is. They’re just seeing something negative with his name and it looks bad.”

“He’s one of my better friends on the team," Kolb said. "I love him.”

Brian Westbrook was in the middle of another training session, about to begin a set of squats at a Bowie gym Monday when he was approached by a stranger with an all too familiar question.

"How's your head feeling?" the man asked the former Philadelphia Eagles running back, a two-time Pro Bowler who missed eight games last season due to two concussions. Westbrook didn't break from his routine, ignoring the question as he lifted the weights with his shoulders to begin the exercise. But the exasperated look on his face told a different story.

Westbrook says he's completely healthy and has been training hard for nearly two months in preparation for the 2010 NFL season. But the free agent has been unable to shake the skepticism that his best days as a running back are behind him after a 2009 campaign which he completed with just 274 rushing yards.

Several media sources have reported that Broncos coach Josh McDaniels' job is probably safe through 2011. One playoff appearance will probably buy him time until 2012. Mike Klis of the Denver Post, however, reports about a scenario that coulod put McDaniels on the hot seat this year.

Tim Tebow turning out not to be the savior of the franchise is one factor that could damage McDaniels' job security. Another scenario would involve immediate sucess for Mike Shanahan in Washington-the coach Pat Bowlen fired after the 2008 season, having immediate success in Washington and Jay Cutler-the potential franchise quarterback McDaniels tradied as one of his first decisions with the Broncos-have breakout years. If the Broncos have a mediocre season (say 7-8, and miss the playoffs while Shanahan's Redskins and Cutler's Bears make the playoffs this year, McDaniels could be in trouble. This scenario is realistic as Shanahan has vastly improved the talent in Washington (see Donovan McNabb) and Cutler's performance could improve significantly under quarterback guru Mike Martz.

It is still likely that McDaniels will survive the year but only if Bowlen can resist serious pressure from Broncos fans screaming for a change.

There's a sense that the slow pace of the negotiations for first-round draft picks may be arising from the fact that the various teams are waiting for someone to be the first to jump in the pool. And there are now indications that the team that made the first pick could be the first to do the bank-vault cannonball.

The Rams supposedly didn't try to sign quarterback Sam Bradford to a contract before the draft. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Rams will commence trying later this week, when Bradford's agents and team officials meet on a face-to-face basis.

A week ago, Bradford told Dan Patrick that negotiations had not yet begun. Two weeks from today, the Rams open camp.

Bradford is expected ultimately to ink a six-year deal with $50 million guaranteed and a total value in excess of $80 million. Hopefully, he'll still show up for work if the Rams switch to a 3-4 defense.

Will WR Anthony Gonzalez into a starting role in 2010? The answer is it's impossible to project.
But the positive news for the Colts is that he may not need to start for them to have an elite-level wide receiving corps. Such is the level of talent the Colts have at the position.

Gonzalez, a first-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, played extensively his first two seasons and entered last season as the Colts' starting outside wide receiver opposite Reggie Wayne. He then sustained a knee injury in a regular-season opening victory over Jacksonville.

He spent the next few months rehabilitating, and pushing to make a return to the lineup, but was placed on injured reserve late in the season having played one game.

He worked at times during the off-season and Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell said during organized team activities that he liked what he had seen from Gonzalez. “I’ve had the chance to watch him here the last few weeks actually,” Caldwell said in May. “He’s moving well, and certainly catching the ball well, but also I just think he looks like he’s well equipped to start right where he left off.”

Gonzalez, who caught 94 passes for 1,240 yards in his first two NFL seasons, played extensively in the slot and outside as a rookie, then played mostly in the slot in 2008. He said during OTAs it was his understanding that he would get a chance to compete for the outside receiver opposite Wayne, the spot he earned last training camp.

He also said that the idea of competing for the spot was something he expected, and welcomed, and that he believed from what he saw in the spring that he was capable physically.

Depending on training camp performance, Anthony Gonzalez could have some late round value, but will likely be competing for snaps with Austin Collie.

Amid speculation that the Philadelphia Eagles may make a move with backup QB Michael Vick, sources familiar with Philadelphia’s decision-making process said the only way the team would release Vick is if he forced them to do so — meaning he lied about what happened in the early morning hours of June 25, after his 30th birthday party.

Sources said the Eagles have invested a lot of time in Vick, and they’re inclined to see him finish out this season, the final year of his two-year contract.

During a routine locker room interview last season where he was referred to as a “big back”, Raiders RB Michael Bush smiled and rejected the label, the inference being that he may be big, but is also skilled. Once upon a time, he recoiled at the thought of playing fullback even when the club needed him there because of injury.

In a sense, Bush is right. He has excellent hands and is nimble afoot. He sees himself as multi-talented, a former quarterback who can do many things but just happened to settle in as a running back.

But where Bush can help the Raiders the most by getting in touch with his inner beast. It’s been an ongoing goal of Raiders coaches. During a full-contact goal line scrimmage one night, former coach Lane Kiffin ran Bush into the middle where he was stopped by a ferocious hit by Kirk Morrison short of the goal line.

What did Kiffin do? He said Bush had actually scored the touchdown, and talked up the play to the media. It was as if Kiffin was hoping Bush would become a short-yardage and goal line threat by proclaiming it to be so, sort of like the way former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda nicknamed a young Orel Hershiser “Bulldog” because tenacity was the trait he wanted him to acquire.

Hue Jackson’s arrival has signified some power blocking to go with the zone scheme. He talked tough on the field about not caring about whether the defense knows it’s a run, because he’s going to run it anyway.

With Justin Fargas gone and Darren McFadden’s skills as a pure runner still an open question, Bush needs to come out of Napa convinced he’s a power back to help balance an improved passing game.

Given Darren McFadden's injury history, Michael Bush will receive quite a number of carries in between the tackles. Count on Bush as a decent #3 RB in larger fantasy leagues.

Terrell Owens would like to point out that he’s never been disciplined by the NFL for off-field conduct, unlike some of the league’s “golden boys.”

No team has yet to sign him as a free agent, and the polarizing receiver worries they’re swayed by the perception he’s a troublemaker. A perception he believes he disproved with his agreeable behavior in Buffalo during a disappointing season last year.

Training camps open for veterans in about two weeks, but Owens sounded as though he may even prefer waiting to sign until after the start of the preseason. The 36-year-old promises he’ll make sure to be in excellent shape. And like many players he believes camp is too long, anyway.
“Anything can happen from now to the beginning of the season,” he said. “Injuries, anything, to where I may be brought in to help a team win.”

As long as he signs early enough “to get some rhythm, some chemistry, learn the offense, and develop that camaraderie with the guys.”

Owens is clearly sensitive to the coverage he receives in the media. He disputed talk that he’s making exorbitant salary demands.

Depending on where Terrell Owens signs, he could have some fantasy impact as a WR#2 or WR#3. His glory days as a WR1 are long since past.

After a fast start, the Broncos failed to do much in the second half of the 2009 season, in part due to their inability to stop the run. In the last three games of the season they allowed 663 yards on the ground. Over the final eight games, the Broncos gave up 200 points. Bigger, stronger, faster and tougher is the motto in Denver now, on both sides of the ball. Along with being more physical, the Broncos must make big plays down the field in their passing game to vertically threaten the field. That will open things up for RB Knowshon Moreno, who, if healthy, might set the league on fire this season. The Broncos resembles Butler University in the NCAA playoffs, a dangerous team that understands the real meaning of "team" gaining confidence with every win.

Knowshon Moreno is ranked #13 on the 4for4 RB Cheat Sheet.

Browns nosetackle Shaun Rogers will be placed into a 12-month diversion program Thursday during his arraignment in Cuyahoga Common Pleas Court for having a loaded handgun in his carry-on at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in April.

Rogers, 31, will be required to complete a 10-hour weapons course and complete 40 hours of community service. Upon completion, the charges will be dropped. He will also take it upon himself to talk to children in the Cleveland School District about getting to and staying in school.

Once upon a time, the NFL would not let players not under contract serve suspensions unless and until they belonged to a team. And so men like receiver Andre Rison, whose NFL career ended with a four-game suspension hanging over his head, had significant trouble getting a new job, since the first order of business would have been to exile him for four games.

The rules have since changed. As NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed to us via e-mail, players not under contract can nevertheless serve their suspensions. So, for Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson, he won't be required to sign a contract before serving his three-game suspension. Instead, he'll serve his time from Week 1 through Week 3, regardless of whether he signs his tender offer.

The same rule doesn't apply to players who are under contract and holding out. Aiello explains that, in those situations, the suspension is tolled under the player under contract reports.

Brady Quinn may be given a legitimate chance to earn Denver's starting quarterback job this summer.

Look for Denver to allow a minor QB battle to take place in training camp. Should Quinn stumble in the first few days, expect Orton to be named the #1 QB immediately.

RB Kevin Smith (right knee) and TE Brandon Pettigrew (left knee) have progressed as scheduled this offseason, and were far enough along in their recovery to take part in team drills during June's mini-camp.

Both said they should be 100 percent medically cleared by the end of the month, but the Lions are going to bring them along slowly. Team officials also made sure they had a backup plan in place -- they traded for veteran TE Tony Scheffler and drafted RB Jahvid Best .

In Smith's case, this year (his third) is a make or break season, especially with Best on board. Last season was a tough one for Smith physically (shoulders, knee injuries) and performance-wise (747 yards, four TDs). He rushed for 100 yards just once.

