NFL Reports

Rams hold interests in Terrell Owens

2010-07-26T01:58:00.000-07:00

The unrestricted free agent wide receiver Terrell Owens seemed to run out of his chances of getting a new job before it was reported that the St. Louis Rams are holding interests in signing the veteran wide receiver. When it seems extremely unlikely for Owens to put on New Orleans Saints jersey, joining a lowly ranked team like Rams is just not a bad idea.

ESPN.com reported on Saturday that the Rams have intensified discussions about Owens, who has been on the market since the start of free agency in March. According to Rams general manager Billy Devaney, Owens was just one of the unsigned veterans being considered by the Rams. So the 36-year-old veteran will still face competition from other receivers.

Ranking sixth in NFL history with 1,006 receptions, third with 14,930 receiving yards and fifth with 147 touchdowns, Owens was last seen in a Favre jersey working out on his own. He has played 14 seasons and split them with four different teams: the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills, but he did not help the Bills a lot in his only season there. But to the Rams, Owens’ arrival could just be a great help as their only experienced receiver on roster is Laurent Robinson, who is still recovering from an injury sustained in 2009 season.

Bengals are working on Coach Lewis’ contract extension

2010-07-21T02:47:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Bengals do not want their head coach Marvin Lewis to coach those wearing New Orleans Saints jerseys, so they are now working on a contract extension with Lewis, who would love to stay as long as the team’s offer is alluring enough.

“Mike and I at some point hopefully come to an agreement from both sides of us and we all feel good about,” Lewis told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We have spoken about the contract a few times since then but we don’t talk about it daily. That’s not me to worry about it or bring it up. I don’t go about it that way. I would love to continue to coach here. I think every year is a new challenge, a new start and hell we’ve got Ocho.”

Although the Bengals do not lure a quarterback like the one in No.4 Brett Favre jersey, Lewis still has a strong reason to stay with team: he is getting along very well with the Bengals owner Mike Brown, who is always supporting the coach’s decision and offers as much help as possible.

Bucs rookie DT McCoy would like to sign after Sam Bradford

2010-07-19T02:58:00.000-07:00

Just like the first overall draft pick of 2010 NFL draft Sam Bradford, the third overall draft pick Gerald McCoy is still in talks with his team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his first NFL contract. While Bradford’s main concern is on how much he should be paid, McCoy is having his eyes on the progress of Bradford’s contract talks.

McCoy does not want to be lowly paid, after all he was drafted third overall. But he neither wants to overrate himself by asking for too much, so his current biggest wish is that Bradford signs his contract with the St. Louis Rams and then he will know how much he should ask for from the Bucs. Failing to put on Saints jersey because of his high ranking in draft picks, McCoy believes he deserves no much less than what Bradford can get, and of course no more than Bradford.

"It's kind of one of those deals where you would rather let the first pick sign first," McCoy caught in a Favre jersey by an Oklahoman reporter and talked about his contract talks. "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."

Raiders DE Richardson wants expanded role

2010-07-17T02:39:00.000-07:00

The Oakland Raiders defensive end Jay Richardson wants to prove that he can actually do better than expected as long as he is given the chance. With two weeks left before the team’s training camp, he is now ready to face competition and impress coaching staff with improved skills.

"(Coaches) were like 'On running downs we want Jay out there because he can definitely do a good job stopping the run,'" Richardson said. "And that was cool. Don't get me wrong. But as you grow in this league, as you learn, as you progress and get better at what you do and really study the position and your craft, you want to be the total package. Every defensive end wants to be a complete defensive end."

Richardson was drafted by the Raiders in 2007 as a fifth-round pick and earned starting job in late 2007 season and remained the starter in 2008 season. However, his production decreased a lot in late 2008 season and lost the starting job to Richard Seymour and became a back up last season. Making only three sacks in the past two seasons, Richardson does not seem to have any advantage in the competition. But his chance came after another starter Greg Ellis was released in the offseason.

Now Richardson is facing competition from second-year veteran Matt Shaughnessy and rookie Lamarr Houston and seemed to get the advantage back. Receiving a Michael Irvin jersey in January on his 26th birthday, Richardson now is hoping that he would receive his favorite Brett Favre jersey next January to celebrate both birthday and post-season victories.

Former Rams starting QB Bulger is now Ravens backup QB

2010-07-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

The Baltimore Ravens just signed ten years veteran quarterback Marc Bulger to a one-year contract worth $3.8 million, so the former St. Louis Rams starting quarterback will play as a backup for Ravens young starter Joe Flacco in 2010 season. At age 33, Bulger said he would fine to play a backup role with one of his favorite teams.

"It should be a different role, but it was made clear to me up front that would be my role there," Bulger said today during a conference call. "I understand whatever capacity I can help Joe, I'll do it. It's just about helping us win football games."

Bulger previously was expecting to land on another his favorite team the New Orleans Saints, who are also in need of a backup quarterback for starter Drew Brees. However, the Saints plan to wait until the deadline for signing unrestricted free agent to pick a free agent as their backup quarterback. They did not expect that Bulger would be signed away by the Ravens. Bulger did not regret for missing the chance to put on Saints jersey and said that he would do his best to help Flacco establish as much as possible.

DT Haynesworth in working hard to prepare for upcoming season

2010-07-15T01:46:00.000-07:00

The Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth actually never stopped working hard to give better performance in new season, although he has skipped all the team’s offseason workouts. According to the tackle’s personal trainer, Haynesworth had been working so hard that he had lost 32 pounds from the beginning of the offseason to now.

"Albert, he's the type of person that doesn't want to disappoint anybody, but he's very business-minded. I think it has motivated him quit e a bit, just seeing what his teammates are saying about him and seeing what everybody in the press is saying about him," trainer Tripp Smith told The (Fredericksburg, Va.) Free Lance-Star. "I told him, 'If you show up and are playing like an animal, they're going to forget about the fact that you didn't go to a two-day minicamp or whatever happened aside from football.'"

The Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has been disappointed with Haynesworth’s absence from team activities. Because of his displeasure over the switch to a 3-4 defense, Haynesworth had been asking for a trade. And even if he appeared for a team workout, he was often wearing Favre jerseys and watching on sideline, claiming that he was suffering pains here or there.

Bold guesses on Favre’s durability

2010-06-12T02:44:00.000-07:00

Recently, quite a few NFL players announced retirement, and most of them are around 30 years old and none is older than 40. That’s normal in NFL, but it made me more curious about the durability of Minnesota Vikings quarterback, 41-year-old Brett Favre.

I have to guess hard why Favre could still play so well when he was 40 years old, two years after he first announced retirement. He never retired for real sense and returned to a different team every time after he announced the end of his NFL career. People got fed up with his uncertainties, but were still amazed by his excellent performance. By so far this season, Favre has not made any announcement on retirement or return, but he is highly expected to wear back his Brett Favre jersey because his performance in 2009 season has convinced people of his capability and durability. But why is he so durable while most other players end career shortly after 30th birthday or just have decreasing value even if they stay to age 40?

I have to doubt that whether the quarterback we saw on field was really the Brett Favre we talked about? Is there another man like Favre and playing as well so he and Favre can play in turn? If so, both men could have enough rest before playing his next game. I also guessed that Favre may use some kind of steroids to make his body stronger. He is 41 years old and a grandfather now, I can hardly believe he can do even better than he did while younger, and I even doubt he has a twin brother or clone to play for him when he is not in good condition. Oh, Vikings fans forgive me, I’ve just read too many conspiracy novels.

Nurses are going to strike on Thursday

2010-06-10T02:13:00.000-07:00

You are suggested not to go to hospital on June 10 as you are not going to be taken care of by nurses. Where are they? They are going to strike for a salary increase. You can choose to go hospital on Friday, when the strike will end at 7 a.m.

According to reports, nurses from 14 hospitals are going to strike as the Minnesota Nurses Association wants them to fight against hospitals who are increasingly pressured to cut costs. While the hospitals think that they have spent too much on nurses, the nurses though they deserve the pay as they have to work much harder than other kind of employees. Taking care of patients is already a hard job, and living with a reduced pay just makes life even harder.

Reports also pointed out that the strike would be the nation's largest in history as it will involve about 12,000 nurses. The last largest one was in 1997, when about 7,300 California nurses went on strike for two days. The nurses are not required to wear uniform for the strike parade, so you may see some sports fans in Michael Irvin jerseys or other kinds of sports wears there. If you support them you will be welcomed to join the team.

Blogging now becomes a new job

2010-06-05T00:07:00.000-07:00

As social media sites have become so popular that a lot of companies also have changed their marketing strategies, turning focus on online marketing through community sites such as Twitter, Facebook or BlogSpot. As a result, writing on social media sites, commonly recognized as blogging, has become a job with fine pays.

That’s good news for the increasing numbers of job hunters, who found offline jobs less and less available. Many of them have turned their blogging into careers and earned money by writing for companies. According to a recent research, a full-time blogger can get annual salary from $45,000 to six figures. Part-time bloggers could earn $50 an hour. Sounds attractive, right? You may want to have a try now, and here is a list of what you could do with your own blogging skills.

1. Social media strategist or digital strategist is one of the highest-paid social-media job, and it requires abundant experience and good knowledge of how to create social media marketing campaigns and measure their success.
2. Community manager calls for marketing experience and the work is to oversee company blogs and forums, attract customers through outreach on social sites, and moderate conversations about the company to build a good reputation for the company.
3. Professional blogger can earn money by posting articles filled with links to certain sites. You could write an article about Brett Favre inserted a link to an online shop selling Brett Favre jerseys. The site will either give you one-time pay for the link or commissions for orders made by customers coming through the link in your post.
4. Online customer service person is hired by many companies to reduce cost of call center. Such a job requires call-center experience and fine writing skills. Most companies have customer service representatives communicate with customers on Twitter.

Nowadays, the internet has begun to offer all kinds of opportunities to different groups of people, and a job is not necessary to be done within a company office. Try it from today, you may find working is much more enjoyable than you expected before.

Terry Bradshaw supports Tom Brady in contract talks

2010-06-03T01:51:00.000-07:00

It seemed that the New England Patriots stopped contract talks with their starting quarterback Tom Brady, although they indicated last season that they would like to make Brady one of the highest-paid players in the league. While Brady did not show any intention to leave Patriots for higher pay, he received supports from his fans, including former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

Bradshaw has been Brady’s die-hard fan for a long time. He never embarrassed Brady during his interview as he did to other current quarterbacks, and always expressed publicly his love to the handsome man. Bradshaw used to say that Brady was such a great quarterback that he himself would like to play backup for him if he was young enough to continue playing NFL games in his Terry Bradshaw jersey. Hearing of Patriots’ hesitation to give Brady a contract extension, Bradshaw said the team was fooling themselves and would regret if they let Brady go because of financial issues.

Brady himself has been low-profile about the contract dispute and has been available to all the team’s practices by so far. Unwilling to discuss the contract issue, Brady said he would rather focus on improving his playing skills, which are better evidences of his greatness.

Vikings said Favre’s surgery was expectable

2010-05-29T00:39:00.000-07:00

While a lot of people were excited about Brett Favre’s surgery on his left ankle, the responses from the Minnesota Vikings were not with much surprise. Calling it promising news, most of the Vikings said the move was just expected long before it really happened.

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe’s words may represent quite a lot of his fellow teammates. Shiancoe said that Favre had to change some part of his body if he had even the slightest intention to play his 20th NFL season, and leading the Vikings so close to Super Bowl XLIV could just make the quarterback want more success in a new season. None of the Vikings, either player or coaching staff or even officials, has got any information from Favre on his playing status in 2010 season, but they all take the latest surgery as a strong suggestion of his plan to wear back the purple and gold Brett Favre jersey. If their wish comes true, Favre would be the first grandpa winning Super Bowl in the league.

The Vikings are still carrying on their offseason plans without a confirmed starting quarterback. They are confident that Favre will return to take the job back. Favre himself also used to say that playing with his former rivals gave him good feelings and the 2009 season could the best one he has had during his 19-year NFL career.

