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| A league source has reported that the Packers plan to release Koren Robinson, according to ProFootballTalk. The move can happen as soon as today. The Packers initially gave him time to line up a trade, but teams are just going to wait for him to be cut. |
Our View: The Packers want to go younger at the position, and the drafting of Jordy Nelson (Kansas State) made K-Rob expendable. Robinson has a bone-on-bone knee problem that likely isn't going to go away, which will hurt his stock when he is cut.
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| Matt Schaub, who is recovering from surgery on his left shoulder, will participate fully during minicamp, according to the Houston Chronicle. Coach Gary Kubiak said he will be able to do everything in their weekend minicamp.
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Our View: His rehab is going favorably. Schaub fired nine touchdown passes over 11 games last season, and the Texans' success in 2008 will depend on his recovery.
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| Another once highly prized NFL receiver appears headed to the CFL looking to put problems both on and off the field behind him. Just weeks after the Toronto Argonauts signed former first-round NFL pick David Boston, the Montreal Alouettes are close to a deal with Charles Rogers, the second overall pick of the 2003 NFL draft, according to the Toronto Globe & Mail. "I would say there's about an 80-20 chance of him being at training camp, coming in and competing for a job," Montreal general manager Jim Popp said yesterday. |
Our View: The Detroit Lions signed Rogers to a six-year, $55 million contract, including $14 million in guaranteed money. In 15 games over three NFL seasons with Detroit, Rogers caught 36 passes for 440 yards and four touchdowns, while becoming one of the biggest busts in recent NFL history.
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| Josh McCown is excited about competing for the starting quarterback job in Miami this season, according to the Palm Beach Post. McCown said, "As long as the guys in the building tell me it's an open competition, I could care less what fans or media say. At the end of the day, from what I've been told and am experiencing at the facility, it's a three-man race. I have a lot of experience to help me. But it also will help the whole group. I want to play and be the starter, but if someone ends up in front of me, then he'll be pretty good. This is the last chance I'll get to compete like this."
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Our View: McCown threw 10 touchdown passes and 11 inteceptions over nine games with Oakland in 2007. He will compete with John Beck and rookie Chad Henne for the starting job. He will benefit from a fresh start in Miami, but isn't likely to make a big impact if he wins the starting gig.
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| Heading into next week's opening of spring practice, it appears D'Qwell Jackson is locked in at one starting inside linebacker job, with veteran Andra Davis and third-year player Leon Williams sharing the other spot, according to the Canton Repository. |
Our View: This report makes it sound like Jackson is the only Cleveland inside linebacker to target in IDP leagues. Davis and Williams will battle in training camp, but they shared time last year, and it appears the rotation could be in full effect again in 2008. It remains to be seen how rookie, Beau Bell, will be mixed in on the inside. General manager Phil Savage has made it clear Bell has a chance to be on the field as a rookie, and not just on special teams. Bell’s deficiencies in pass coverage were exposed during the Browns recent rookie mini-camp, but coaches aren't overly concerned, because it was understood when Bell was drafted in Round 4 that he might be limited to playing on running downs.
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| Newsday NFL writer Bob Glauber reported on ESPN this morning that the only way the New York Giants would trade tight end Jeremy Shockey is if they received an offer that “knocked their socks off”. |
Our View: Glauber said the organization originally wanted in excess of a second rounder for Shockey, and now that the draft has concluded, the price would probably rise. Reading between the lines it sounds like the Giants want a second round pick and a player or a first round pick, which at this stage of the offseason appears unlikely. The New Orleans Saints continue to be the only team interested in Shockey.
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| Newsday NFL writer Bob Glauber reported on ESPN this morning that defensive lineman Michael Strahan is leaning towards retirement. But the 15-year veteran could be coaxed into playing if the New York Giants gave him a $3 million raise, or the equivalent of $7 million for the 2008 season. |
Our View: Previous reports (during the offseason) made it sound like the organization was receptive to giving Strahan more money, though no mention was made if they were willing to almost double his salary. Stay tuned.