Pettigrew, however, was coming into his own with 15 catches in three games before his injury. The Lions are hoping to run more two tight end sets, and how quickly Pettigrew returns will be key in the implementation.

Great news for both players as they recover from serious injuries. A variety of players will be impacted (fantasy-wise) should they return at 100%.

There has been recent speculation that the Eagles were in possible pursuit of Troy Smith. A team source said they were not.

The Steelers have ended speculation about Mike Tomlin's status as their coach by coming to an agreement with him on a three-year contract extension.

In a Q&A, Vikings WR Sidney Rice says he'll be ready for week 1:

I feel like it's going to be fine. I just want it to be ready for the first regular season game. I had a couple of meetings with the doctor and I'm not going to need surgery. I'm just being cautious right now, doing rehab and I'll be ready for the start of the season.

Question: Will the Chiefs' offense will be a pass-first or a run-first outfit.

Bill Williamson: I think it will be a run-first offense. But you have to be balanced to win in the NFL, so Matt Cassel will get plenty of chances to toss the ball. But the Chiefs brought in Thomas Jones through free agency to help Jamaal Charles because they want to run often.

The Chiefs want to dominate games on the ground since great offenses have great run attacks. The run sets up the pass in efficient offenses. That’s what the Chiefs are aiming for.

This is good news for Jamaal Charles and potential owners. Charles is rated 9th among running backs at 4for4.com, but his ADP puts him in the early third round in 10-team leagues and potentially late second in 12-teams. Charles could be a real steal there if this is truly the Chiefs plan. Although it remains to be seen what his exact role will be, Thomas Jones will factor in as well and the signing now makes a lot more sense.

Lions agree to terms on extension for QB Shaun Hill through 2011. Was on last year of his deal.

Ray Rice wants to let everyone know that his first Pro Bowl selection was no fluke.

Heading into his third season – months after attending the NFL All-Star game – Rice is looking to firmly establish himself among the league’s elite running backs.

“I still feel like I’m a guy that is underrated,” said Rice in a Monday-morning appearance on ESPN’s First Take. ”My plan is to go out there and prove it all over again, that this wasn’t just a one-year thing.”

Last year, Rice led the Ravens with 1,339 rushing yards and tallied 2,041 total yards, becoming only one of two players to surpass the 2,000-yard mark all campaign.

No one seems to be doubting Rice, at least fantasy-wise. At 4for4, He's rated the third-best RB option with an ADP of three - behind Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson in both categories - and we project him to go over 2,000 total yards again this season.

A franchise quarterback, which is what the Bears believed they were getting when they mortgaged two drafts to acquire Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos, ultimately is given that label because he makes the players around him better. It's difficult to argue that Cutler made those around him better in 2009. Sure, a few receivers made a few plays here and there and tight end Greg Olsen caught eight touchdown passes (three in a 41-21 loss to the Arizona Cardinals), but you can't say Cutler elevated the play of his teammates.

The Bears were dysfunctional on that side of the ball, and the team is hoping the blame belongs more with Ron Turner's old playbook than anything else. Because above and beyond all other factors entering the 2010 season, it's about Cutler guiding the Bears.

The Bears paid handsomely because they were tired of trying to be perfect in all other areas and get by with a "game manager" at quarterback. They wanted their own big-time quarterback who could make up for deficiencies in other areas. They wanted a passer who could lead them back when the game was on the line. They wanted a passer that could put a game away for them in the second half so they didn't have to rely on a teetering defense and special teams.

Brett Favre looks like he's getting along just fine on that surgically repaired ankle.

Favre worked out with some youngsters at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Monday, then eluded reporters looking to ask him about his future by running to his truck and driving away.

The 40-year-old quarterback has yet to tell the Minnesota Vikings if he will return for a 20th season in the NFL, but many expect him to be back. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle in May and has been throwing to receivers at the high school for a few weeks.

Favre worked out for about an hour, then grinned and waved at reporters as he drove off.

How will sharing the workload with Chester Taylor benefit Matt Forte?

Tim Spencer: We certainly hope that it improves everything. One of the things that I was looking for last year was for him to improve his yards per carry and his yards per catch. I think that will improve this year because he’ll be fresh. He won’t have to take the entire load. He can share it. I think it will be good for our team and good for him.

Chester will do well and they can kind of feed off each other. We have a good scheme, and I think it’s going to be a good year. If we can keep everybody healthy, I think that we can do some of the things that we thought we would do last year.

It will remain to be seen how the workload is split up among Forte and Taylor. It seems as though, right now anyway, Forte may be in line for more work if they expect his yards per catch and yards per carry to increase. Forte has fallen to 22nd in 4for4's rankings this year. Last year he was projected to be a top-five back.

Bears RBs Garrett Wolfe and Kahlil Bell will be fighting for the No. 3 position.

They are obviously different backs. Kahlil is more of an inside runner. He makes quick decisions, he’s smart and he runs with good leverage. He also has good hands and runs decent routes. Garrett is more of a scat back. He catches the ball out of the backfield, has good speed and is good out in the open field. So they bring a different flavor.

Fighting for the third position, they’re also going to have to play special teams. We know that Garrett has done that and done that well. Kahlil has limited experience in that, so that’s one of the things he will have to work on. It’s kind of hard to do that in shorts and a T-shirt. So we’ll see in training camp and the preseason games.

Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew raised some eyebrows a few months ago when, speaking about kicker Jason Hanson, he said the team needed to take a look at Hanson in the off-season to see where he was at.

It's been said before and warrants repeating - if the Lions are interested in getting rid of Hanson, there will be at least 12 teams eager to sign him immediately. Kickers with excellent field goal accuracy aren't easy to find, especially those with Hanson's range.

At this point, there doesn't appear to be any chance the Lions are thinking of removing Hanson, who will be entering his 19th NFL season. Based on a couple of brief conversations I've had with Hanson during the off-season, I think Mayhew's words might have stung the veteran kicker. Not in a nasty, bitter way, but it seems Hanson is very focused and eager to accept any and all challenges the Lions would like to send his way.

Hanson kicks in a dome with an improved offense that should move the ball and give him chances to put up points. Hopefully the Lions defense can keep games close so the team doesn't always need to score TDs.

The next player to complain about his contract will be Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who missed the mandatory minicamp due to a scheduling conflict.

CHARLOTTE In the past two years, Hunter Cantwell went from prospect to suspect to a guy with a firmer grip on an NFL job than most realize.

All it took was forgetting, then re-learning, how to throw a football.

Cantwell, the former Louisville quarterback who spent 2009 on the Panthers' practice squad, has re-learned the subtle mechanics of the position. And with that, he's put himself in place to compete for a job that would belie his undrafted status.

The Panthers - a team that has long preferred quarterbacks searched for and discovered to ones bestowed - see in Cantwell a nearly tailor-made physical package for their play-action deep passing game, with the kind of humble background that has him prepared for the work ahead.

He has a chance to contribute to the legacy of a team that has willingly entrusted eight years and counting to undrafted quarterbacks Jake Delhomme and Matt Moore.

Cantwell, 6 feet 4 inches tall with a shock of red hair and perhaps one of the strongest throwing arms in the league, spent the spring behind only Moore on the Panthers depth chart.

Undrafted receiver Kevin Ogletree proved as a rookie that he can contribute to the Cowboys.

Now, he’s trying to prove that the Cowboys can rely on him.

That’s a big step. Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett created a simplified package for Ogletree in the second half of the season, putting him in position to use his quickness and elusiveness to make plays. Ogletree, who split reps last summer with the rest of the receivers fighting for a roster spot, acknowledges that he wasn’t ready to play a larger role.

After a full offseason, Ogletree feels confident that he has a firm grasp of the playbook. He practiced at all three receiver positions, trying to maximize his chances to get on the field.

Atlanta QB Matt Ryan filled in for vacationing SI.com writer Peter King:

NFL quarterbacks spend a lot of time during the off-season dissecting every aspect of their performance. We analyze, critique, and obsess over things that went right and try to figure out the things that went wrong.

So it should come as no surprise that days after we finished the 2009 season by recording back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the 44-year history of the franchise, I was back in our quarterbacks room at the Falcons complex analyzing how I played during the season. And after reviewing the tapes of our 9-7 season, I decided I would spend the early part of the off-season studying the high-scoring offenses in the NFL that had personnel similar to ours here in Atlanta.

While analyzing and studying those six offenses, I closely watched the quarterbacks -- Peyton Manning from the Colts, Tony Romo from the Cowboys, Tom Brady from the Patriots, Phillip Rivers from the Chargers, Aaron Rodgers from the Packers and Drew Brees from the Saints -- to see what each guy did to make his team so effective.

Ryan ranks 14th at 4for4, which puts him at a backup role for most fantasy leagues. He could be a guy you want to target to pair with a low end QB1 -- someone like Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb or Jay Cutler.

One of the Lions' most interesting position battles in training camp will be between running backs Kevin Smith and Jahvid Best.

Smith is the third-year incumbent. He struggled last season, but he was a good soldier. He played hard and played hurt until suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee late in the season.

Best is the rookie highlight-reel speed merchant drafted in the first round after the Lions moved up to snag him.

But Smith isn't shying away from the competition, and he's not uncomfortable talking about it.

"I mean, I'm a competitor," Smith said. "It's not just Best. It's any back that's been in the backfield. I think he's a good addition to the backfield, and I think he'll be able to do some things to help us win games."