Cowboys’ rookie WR Bryant threw up again

2010-05-26T02:26:00.000-07:00

While the Dallas Cowboys were having their organized team activities on Tuesday morning, rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant caused more worries on his health condition as he seemed to be sick and threw up again during workouts.

It’s still not sure whether Bryant threw up because of stomach virus or food poisoning, but it’s most likely to be stomach issues as the rookie already had a previous throw-up during the rookie minicamp. At that time, former wearer of number 88, Michael Irvin was present and witnessed his young successor ruin his first workout with disgusting stuff in his stomach. However, Irvin still encouraged the rookie and expressed his kind wish to Bryant. Irvin also told reporters that Bryant was great and the throw-up did not affect his potential to be a great receiver.

Now Bryant’s stomach seemed in worse condition than we previously thought. What would Irvin thought now? Will he still consider Bryant deserves the number formerly on Michael Irvin jersey? Well, Irvin has not been available to comment on the latest happening, but I guess he will soon make new comments. The number just linked him to the rookie and that link may last for the remaining career of Bryant.

With or Without Favre Vikings have same chance to win

2010-05-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

Leading the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC appearance last season, starting quarterback Brett Favre has been expected by many Vikings fans to return for his 20th NFL season and help the Vikings win a Super Bowl championship in 2010 season. However, they may have overrated Favre’s role in Vikings’ win.

Indeed, Favre’s arrival made the Vikings much more threatening in competition for the championship in 2009 season, and he could be the only quarterback that was able to make it at age 40. If he retires, the Vikings would suddenly fall into a leaderless panic and started the 2010 season in awful way. As a 19-year veteran quarterback, Favre has been a master in passing game and always a great leading role. Without him, the Vikings will look more vulnerable with a weaken offense. However, Favre’s existence could also be a weak point of the Vikings. While his accuracy and leadership could help the team to score points, his aging body is also a target of opponent team’s defensive players. The New Orleans Saints defensive players just made that happen during the NFC game last season. As a result of the attack, Favre had to undergo a surgery to repair his ankle last Friday and needs more time to consider resuming his NFL career.

What if Favre does not make a return? Other quarterbacks in Vikings jerseys will have a competition for starting job and most likely Tarvaris Jackson will win back his starting job finally. After one year of learning from Favre and several years of preparation for starting job, he have some breakout performance during the regular season and keep the hope alive for Vikings to have another winning season.

Vikings coach Childress had no conclusion on Favre’s surgery

2010-05-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

After the media burst into crazy reports on Brett Favre’s surgery that was reported to be done on Friday morning, the Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress has been somewhat silent. He did not return any message to requests for the surgery’s indication, but did tell some friends that it was still too early to make any conclusion at the moment.

Earlier reports said that Favre’s doctor suggested the quarterback to have an ankle surgery before wearing back his Vikings jersey to play football again. However, Favre denied that the surgery would determine his decision on return or retire. However, on the day prior to the surgery Favre bet with his Alma Mater’s baseball team the Golden Eagles on the team’s playoff appearance. He said if the Golden Eagles managed to get a pass for the College World Series, he would return to NFL for his 20th season. Linking that bet with the surgery, a lot of people believe that Favre was actually indicating his possible career resuming.

However, Childress still insisted that he and the Vikings would wait for Favre’s final decision and would not push him even after the surgery. Indeed, the 40-year-old veteran, who is turning 41 in October, definitely needs more time for recovery than young players. He can still reserve his right to make a late decision.

Terry Bradshaw plans to forestall Favre with earlier private signing

2010-05-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

After knowing that the Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre will have a private signing in July, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw also announced that he would also offer autographs to Steelers fans and he will make it happen one week earlier than Favre.

Bradshaw used to criticize Favre for running people around by changing his minds from time to time. And he recently said that he hated the way Favre squeezes money from his faithful fans by asking for hundreds of dollars to sign his name on the Favre-related items from fans. In order to prove that he could much more for fans than Favre, Bradshaw announced that he would offer his autograph for free on from July 7th and accepted anything related to his former team the Steelers and set the number limit twice as Favre’s to 200 items. What’s more attractive, the former NFL star quarterback said he would send a free Bradshaw jersey in return to the owner of the first item he receives.

However, I’m afraid Bradshaw will not receive more than 100 items from fans even though he does not ask for money. He has been no longer a popular star NFL player for long and his offer will not be taken seriously as he did not release any details on how his private signing will run and where the items should be sent.

Saints could name backup QB in July

2010-05-17T00:04:00.000-07:00

By so far, the New Orleans Saints have not made any decision of the backup for starting quarterback Drew Brees. They want a veteran, experienced and humble quarterback for the role. Although they have a few options on their own roster, the team is still looking outside for more options.

However, as last season’s Super Bowl champion, the Saints are restricted by the NFL’s “final eight” rule for the uncapped year. So they will have to wait until July 22 before they can take actions with unrestricted free agents from other teams unless they allow another team to sign away one of their own restricted free agents. So at the moment, the backup role would be played by one of the three on-roster quarterbacks: second-year player Chase Daniel, rookie Sean Canfield and unrestricted free agent Mark Brunell. According to reports, the Saints are aiming at unrestricted free agents Josh McCown and Patrick Ramsey to sign when the signing restriction ends on July 22.

While Brunell is still negotiating for a new contract with the Saints and could take off his Saints jersey to sign with another team, second-year player Daniel is currently the top choice for the backup job and will get a lot of snaps in OTAS and minicamps. If he performs well and impresses the coaches enough before any stronger competitor comes in, he could be the new backup for Brees.

Reasons for Favre drama to continue with popularity

2010-05-14T00:24:00.000-07:00

Although we are surrounded with Brett Favre news every year and every offseason when other players make little appearance, we just never get fed up with it. Favre do similar things on an annual basis, and each time there are a lot of media members offering what he needs to attract attentions.

While Brett Favre is enjoying the public attentions paid to him, the public and media are also enjoy hearing and creating more about the 40-year-old man. Admit it, we actually like to know whether he will return or retire in 2010. Even though things remain intriguing until the last moment, we just like to discuss about it. It’s not only the Vikings coaches and Favre’s teammates, but also we the news readers, who are willing to offer Favre enough time for making a simple decision. Many of us actually do not care whether Brett Favre jersey will appear on field again, but just have nothing else interesting enough to discuss about.

The only people that really care for Favre’s playing status could be the Vikings players and coaching staff, who need to know that information to carry out their plan for the new 2010 season. However, with or without Favre, they will still play and try their best to win as many games as they can. So, it’s only for fun to watch an annual Favre drama, just enjoy it.

Saints RB Thomas could sign new contract soon

2010-05-12T01:29:00.000-07:00

The latest reports said that the New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas is near to a contract he has been asking for since beginning of the offseason. As a restricted free agent, he has yet to sign the tender offer from the Saints with the hope to get what matches his performance in last season.

Helping the Saints win their first Super Bowl title, Thomas is hoping for a multi-year contract instead of the one-year tender offer that may pay him only $1.68 million for 2010 season. As offensive guard Jahri Evans received a big seven-year contract from the clue last week, Thomas has been more optimistic about his own deal. Therefore, even though the team has not made their final decision, Thomas still put on his Saints jersey to participate in all the offseason workouts.

In the league, teams are always unwilling to pay high for running backs as it’s a risky move and they can always find replacement for current starters. In Saints case, they still have Reggie Bush even without Thomas. However, as they are willing to make Evans the highest-paid guard in the league, it is also possible for them to make big investment in Thomas. Stay tuned.

Injured ankle has nothing to do with Favre’s decision

2010-05-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

When people began to guess whether the possible surgery Brett Favre needs to have will impact what decision the quarterback may make on his playing status, Favre himself made announcement that the surgery is only to be a minor one and he still remains undecided. Can you figure out the truth? There has been definitely a decision already, but he simply keeps it wrapped up so that we can keep guessing.

If Favre really has any intention to quit, he would not have caused so much discussion by coming out from time to time to release a piece of his mind or recent health condition. It’s obvious that he still enjoys being discussed rather than get prepared for retirement. While some people give reasons for Favre to return, some others are trying best to figure out whether he keeps telling us he is undecided. One of the opinions is that Favre simply wants to avoid offseason workout. If that’s true, he could simply tell the team about this and he surely won’t be refused. It’s not necessary for him to play all these tricks whether he decides to return to retire. At age 40 and having played professional football in NFL for 19 seasons, he has earned enough honor to have the freedom of making any decision he likes.

There is a most reasonable explanation for us to keep hearing of all kinds of things about Favre: they are all deliberately designed to attract attention. He will have a surgery and will wear back the No.4 Vikings jersey and it won’t be surprising even if the decision is made in the last hour before the season opener. Get over it, because we are in offseason.

Injury issues caused OT Brown to fall out of first round

2010-04-30T01:03:00.000-07:00

With the last picks of all rounds in the 2010 NFL draft, the New Orleans Saints made every decision carefully to make sure that they got the best from the remaining picks. So when they used the 64th overall, the last pick of the second round, to draft Southern Cal offensive lineman Charles Brown, they indeed had a good reason.

The Saints believe that Brown, who received no call from any team during the first round, should have been picked in higher round and it was really fortunate for the team to still have such a choice available on board by the end of second round. However, if the Saints had good reason to have the young player put on Saints jersey, other teams must also have good reasons not to choose him.

According to recent reports, injuries were the major reason that caused Brown to fall out of the first round. Some reports said that Brown had a minor knee injury and some others said he pulled a hamstring at the USC Pro Day. The latter speculation was somewhat proved by Trojans athletic department officials, who confirmed that Brown did pull up his hamstring while running the 40-yard dash on pro day but it did not seem serious at that time.

So it is for sure that Brown is indeed having some problem with his leg, but the Saints do not appear to care much about it. Perhaps other teams simply worried a bit too much about the injury, and now it’s the Saints who finally add a powerful weapon on their offense.

Saints added rookie DE Sharpe to roster

2010-04-28T01:31:00.001-07:00

Remaining undrafted when the three-day 2010 NFL draft ended on Saturday afternoon, former Texas Tech defensive end Brandon Sharpe finally received an contract offer from the New Orleans Saints on Monday, joining his former teammate in the Red Raiders, offensive guard Brandon Carter.

Actually, Sharpe was previously to be picked in the first round as the ESPN had ranked him as the 22nd best defensive end in the draft. He indeed deserves the rank with a latest school record of the most sacks in a season he made in his last college season. Having one solo sack in 2008 season, Sharpe burst out with 15 sacks in 2009 season, with four solo sacks ruing the Nebraska game. He also had four two-solo-sack games last season. Besides, the 15 sacks that totaled for a loss of 104 yards also ranked the second most on a national basis.

Sharpe and Carter are expected to make their first appearance in New Orleans Saints jerseys next week, when the team’s three-day rookie minicamp started on May 7 and ended on May 9. Both rookies will try their best to impress the coaches with hope of getting playing time in preseason and regular season.

Vikings surprised us with their choices in draft

2010-04-26T01:42:00.000-07:00

Last offseason, the Minnesota Vikings successfully attracted enough attention from NFL fans by managing to sign Brett Favre, who previously announced retirement after an unhappy season with New York Jets. And on the point, they had success again by drafting new players beyond expectation and keeping it secret on whether Favre will put on Vikings jersey again.

The only choice that the Vikings made and did to confuse us was the pick of Virginia cornerback Chris Cook, who is 6-2 tall and had good playing skills and fine speed, all the elements necessary to a good cornerback. However, it was still a bit surprise when it turned out that the Vikings’ first choice in the draft was a cornerback. Previously people had guessed that the team could acquire help for other positions because they just signed former Jets cornerback Lito Sheppard. With addition of Cook, the Vikings now have at least four cornerbacks available for the new season.