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| Left tackle Jonathan Ogden is not expected to attend the Baltimore Ravens’ mandatory minicamp, which runs over the next three days, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: Ogden, 33, is a 12-year veteran who advised the organization earlier in the offseason to proceed with their plans as if he was retiring, though he has not made a final decision yet.
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| Cornerback Fabian Washington stood out during last week’s Baltimore Ravens’ mini-camp because of his competitiveness in drills, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: Washington joins the Ravens as a nickel back, but the club will let him compete with Samari Rolle for a starting job. Rolle was limited to a career-low six games last season because of epilepsy and a shoulder injury.
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| The Kansas City Chiefs will be evaluating three place kickers during the offseason including journeymen Nick Novak, Billy Cundiff and free agent rookie Connor Barth, according to the Kansas City Star. “We’ll have to decide at the end of the day if one of these three guys is the guy or do we have to go out and get one of those old guys who doesn’t want to come to training camp?” coach Herm Edwards said. “Hopefully we don’t have to do that, but if we have to, we’ll do it.” |
Our View: Novak and Cundiff are already kicking during informal workouts. Barth will join them when offseason practice begins in two weeks. The “old guys” Edwards referred to include John Carney, who kicked for the Chiefs toward the end of last season, and former Indianapolis kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who worked out for them early in the spring. Both are free agents.
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| LenDale White is still working his way back from arthroscopic knee surgery and will be limited at the team's minicamp practices over the next week, according to the Tennessean. White said he's been "rehabbing like crazy'' and the decision to hold him back during minicamp practices was made more for precautionary reasons. "We're just taking our time,'' he said. "I am feeling good. We just don't want to blow it out.'' |
Our View: White will continue to be the thunder in the running game that was so successful last year, while rookie first round draft pick Chris Johnson will add some lightning to the mix. Johnson will line up in the backfield on some plays, and split out as a receiver on others.
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| From Day 1 of the Spygate saga in September, the controversy over New England's illicit videotaping practices has centered on the Patriots' efforts to steal their opponents' defensive signals. But the tapes delivered via FedEx to NFL headquarters in New York on Thursday morning also include evidence of an effort by New England to steal offensive signals, which would broaden the extent of the team's surveillance operation, according to ESPN. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and staff members began viewing the eight tapes within hours of their long-awaited delivery, in anticipation of next Tuesday's scheduled interview with former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh. "We don't know [about attempts to steal offensive signals] yet because we haven't looked at the tapes," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday before the league had completed its review of the new evidence. "All we have is the list supplied last night [by Walsh's attorney]. One of them is labeled 'OFF signals.' None of the others are listed that way. Let us look at the tapes and we'll have more to say about that.” |
Our View: The Patriots declined the opportunity to comment on Thursday. Stacey James, the Patriots' vice president for media relations, said Wednesday he expected the team would wait to issue a statement until after Walsh meets with Goodell.
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| Defensive tackle Adam Carriker is not participating in the Rams' OTA, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Carriker sustained a torn labrum December 30 at Arizona in the final game of the season. But the Rams' first-round draft pick of 2006 has made quick progress, coach Scott Linehan stated. Linehan added, "He's probably coming along faster than anybody. I guess youth is an advantage. He's worked so hard to get himself back and could probably do a lot of things at minicamp. But it's too early to get him involved in anything other than the walk-throughs and individual work."
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Our View: Carriker made 30 tackles and two sacks in 2007, and those numbers should improve with prized rookie defensive end Chris Long drawing more attention on the outside.
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| Rob Bironas has signed a one-year tender with the Titans worth $1.47 million, according to the Tennessean. |
Our View: Bironas made the Pro Bowl last season, as he made 35-of-39 field goal tries. He hit 4-of-5 attempts from 50+ yards.
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