It would be hard to imagine Best not winning this battle when all is said and done. Best is ranked 30th among RBs at 4for4 and has an ADP of the late fifth round, so in the fantasy world he's already being counted on as an RB3/flex possibility in lineups. Smith is rated 66th.

Seattle running back Justin Forsett, in his third season out of Cal, is everything LenDale White wasn't — undersized, dedicated, productive, and an instant Pete Carroll favorite.

The Seahawks had the league's 26th-ranked running game last season, but they might have been much more effective had they put the ball in Forsett's hands. The 5-foot-8, 194-pound back averaged 5.4 yards in 114 carries with four touchdowns, and caught 41 balls out of the backfield. He was far more explosive than Julius Jones, who was limited to fewer than 50 yards in more than half of his starts last season.

The biggest worry with Forsett is whether he'll get the carries at the goal line given his size, but he's proven he can make plays and the odds are favorable Forsett will get the most work among Seattle's backs. We have him at 26 in our rankings and he's definitely a solid sleeper. If you are the type of owner who waits to take running backs and loads up at quarterback and wide receiver in the earlier rounds, Forsett could give you the starts you need at running back.

Disgruntled Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis will not hold out from training camp as he seeks a new contract, sources have told NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi.

His decision to report when camp begins on August 1 in Cortland, New York, is not based on the progress of current contract talks, but rather on the fact that he does not want to jeopardize a future guarantee he already has in his present contract.

Revis has plenty of incentive to report.

He has the option to void his current contract at the end of the 2010 season, but the Jets have the right to buy back the remaining two years at $20 million, fully guaranteed.

If Revis were to miss any mandatory time due to a holdout, however, he might lose the guranteed portion of the contract. He would then be under contract for two more years, at $5 million in 2011 and $15 million in 2012. That potential guarantee is something he would not want to risk.

The New York Daily News previously reported Revis is prepared to sit out training camp if his contract is not reworked.

Revis wants a long-term deal, and the Jets want to give him a long-term deal, but until the Jets are willing to commit large guaranteed money, a new deal will not get done.

The Jets are prepared to make Revis the richest defensive back in NFL history with a contract offer worth more than $100 million, sources recently told Newsday. According to the report, the Jets are willing to add six years to Revis' current deal, averaging around $12 million per season in addition to the $21 million he is already owed. The Jets have made Revis two offers, but he has rejected both.

Revis, who is due to make $1 million in the fourth year of his six-year rookie deal, wants to be the league's highest-paid cornerback, surpassing the three-year, $45.3 million extension signed by Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha last offseason.

This is great news for the Jets, as their defense wouldn't be the same without Revis. Fantasy owners should continue to plan on making the Jets defense a draft day priority. They are currently at the top of 4for4's team defense rankings.

He came into the league especially young and filled with promise, the 10th pick in the 2007 draft.

Now, Houston Texans defensive tackle Amobi Okoye, still just 23, will no longer get snaps based on potential. His team needs production and penetration from its defensive tackles, and if he can’t provide it, coaches can turn to a new alternative.

So Okoye, who figured to be a high-ranking defensive building block with Mario Williams, DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing, will head into Texans' camp trying to cling to his role.

"He’s got to find another level and I think he understands that," general manager Rick Smith said. "He’s got to find another level of production, he’s got to find another level of intensity, and I think he gets that. We’re expecting to see that."

Okoye was listed at 315 pounds last season and played at around 300. He is currently 283. Is lighter the way to go? If he gives up any ability to hold the point of attack, we may well be asking if it was a smart trade-off for a bit more quickness, but he’s hoping to hold up better at a lighter weight and being quicker than his blocker.

He says he’s rejuvenated, feeling strong and more explosive.

With Brian Cushing suspended for the early part of the season, Okoye is among many who will need to step up for the Texans. They are currently at 18 in 4for4's team defense rankings, and it's best to use Houston in a platoon situation with another defense if you don't have a defense reliable enough to start on a weekly basis. Houston should put up higher point totals after week four once Cushing returns.

As previously reported, Washington offensive guard Mike D. Williams is out for the 2010 season due to blood clots, but Williams isn't ready to give up on his NFL career, stating "I'm not dead" and "if I get 100 percent cleared, I'm going to play football."

The Buffalo Bills have been trying for years to solve their problem at wide receiver opposite Lee Evans.

Over the past few seasons, the Bills have tried veterans Terrell Owens and Josh Reed and others on the other side of Evans, but none of them could provide the coaching staff with a long-term solution. If post-draft OTA practices were any indication, they finally might be on to something.

According to player sources, former New England Patriots second-round pick WR Chad Jackson might have been the most impressive player from an offensive skill standpoint during post-draft workouts.

But it hasn’t been all rosy for Jackson.

Jackson is known in scouting circles as a height, weight and speed player, but lacks good enough route-running skills and discipline. This means he looks the part, but doesn’t play up to his talent. He opened eyes during the 2006 NFL Scouting Combine with a 40-yard dash time of 4.32 to go along with a 38.5-inch vertical jump. At 6-1, 215, a 4.32 40-yard dash time is unheard of, which could explain his rise on draft boards entering the 2006 draft.

Jackson struggled to make any kind of impact, finishing with just 13 receptions during his tenure with New England, who gave up on him shortly after his second season began.

He then played for the Denver Broncos in 2008. While he only posted one reception, Jackson learned each of the three receiver positions on offense, two of which he saw time at during Buffalo’s OTA practices.

Because Buffalo is really hurting at the receiver position, it would almost be an upset if the 25-year old former University of Florida Gator didn’t seriously challenge for a job in training camp. In fact, winning a starting job could be in the equation.

Even if Jackson puts it all together, the second receiver in Buffalo won't have much fantasy value unless the Bills offense is dramatically better than expected. Fantasy owners should keep an eye on who wins the starting job opposite Lee Evans, but shouldn't have them in their draft plans.

While Philly denied considering cutting Michael Vick, a high ranking source inside the Eagles said that option is "absolutely" on the table.

Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe created a minor stir this week when he tweeted about the fact he was working out with free-agent running back Brian Westbrook.

Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett also has been participating in the workouts -- it's not exactly uncommon for players from various teams to train together -- but there long has been a feeling the Vikings might have interest in Westbrook and the link to Shiancoe created some speculation.

The tie-in between the Vikings and Westbrook stems from the fact coach Brad Childress knows Westbrook from their time together in Philadelphia when Childress was the Eagles' offensive coordinator. Minnesota also lost valuable backup Chester Taylor to Chicago in free agency and at one point was considered to be in the market for help at running back.

However, the reality is the Vikings have expressed no known interest in Westbrook and drafted Toby Gerhart in the second round of this year's draft. The Vikings also recently signed veteran running back Ryan Moats, who also played with the Eagles when Childress was in Philadelphia. Then there is the fact that Adrian Peterson remains the team's top back.

Westbrook, who battled concussion problems last season and also has dealt with knee and ankle injuries, has received interest from St. Louis and Washington.

Shiancoe, though, wrote that he thought Westbrook could help the Vikings when asked about the running back during a chat Friday on NFL.com.

"We work out five days a week, and I know he definitely has it in him," Shiancoe said. "He's indicated to me this is the first time he's been able to workout at 100 percent without having to worry about previous injuries. He's working hard, and it looks like he's in camp shape. His route running would definitely help our offense."

Shiancoe is not afraid to offer his opinion, but at the moment the Vikings don't seem inclined to sign Westbrook. Westbrook could help fantasy squads if he lands with the right team.

Michael Vick has to stay put and is not allowed to travel out of the state of Pennsylvania for now, according to NBC 10’s John Clark.

Clark said the Eagles backup QB is being denied traveling privileges and has already missed two scheduled appearances, according to his crisis manager Judy Smith.

Vick was scheduled to appear at a football camp in Baltimore Friday but he was a no show. He was also slated to appear at a golf tournament in Atlanta over the weekend but never made the trip.

A Virginia Beach prosecutor said that Vick was involved in a nightclub confrontation before a shooting after his 30th birthday party in late June, but he was not in the area at the time of the shooting.

As part of Vick's probation, his travel plans must always be approved.

Free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens is willing to play for the Washington Redskins.

"Well you know what? Definitely that's something that was on the radar," Owens told Nashville's WGFX this week, when asked if a reunion with Donovan McNabb was still a possibility. "And if that's a possibility and they want to bring me in and make that happen, then I'm open arms to it. And I think Donovan has come out and said that things that have happened in the past sometimes were overblown with the media. It's surprising how it takes some years to go by for things like that to come out, but Donovan and I are good friends now and we've talked. We just played in Pros vs. Joes with myself, him and Antonio Gates against some NBA champions - Hakeem Olajuwon, Rick Fox and Kenny Smith."

The conversation then switched to a less footbally tone, but later, the hosts asked Owens about which quarterbacks he'd like to play with. After mentioning Philip Rivers, he came back to McNabb.

"Obviously you mentioned reuniting with Donovan," Owens said, "but I think going to Washington and playing with him obviously would be a good thing, because I feel like their team is on the cusp of really getting to the playoffs and really making something happen. I'm just looking for a team that's in the hunt, obviously to get to the playoffs and obviously win it all. Because honestly, once you get to the playoffs, you never know what can happen."

Owens appeared to be a player on the decline in Buffalo last season, but playing with McNabb could rejuvenate him. However, just because Owens wants to play in Washington doesn't mean it will happen. The Redskins have to decide they want him and right now, a signing doesn't appear likely. Owens could offer fantasy value if he lands in the right situation, but until he actually signs with someone, there's no need to give him serious thought.