The Vikings made their second choice with running back Toby Gerhart from Stanford, adding back up to running back Adrian Peterson. Then they drafted defensive end, guard, linebacker, wide receiver, tight end and linebacker, but no quarterback, even though the return of Brett Favre seemed more intriguing than even. Fans and analysts got confused and tried hard to find explanations for what Vikings did. Well, they did manage to find one, that is, the team does not want much change at all. They seem confident that the starters leading them to 12-4 last season are able to lead them an even better season this season.

Vikings still have chance to pick QB Jimmy Clausen

2010-04-23T02:19:00.000-07:00

When everyone was expecting the Minnesota Vikings to use their 30th overall draft pick to get former Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen, the team surprised us by trading the first-round pick and a fourth-round pick to NFC North rival Detroit Lions to get a second-rounder and fourth-round and seventh-round picks.

What happened next was nothing we ever expected previously. The Lions did not use the 30th overall pick to draft Clausen, either, but took California running back Jahvid Best instead. Then Tim Tebow became the 25th pick drafted by the Denver Broncos, and Clausen still stayed in the draft waiting for an interested team. However, by the end of Thursday night’s first-round draft, the quarterback remained undrafted and was set to enter the second-round draft.

On the other side, the Vikings now have nine picks over the final six rounds of the draft, including eh second pick of the second round. That means Clausen still has chance to put on Vikings jersey if the team does have plan to draft someone on Friday night. What makes it more possible, the holder of the first pick in second round, the St. Louis Rams, has already taken quarterback Sam Bradford with the first overall pick and they are unlikely to add another quarterback in second round. What is going to happen really depends on what the Vikings plan to do with their quarterbacks.

Vikings signed QB Jackson while waiting for Favre’s decision

2010-04-20T04:27:00.000-07:00

Now the Minnesota Vikings are more confident with their quarterback plan for the 2010 season. While last season’s starting quarterback Brett Favre still needs more time to think about his playing status in the new season, the Vikings had backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson sign his tender offer to remain in Vikings jersey.

Being a restricted free agent when this offseason began, Jackson received the tender offer worth $1.176 million from Vikings so that he could stay with the team as a backup quarterback for Favre, or even as starting quarterback if Favre eventually decides not to wear back his No. 4 jersey. But I guess Jackson would not have that high expectation this time to avoid the heavy disappointment he experienced last offseason when his starting job was taken away after Favre changed his retiring plan to join the Vikings.

As the day of 2010 draft is coming close, there is higher and higher expectation that Favre will make his final decision soon to end the speculations. However, as the Vikings have made it clear that their main targets in the draft would be cornerbacks and now they re-signed Jackson, it is just less necessary for Favre to make a fast decision. So while he is taking his time to enjoy family life, we could just take our time to make more guesses.

RB Brown may be close to taking off Dolphins jersey

2010-04-13T00:36:00.000-07:00

Having spent all the past five seasons with the Miami Dolphins, restricted free agent running back Ronnie Brown will possibly have to kiss bye his NO. 23 Dolphins jersey soon as the team is seriously considering trading him for a mid-level draft pick. And things could happen within a couple of days as Thursday is the deadline of free agent signing.

Brown was drafted by the Dolphins in 2005 as a first round pick and has had 928 rushes for 4081 yards and 31 touchdowns, with 648 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns last season. He was also selected to Pro Bowl last year. However the Dolphins still remove him from the team’s long-term plan when he became a restricted free agent in the early offseason. They offered him a first-round tender but Brown has yet to sign the offer sheet. The major reason for Dolphins to do so is that they want to trade the running back for something before he loses value completely with another injury. A mid-level draft pick is not a good price for Brown at all but it is better than nothing that they may get when Brown has to be cut instead of to be traded.

At age 28, Brown is oft-injured. If not because of the injuries, the Dolphins would no way give up a good running back as Brown. When healthy, he is one of the best backs in the league with a powerful combination of strength and speed. However, during his six-year career, he did not finish any but one season and has had three serious injuries. Some even doubt that his body will not hold up much longer. However, he is still has his value to some teams. After all, he still managed to be the most productive player in Dolphins jersey and the team’s staple on the offense line.

WR Harvin may wear back Vikings jersey late with migraine

2010-04-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

While most of his teammates have been ready to wear back their Minnesota Vikings jerseys for the team’s voluntary offseason workout program on Monday, wide receiver Percy Harvin is struggling with lingering migraine headaches and is putting off his returning time.

Despite the annoying headache, Harvin still managed to have a breakout rookie season and missed only one game. He sat out practices a bit often but the team still offered enough support to the rookie since drafting him from last year’s first round as they already knew about the headache issue when they made the choice. Harvin did not fail them and had a productive season with 790 receiver yards and 6 touchdowns. He is also having a productive offseason somewhat by gaining some weight.

Although Harvin has visited a number of doctors, it still seems unlikely that he would have any chance to get rid of the migraine headaches. Following certain treatment plan could help reduce some pain, but Harvin said he is ready to have to bear it for a long time and try to contain it as much as he can. He did not give the exact time when he could return to join his teammates for the team’s offseason program, but he has been working out on his own, so it could be taken for sure that he will wear back his Vikings jersey in time for the new season.

Bills will fill in WR spot with remaining receivers

2010-03-26T00:53:00.000-07:00

As it seems that wide receiver Terrell Owens is determined to find a new job out of the Buffalo Bills and unrestricted free agent Josh Reed will not stay without a demanded contract, the Bills are in need of wide receivers but they will not look for one outside the team on the free agent market.

According to reports, the Bills seem content to allow its in-house options to compete for the job. And general manager Buddy Nix said at the NFL owners’ meetings that the Bills is not going to target any of the current free-agent wide receivers but would like to offer the chance to those lesser-used pass catchers inside the Bills.

Thus the Bills have several choices with James Hardy and Steve Johnson to back up starting receiver Lee Evans. Hardy was a highly touted second-round pick when he put on the Bills jersey two years ago as a rookie, and Johnson is entering his third season with the Bills but finished the last season with just two grabs. Besides, the Bills can also pick a young receiver from the draft that begins next month.

Ravens CB Rolle is unlikely to return

2010-03-25T02:24:00.000-07:00

The Baltimore Ravens are not expecting that veteran cornerback Samari Rolle could be able to wear back his Ravens jersey to play professional football in NFL again after having a couple of neck surgeries. What we can expect now is an official announcement of the veteran’s retirement.

"There’s been no indication that I’ve heard from anybody that Samari is going to be physically ready to play," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "If that changes, great. We would have to be very convinced that he would have no risk.”

Having played in eleven seasons since being drafted by the Tennessee Oilers in 1998 as a second-round pick, Rolle is turning 34 years old this August. Just as he has admitted by himself, having two neck surgeries at his age just essentially means his NFL career is done.

Cardinals added three defensive men with new contracts

2010-03-24T02:37:00.000-07:00

Restricted free agent tight end Ben Patrick is to wear back his No. 89 Arizona Cardinals jersey for the 2010 season as the team has signed a one-year contract with him. Similar thing happened to safety Hamza Abdullah and fullback Nehemiah Broughton.

A seventh-round draft pick out of Delaware in 2007, Patrick has 30 career receptions for 323 yards and four touchdowns. He also has five postseason receptions, including a touchdown catch in the 2009 Super Bowl. All of Patrick’s first three career seasons were spent with the Cardinals, while six-year veteran Abdullah joined the Cardinals last December and played in only one regular-season game but took part in both postseason games.

As for Broughton, he spent last season with the Minnesota Vikings on practice squad without playing any game. He was previously signed by the Cardinals on Jan. 5 and on Tuesday the Cardinals signed his exclusive rights contract to get him back from the free agent market.

Broncos are targeting at free agent center Mawae

2010-03-23T01:47:00.000-07:00

If the Tennessee Titans do not take action in time to keep Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae, other teams could make their effort to sign him away. Actually, the Denver Broncos have already expressed their interest in getting the center before the free agency ends.

The Broncos need a center because they lost center Casey Wiegmann to the Kansas City Chiefs in free agency, and though the team is looking to get younger at that position, Mawae is still possible to put on Titans jersey as an unrestricted free agent if the Broncos offer an attractive contract in time.

However, Mawae also has the option to return to the Titans because he could be able to play a depth role if staying with the Titans. At age 39, he is too old to start any new era with a new team. He managed to finish the 2009 season without suffering injuries and was voted to Pro Bowl again, so staying with the Titans before retirement could be a better choice for the 17-year veteran.

Tom Brady is to skip offseason workouts for boxing training

2010-03-22T02:05:00.000-07:00

According to latest reports, the New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady is not going to attend the team’s voluntary offseason program as he will be busy with some other jobs like boxing and visiting families.

On Saturday, pictures emerged of Brady training at a Beverly Hills boxing gym, the Boston Globe reports, via the blog Faded Youth. However, Brady isn’t training to take on Manny Pacquiao. He’s adopting the Chad Ochocinco program for offseason conditioning, working on his footwork and hand-eye coordination in the boxing ring. All of these seem necessary to the quarterback, who is still recovering from multiple injuries.

Besides, Brady is also reported to visit wife Gisele Bundchen’s family in Brail to show the newly born boy. Well, it’s just reasonable for the new farther to miss team works to enjoy such kind of family life. Just hope that he would wear back his Patriots jersey in time for preparation for the new season.

Former All-Pro guard Andrew was released by Eagles

2010-03-19T02:50:00.000-07:00

The Philadelphia Eagles finally made their decision to release the former All-Pro right guard Shawn Andrews, making it clear that they are going to move on to rely on someone else who could be more reliable than Andrews.

The move on Wednesday was expected as Andrews missed the entire 2008 training camp because of depression and played in just two games over the past two seasons because of back injuries. The first-round pick in 2004 draft did offer his efforts and contributions to the Eagles but he just became expendable while the team is moving in another direction.

Andrews has been considered to be eccentric since putting on the Eagles jersey because of his interest in music and offbeat personality. He posted some videos on YouTube last summer while he was sitting out practices, and sported faux-hawk haircuts that sometimes were dyed blonde or red, and often wandered through the locker room singing out loud. He missed rookie season after breaking a leg in the season opener but managed to rebound and emerge into one of the best players at his position by making the Pro Bowl in 2006 and 2007 and winning a contract that ran through 2015. He deed has the talent in football, so he has said that he would continue playing after being released by the Eagles.

Saints are looking for Des in free agent market

2010-03-16T02:09:00.000-07:00

Finishing the past season with the Super Bowl title, the New Orleans Saints found it still necessary to improve their team for a new season. They are as active on the free agent market as any other team and their focus is on defensive ends.

According to Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, the St. Louis Rams defensive ends James Hall and Leonard Little both are of interest to the Saints. Hall just finished a visit on Friday and Little was expected to have visit next week.

The Saints released veteran Charles Grant last week and allowed linebacker Scott Fujita to sign a three-year, $14 million deal with the Cleveland Browns. They could start looking at players with expired contracts on other teams, but their main target would still be the defensive ends, as they still have quite few choices on linebackers.

According to Loomis, the Saints could choose a linebacker from those still wearing Saints jerseys like 2009 draft pick Stanley Arnoux, 2009 undrafted free agent Jonathan Casillas, two-year pro Jo-Lonn Dunbar, 2007 draft pick Marvin Mitchell, three Year Pro Anthony Waters and veteran Troy Evans, to group with middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and weakside linebacker Scott Shanle as starting linebackers.

Faulk re-signed with Patriots with plan to retire as a Patriot

2010-03-12T01:37:00.000-08:00

Having spent the entire of his 11-year career with the New England Patriots, running back Kevin Faulk thinks that he should just begin and end his NFL career both as a Patriot, just like All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who chose to re-join the Boston Red Sox, the team drafted him in 1994 be he retired the next day. So, Faulk decided to re-sign with the Patriots.

“I might have left and gone and it might have been successful, but it wouldn’t have been the same if I would have been here doing it,” Faulk said Thursday in a conference call with reporters, a day after Garciaparra made his awkward, one-day return to the Red Sox for the purpose of announcing his retirement. “What happened with Nomar Garciaparra—it’s great he came back and retired a Red Sox, but at the same time if he would have done it here it would have even been better.”