Veteran Washington Redskins offensive lineman Mike D Williams, who overcame weight problems to become a valuable member of the unit in his first season with the team, is expected to miss the 2010 season because of blood clots near his heart, two people familiar with the situation said late Friday night.

Williams, projected to compete for a starting spot at right guard, was hospitalized recently because the problem, the team sources said. Although Williams has been released from the hospital, the organization is concerned that his condition could be career-threatening and likely will keep him off the field for at least the upcoming season, which gets underway July 29 when the team begins its first training camp under Coach Mike Shanahan.

Speaking on behalf of the organization, Tony Wyllie, Redskins senior vice president, declined to comment on Williams's medical status.

The loss of Williams would be a significant blow to an offensive line in transition in the Redskins' first season under Shanahan, who also is the head of the team's football operation. Considered a bust as a tackle after being drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Bills, Williams resurrected his career after being moved to guard with the Redskins last season.

Williams, 30, has a promising future in the league as a guard, Shanahan said shortly after taking control of the organization. The former University of Texas all-American was expected to compete with newcomer Artis Hicks at right guard, and probably would have played considerably even if he filled a reserve role.

The fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft, Williams had been out of football for two seasons and last played in the 2005 regular season before the Redskins signed him as a free agent before the 2009 season. He struggled in pass protection at tackle but provided a physical presence at guard. Shanahan and his staff liked what they saw on film and the team rewarded Williams with a two-year contract.

After weighting about 410 pounds when he joined Washington, Williams last month said he was down to about 330. During the team's offseason program, Williams served as a mentor to rookie left tackle Trent Williams, whom the Redskins selected fourth overall in the three-day April draft.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed guard Keydrick Vincent to a 2-year, $4.5 million contract.

The long-awaited contract talks between the Rams and rookie quarterback Sam Bradford will likely get under way next week.

Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff, who will return from a brief vacation early next week, plans to get together with Bradford's agent, Tom Condon, whose home base is the St. Louis suburb of Clayton.

Bradford won't be directly involved with the negotiations.

"That's why I hired an agent," he told reporters in Oklahoma this week. "I don't want to deal with any of that stuff. That stuff's all on (Condon). I've done my part to get myself here. Now, it's his job to get me in camp."

Bradford, the No. 1 overall choice in the 2010 draft, is in position for a huge contract. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, chosen first overall by the Detroit Lions in 2009, signed a six-year deal worth $72 million, with $41.75 million guaranteed.

Bradford will probably command between $45 million to $50 million in guaranteed dollars.

Right now Bradford is a better prospect for keeper leagues than redraft leagues, but reporting to camp on time would increase his chances of making an immediate impact.

The Arizona Cardinals have placed quarterback Kurt Warner on the Reserve/Retired list. By placing Warner on the list, he won’t count against Arizona's roster limit and his salary is off the books unless he decides to come back. If Warner decides to play again, all he needs to do is notify the league in writing.

This is a formality by the Cardinals, and it remains incredibly unlikely that Warner would even consider returning. If he does, he would be coveted by many fantasy owners and mandate plenty of changes in draft strategy and the quarterback rankings.

Darrelle Revis is prepared to "hold out beyond August 10 and risk losing an accrued year toward free agency" if he is not given a new contract. The paper adds, "there's been no progress in the negotiations in the past few weeks."

More interesting IDP news. Revis is a shut down corner. His absence would seriously hamper the Jets defensive production.

The Arizona Cardinals signed tight end Jim Dray, a seventh-round draft pick out of Stanford, to a four-year contract.

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Dray (6-foot-5, 255 pounds) earned Pac-10 second-team honors last season after appearing in 13 games (11 starts). He also had 11 receptions for 149 yards (13.5-yard average) and a career-high three touchdowns.

Dray, the 233rd overall selection, is the first of the Cardinals' seven 2010 draft class to agree to contract terms.

Why is this fantasy news you ask? The Cardinals TE position is wide-open. This is how deep sleepers are possibly found.

The plan is to turn rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh into a moving target. Because the Detroit Lions expect him to be such a disruptive force on the line - against both the run and pass - they want to line him up in different positions so the offense has to make constant adjustments.

Interesting news for those in IDP leagues, although it shouldn't affect his overall value much. Suh will be expected to play 3 downs.

The last we heard on the Brian Westbrook front, Steve Wyche reported that more teams than previously thought were interested in the services of the former Eagles back.

Westbrook is doing his part to give every indication he’s training to play in 2010. He’s been working out for the last several weeks with a group of players including his brother, Byron Westbrook, Visanthe Shiancoe and Darnell Dockett at Athletic Dominance in Maryland.

Shiancoe has had an up close look and a chance to talk to Westbrook some about his future and getting over his ankle and knee injuries.

“This is the first time he’s been able to really work out fully and not feel [his previous injuries],” Shiancoe said. “This is the first time where he’s not being bothered and he’s able explode and really work out and prepare. He looks really, really fluid out there.

“He looks really good. He’s getting in training camp shape.”

As Westbrook prepares, there’s still no word on which teams are interested beyond the Rams and Redskins. That part has been close to the vest. But Westbrook indicated to Shiancoe he’d have “no problem” playing for the Vikings, and there’s certainly seems to be a fit for his skills as a receiver and in pass protection in the role previously held by Chester Taylor.

Wherever Westbrook signs, he could end up being a solid handcuff to an established back, or even get some third down work assuming he stays healthy. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot of information on the health front, and how Westbrook has recovered from his concussions last season.

The draft selection with the biggest expectations is often a franchise’s first overall pick each year. In Buffalo’s case, the man under the microscope will be running back C.J. Spiller. Spiller was the ninth overall selection in April’s draft, following a standout career at Clemson University. He finished his Tiger tenure as the leader in all-purpose yards in Atlantic Coast Conference history with 7,588, tied the all-time NCAA Division I record with eight career kickoff returns for touchdowns, set 31 school records in rushing, receiving by a running back, and returning, and scored an impressive 21 touchdowns on plays of 50 yards or more.

Entering his first professional season, Spiller certainly appears to have what it takes to be a major performer early, and said that for all the pressure people tend to apply to top selections, he is not feeling any of it.

During the spring practices Spiller was second in the running back rotation behind incumbent starter Fred Jackson. With his multi-faceted talents both in the return game and out of the backfield, Gailey said that Spiller could be an asset at various spots on the field.

It looks like Spiller could be used in the return game, split wide and out of the backfield. Fred Jackson still seems like the RB1, but Spiller may see enough time to be used as a flex player, even early on, but probably especially as the season progresses. He's got an ADP of the seventh round and by that time you're looking at a third or fourth RB and Spiller could fill that spot nicely.

Vikings Pro Bowl wide receiver Sidney Rice downplayed his hip injury when reached by phone Thursday, saying "Everything is alright. I'll be ready to go at camp."

Rice's agent Drew Rosenhaus tweeted that Rice is suffering from the lingering hip injury after rumors surfaced that his client had a groin injury that required surgery. Rice said he heard those rumors but he said he's still recovering from a hip injury that he suffered in the playoffs. Rice pulled out of the Pro Bowl because of the injury.

"We had it looked at [by doctors] and no surgery," Rice said.

Rice declined to give specifics about the nature of the injury, but he said doctors have told him to rest it as much as possible right now. He said he is mostly doing pool work but that he is able to run.

Sidney Rice does not have a groin injury and has not had surgery. He does have a lingering hip injury that he suffered in the playoffs.

The injury doesn't seem to be serious but could be a reason he's been a no-show at the Larry Fitzgerald camp. Something to monitor as camp draws near.

Dwayne Bowe made his first appearance at the camp on Thursday at the Larry Fitzgerald Wide Receiver Camp and he received some tough love from Cris Carter and Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin. Bowe, who said he took 12 days off from workouts, struggled with his conditioning as the players ran 14 100-yard sprints and then four 50-yard runs.

"Can you imagine your first day coming back to 14 100s?" Bowe said. "Man, it was like college again. I’ve never done this intensive competing, conditioning and technique in one day."

Bowe said he is casual friends with Fitzgerald but he accepted his invitation to join because of the good things he's heard from other players, including Rice. He also wanted an opportunity to get one-on-one instruction from Carter and Irvin.

Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice has said a number of times that his work with Cardinals All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald and former Viking Cris Carter in the Twin Cities last summer helped propel him to his first Pro Bowl.

Carter gave Rice some tough love during Fitzgerald's summer workouts for NFL players and Rice took those words to heart and improved his work ethic.

Rice said he would follow a similar plan this summer and workout with Fitzgerald/Carter again, but so far he has not made an appearance at the camp held at the University of Minnesota. That brought an interesting response from Carter after Thursday's workout when asked what is the challenge for Rice this season coming off his first Pro Bowl year.

"I don’t know," Carter said. "You have to ask him. I don’t know what it’s like to have one good year and then disappear. I don’t know what it’s like. That’s on him. I really don’t know. … If I had that kind of impact on him he should have been here today."

Staying productive in the NFL is historically an uphill battle for running backs on the wrong side of 30. So when Sammy Morris first came into the NFL back in 2000, a fifth-round draft choice of the Bills, he figured that a goal of 10 years in the league would be “the best possible scenario”.

Now, it seems, anything is possible for the 33-year-old running back entering Year 11. When asked about his future on a conference call this morning to promote his camp that will take place next week in Foxborough, he said he’d stay “as long as they’ll still have me”.

“Each year is its own entity,” said Morris, who totaled 499 yards of offense in 12 games last season. “As long as I still feel good, as long as a team will still have me, I’m playing for as long as I can. I’ve felt as good about this training camp as any other one.”

Even though ascending receiver Steve Smith is anxious to cash in and does not want to play out the final year of his original rookie contract, he promises to be an on-time arrival Aug. 1 when Giants training camp opens up in Albany.

Smith is adamant but not militant in his desire to secure a new deal. He's scheduled to make $550,000 this season, which doesn't cut it for a player who shattered the franchise's single-season record for receptions with 107. He was the first Giant to lead the conference in catches since Bob Tucker in 1971. Smith was third in the NFC with 1,220 receiving yards and led all Giants receivers with seven touchdowns.

The Giants want to lock him up with a multi-year deal, but the timing makes it difficult. With no new Collective Bargaining Agreement for the 2011 season, the league is set for an uncapped year, meaning the Giants can offer Smith only a 30-percent increase in base salaries. The Giants can inflate any new contract with bonus money, but they do not want to guarantee the vast majority of any contract they write.

Terrell Owens remains a free agent. And the six-time Pro Bowl receiver is showing his frustration at being out of work.

Owens, speaking to 104.5-FM in Nashville, said the reluctance of some in the media to move past what he says is bad behavior that's all in his past is contributing to him being unsigned.

"People have listened to a lot of the commentaries throughout a lot of the media outlets, mainly ESPN, that has my character in question as far as things that have happened in the past.

"I may do 99 good things right and if I do one thing wrong, ESPN and the people on there ... make it out to be the worst thing ever."

"I think with the years that I've had, the last three to four years, I feel like I've tried to turn over a new leaf. But still they won't let go of what I did in the past."

New York Giants Super Bowl champion linebacker Antonio Pierce, who has announced his retirement from pro football after nine seasons, is joining ESPN as an NFL analyst. The 2006 Pro Bowler will appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, and 1050 ESPN New York, and he will provide weekly analysis on ESPNNewYork.com, ESPN’s home for New York sports news and information.

Pierce will officially start this month and will appear on NFL Live today at 4 p.m. ET with host Trey Wingo to discuss his retirement and his new role with ESPN.

The situation at quarterback has been misrepresented since the club made the trade to acquire Charlie Whitehurst. Matt Hasselbeck remains the starter, and his performance this spring has only cemented that status. He is healthier than he has been in two years and the improvements on the O-line should help insure that remains the case.

The Miami Herald talked to some NFL insiders about the Dolphins and there were a few fantasy notes:

• On RB Ronnie Brown, one executive said: "He's pretty damn good when he's healthy, but durability is always the question with him. He'll be 29 in December. He'll have a market in free agency next year but not too big of one.''

Said Matt Williamson: "Ronnie Brown is not elite. I don't know if you can put him in the top 12 to 15 running backs because you can't trust him. Ricky Williams might be the better player. It wouldn't shock me if their No. 1 pick next year is a running back.''

• One personnel director rates QB Chad Henne as a "solid NFL starter'' but doesn't project him to be a top-half-of-the-league starter. The other director said: "He'll lock on a receiver, force the ball and trust his arm too much at times. Accuracy is erratic, but most of his weaknesses are correctable.''

• One of the personnel directors said tight end must be upgraded eventually: "Anthony Fasano is not a guy you can create mismatches with in the passing game. Teams do not worry about him.''

Bills wide receiver Lee Evans has been productive from the time he was a first-round rookie in 2004, but the last minute offensive changes in 2009 on Buffalo’s offensive line and at offensive coordinator along with the switches at quarterback were too much for the team’s number one receiver to overcome.

Last season though Evans was able to post the second best single-season touchdown total of his career with seven, his receptions and receiving yards in 2009 were both career lows. The Bills will need significantly more production from Evans in 2010 if they are to go anywhere this season.

But with receiver being a position that’s so dependent upon the other working parts of an offense, can Evans’ numbers effectively rebound this fall?

For the first time since Mike Mularkey was Buffalo’s head coach, there’s a sideline boss with a proven offensive background. Chan Gailey’s offenses have a history of piling up yards and consistently producing points, even without a premier proven talent at quarterback.

Based on what Evans has witnessed and executed through the spring practices he believes Gailey’s offensive system and astute play calling acumen will help him succeed on the field.

“I’ve pretty much got a good grasp of the offense, understanding it, understanding what he’s trying to get accomplished,” said Evans. “I feel confident in it.”

Evans is ranked 53rd on 4for4.com's WR rankings. He's got an ADP of the 12th round. Obviously you can't have high expectations for Evans coming in this year, but with that ADP, it may be worth taking a chance on him that late in the draft. Every year, WR is a position you're seeking on the waiver wire, but if you can get a few weeks out of him it may be worth it.

Looking at the supporting cast for WR Lee Evans it’s largely unproven, though it’s believed that Chan Gailey and the offensive staff have a larger role in store for WR Roscoe Parrish out of the slot position. But with the emerging Shawn Nelson at tight end and a trio of backs that are all very capable receivers there will be other playmakers that opposing defenses will need to be mindful of.

The agent for Browns No. 1 pick Joe Haden said he expects his cllient to be signed in time for the start of training camp later this month.

"We've been in contact with the Browns and expect to begin negotiating next week,'' said agent Malik Shareef. "Our main objective is to get Joe in camp on time so he can perform to the best of his abilities. A holdout would not be in anyone's best interests.''

Haden, the No. 7 overall pick out of Florida, worked with the first- and second-teams during organized team activities and minicamp. He will compete with Sheldon Brown for a starting spot opposite Eric Wright, but figures to play a key role in sub-defenses.

Eagles looking at QB Troy Smith from Baltimore just in case they cut Michael Vick.

Jets reached agreement with OT D'Brickashaw Ferguson on a six-year, $60 million extension that includes $34.8 million in guaranteed money.

It's a fresh start for Brian Brohm, and as far as he's concerned, that's a good thing.

His NFL career hasn't taken the path he envisioned coming out of the University of Louisville. But the bottom line remains the same. The Trinity High School graduate has a shot at being a starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.

There have been encouraging signs for Brohm in his competition with Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

He is playing for a new coach, Chan Gailey, who has enjoyed success with quarterbacks.

Brohm is playing in the Bills' new offense, which he compares favorably to the system he ran under Bobby Petrino at UofL.

"I've had two years in the NFL to get used to everything and get myself prepared," the 24-year-old said. "I feel like I can fully compete for this starting job. I feel like I'm ready to take charge out there. We'll see what happens. But I feel like I'm at a position where I'll be able to put my best foot forward and make a legitimate run at the starting job."

Shonn Greene shot me that I-know-you-didn’t-say-what-I-thought-you-said look when I broached the topic about tweaking his running style to better preserve his body.

The Jets have a stingy defense and a promising young quarterback, but Greene is likely the most irreplaceable piece to its championship puzzle.

For a run-heavy team with Super Bowl aspirations, it’s imperative that the bruising second-year running back stays healthy. So, I proposed a few hypothetical scenarios designed to avoid contact and keep Greene on the field for the duration of the season.

Each of my suggestions was summarily dismissed.

“We don’t run out of bounds,” Greene told me. “I’ve been taught that all my life…. I don’t think that’s going to help the way I play by doing that. If I just go out and do what I do, everything else will take care of itself.”

“That’s what I do,” he added. “I play the game of football. You can’t worry, ‘Oh, what if I do this? What if I run out of bounds?’ No, that’s not the game of football to me. Football is a hard-nosed game.”

The sky is the limit for Shonn Greene this year. He knows the spotlight is on him after the great season Thomas Jones had in 2009. With one of the best running backs in history (LT) backing him up, Greene is geared up for 2010. He is currently ranked #13 on the 4for4 RB Cheat Sheet.

The Titans and the agent for running back Chris Johnson are discussing a compromise that could get the All-Pro in training camp sooner than most expect.

Johnson, unhappy with his current contract, didn’t take part in the offseason program and missed all 14 days of organized workouts. He wants a long-term deal that would pay him at least $30 million in guarantees.

While the Titans still aren’t willing to do that, a short-term solution could give Johnson a smaller bump in pay following a season when he led the NFL with 2,006 rushing yards, and was named the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year.

This is really good news given Chris Johnson's average draft position is #1 in most fantasy leagues.

Virginia Beach police issued a statement updating their investigation into the shooting that injured a man outside a nightclub that was hosting Michael Vick's 30th birthday party.

The police have indentified the shooter, but cannot charge the suspect because the victim and various witnesses have been uncoopertive. The statement went on to say that there are no other suspects, including Vick.

The Eagles quarterback released a statement last week claiming his innocence in the shooting that maimed a codefendant in his dogfighting case. The Eagles have been conducting their own fact-finding search and have yet to find any information that would lead them to believe Vick was involved.

The team, therefore, isn't expected to release its backup quarterback, despite cries from some fans and media for the Eagles to cut ties with Vick.

Here's the Virginia Beach police statement in its entirity, released by spokesman Adam Bernstein:

"Investigators were able to determine the identity of the shooter. Unfortunately because of the lack of cooperation from the victim, coupled with the reluctance of witnesses, the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, upon reviewing all of the evidence, has determined that no charges will be filed in this case at this time. Because the suspect will not be charged, his identity cannot be released by police. There are no other suspects in this case, including Michael Vick."