Being picked by the Patriots as a second-round draft choice in 1999, Faulk became an unrestricted free agent earlier this month. He is the longest-tenured member of the Patriots and played in all the Patriots’ three Super Bowl victories along with Tom Brady, Matt Light and Stephen Neal. His numbers in last season included 335 rushing yards, 37 pass catches for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns. Since putting on the Patriots jersey, he has totally had 3,505 yards rushing and 418 receptions for 3,605 yards along with returned kicks and punts.

Falcons added veteran CB Robinson to roster

2010-03-10T01:39:00.000-08:00

Unrestricted free agent cornerback Dunta Robinson was brought in the private jet of Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank to have a visit with the team. It was his first visit since becoming a free agent and also the last as he is now officially a Falcon after signing a six-year contract.

“This is something I’ve always dreamed about growing up in Athens, Ga.,” Robinson said. “This was the first professional team that I wanted to play for. I’m home. This is where I need to be. Here is where I’m most comfortable.”

The money is also what he’s dreamed of. The multiyear contract is worth $57 million, including an approximately $22.5 million in guaranteed money. And the way he was signed was similar to the way running back Michael Turner was signed two years ago when Blank, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith had Turner visit to Atlanta and persuaded him to sign a six-year contract in early March 2009.

Once in Falcons jersey, Robinson is likely to take part in the team’s mini-camp in May as a starting cornerback along with Brian Williams, who signed a new one-year contract with the Falcons last week. And Coach Smith’s expectation of Robinson is simply to jam the opponent’s No. receiver at the line of scrimmage before dropping into coverage.

Free agent RB Fargas visited Chiefs for new chance

2010-03-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

Being released by former team is not totally a bad thing as the player is now with the freedom to choose a new team to join. That’s exactly what veteran running back Justin Fargas has now after failing his physical and being released by the Oakland Raiders right before he was due to get a $1.7 million roster bonus, and his first visit is with the Kansas City Chiefs.

"I don’t see that happening, no," Fargas told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I was told by the coach that they were moving in a different direction. They said it was strictly about money. I know some things were put out there, I guess they said I didn’t pass a physical. I’m a little disappointed by the way it happened but I understand it’s a business.”

Therefore, with the determination not to wear back the Raiders jersey, Fargas began his visit and research of possible new teams. After the visit to Chiefs, the next stop could be the San Francisco 49ers, which have been in contact with Fargas’ agent.

Cribbs finally get a three-year deal done with Browns

2010-03-06T01:14:00.000-08:00

Now the versatile Josh Cribbs has gotten what a most popular player of the Cleveland deserves to have, a new multi-year contract. According to reports, the Cleveland eventually rewarded Cribbs a new three-year part of his six-year, $6.67 million deal that was signed in 2006.

“I’m excited,” Cribbs said, sitting alongside new team president Mike Holmgren at a hastily arranged news conference. “It’s been a long road. It worked out. We reached a good compromise. I’m happy to wear this uniform proudly, as I’ve been saying the whole time.”

The restructured final three-year part will guarantee Cribbs $7.5 million plus another $20 million if he reaches incentives. Thus the Browns finally managed to keep the 26-year-old kicker/wide receiver in Browns jersey for another three years. Meanwhile, the press conference Cribbs said earlier this week he would hold to make a major announcement turned out to be held by the Browns.

The contract ended two seasons of threats, broken promises and back-and-forth negotiations. As the NFL’s career leader with eight kickoff returns for touchdowns, he is considered to deserve a big deal and had won supports from Browns fans for the past season.

Panthers released QB Delhomme

2010-03-05T00:17:00.001-08:00

The original news was that the Carolina Panthers cut veteran defensive tackle Damione Lewis, but it was changed to be about quarterback Jake Delhomme, who was released on the same day following Lewis. It had been expected that he would lose his starting job after his worst season as a pro last year, and being released was really a surprise.

One day ago, the Panthers said that they would like to keep quarterback Matt Moore in Panthers jersey for 2010 season but he may have to compete for the starting job. Since the team decided to release Delhomme, the quarterback Moore will have to compete with for the starting role must be someone new from the free agent market or draft pick. Bursting onto the scene in 2003 and leading the Panthers to the Super Bowl, Delhomme had been the team’s starting quarterback for years until last season after Moore replaced him to start in the final five games.

At the end of 2008 season, Panthers offered Delhomme a lucrative contract extension in hope that he would give better performance than committing six turnovers in a playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals. However, Delhomme only offered another six-turnover performance in a season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and had a career-high 18 interceptions before being sidelined. Then Moore came on and had eight touchdown passes and only two interceptions as Carolina won four of its final five games. As a result of the different performance, the Panthers gave Moore the highest restricted free-agent tender of $3.043 million for one season on Wednesday while released Delhomme the next day.

Texans found it challenging to re-sign WR Walter

2010-03-04T01:43:00.000-08:00

Although the Houston Texans would like to keep the pending unrestricted free agent wide receiver Kevin Walter in the Texans jersey, they may feel that re-signing him is beyond their ability, according to the team’s general Rick Smith.

“We would like to have Kevin back,” Smith said, noting he had talked to Walter’s agent. “He is an important part of our football team and we would like to (keep him.) Unfortunately the thing about free agency now is, you can’t keep everybody. When you talk about putting a football team together and structuring your team and trying to improve and get better, you’ve got to make some tough decisions. And sometimes, you’ve got to let players go that you otherwise wouldn’t want to. That’s just a part of it.”

Walter will turn 29 in August and caught 53 passes for 611 yards and two TDs in 14 starts for Houston last season, missing two games with a hamstring injury. However, the Texans may not feel much pain if Walter really chooses to depart because they still have Jacob Jones, Andre Davis and David Anderson in wide receiver depth.

2010-03-04T01:42:00.000-08:00

The ticket prices for one of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2010 games will be $29 to $128 and even an average seat will cost $2.40 more than last season. Brett Favre has not made his mind to wear back Vikings jersey, but the team is confident that more fans will come to buy the tickets despite the price raise.

As one of the many teams that froze ticket prices a year ago, the Vikings this year becomes the third team in the NFC North to raise tickets prices. Last season the team created a frenzy for tickets by taking the arrival of Favre. And this year, the Vikings are coming off a trip to the NFC title game and the return of Favre is still possible, so tickets may be on hot sell again.

“While we could not realistically duplicate the flat pricing structure of last season, we wanted to make the increase as minimal as possible to acknowledge the commitment of our season-ticket owners,” Vikings chief marketing officer Steve LaCroix said. “We wanted to continue one of the NFL’s lowest priced season-ticket offerings at $29 per game, while keeping nearly 9,000 tickets priced the same or less.”

The other two teams who have raised tickets prices are the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. The Detroit Lions are the only team left motionless in ticket prices.

Steelers’ safety Clark will join free agent market

2010-03-02T00:32:00.001-08:00

According to Yahoo Sports, the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have made no big progress in retaining safety Ryan Clark, who is to be a free agent on Friday, the deadline for free agency, with no deal being done in time.

Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert has identified Clark as a core player the team wants to re-sign. And the Steelers do have been discussing a contract with Clark’s representative, but by so far there has been nothing concrete to indicate that a deal is imminent as talks haven’t progressed quickly.

Successfully signing back nose guard Casey Hampton with a three-year contract and retaining kicker Jeff Reed with a franchise tag last week, the Steelers, however, is still in slow progress while talking with Clark about his new contract. They can only now let him test the free agent market with hope that no other team would offer better deal than the Steelers and Clark would change his mind to wear back the Steelers jersey.

Chargers CB Cromartie may be sent to Detroit

2010-02-28T23:26:00.000-08:00

Although it is still a rumor-like message on a reporter’s Twitter page, it just sounds likely that the San Diego Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie will soon put on the Detroit Lions jersey.

The Chargers have a lot of tough monetary decisions to make before the 2010 season. Releasing running back LaDainian Tomlinson was just the first step. And it’s already no surprise that the Chargers decided not to offer tender to No. 2 running back Darren Sproles. So it may shock us even less if the Chargers really decide to send Cromartie to Lions for some good draft pick.

Without Cromartie, the Chargers still have Antoine Cason to do the starting job well. Getting rid of all those causing financial concerns, the Chargers will feel better while making their effort to bring back offensive tackle Marcus McNeil, wide receivers Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd and outside linebacker Shawne Merriman.

Next free agent for Steelers to retain: Safety Clark

2010-02-27T00:08:00.000-08:00

After keeping nose guard Casey Hampton with a new $21.3 million contract and kicker Jeff Reed with a franchise tag, the Pittsburgh Steelers turn to focus on negotiating new deal with another free agent: safety Ryan Clark.

"Ryan is one of the three starters … we’ve taken care of one, moved closer with another and we’ll continue to talk," Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said. "With all of these guys, they want to stay, we want them to stay. Usually, when you have that type of mindset on both sides, it helps get deals done."

According to his agent Joel Turner, Clark is willing to remain in Steelers jersey even at a slightly reduced salary. And it seems likely that the Steelers would offer a bit more for the safety who is the best not only in unrestricted free agency but also restricted free agency.

Saints are ready to retain 13 free agents with new contracts

2010-02-26T01:28:00.001-08:00

As many as eighteen players now wearing the New Orleans Saints jerseys will become restricted free agents after the March 5 deadline for free agency, and the Saints have plan to retain thirteen of them and have tendered qualifying offers them.

The thirteen will-be free agents are offensive tackles Jammal Brown, Jermon Bushrod and Zach Strief, safeties Roman Harper, Chris Reis and Usama Young, defensive linemen Remi Ayodele and Anthony Hargrove, wide receivers Lance Moore and Courtney Roby, linebacker Marvin Mitchell, tight end David Thomas and running back Pierre Thomas. The detailed terms of the offers have not been available.

Before agreeing to any contract with the current team, the thirteen players all may just wait to see if they can receiver better offers from other teams who are hunting in free agent market. But as restricted agents, they should allow the Saints to match any offer.

Saints are ready to retain 13 free agents with new contracts

2010-02-26T01:28:00.000-08:00

Cowboys will play Hall of Fame exhibition game against Bengals

2010-02-24T23:58:00.001-08:00

On Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio, there will be 2010’s first game to be played between the Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals. The exhibition game will be played one day after the Cowboys star Emmitt Smith and longtime Bengals coach Dick LeBeau are inducted into the 2010 Hall of Fame.

“More importantly, I really believe that having our players share in Emmitt Smith’s Hall of Fame enshrinement should serve as an inspiration to every man on our roster, whether it be a 10-year vet or a rookie that’s never played in an NFL game,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “I can’t think of a better way to start the season from a motivational perspective than wearing the same uniform as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher.”

Smith, who played as a running back in Cowboys jersey from 1990 to 2002, has been NFL’s career leader in yards rushing and was elected along with Jerry Rice, John Randle, Rickey Jackson, Russ Grimm and Floyd Little.

LeBeau entered the Hall of Fame as a Detroit Lions cornerback. He continued NFL career by doing coaching job after retiring as an NFL player. He worked with the Bengals as a coach for 18 years and is currently a defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

LB Bulluck does not expect new deal from Titans

2010-02-24T01:25:00.000-08:00

With his current contract with the Tennessee Titans to expire soon, linebacker Keith Bulluck has a realistic attitude toward his relationship with the team. Recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, Bulluck believes that the 2009 season was the last one he played in Titans jersey.

“I have seen guys who have been figureheads here being released,’’ Bulluck said. “I prepared myself over the years for this, because I knew at some point my time would come. My time is here now. I have appreciated this organization for giving me the opportunity—29 other teams passed over me. I made the most of my opportunity here, so we’ll see what happens."

Although Titans Coach Jeff Fisher thought Bulluck was a bit pessimistic, he acknowledged that the team needs time weigh Bulluck’s value before considering new contract. Any team would do so with an established player coming off a serious injury. Bulluck is possibly right to say that the Titans are at the NFL scouting combine looking for his replacement, but what he needs and can do now is to be patient with the rehabilitation of his knee and wait for teams to give him chance to play in 2010 season.