The 49ers have already this offseason locked up their most important defensive player, Patrick Willis, to a lucrative contract extension that runs through the 2016 season. So who's next?

Vernon Davis? Alex Smith? Dashon Goldson? Frank Gore? Aubrayo Franklin? Manny Lawson?

This is a complicated time to get contract extensions accomplished because of the many unanswered questions about the future of the NFL without a long-term collective bargaining agreement.

This seems like something that could be done in relatively shortly order that benefits both sides. As a sixth-round pick in 2008, Morgan has not made much money (relatively speaking, of course). He's a starter, and the club has a high opinion of him. He works well with Michael Crabtree, and he has a nice disposition in the locker room. The 49ers would like to keep Morgan and Crabtee together as starters for a long time.

During a recent NFL - USO tour, Carolina Panthers Head Coach John Fox was peppered with Panthers questions at nearly every turn.

"Most of them wanted to know about Steve L Smith playing flag football," the coach said, referring to the star wide receiver who will miss training camp after breaking his left arm while playing in an adult flag football league.

"Most of them love Steve, and they know he'll be back for the opener, so they weren't too concerned," Fox said.

Good news for Steve L Smith fans! Smith is ranked #14 on the 4for4 WR Cheat Sheet.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers decision to revert to a West Coast scheme on offense may seem a bit odd given quarterback Josh Freeman’s big arm and big accuracy issues. A look back at what Freeman did during his nine starts last year indicates, however, that Freeman may be at his best working in a scheme made up mostly of short crossing routes according to Roy Cummings of the Tampa Tribune.

Of the 291 throws Freeman made last year, 25 of them were thrown to a receiver waiting behind the line of scrimmage and 148 of them were thrown to a receiver running less than 10 yards downfield. Of those 173 throws Freeman completed 112 of them, including four for touchdowns, while being intercepted just once.

That works out to a completion percentage of 64.7 and a passer rating of 88 on what was more than likely a lot of traditional West Coast type of plays. And that’s a far better result than what Freeman got when he was asked to throw intermediate or deep routes.

Baltimore Ravens veteran wide receiver Derrick Mason predicts a high-scoring offense this fall to work in tandem with a dominating defense.

One year removed from ranking ninth in the league in scoring offense with a 24.4 average, Mason told the Sporting News, "We have a good shot to score 25-35 points a game."

Even with the addition of Anquan Boldin and Donte' Stallworth, that doesn't necessarily mean the Ravens are going to throw the football significantly more this season since offensive coordinator Cam Cameron emphasizes handing off to Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice.

"We'll still be a run-first team and pass the ball off our success there," Mason said. "That's the kind of offense that wins in December and January."

Derrick Mason should receive plenty of looks from Joe Flacco given that Anquan Boldin is now lining up across the field.

Bo Scaife decided he’d rather field passes than phone calls from quarterback Vince Young.

Dissatisfied with his contract situation, the sixth-year tight end skipped most of the Tennessee Titans’ offseason workout program and organized team activities until late May.

“It was just something I felt inside; I was ready to come back,” Scaife said. “I missed four or five OTAs, and I got tired of VY calling me and telling me about practice. I just wanted to come back and get a little taste.”

Lions tight end Tony Scheffler knows that team chemistry is a big deal. And Scheffler should know all about big deals, since he is one himself.

The 6-foot-5 product of Western Michigan and Chelsea High was one of the big acquisitions this off-season in a three-way trade that brought him from Denver and sent linebacker Ernie Sims to Philadelphia.

Scheffler is just one of many important pieces of the Lions' puzzle as they try to fit established veterans like him with promising young players. Developing that chemistry can be tricky, but Scheffler knows it's crucial.

"It's real important," he said. "I think team chemistry goes a long way, especially when you get to Weeks 15, 16, 17, towards the end of the year. It's the difference between winning those tight ball games and folding in the second half.

"So I think everyone knowing each other and having relationships not only on the field but off and developing chemistry is a good thing."

So far, so good. Scheffler looked very much in sync with quarterback Matthew Stafford in minicamp as the two hooked up for passes that led to big gains.

While Brandon Pettigrew recovers from injuries, Tony Scheffler could be a decent low-end #1 option in TE mandatory leagues.

The question: When will Wes Welker return to the practice field?

Three factors: The PUP list/roster flexibility; Welker’s long-term health; Surviving his absence

Finding the answer: Welker’s return to the practice field during OTAs in June – limited as it might have been – and into minicamp was as good a sign as could be expected that things are moving in the right direction. But there’s still a long way to go, given that he still has yet to participate in anything but individual drills.

The first step comes before training camp, when the club has to decide whether to put him on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list or not. If the team doesn’t, Welker becomes ineligible to go on the regular-season PUP (which would take him out through Week 6), and the only way the team could save his roster spot is by putting him on IR.

So it would make sense for the club to play it safe, and put him on the PUP at the start of camp to leave that possibility open, until there some certainty on his health. Remember, the minute he starts practicing, he’s off the PUP.

After that? Well, a Week 1 return from Welker is certainly a possibility (if not a probability), and there is precedent for that kind of speedy return.

There were more than 80 players out there this spring and summer and literally dozens of new faces. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy had to study them all, some on first impressions, everyone in a blur. It's not easy to become distinguishable in a crowd like this.

Yet receivers James Jones and Jordy Nelson managed to separate from the crowd.

"Outstanding off-seasons," said McCarthy during the last Packers minicamp. "If you go through the films, James Jones, just from a production standpoint, probably stands out as one of the top performers through the OTAs. He's gotten a lot of opportunities, particularly in the slot with Donald's absence, and I think he's done a very good job of that."

It's never a bad thing to get praise like that from the head man. Except it was June.

Jones would like to hear it again in November.

He did his best when he got more practice time in veteran receiver Donald Driver's slot spot while Driver rested his 35-year-old knees.

But Jones, heading into his fourth year, wants a lot more than attention.

He wants a 1,000-yard season and a time share in the end zone.

The Packers are preparing for the inevitable slow down of Donald Driver. Per training camp, James Jones could emerge as a decent WR option in larger leagues.

Former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell was arrested today for possession of a controlled substance, according to the Mobile County Sheriff's Office.

The substance was codeine syrup, spokeswoman Lori Myles said.

Myles said Russell was arrested at his home early this afternoon during an undercover investigation. He was booked into Mobile Metro Jail at 4:22 p.m. Russell was released minutes later after making $2,500 bail, according to online records.

Russell is scheduled to appear in court on July 20. A bond hearing is set for July 7.

If you haven't already, it might be time to take Russell off your fantasy QB rankings...

The biggest thing for Aaron Rodgers is he has two years of film on himself to learn from. The National Football League now has two years of film to evaluate him and dissect how they are going to attack his game and what they feel his strengths and weaknesses are.

It is no different than the approach we take in a self-scout with everything we do schematically and for our players. Just his commitment to the offseason program, particularly the quarterback school. He is very fundamentally strong. He is very talented. I think that is obvious in his movement skills and his ability to make all of the throws. His understanding of the offense has really been intact now, in my opinion, this will be the fourth year, and we'll play to that more and challenge him with more things at the line.

I think he is a very good 'at the line' player, whether it's a two- or three-, possibly four-way play selection. I see more improvement, more opportunity for him to do that there, and that's part of our plan as we go into the season. His standard of play has been set at a pretty high level, and his challenge is to step over that standard every week.

Rogers is 4for4.com's top-rated QB this year, which says a lot when you consider the company he's competing with. His ADP is late first round, but QB is a pretty deep position this year so getting him in the second after a top-notch RB or WR gets your team off to a nice start.

League sources say Chargers not actively shopping WR Vincent Jackson nor interested in dealing him. Any trade is a real longshot.

If you're worried the Cowboys are going to stick with kicker David Buehler even if he struggles in the preseason, don't. The Cowboys will move quickly to replace him if he has problems. John Carney and Matt Stover are two possible veteran replacements. But the team has plenty of confidence in Buehler's ability to make field-goal attempts.

Q: Mike, it's still very early but based on what you have seen so far, and assuming Wes Welker is out, how do you think Brandon Tate, Torry Holt, Julian Edelman, Taylor Price will stack up as the second/third receivers with Randy Moss?

A: Bob, my sense is that the Patriots would like to see Tate snare that No. 3 role, but it remains a question mark, and Holt represents an insurance policy. I also think we can lock Edelman into Welker's spot for now. I've seen Price in three practices and it's not enough to have an informed opinion.

Mike Reiss of ESPN Boston answered a question about Lawrence Maroney:

I agree that Maroney stepped up when the Patriots were hit by injuries in 2009, although his overall season was clouded by four lost fumbles (two at the goal line). I thought he was the team's most consistent running back in terms of being available -- and that shouldn't be overlooked, especially for a player who has had some injuries in the past.

He's also still young (25). As for the fumbling, Maroney points out that has traditionally been one of his strengths and he hit a rough stretch last year, so he needs to sharpen his focus in those situations. That has been part of his offseason approach.

It's really hard to predict what role Maroney will have this year. Like Mike Reiss said, fumbles really hurt him last year just when he became a reliable fantasy back. He's projected to be ahead of Fred Taylor, Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris on the depth chart.

On Sunday, Robert Littal of BlackSportsOnline.com reported that Eagles quarterback Mike Vick decided to follow up the "All White" commemoration of his 30th birthday with an "All White" celebration of the 234th birthday of the entity that put him behind bars for dogfighting -- the United States of America.

Via an update to his initial post, Littal reports that Marcus Vick was at the party.

Via a phone call I received while honoring America by catching at least a dozen fish swimming in one of her rivers, Mike Vick did not attend the party.

Per a league source, Mike Vick went to a barbecue in the Philadelphia area.

Our guess? Marcus Vick hatched the idea for a series of "All White" parties, and Mike agreed, initially. Given the aftermath of Mike Vick's birthday party, he bailed. But it apparently was too late to pull the plug on the party.

Which proves two things: (1) he has learned not to host parties while on probation; and (2) his decision to host a birthday party open to members of the public (including convicted felons) was one of the worst he had made since his dog yard in Virginia was discovered by authorities.

Speaking on the Fenway Park field prior to the Red Sox’ game against the Orioles Saturday night, Bill Polian, the president of the Indianapolis Colts, spoke on what might await teams such as the Colts and Patriots when it comes to the challenges that will come with attempting to re-sign their superstar quarterbacks.

Polian noted having to commit a significant amount of financial resources to a top tier quarterback — such as Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, both of whom are heading into the final years of their respective contracts — will inevitably have some bearing on teams’ the ability to construct a team. But Polian also points out that the level of impact won’t be entirely known until a new collective bargaining agreement is put in place.

“It’s bound to have some effect,” Polian told WEEI.com. “What we don’t know is what the system is going forward. It makes it really difficult working out a deal that makes sense for everybody because you don’t know what the [salary] cap will be, what the ramifications are, how things count. All of that makes it a little difficult. We’ve been going slowly along with [Manning's agent] Tom Condon because we’re trying to formulate some things that will fit no matter what the system is.”

If teams want to beat the Titans this fall, they're going to have to beat cornerback Cortland Finnegan more often.

That's the plan at least.

This offseason, Finnegan has switched from the right side of the defense to the left side, a move that should give him more opportunities to make plays. The Titans are also considering giving the fifth-year pro more flexibility to move around in the defense in an effort to match him up against the top receivers from other teams.

"You want your best players in position to help you the most,'' safety Chris Hope said, "and now being that he is on the action side, he's going to have more opportunities to help us.''

Finnegan, an All-Pro in 2008, has played primarily on the right side during his career. It's where he lined up for most of the '09 season as well, although he moved to the other side when veteran Nick Harper was injured midway through the season. When Harper returned, Finnegan moved back to his old spot.

After last season, however, Finnegan made a request to switch to the left side permanently. In his estimation, roughly 70 percent of the throws go to the left side of the defense because it's a right-handed quarterback's strong side. Although Finnegan said he didn't get frustrated when opportunities didn't come his way much last fall, he admitted his technique — and his play — suffered as a direct result of it.

He lunged after too many footballs, and in coverage, found himself getting turned around, his footwork crossed up too many times. On a scale from one to 10, he gave himself a three for technique.

"I just tried to make too many big plays, and I got away from what I was supposed to do,'' said Finnegan, who had five interceptions in 13 games. He missed three games because of a hamstring injury. "But I want to do more to help this team win, and I felt like at this point in my career I need to be on the (left) side to help even more."

Finnegan is currently at 25 in 4for4's IDP rankings, and the Tennessee team defense is at 16. If the shift of Finnegan pans out, he'll likely become a more valuable IDP player as he should see the ball coming his way a lot more. The Titans need first-round pick Derrick Morgan to make a big impact along the defensive line to have a good chance at moving up the team defense rankings.

New York Giants rookie safety Chad Jones, a former LSU standout, faces a series of surgical procedures this week after a single-car accident last week.

But for now, the ex-LSU safety is considered a member of the New York Giants, and the team has taken medical responsibility for their recently signed third-round draft pick.

"Nobody has said whether Chad will play again or not," Al Jones, Chad's father, said from New York, where Chad was transported Tuesday for treatment at the Hospital for Special Surgery, an orthopedic specialty facility. "We're not even asking that question right now."

"Things are going well. They have shown that they are taking good care of Chad while they're doing what they need to do to make sure their investment is protected."

While there is no expectation that Jones can play this year, the prognosis could lead to a settlement between him and the team.

Rocky Arceneaux, Jones' agent, did not respond to several phone messages requesting a comment on the possible contract implications, but Al Jones said the subject is off the table for now.

"Nobody's rushing anything," he said. "And we're not worried about whether or not Chad can play right now.

"The life and health of my son is my concern, not his contact. I know he's in good hands."

Cleveland Plain Dealer beat writer Tony Grossi speculated that if rookie running back Montario Hardesty is healthy going into the season, that he would expect the running backs on the roster to be Hardesty, Jerome Harrison, and either James Davis or Chris Jennings. The fullbacks would be Lawrence Vickers and Peyton Hillis, acquired from Denver in the Brady Quinn trade.

Hardesty by all accounts is currently healthy and ready to go. He's made a nice impression in Cleveland so far and at this point projects to be the best fantasy player in Cleveland's backfield. While the Browns will likely be weak on offense and have to deal with Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati twice, they'll also draw the Bills, Buccaneers, Chiefs, and Jaguars. So there will be some weeks that a Browns running back could be potentially valuable as a spot starter. The winner of the Davis/Jennings battle could be useful should something happen to Hardesty or Harrison.

The good news for Seahawks running back Quinton Ganther is that, per a league source, his blood-alcohol concentration was measured close to the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

The potentially bad news comes from the fact that we don't yet know whether he was close on the good side, or close on the bad side.

The legal limit in every state currently is 0.08 percent (the federal government used the carrot of highway dollars several years ago to persuade state governments to drop the maximum from what was in most state 0.10 percent). Many if not most (if not all) states permit prosecution even if the measured amount is under 0.08 percent, but it's typically much harder to get a conviction absent the legal presumption that anyone measured by science to have a BAC of 0.08 or greater is legally intoxicated, even if he or she shows no signs of intoxication.

Still, even if Ganther's result ends up being close on the good side, NFL players need to realize that, if they've been drinking, there are other ways to get home, including the league's "safe ride" program.

The Associated Press had reported the Eagles were giving strong consideration to releasing embattled quarterback Michael Vick, but ESPN's Adam Schefter posted a statement from the organization on Twitter stating:

"Any report or speculation that suggests the Eagles are considering releasing Vick are not true."

For now, Vick remains on the Philadelphia roster, but the bad vibes surrounding a shooting that took place at Vick's 30th birthday party in Virginia Beach aren't going to go away anytime soon. Of course, he hasn't been charged with a crime, but the Philadelphia front office can't be thrilled with the negative publicity. Vick will be Kevin Kolb's backup as long as he stays on the roster and won't make much of a fantasy impact unless something happens to Kolb.

When San Diego selected Fresno State's Ryan Mathews in the first round of April's draft, the rookie immediately became an intriguing fantasy player, as the Chargers had released LaDanian Tomlinson and needed a feature back. San Diego rookies are scheduled to report to training camp on July 25, but as we all know, many rookies show up later than they are supposed to after their contracts are finally worked out. Mathews doesn't like the thought of holding out.

"My main thing is to get into camp as soon as possible," Mathews said. "I’ve talked to my agent; I need to be there. Too many guys hold out for all the wrong reasons and I’m not going to be one of them. I’m looking ahead, to winning that last game of the year, the Super Bowl."

Mathews has been through minicamp, and he was not overwhelmed. He felt he fit in nicely.

“When I first got here, I didn’t know what to expect, but I got more and more comfortable, Mathews stated. "It’s so much faster. They threw a lot at me, but I picked up everything fast. I knew I should be playing with those guys after I got here. I didn’t struggle. It was good. A running back has to be confident; you can’t second-guess."

Mathews is currently at 14 in 4for4's rankings and has generated a lot of buzz in the fantasy football world. His goal of reporting to camp on time enhances his value. He has the potential to produce a big rookie season, but if you want to draft him, you are going to have to select him pretty early. His current ADP has him going late in the second round of a 12 team draft and early in the third round of a 10 team draft.

Seattle running back Quinton Ganther, signed by the Seahawks this offseason, was arrested in Sacramento, California Saturday morning on suspicion of DUI.

Ganther, 25, was booked into the Sacramento County main jail at 6:50 a.m., according to the inmate registry.

Ganther signed with Seattle this offseason after playing last season with Washington where the coaching staff included Sherman Smith, now the Seahawks running backs coach. Ganther is contending for a roster spot as a backup running back and special-teams contributor.

Ganther attended Utah, and spent the first three years of his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans where Smith was previously an assistant.

The Seahawks are looking into the situation, but as per team policy, declined to comment on the pending case.

Ganther was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers, according to the jail registry, which also indicated he remained in custody as of 10:22 a.m. His bail was listed at $1,482, and a court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.

Tom Martinez, who serves as Tom Brady's personal coach, recently reflected on Brady's 2009 season and stated the quarterback was playing hurt.

"He had a broken finger and three broken ribs," Martinez told Tim Graham, who works for ESPN. "He wasn't throwing well."

And Martinez also revealed that after an uneven month of play, and a slew of injuries, the Patriot captain felt his mechanics slipping and called for help.

On Christmas morning, with the rest of the club off, Brady and Martinez went to work.

"It's one of those things where I can see right away what he's doing," Martinez said. "He trusts me, so when I tweak him, it's right back to where he wants to be. Then, at that point, it probably is psychological."

Brady responded the following Sunday by riddling the Jaguars for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 23-of-26 passing.