Pro Bowl NT Wilfork gets franchise tag from Patriots

2010-02-23T00:21:00.000-08:00

As negotiation on a long-term contract is still going on and there are only two days left for deadline to designate franchise and transition players, the New England Patriots and nose tackle Vince Wilfork comprise to a franchise tag that will keep Wilfork with Patriots for one year.

“A long-term agreement with Vince Wilfork has been the team’s top contractual priority for some time,” the Patriots said in a statement. “Unfortunately, despite numerous conversations and proposals, the goal has not yet been realized. Vince is a tremendous player for our team and remains a significant part of our future plans.”

Actually the tag Patriots placed on Wilfork is a non-exclusive tag that gives the Patriots the right to match any other team’s offer or let Wilfork go for two first-round draft picks. But this kind of tag will also cause the Patriots to pay Wilfork $7 million for 2011 season if a long-term deal is still not reached by then.

Wilfork said last month that he would rather take off Patriots jersey to leave than remain a Patriot with a franchise tag, but his tone changed Monday, saying that the tag is applied for its true purpose. The true purpose refers to the purpose of allowing more time for both sides to continue negotiations about a long-term contract.

Bengals are focusing on improving passing game

2010-02-22T01:23:00.000-08:00

The Cincinnati Bengals did good job in running game last season but they ranked 26th in the league in passing offense, averaging only 180.6 yards per contest. Thus their advantage on running game has been out of necessity and the focus has changed to be on the passing game.

"We have to make sure we continue to put good people around (quarterback Carson Palmer)," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "We have a big-time player. He’s a great leader. I thought he did a great job managing our game."

Palmer passed for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the Bengals’ playoff loss to the New York Jets. But in order to improve the passing team, the Bengals still have to prepare to figure out someone that could offer help in the NFL scouting combine.

Lewis also commented on signing wide receiver Matt Jones for the first time, saying that the team signed Jones to give him an opportunity. Considering Jones to be a good athlete, Lewis said Jones will soon put on Bengals jersey to work with new teammates.

Dolphins LB Taylor is not in hurry to return

2010-02-21T01:22:00.000-08:00

According to reports by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Miami Dolphins linebacker Jason Taylor will be out for at least three months after undergoing an arthroscopic shoulder surgery and it may take longer before he could wear back NFL jerseys to resume normal workouts.

35-year-old Taylor is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on March 5, but it doesn’t appear he’ll be signing anywhere soon. According to his agent, Gary Wichard, Taylor will be sidelined “three months or so,” putting his return sometime in May — the period in which most teams conduct organized team activities.

Although it is still uncertain whether Taylor could remain a Dolphins linebacker, he has said that he wants to return for his 14th NFL season in Miami. By so far the Dolphins team officials have not shown any intention of retaining Taylor.

Jaguars WR Williamson will stay in Jacksonville for one more season

2010-02-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

After spending two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, wide receiver Troy Williamson will wear this team’s NFL jerseys for one more year as he has signed a one-year contract with the Jaguars, who promise to pay him $100,000 signing bonus and a workout bonus.

Williamson was scheduled to be a restricted free agent, but opted to sign a contract with the team that included guaranteed money. His base salary is slightly less than the $900,000 that the Baltimore Ravens offered to wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth on a one-year contract earlier this week.

Being picked by the Minnesota Vikings as a first-round draft pick, Williamson caught five passes last season as he caught only three passes. However, he ended his season early after he tore his labrum in September. His full career numbers are 87 caught passes for 1,131 yards and four touchdowns.

Browns injured RB Lewis was released but remained hopeful for returning

2010-02-19T01:34:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Browns seem to be clearing the team for a healthier season. A couple weeks after releasing reinstated wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth, they also released running back Jamal Lewis, who was placed in injured reserve on Dec. 2 because of post-concussion symptoms. And there was still one year left on Lewis’ contract with the Browns.

To Lewis, being released simply means the end of Cleveland days and the end of his NFL career is still too early to come. One he is cleared o play he will find a job in another NFL team. Lewis remains hopeful for that.

“If Jamal wants to play and he’s cleared to play, I think he’s got a lot of football he can bring to the table to help an organization,” Lewis’ agent, Mitch Frankel said. “He can be a significant contributor to the right organization. Jerome Bettis and some other guys at the end of their careers took on a different role, and I think Jamal can do that.”

The 30-year-old running back is still suffering from headaches and blurred vision, the lingering effect of the concussion he sustained in Browns’ opener against the Minnesota Vikings. He tried best to playing despite the symptoms but eventually had to have examination before being put on injured reserve. However, his career number could still bring him quite a few chances of playing football again in another team’s NFL jerseys. Lewis carried 143 times last year for 500 yards and has rushed for 10,067 yards in his career.

What if Browns have a trade with Eagles?

2010-02-10T23:17:00.000-08:00

As Mike Holmgren’s first personnel action after joining a new team was always to make a trade for quarterback, like trading for Brett Favre after joining the Green Bay Packers and acquiring Matt Hasselbeck after moving to the Seattle Seahawks, a lot of people have been guessing what he would do with quarterback when he took over as the president of the Cleveland Browns last month.

A reasonable guess is to get a quarterback from the Philadelphia Eagles because Browns’ new general manager, Tom Heckert, came from the Eagles. As McNabb would not agree to a contract extension to join the Browns, the most likely choice for Browns would be Kevin Kolb. Heckert loved Kolb when he was in Philadelphia, was responsible for drafting him and can accurately describe him to Holmgren with regard to work habits, character and, most important, his potential as a full-time starter.

What Browns would cost if they decide to trace for Kolb? It has been guessed to be Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers. Why? First of all, the first-round, the seventh overall pick would get full attention from the Eagles; and secondly, with Rogers putting on Eagles jersey, the Eagles could close the gap between them and the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles are in lack of a dominating inside player and Rogers would be the very player they are looking for.

Panthers DE Peppers still wants to play elsewhere

2010-02-10T01:32:00.001-08:00

The Carolina Panthers said he does not want to have a long-term contract with the team, and the reason he gave was that the Panthers have ignored the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end this offseason, changing Peppers’ stance on whether to stay in Carolina.

“Last year, at the time, that was the option that I wanted most,” Peppers said. “Now it’s not.”

His agent Carl Carey said last week he believes the Panthers aren’t interested in retaining Peppers although he has been Panthers’ career sacks leader. Carey believes so because team officials haven’t announced their plans for the impending free agent. But it was Peppers who firstly rejected Panthers’ offer of a contract that could make Peppers the highest-paid defensive player in NFL jerseys after Peppers had a career-low 2 1/2 sacks in 2007. Peppers also announced he wanted to play elsewhere following 2008 season.

Peppers said Tuesday that he wanted out because he was upset with the team’s direction under then-defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac, who left the team along with defensive line coach Sal Sunseri before the Panthers placed the restrictive franchise tag on Peppers. But Peppers still said that the team had no intension to keep him.

Browns expect playmaker from 2010 draft

2010-02-09T01:57:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Browns are expecting to find a playmaker in 2010 draft. And they have already had two choices in mind: Florida cornerback Joe Haden and Tennessee safety/cornerback Eric Berry. Holding the No. 7 pick of the draft, Browns’ officials hope at least one of the two will still be on the board by their turn.

The coaches believe they have to building blocks in cornerback Eric Wright and strong safety Abram Elam, but they say the rest of the secondary needs to be rebuilt. Safety Brodney Pool may return to wear back his Browns jersey, but his concussion problems make his playing status in doubt.

The Browns are also having a plan to cut or trade backup quarterback Derek Anderson before they have to pay him a roster bonus on March 19, and the team has already released quarterback Donte’ Stallworth, who is scheduled to be reinstated some time after the Super Bowl. Perhaps the Browns should also spend some time on picking a quarterback somewhere.

Ravens safety Reed still considers retirement

2010-02-08T01:34:00.000-08:00

The Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed has not made his final decision on retirement. He says that he needs to see a doctor before deciding on whether to return with the Ravens or to retire.

I still have to see doctors," Reed said of a nerve condition in his neck that has continued to worsen. "I still need to talk with Ozzie (Newsome) and the Ravens."

Reed says he has contemplated retirement the past two years and that the nerve impingement in his neck has also affected his hip injury. After the Ravens’ loss to the Colts in the playoffs, Reed said the odds of him retiring were 50-50. However, Ravens Coach John Harbaugh still believes that Reed will return to Baltimore in his No. 20 Ravens jersey.

I hope he could. At age 31, it is a good time for Ed Reed to start a new life other than playing football in NFL before more injuries come to cause more pains that may make his life of retirement less enjoyable.

Tebow will be seen in Super Bowl, on ad

2010-02-06T00:28:00.000-08:00

Fans watching this Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts will also see college football star Tim Tebow, not in any team’s NFL jerseys but in a “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life” ad paid for by a conservative Christian group.

When the 30-second ad finally airs in the first quarter of Sunday’s CBS telecast—at a cost estimated at $2.5 million—it’s expected to show the devout quarterback and his mother, Pam, sharing the story of how she gave birth to him in the Philippines in 1987 after spurning a doctor’s advice to have an abortion for medical reasons.

It’s to be shown despite protests from National Organization for Women, the Feminist Majority and other liberal women’s groups, who launched a protest campaign aimed at pressuring CBS to scrap the ads. Anti-abortion groups and other conservative activists swiftly mounted a counterattack denouncing the campaign against the ad as a clumsy attempt to squelch free speech.

Besides Tebow ad, there will also be ads for beer and soft drinks, cars and candy bars, Denny’s restaurants and the new “Dante’s Inferno” video game during the Super Bowl game.

Colts Guard Lilja missed practice with back injury

2010-02-05T01:34:00.001-08:00

The Indianapolis Colts guard Ryan Lilja missed practice Thursday because of a back injury but remains possible for this Sunday’s Super Bowl game against the New Orleans Saints, as Colts Coach Jim Caldwell confirmed on Thursday.

As one of six players to start all 18 games after missing the 2008 season, Lilja had emerged as one of the fixtures on the offensive line, starting 43 games from 2004-2007. He was a 290-pound interior force that helped stabilize the running game. But after undergoing three surgeries on his right knee, Lilja’s career was placed in jeopardy. Though he regained his starting job upon returning to join the training camp, it has still been expected that he would be replaced sooner or later.

It is likely that one of Mike Pollak and Jamey Richard will take over Lilia’s job if he is unable to play. Both candidates were drafted in 2008 by the Colts and started several game in their first season in Colts jerseys. Pollak started thirteen games at right guard before losing job to first-year pro Kyle DeVan and Richard started seven games, four at center and three at left guard.

Giants DE Umeniyora wants his starting job back

2010-02-04T01:35:00.000-08:00

The New York Giants defensive end Osi Umeniyora is doing something childish to get his starting job back. He threatened the Giants that he would retire if they are to keep him a reserve instead of a starter.

He told radio station WFAN that he’ll "stop playing football" before he goes back to bench. Well the Giants did sit him down during last season, but they did so simply because of the player’s subpar performance. Saying that "I’m not going to be a backup player, I can promise you that," Umenyiora sounds jealous while guessing he had been unwelcomed among the Texans as the team kept giving playing time to other players “no matter how they are playing”.

"(F)or certain people, no matter what happens, they’ll never take them out of the lineup, you understand what I mean?"

As the Giants still have no plans to trade or release Umenyiora, I bet the disappointing defensive end will continue wearing his Giants jersey for the 2010 season for any possible chance to play in a game.

Eagles have new punter Durant Brooks

2010-02-03T01:30:00.000-08:00

For a two-year contract, former Washington Redskins punter Durant Brooks put on the No. 8 Philadelphia Eagles jersey and brings two Eagles incumbent punter Sav Rocca, a third-year Pro who has spent all his last three seasons with the Eagles.

Brooks played two seasons at Georgia Tech and won the Ray Guy Award given to the top college punter in 2007. He was picked by the Redskins during 2008’s sixth-round draft but he totally played only six games for the team. And during those six games, he had a gross average of 39.6 yards on 26 punts. Leaving the Redskins, Brooks joined practice squad of the Green Bay Packers in 2008 but was released by the preseason.

By comparison, veteran Rocca should have gotten the feeling of competition. Having a net average of 38.3 yards per punt last season, Rocca really needs some improvement in order to keep his current job over new comer Brooks.

Saints CB Porter and Colts DE could be X-factors in Super Bowl

2010-02-02T01:19:00.000-08:00

This Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts is more than a showdown between star players from both teams. We are also expecting some unknown players to provide their teams with big plays at critical moments. Such X-factors have emerged from their obscure roles.

On the Saints side, cornerback Tracy Porter is believed to be the essential defensive player to blanket wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon on the outside. Putting on his Saints jersey again after taking off some time to take care of his injured knee, the second-year cornerback witnessed Saints’ defense regaining its opportunistic prowess. With the existence of Porter, coordinator Gregg Williams is able to use some of the exotic pressure packages that have been a hallmark of his defenses for years. And Porter’s performance will determine how often Williams could use the scheme that has always caused problems to opponents during the postseason games.

On the Colts side, defensive end Raheem Brock will be a valuable contributor of scores. He may also be added to the starting lineup if Dwight Freeney turns out unable to play the playoff because of his ankle injury. Having 3.5 sacks in the regular season, Brock has shown a knack for getting to the quarterback in the past, and came up with a critical forced fumble in the divisional-round win over the Baltimore Ravens. Brock will surely be used as an edge rusher to put pressure on Drew Brees and disrupt his rhythm in the pocket, in case Freeney won’t play.

Former Eagles star DB Brookshier died of cancer

2010-02-01T00:07:00.000-08:00

A 78-year-old man died last Friday night after a bout with cancer. His name is Tom Brookshier, and he will be remembered by the Philadelphia Eagles fans as one of the greatest defensive back.

Putting on Eagles jersey in 1953 as a 10th-round draft pick out of Colorado, Brookshier had eight interceptions in his rookie season, tying with Bibbles Bawel for the Eagles' single-season interception record. And he had 20 interceptions in seven seasons with the Eagles and earned All-Pro honors in 1959 and 1960. He retired in 1961 after sustaining a compound fracture in his leg and the Eagles retired his No. 40 jersey after his retirement, one of the seven numbers the Eagles retired in team history.

His most impressive season came in 1960, when the Eagles held on for a 17-13 victory over the Mighty Green Bay Packers, a team Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi played for at that time, on Dec. 26, winning their last NFL championship where there was no one believing the Eagles could beat the Packers.

The final rosters of Pro Bowl teams came out

2010-01-30T01:46:00.000-08:00

With the Super Bowl game to be played just one week later, it had been expected that the original Pro Bowl teams’ rosters would not work. With players from super bowl teams not to play in the game, the all-star game will be much less starring, and thus other big-name players find few reasons to play the game for the team they are in is in lack of star teammate or opponents.

In a word, it is a bad decision to have Pro Bowl game before the Super Bowl game. The supposed-to-be all-star game turned out to be starless. Most of the best players will be absent for this or that reason. How can still call it an all-star game when there are not such star players like Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Philip Rivers?

In order to avoid any possible risk of being unable to put on their Saints jerseys or Colts jerseys in time for the Super Bowl game, Brees, Jonathan Stinchcomb, Jahri Evans, Jonathan Goodwin, Jonathan Vilma, Darren Sharper and Roman Harper from the Saints will not play in the Pro Bowl, so do Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis and Antoine Bethea from the Colts.

Those gave up their chance in the Pro Bowl with excuses of injuries include: Chargers Rivers and Nate Kaeding, Patriots Brady and Wes Welker, Dolphins Jake Long, Texans Brian Cushing, Bills Jairus Byrd, Vikings Favre, Sidney Rice and Kevin Williams, Rams Steven Jackson, Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Cowboys Andre Gurode, Bears Lance Briggs, Packers Charles Woodson and 49ers Patrick Willis.

Manning’s masterful mind is a key to Colts’ victory

2010-01-29T01:53:00.000-08:00

Being the AFC Champion this season, the Indianapolis Colts proved again what a correct choice they made when they made Peyton Manning the No. 1 draft pick in 1998, after a 3-14 1997 season. Manning’s gifts are more than in football.

He has relentless thirst for knowledge, passion to know opponents better than they know themselves and uncanny ability to recall crucial details in split seconds. All of these have made him such a different quarterback than many others who just throw a ball. More than remembering his opponents’ numbers on their NFL jerseys, Manning also remembers everything from their first or last names to high school information.

And he knows well how to utilize the ability to remember almost everything he sees and hears. Regurgitating and analyzing, he plays football like a good chess player who can see 10 moves ahead. The New York Jets witnessed how he uses his talent in Sunday’s AFC championship game. For much of the first half, the Jets kept the Colts’ offense in check. But Manning altered a few things after a brief discussion with receiver Pierre Garcon, and then the Colts had touch downs on three of their next four possessions and finished the game with a 30-17 victory.

Many NFL observers have been wondering how, exactly, does Manning’s mind work? Even his teammates are confused with that. Just as receiver Reggie Wayne jokingly said, “Just tell me the end result, that’s all I need to know.” And his existence in Indy itself means hope of victory.

K. Martin may stay with Kings

2010-01-28T01:32:00.000-08:00

There does not seem too much hope for any team who has interest in the Sacramento Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin that they could get the player, as the Kings president Geoff Petrie’s recent remarks indicated that the Kings may do something to keep Martin in Sacramento.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Petrie said it would be very possible that the team will just let the trading deadline pass without any deal of Martin being done. Averaging 20.2 points for the Kings this season, Martin certainly has attracted interests from other teams. And about possible deals to be made by other teams, Petrie said “we’ll take a hard look at it.”

Yeah, there will be a hard look, and a look only unless the player makes his own mind to leave. But the organization at the moment has the confidence that Martin will be glad to continue wearing his current NBA jersey.

Packers LB Kampman expects to be ready for training camp

2010-01-12T00:03:00.000-08:00

The Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman expects that he will recover fully form the left knee injury by the beginning of training camp, but he needs to figure out which team’s NFL jersey he will put on to play next season’s games.

The two-time Pro Bowl selection for the Packers has played all eight of his NFL season in Packers jersey, but he is scheduled to become a free agent and there has not yet any confirmation on his future with the team.

“Obviously, this is the only place I’ve been and it’d be great to continue my career here,” Kampman said Monday following the Packers’ 51-45 overtime playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals. “But we’ll see what happens.”

Kampman’s season-ending knee injury came during the Nov. 22 game against the San Francisco 49ers and had surgery on Dec. 4. Although he thinks that he can do both 4-3 defensive scheme and 3-4 that new defensive coordinator Dom Capers installed to the Packers, Kampman also thinks he will possibly choose a team that runs a 4-3 defensive scheme.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol plans to play road games

2010-01-11T01:24:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Lakers Spaniard forward Pau Gasol plans to wear back his NBA jersey for the team’s upcoming road games in Texas after missing four consecutive games with a strained right hamstring.

Missing Sunday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Gasol is hoping that he could return to practice as soon as possible. According to Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, Gasol experienced soreness after running on a treadmill Saturday.

“He hasn’t had any significant pain at all doing anything else before this,” Jackson said, adding he was concerned because Gasol takes a while to return from injuries.

Of course he had to be concern. Gasol missed the season’s first 11 games because of a strained left hamstring. Who knows how many troubles the strain on right hamstring would cause?

Jets LB Harris may be unavailable against Bengals

2010-01-09T01:43:00.000-08:00

Because of the sprained right ankle that kept him out of practice for two consecutive days, the New York Jets linebacker David Harris may not be going to put on his Jets jersey for this Saturday’s first-round playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Harris was injured in the Jets’ 37-0 blowout win over the Bengals last Sunday because of what he thought was an illegal chop block. He had to skip two days of practice before returning Thursday but still felt “kind of stiff” with the ankle after practice.

Although Harris himself said that he hopes to play Saturday, Jets Coach Rex Ryan said earlier this week that the team will give Harris as much time as he needs to recover fully from the injury. So it is likely that the leading tackler on the league’s top-ranked defense will miss Saturday’s game, perhaps along with cornerback Donald Strickland, who had a quadriceps injury that sidelined him last week.

Chargers LB Holt went on IR with shoulder injury

2010-01-06T01:09:00.001-08:00

The San Diego Chargers linebacker James Holt will not be available for any of the team’s playoffs games as he has been placed on injured reserve on Tuesday because of a shoulder injury. Former UFL linebacker Dontarrious Thomas takes over the job.

Holt was hurt in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Washington Redskins and needs to undergo surgery before putting on NFL jersey to play football again. Being used mostly on special teams, Holt finished the season with totally nine tackle in the nine games he played.

As for Thomas, who put on the Minnesota Vikings jersey as the 16th draft pick from the second round draft in 2004, had played in 63 games in five NFL seasons, including 10 starts before he joined the United Football League after the end of 2008 season. As the leading tackler for the California Redwoods of the UFL and being a special teams contributor throughout his career, Thomas is surely the No. 1 choice to replace Holt in special team.

Dolphins WR White sustained head injury while playing against Steelers

2010-01-05T00:22:00.000-08:00

Before the Miami Dolphins lost their season finale to the Pittsburgh Steelers, rookie quarterback Pat White left the field in the third quarter after sustaining a scary head injury because of a chilling helmet-helmet collision with a cornerback in Steelers jersey.

White landed on his stomach after the collision in the third quarter, and Steelers players immediately began waving for help. White was able to move his arms and legs and talk before being carted off the field to go to a hospital for examination. And Coach Tony Sparano said following the 30-24 loss that information by that time showed the rookie was doing fine and air rescue was canceled.

White began the third quarter as the replacement to starter Chad Henne, who was sidelined because of blurred vision. After White departed with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, Tyler Thigpen took over to make his first appearance for the Dolphins.

2-13 Lions actually sold out their season finale

2009-12-31T23:15:00.000-08:00

Despite losing all of the last five games and totally having won only two games for the whole season, the Detroit Lions actually sold out the tickets for their season finale! But I guess most of the audience will be wearing Chicago Bears jerseys as fans for a team who sent the Minnesota Vikings their third loss of the season.

The Lions sold out three of its first seven games at Ford Field this season, but seemingly all sellouts were not good signs. The Lions are 0-3 in the sellouts—losing to the Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Or perhaps, the Lions were able to sell out the game simply because the game was against the team they were anyhow unable to win over.

The Lions will have Daunte Culpepper to start at quarterback against the Bears. Previous starter Drew Stanton has lost the advantage of keeping the starting job after led the team to a 6-20 loss to the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday.

Steelers safety Polamalu practiced but may not play Sunday

2009-12-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers star safety finally showed some possibility of returning as he practiced in a limited role Wednesday, for the first time in seven weeks. But it still seemed unlikely that he would be able to put on his Steelers jersey to play this Sunday’s season finale against the Miami Dolphins.

Polamalu has missed 10 full games and most of two others with a pair of left knee injuries. He hasn’t played since Nov. 15 when the Steelers were playing against the Cincinnati Bengals because of a sprained posterior cruciate ligament.

Calling his current layoff “frustrating”, Polamalu said only a few days of practice is not enough for him to get fully prepared for a full game since he had missed such a long time. What is more, his knee is still healing and has not allowed him to run at close to full speed. While practicing, the safety still appeared tentative.

2010 Pro Bowlers of AFC team-Offense

2009-12-29T23:23:00.000-08:00

In Miami on Jan. 31, the players listed below from different teams will be wearing the same version of NFL jerseys as teammates of the AFC team in the 2010 Pro Bowl game.

The Indianapolis star quarterback Peyton Manning will starting at the position for the AFC team with San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to be the backups. Houston Texans Andre Johnson, Colts Reggie Wayne, Denver Broncos Brandon Marshall and Patriots Wes Welker will catch their throws.