As for the finger and ribs, it's worth noting the reason that news wasn't more thoroughly clarified right after the season is because Brady himself didn't want it out there as an excuse.

Despite the injuries, Brady still threw for 4,398 yards and 28 touchdowns. He's currently at number five in 4for4's rankings and is poised for another big year even though he may have to start the season without Wes Welker. He might be a slight bargain on draft day as he's likely to be taken after Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Peyton Manning, but could end up being just as productive.

Don’t be fooled by his bald head, recent injury history, declining production or Seattle’s offseason acquisition of its potential quarterback-of-the-future.

Matt Hasselbeck isn’t ready for pasture just yet.

“It is a little annoying when everyone treats me like I’m 40 years old,” Hasselbeck told FOXSports.com after a recent minicamp practice at Seahawks headquarters. “Seriously, I’m not 40.”

The clock, though, is ticking.

This is a make-or-break season in Seattle for Hasselbeck. He turns 35 in late September. He is coming off his worst statistical season since becoming a Seahawks starter in 2001. He also has missed 11 games the past two years while taking a beating behind a porous offensive line.

But there are already positive signs pointing toward a Hasselbeck renaissance.

Hasselbeck might be in the best shape of his 12-year NFL career after a rigorous offseason training program. He has embraced a new multifaceted passing philosophy that offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates said will have Hasslebeck “spray (the football) around.” And he will enter training camp as the unquestioned starter even after Seahawks management made a sizeable investment in former San Diego reserve Charlie Whitehurst.

Assuming Hasslebeck stays healthy, there will be no QB controversy in Seattle. However, he is #2 QB in most fantasy leagues.

A possible deal between Flozell Adams and the Steelers may have been halted by Adams's desire to make at least $4 million.

Unless another team makes an irresistible trade offer, Marshawn Lynch will attend Buffalo Bills training camp at the end of the month.

"I'm here, and I'm going to be here," Lynch told me last week before the Bills wrapped up their mandatory minicamp and broke for the summer.

"I'm ready to play regardless of whether I'm unhappy or not."

Lynch didn't seem to have a problem with the backfield troika which includes C.J. Spiller and Fred Davis.

"I'm in the mix," Lynch said. "I'm cool."

Another running back by committee situation....fantasy nightmare. Stay tuned for training camp battle.

Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew, recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, will be medically cleared to resume full activities this month. He's eager to start assimilating himself into the offense when the Lions start camp July 31.

"We are doing a lot of different stuff and we've added a few pieces to our offense, and it's definitely important to go ahead and mix it together and see what works together and just get in there together," he said.

The Lions likely will bring Pettigrew along slowly. But if they want to run the two tight end sets as much as they are planning, they'll need to get Pettigrew into form quickly.

The recovery is progressing nicely, but Pettigrew's value took a big hit when the Lions traded for Tony Scheffler in the offseason. Both tight ends will be involved in the offense presuming Pettigrew is ready to play come week 1, but ultimately both will eat into eachothers fantasy stats.

Clinton Portis has an improved attitude, earning him the starting job RB going into camp, according to Redskins OC Kyle Shanahan. That status, however, does not guarantee him the starting job when the season starts. Many observers thought that Larry Johnson looked better during the practices that were open to the media. He looked quick, focused and he hustled on every play. Johnson has powerful motivation to perform in the form of some $9 million in incentives in his contract.

The odd thing is that Portis could be the top running back and not necessarily start games. Kyle Shanahan stated recently that Portis is the third-down back. That could mean more action for Johnson on first and second downs with Portis then coming in for long-yardage situations.

As noted ad nauseum, the Redskins backfield is crowded with a bunch of faces who wouldn't be overly exciting even in a better (less crowded) situation. Clinton Portis and Larry Johnson are the top two options, but neither one should be starting in anything but the deepest formats. Ryan Torrain could provide some spark if he can recover from his injury plagued past. Willie Parker should be way off your radar.

The NFL confirmed that free-agent running back LenDale White has been suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2010 season for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Titans running back Chris Johnson didn’t take part in any of the team’s 14 organized workouts this offseason, and right now Baptist Sports Park has turned into a ghost town.

So Johnson decided to head in and get a workout at the facility this week, despite his denials.

A report on Thursday said Johnson was spotted at the facility working out twice this week. Johnson, in a text message to The Tennessean, called it "false’’ and said he hasn’t been in Nashville since his football camp for kids on June 16.

But two sources say Johnson isn't telling the truth, and he's actually still in Nashville, ready to head back to Orlando in the morning.

Michael Vick statement on shooting: "I had nothing to do with the incident."

We still have to find out if he had dealings with cousin Quanis Phillips, which if he did, would violate his parole.

Free agent DL Hollis Thomas has been suspended without pay for 8 games for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.

After boycotting all offseason workouts in Tennessee for the entire 2010 offseason, a league source tells us that running back Chris Johnson was spotted twice this past week working out at the team's facility.

We're told that Johnson was in town for a marketing event. Despite his decision to boycott all offseason workouts and practices, he has full access to the team's weight room and other fitness facilities.

Brett Favre hasn't told the Vikings if he will play this season but he continues to go about his business as if he has every intention of honoring the second year of his contract.

The latest indication has been the fact Favre has been throwing to wide receivers at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss. Favre did the same thing last year as he attempted to decide whether to join the Vikings.

Nevil Barr, the coach at Oak Grove, said that Favre was on the field Thursday morning throwing passes to the high school receivers. According to Barr, Favre began making occasional appearances at the high school to throw shortly after he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle in late May.

"His arm is great like always," Barr told the Star Tribune. "As far as how his ankle is I haven't heard him say anything about it. We don't ask him a whole lot on that."

Jets TE Justin Keller answered some questions recently

Q - What are some things you'd like to improve on this year?

A - Just our team, everybody knowing everything. If I go out there and make a block, and I know what T-Rich (Tony Richardson) is doing, that makes my job much easier because I know where I have help and I know where to play a little more on a guy. Just knowing the whole picture. My first year was more me getting my job down. Second year was kind of the same thing, only faster. And now I just want to be able to know what everyone on the field is doing.

Keller is part of a deep crop of TEs this year. He's currently ranked 15th at 4for4 which makes him a decent backup option. Young QBs like Mark Sanchez often look to their tight end as a safety blanket and Keller had some good games last year, at least through week 12. He didn't go over the 33-yard mark after that point, though.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Chris Simms -- son of former Giants quarterback Phil Simms -- was busted on W. Houston Street this morning on charges of driving while stoned, The Post has learned.

Simms, 29, of Nashville, was observed with red eyes, flushed face and slurred speech at around 2 a.m., according to a source.

The NFL suspended San Diego Chargers Pro Bowl wide receiver Vincent Jackson three games for violating the league's personal conduct policy, a league source said Thursday.

The three-game suspension can be reduced upon appeal, but it is uncertain whether Jackson will appeal. He pleaded guilty in February to driving under the influence, his second conviction.

Jackson's suspension could be a moot point, however. He has been planning to not report to the Chargers unless he signs a long-term contract extension that nobody believes is forthcoming.

If the season begins and Jackson has not reported to the team, then he would be suspended for three games that he wouldn't have played in anyway.

The suspension has been looming for some time, and was rumored to be of the 4 game variety, but getting it out in the open clears things up a bit. Jackson's fantasy stock continues to drop, as that of Malcom Floyd and to a lesser extent Legedu Naanee is on the rise. Philip Rivers takes a bit of a hit (early season QB4, QB7 in todays updated rankings), but ultimately we believe in his ability to find the open receiver and make his teammates better.

The official suspension will likely make it more difficult for the Chargers to trade Jackson. Some thought the Chargers could be asking for as much as a 1st or a pair of 2nd round picks. It's worth noting that Santonio Holmes only fetched a 5th round pick when facing a 4-game suspension to start the season.

In a live chat, Texans TE Owen Daniels updated his knee:

The Doc says my ACL looks great, so I'm looking forward to being ready for Week 1.

As details continue to emerge about the timeline of Michael Vick's departure from the scene of a shooting last week, the Eagles face a deadline for a decision on their backup quarterback.

A discrepancy has emerged between what Vick's lawyer told reporters about when the Eagles' quarterback left a party last Friday, and when a codefendant in Vick's dog fighting case was shot.

The question for the Eagles is: What happens if Vick does not return to the team because of this incident? The Eagles did speak with 40-year-old Jeff Garcia's agent in April, but nothing came of those conversations. Rookie Mike Kakfa is currently the third quarterback, behind Vick and starter Kevin Kolb.

A team spokesman Wednesday said the club was sticking by its statement of last Friday, that it was "in the process of gathering all the facts," about an incident that left a man shot in the leg outside a Virginia Beach nightclub that hosted Vick's 30th birthday party.

Unless things turn really ugly for Vick, he'll most likely be back with the Eagles as rookie Mike Kafka is the third QB right now. Andy Reid fell in love with the Wildcat, or Spread Eagle, last year and with an offseason to scheme more plays, Vick seems to be more than just a backup.

The story also mentions that ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the shooter was expected to turn himself in sometime soon, which could obviously help to clear Vick.

Lost, at times, in the contractual dispute between the Chargers and receiver Vincent Jackson is the fact that Jackson faces a suspension in the wake of a pair of DUI incidents.

Per a league source, a team with interest in Jackson has learned that he's expecting a four-game suspension from the league office.

Despite the fact that Jackson has eclipsed 1000 yards the past two seasons, his off the field issues continue to jeopardize major fantasy potential.