Tennessee Titans Chris Johnson will start at running back, being backed up by Jacksonville Jaguars Maurice Jones-Drew and Baltimore Ravens Ray Rice, whose teammate Le’Ron McClain will be the only fullback.

Other offensive players are: Colts Dallas Clark and Chargers Antonio Gates to be tight ends, Dolphins Jake long, Broncos Ryan Clady and Cleveland Browns Joe Thomas to be tackles, Patriots Logan Mankins, New York Jets Alan Faneca and Chargers Kris Dielman to be guards, and Colts Jeff Saturday and Jets Nick Mangold to be centers.

Two Broncos will not be with team for the rest of season

2009-12-29T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Denver Broncos starting left guard Russ Hochstein and returner Kenny McKinley were done for the season. After both suffered injuries in last week’s game at Philadelphia against the Eagles, they were placed on the injured reserve and will not be available in their team’s NFL jerseys for the season finale.

Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels announced Monday that Hochstein and McKinley will be placed on injured reserve. McKinley hurt his knee on a kickoff return in the first quarter, while Hochstein apparently injured his knee on a play in the second half.

Hochstein got his starting job on Nov. 15 as the team was trying to bolster a struggling offense before a game against the Washington Redskins. The previous starter Ben Hamliton who was supplanted by Hochstein, now have the chance to get his starting job back.

WR Joshua Cribbs has been Cleveland’s MVP all season

2009-12-24T00:55:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Browns jerseys have been on cold sale for this season as the team lost all the first 11 games of the season, but now the No. 16 jersey has been snatched up by the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week to be put on display. All because Joshua Cribbs’ excellent performance.

Cribbs, with an inspiring rags-to-riches journey to the NFL, became the league’s career leader in kickoff returns for touchdown when he ran back two of at least 100 yards in the Browns’ 41-34 win at Kansas City last week. The versatile undrafted free agent played quarterback at Kent State, but is now a top receiver in Browns’ lineup.

Cribbs almost single-handedly carried the Browns to wins over Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. His 100-yard return in the first quarter did not only give the Browns a 10-3 lead but also shot him past Mel Gray, Dante Hall, Ollie Matson, Gale Sayers and Travis Williams for the most TD kickoff runbacks in history. And he joined Ted Ginn Jr. to be the only players with two 100-yarders in one game with a career-best 103-yarder after the Chiefs scored 21 straight points in the second period to go up 24-13.

So, it is time for the Browns to consider signing with Cribbs as soon as possible before his price rise after giving more and better performance.

Saints made move Tuesday to improve team

2009-12-22T23:54:00.000-08:00

After this season’s first loss, the New Orleans Saints may think that it is time to bring some changes to the team to obtain improvement. Put the injured on IR, cut the old and inactive players and bring in some fresh blood, and that is how can you describe the moves they made on Tuesday.

The most significant move was to cut kicker John Carney, who was in his 21st year of wearing NFL jersey and just signed with the Saints in August for his second stint with the team. Playing totally 11 games in Saints jersey this season, Carney had been inactive for the last two week with Garrett Hartley playing as placekicker.

The first move was to sign tight end Tory Humphrey and place fullback Marcus Mailei on injured reserve. Afterwards, the Saints signed back Kyle Eckel to replace Mailei and added safety Herana-Daze Jones to the roster with releasing cornerback Marcus McCauley, who had not played a game since joining the team on Dec. 8.

Redskins QB Campbell returned from shoulder injury

2009-12-22T01:27:00.000-08:00

Just one day after being hurt during Monday’s night’s 45-12 loss to the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell wore back his Redskins jersey and returned to practice with his teammate on Tuesday.

Campbell was hurt when he was sacked from behind by Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora with 45 seconds remaining in the first half. Backup quarterback Todd Collins finished the half, but Campbell returned after the break, seeming that the injury was not serious enough to stop him passing ball.

Campbell was 2 for 7 for 10 yards when he was injured, with his first pass a 46-yard completion to Santana Moss. The Redskins trailed 24-0 at the time and had only one first down, but they soon lost the lead with two more players leaving the field because of injuries: right tackle Stephon Heyer left in the first half with a knee injury, and receiver Devin Thomas sprained his ankle early in the third quarter.

Browns won over Chiefs with two record-breakers

2009-12-21T01:21:00.000-08:00

Despite having to walk with a cane, 73-year-old Jim Brown walked fast enough downstairs Sunday to congratulate running back Jerome Harrison for rushing for 286 yards for the Cleveland Browns in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs and erasing the record Brown set in 1957 when he was still playing in Browns jersey.

The other record-breaker also wears Browns jersey. Joshua Cribbs had a 100-yard kickoff return in the first quarter and a 103-yarder in the second, setting the NFL career record with his seventh TD return and breaking his own record that had stood for less than an hour with the 103-yarder.

As Cribbs had been known to be a great returner before the game, Harrison had never run for more than 121 yards in a game in his life until Sunday. But he burst through big holes in Kansas City’s injury-depleted line all day and scored three touchdowns, including the tiebreaker on a 28-yard burst after the Chiefs tied it 34-all with 2:06 to go.

Bills G Incognito has to play $50,000 for NFL fine

2009-12-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

The Buffalo Bills guard Richie Incognito was fined $50,000 by the NFL on Friday for two unnecessary roughness fouls that happened in a game he played in the St. Louis Rams jersey. Thus the most significant thing in his first week with the Bills was no more than the fine.

Playing last Sunday in the St. Louis Rams’ 47-7 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Incognito head butted Titans defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks in the first half. He did the same thing to Titans safety Vincent Fuller later in the half, and then he was benched by Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo. And two days later, the Rams announced to release him. Another two days later, the guard joined the Bills.

Incognito was fined for the head-butt on Marks and for a late hit against Fuller. The infractions were his fifth and sixth for unnecessary roughness this season. The five-year veteran has frequently landed in trouble for playing long after the whistle and was named the dirtiest player in the NFL earlier this year by The Sporting News.

In a letter to Incognito, NFL executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson wrote: “Future infractions of the types you have committed may lead to increased disciplinary action up to and including suspension.”

Cowboys LB Ware returned to practice

2009-12-18T00:31:00.000-08:00

The Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware wore back his Cowboys jersey and returned practice Thursday, although the team was still unsure whether he could play this Saturday night’s game at New Orleans just less than a week after the linebacker strained his neck in a scary headfirst collision.

On the practice report issued by the Cowboys, Ware was still listed as not participating, but he indeed was involved in some parts of the 90-minute session without pads that resembled a walkthrough. According to NFL rules, the team does not need to indicate Ware’s playing status for Saturday game until Friday.

The three-time Pro Bowl linebacker himself said earlier this week that he wanted to play against the undefeated Saints, the NFL’s most productive offense, and he might be able to keep his promise. Having never missed a game, Ware has started all 77 regular-season games since he was the 11th overall pick in 2005 and is likely to continue with the clean streak.

Cardinals WR Fitzgerald went through limited practice Wednesday

2009-12-17T00:51:00.000-08:00

Since putting on the No.11 Cardinals jersey in 2004, Larry Fitzgerald has missed just four games in his six NFL seasons, and he doesn’t expect to make it five this weekend. Practicing on limited basis Wednesday, the wide receiver was hopefully to play this Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

The All-Pro receiver for the Cardinals expressed confidence he will be in the lineup Sunday at Detroit, just six days after he bruised a bone and sprained his right knee during Monday night’s 23-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers when 49ers safety Dashon Goldson landed on his leg in the third quarter.

Fitzgerald was helped off the field and went to the locker room, where he said he “got a good tape job and a t-shot,” referring to a painkilling injection. But he still returned to the field with 3 1/2 minutes left. An MRI on Tuesday proved that the injury was not as serious as many were afraid to be.

Feeling better now, Cowboys LB Ware is hopefully to play Saturday

2009-12-16T01:10:00.000-08:00

The Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who sprained his neck during last Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers, said Tuesday that he was feeling much better and may return to practice soon after undergoing some more tests.

The team will decide whether to have Ware wear back his Cowboys jersey for this Saturday night’s game against the unbeaten New Orleans Saints after the tests, including some X-Rays and an MRI to be done on Wednesday to see if the swelling is gone and to make sure there are no problems.

“If he’s cleared medically then he could play,” Coach Wade Phillips said. “There’s a possibility that could happen.”

Already playing with a stress fracture in his foot and a chipped bone in his wrist before hurting the neck, Ware still managed to lead the Cowboys in sacks, a category he led the NFL in last season with 20. So I guess it would be the Cowboys’ last choice to rule out him and start rookie Victor Butler instead.

Browns Josh Cribbs will try new role at running back

2009-12-15T01:14:00.000-08:00

How could you describe the Cleveland Browns player Josh Cribbs? Kick returner? Wide receiver or quarterbacker? Simply putting on Browns jersey, the player just can do any job the team wants him to do. I mean what I say here, and the Browns are really considering placing Cribbs on a new position: the running back.

And some began to believe that he will do a good job in the new position. And after watching him slice through Pittsburgh’s defense, Browns Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas thinks Cribbs would be a great one.

“There’s no doubt,” Thomas said. “I think he’s too valuable to take off of kick return and punt return and special teams, but there’s no doubt in my mind, especially after seeing the things that he did that he’d be an extremely successful running back in the NFL.”

Now let’s see what Cribbs can do as a running back. During last week’s 13-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cribbs rushed for 87 yards and had a career-long 37-yard run to help set up Cleveland’s only touchdown and made a crucial 14-yard run on a 3rd-and-11 play in the fourth quarter when the Browns were trying to stop the rival from scoring with little time left.

Keeping winning, Colts set even more records

2009-12-14T00:28:00.000-08:00

Now the Indianapolis Colts have won 22 consecutive regular-season games and 114 games in a decade, setting new NFL records by beating the Denver Broncos 28-16 on Sunday night.

And the star quarterback wearing No.18 Colts jersey managed to throw four touchdowns but was 20 of 42 for 220 yards, losing his touch after leading the Colts to touchdowns on three of its first four drives. Peyton Manning was not in good condition but the Colts still won over the Broncos, whose receiver Brandon Marshall, however, broke the league’s single-game record with 21 receptions.

The Colts were also 13-0 in 2005 but lost the three of the last four games, including a divisional playoff against the Pittsburgh Steelers. So it is still early to say the team is a must-be winner of this season.

Jets QB Sanchez not happy with being ruled out

2009-12-10T00:58:00.000-08:00

The New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is feeling frustrated as Coach Rex Ryan decided Wednesday that the team will have Kellen Clemens start at quarterback for this Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Ryan did this for Sanchez’s good. He made the decision after consulting with the team doctors about Sanchez’s sprained right knee. However, Sanchez himself does not want rest at all. All he wants is to play in his No. 6 Jets jersey.

“He wants to play in the worst way and he’s going to play,” Ryan said. “It’s just not going to be this week. I have a lot of confidence in Kellen Clemens and I think that instead of delaying this decision, I’m just going to make it now.”

Having started every game this season since beating out Clemens for the job, Sanchez sprained the posterior cruciate ligament in the knee during the third quarter of the Jets’ 19-13 win over the Buffalo Bills last Sunday, and two days after the Jets brought in Yankees manager Joe Girardi to help Sanchez learn how to slide. Surely Sanchez did not learn well as he was injured by diving headfirst.

Giants signed DB Fryar to practice squad

2009-12-09T00:24:00.000-08:00

Of course this Fryar does not refer to the standout wide receiver retiring after 2000 season, but he is mentioned as because he is the son of the former NFL standout Irving Fryar. As a rookie free agent, now London Fryar put on New York Giants jersey to start a career like his father’s.

He did not start his NFL career in good way. Being signed as a rookie free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs on May 8, he was waived four months later. As a native of Jobstown, N.J., he originally played in 42 games with 34 starts at Western Michigan. He was chosen by the Giants to take the place of fellow defensive back Vince Anderson, who was placed on the practice squad-injured list.

Irving Fryar spent seventeen seasons with NFL. He played as a wide receiver for four teams during the 17 years: with the New England Patriots from 1984-1992, with the Miami Dolphins from 1193 to 1995, for Philadelphia Eagles from 1996 to 1998 and he joined Washington Redskins in 1999 and retired there.

After winning Steelers, Gradkowski proved he is worth being started

2009-12-08T01:07:00.000-08:00

By throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy with 9 seconds left in the Oakland Raiders’ 27-24 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, quarterback Bruce Gradkowski now has his starting role solidified.

“I’m pretty confident in my abilities and being a starter in this league,” Gradkowski said. “If yesterday cemented it, that’s good. My goal is to continue to be successful and put this team in position to win football games. And that’s my job, and I have to just be the manager on offense. And whatever happens after that will happen.”

Raiders coach Tom Cable gave his confirmation that Gradkowski will keep the starting job as long as he keeps performing as good as he has been so far. Gradkowski seems to have his time come again. He was starter when he was a rookie in Buccaneers jersey in 2006, but got cut by the Bucs, Rams and Browns in less than a nine-month stretch.

Those Impressed us most in Week 13

2009-12-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

The number 13 should be a unlucky number for the Minnesota Vikings, Brett Favre did managed to help the team to keep their second winning streak of the season. And the team who beat them did not beyong many people's expectation. The Arizona Cardinals rank ninth now and I guess they themselve did not expect to win over the Rank-3 Vikings.

The Pittsburgh Steelers gave their fans a really happy surprise when they was the first team to beat the Vikings. But from then on the team was again in slide. On Sunday night, the Super Bowl Champion was beaten by one of the league's worst team: the Oakland Raiders.

And unbeaten teams keep setting records. The Colts and the Saints seem determined to meet each other in the last game and they set a record together by making this season the first to have two teams remain unbeaten this late in a season.

It has been long we have not heard much of a player in Chargers jersey and running back LaDainian Tomlinson broke the silence about the Chargers by moving to eighth on career rushing list only one week after he moved to the 10th, and becoming the fastest player to achieve 150 career touchdowns.

Celtics made it seven-win streak by beating Thunder 105-87

2009-12-05T00:51:00.000-08:00

Again, fans wearing No. 5 Kevin Garnett jersey and No. 33 Larry Bird jersey cheered up for their beloved team’s another win. Friday night’s 105-87 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder gave the Boston Celtics a perfect completion of the four-game trip.

Totally scoring 23 points, Garnett scored nine consecutive points, including three dunks, to put Boston in command in the first 5 minutes of the second half. His two-handed alley-oop jam, which followed a pair of right-handed dunks, pushed the lead to 18 at 71-53 and the Thunder were never closer than 15 after that. And Paul Pierce added another 21 points in the first half to build a solid foundation for Celtics’ win.

The Celtics had seven players score in double figures en route to their seventh straight victory, with Rajon Rondo contributing 15 points, Kendrick Perkins scoring 13 points, Ray Allen and Eddie House each having 11 points and Rasheed Wallace scoring 10 points.

Impossible Task: 5-6Titans to beat 11-0 Colts

2009-12-04T01:41:00.000-08:00

Winning five straight games since they changed quarterback to Vince Young, the Tennessee Titans are now thinking that they may have the chance to be the first team who beats the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts of the season, something no one would expected when Titans met Colts for the first time in this season with a 0-4 start.

But even with a winning streak of six games, it still sounds like an impossible task for the 5-6 Titans to beat 11-0 Colts. But wait, it just sounds possible for Young, who has led the Titans to 6-0 since taking the starting job, to bring the Titans another win, although Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning may not allow that to happen.

While the Colts are looking to match an NFL record with their 21st consecutive regular-season victory, the Titans are trying to win sixth straight game, have a crucial win to remain in playoff and be the first team beating Colts.

Each team has its own aces. The Colts have top quarterback Peyton Manning, and four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney could wear back his Colts jersey and return to play with the team this Sunday. As for the Titans, Young has thrown for a career-high 387 yards and converted three fourth downs on the final drive, and they have the NFL’s leading rusher Chris John, who has run for 1,396 yards in the games he has played.

Impossible or possible, any kind of end of the game will be as exciting.

Another Browns player may end season and career because of concussion

2009-12-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

As it has been reported that running back Jamal Lewis may start a new life away from football after being placed on injured reserve Wednesday, the Cleveland Browns safety Brodney Pool may also face the same future.

A starter at his position and a five-year veteran, Pool suffered at least his fourth known concussion during the third quarter of Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was also placed on injured reserve. Having started 10 games this season and 49 in Browns jersey since the Browns selected him in the second round of the 2005 draft out of Oklahoma, Pool really needs to make a decision on his NFL career after sustaining so many concussions.

The Browns have already placed Pro Bowl nose tackle Shaun Rogers and inside linebackers D'Qwell Jackson and Eric Barton on injured reserve. To lose both Lewis and Pool for the season just made the team’s future of this season even blacker.

Cowboys QB Romo partied in Vegas to rest sore back

2009-12-02T00:58:00.000-08:00

The Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo should not have had a good weekend because of his sore back which he had before the 24-7 win against the Oakland Raiders on Thanksgiving and was worsened after the game as Romo was hit hard on the first series.

However, the injury did not keep him out enjoy a weekend. Going to Vegas and partying with his teammate Miles Austin, and that seemed to be a good way for the quarterback to rest his sore back. Romo and Austin had some pictures taken without wearing their Cowboys jerseys by an anonymous photographer during the party in Vegas. Their own explanation for the pictures was that there were there to take part in a private charity event and were there for only 14 hours.

This weekend the Cowboys will have to play against division rival the New York Giants, who won the Cowboys narrowly at 33-31 in week 2. Hope the weekend spent in Vegas will work in improving Romo’s back condition so it won’t affect the quarterback’s performance in the game.

Lions had second win of season by beating Browns 38-37

2009-11-23T01:06:00.000-08:00

The worst two teams of the league finished Sunday’s game with the Detroit Lions’ narrow 38-37 win over the Cleveland Browns. And now the previously 1-8 Lions are 2-8 while 1-8 Browns fell to 1-9 and remains the lowest in team ranks.

The Browns performed so badly that they allowed Lions starting quarterback Matthew Stafford to throw five touchdown passes in one game and become the first rookie to do so since Ray Buivid did it in 1937 for the Chicago Bears, even if the quarterback in Lions jersey was injured on the shoulder.

Stafford was hit by Browns safety Hank Poteat, who passed interference in the end zone when Stafford heaved a desperation attempt to throw. The quarterback was replaced by Daunte Culpepper for a while and returned to field as the Browns stopped the game with their timeout to get the team ready for the play.

According to Lions Coach Jim Schwartz, X-rays showed Stafford’s collarbone wasn’t broken and more tests are still needed to determine the quarterback’s playing status for next games.

Browns WR Cribbs hope to play against Lions

2009-11-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Cribbs was thinking that he would be able to play again six days after he was injured on field while playing against the Baltimore Ravens.

Cribbs said Friday that he expects to play this Sunday against the Detroit Lions. The undrafted free agent was hit by Ravens defensive tackle Dwan Edwards in Monday’s loss to the Baltimore. However, he defended Edwards after hearing that the latter was fined $5,000 by the league.

“I don’t feel he should’ve been fined for it,” Cribbs said. “It’s football. Just as he hit me, I could’ve hit him blocking for my guy. It happened during the play between the whistles. They have rules in place to protect players, but I don’t think it was intentional at all.”

Cribbs has not received a new contract from the Browns yet, although he has been playing in Browns jersey for all the season as the team has asked. His agent, J.R. Rickert has been negotiating with the team but there has been little movement.

Panthers both RBs Williams and Stewart will play against Dolphins

2009-11-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

Although they still have to take care of nagging injuries, the Carolina Panthers running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart were still listed as active for Thursday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins.

Williams had a sore left knee and missed Wednesday’s practice, and Stewart missed practice on Tuesday because of a sore left Achilles’ tendon. Both were listed as questionable after Wednesday’s practice but still went on field in their Panthers jerseys to play against the Dolphins on Thursday.

Reserve safety Tyrone Culver was also active despite being questionable with an ankle injury. Left guard Nate Garner started in the lineup as replacement to Justin Smiley, who had a shoulder injury.

Ravens LB Suggs to miss first career game with knee injury

2009-11-18T22:12:00.000-08:00

The Baltimore Ravens will play Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts without linebacker Terrell Suggs, who needs more time to take care of his injured knee, further diminishing the team’s chance of winning over one of the only two unbeaten teams in the league.

According to Ravens Coach John Harbaugh, Suggs has a sprained ligament in his right knee after being injured on an illegal chop block by the Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn following an interception by the Ravens Monday night in Baltimore’s 16-0 win. The block did not only cause Quinn to be fined an undisclosed amount, but also caused Suggs, the three-time Pro Bowler, to miss his first NFL game since putting on Ravens jersey seven years ago.

That brought an end to Suggs’ streak of 105 played games, and now he may miss more than just one game, meaning the Ravens may have to use rookie Paul Kruger for the next few games. No wonder Harbaugh has said he was “disappointed” with Quinn’s block and that “there was no reason” for it.

Steelers safety Polamalu is likely to miss against Chiefs

2009-11-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu remains questionable for this Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it is very likely that he will miss the game while in need of time to take care of his injured left knee.

It is the second time for this season he injured the left knee, and the first injury caused him to miss the Steelers’ second through fifth games. The five-time Pro Bowl player suffered the second injury during last Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals while tackling running back Cedric Benson. He strained a posterior cruciate ligament, a less serious injury than his first one which was a medial collateral ligament sprain.

But it is still serious enough to keep the safety out of at least one game as the posterior cruciate ligament teams with the anterior cruciate ligament to secure the knee. It is better either for Polamalu or the team to have the safety rest for a week and return in his No. 43 Steelers jersey for the AFC North game against the Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 29.

Eagles RB Westbrook may retire because of two concussions

2009-11-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

Since suffering the first concussion of his career on Oct. 26, the Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook seemed unable to keep his health out of concerns and he suffered the second concussion just in less than three weeks.

As more tests and exams were held to check his health condition, a lot began to guess if he would be able to play again this season. After all, the two-time Pro Bowl back recently turned 30 and expressed his own concerns about his long-term health. It is just not impossible that he may end his career wearing NFL jersey and start a safer style of life.

But to the Eagles, Westbrook’s leaving will be a little too early as rookie running back LeSean McCoy is still prone to rookie mistakes. Although he has made significant progress, it is just still early to have him take on greater role in Westbrook’s absence.

Steelers safety Polamalu reinjured left knee and left Sunday game

2009-11-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

The Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu did not finish Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of injury on left knee. While his teammates were facing 18-12 loss to the Bengals, he was undergoing tests on his reinjured knee without wearing his NO.43 Steelers jersey.

A previous injury on the same knee had caused Polamalu to miss four games before he returned on Oct. 18 to play against the Cleveland Browns. Hopefully this time the injury is less serious and won’t hold him out for long, as he was escorted to the locker room by physician James Bradley instead of a team trainer.

The five-time Pro Bowl player was injured while tackling Cedric Benson during Cincinnati’s opening possession. Flexing his knee after coming off the field, Polamalu left for the locker room shortly later. Undergoing an MRI exam while the game was ending, the safety even did not watch how his team Sunday’s game.

Cutler was fined $20,000 for abusive conduct to game official

2009-11-13T22:48:00.000-08:00

It was frustrating enough for the Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler to throw another five interceptions in Thursday night’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. And it was even more frustrating as he had to pay $20,000 the next day for his conduct in last Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

The NFL said Friday that the quarterback had abusive conduct toward a game official during the 41-21 home loss to the Cardinals. It was in the third quarter when Cutler made an incomplete pass to tight end Greg Olsen on a fourth-down play. While Cutler thought there should have been an interference penalty, the official ruled that the quarterback should be given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Along with him was defensive lineman Tommie Harris, who had to pay $7,500 to the league because he punched counterpart in Cardinals jersey Deuce Lutui on the fourth play from scrimmage.