Footballguys Daily Email - Volume 9, Issue 27 (Tuesday, May 20th)
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Hi Folks,
Lots of money changing hands today. Several players got paid and the owners made their first move in labor negotiations. We've got all you need to know here so let's get to it. JINSIDE THIS ISSUE
1. NFL Owners Vote To Opt-Out Of CBA2. CHI - RB Benson, LB Urlacher No Shows
3. DAL - Cowboys, RB Barber Agree On New Deal
4. ATL - Falcons, QB Ryan Agree To Deal
5. TEN - Titans Expected To Use Carr As Main Returner
6. DET - Lions Taking It Easy On QB Kitna
7. DET - Several Lions Missing From Workouts
8. BUF - WR Evans Anticipates Improvements
9. CHI - QB Grossman Leads First Team At OTAs
10. TB - Bucs RB Graham Misses Sixth OTA Session
11. NYG - QB Manning Anticipates TE Shockey's Return
12. DEF - DAL - Cowboys Give CB Newman $50 Million Extension
13. DEF - HOU - DT Johnson Falling Behind
14. DEF - NO - WLB Shanle Leads Competition
15. DEF - DAL - Cowboys Owner Jones Supports S Williams
16. DEF - MIA - Dolphins DE Taylor To Skip Upcoming Mini-Camp
NFL Owners Vote To Opt-Out Of CBA
Source: John Clayton, ESPN
The NFL owners have decided that they will opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, which could lead to a season without a salary cap in 2010 and a possible lockout in 2011. The deal was extended in March 2006. The NFL had until November to opt out, but decided to do it early instead of waiting for the deadline. The league did emphasize that it will keep negotiating with the NFL Players Association and said games will be played "without threat of interruption for at least the next three seasons." "We have guaranteed three more years of NFL football," commissioner Roger Goodell said.
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This is obviously something to keep an eye on not so much for an impact this week but for down the road. The owners are obviously a group of very smart and successful people. Let's hope they are smart enough to keep the golden goose of the NFL laying those eggs.
CHI - RB Benson, LB Urlacher No Shows
Source: Vaughn McClure, Chicago Tribune
RB Cedirc Benson was not in attendance at Chicago's OTAs Monday. He had a scheduled court date, but was not required to attend. According to a teammate Benson was nowhere in sight. HC Lovie Smith said recently that the starting running back spot was Benson's to lose. Backup RB Adrian Peterson got first team reps in Benson's absence. Also missing was LB Brian Urlacher, although that was more expected as he is in the middle of a contract dispute with the team.
Benson did make practice on Tuesday. No reason was given for his absence on Monday.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
I'm waiting for the reason here but while this is not a surprise, it's amazing at the same time. How does a guy follow an arrest for Boating While Intoxicated by bagging the first day of minicamp? You're going to be tired of me saying it, but latch onto Matt Forte if you can spare a spot. One day of missed minicamp is no big deal, but I just don't like what I'm seeing (and have seen) out of Benson.
Urlacher is a different story as we expected him to miss as he's trying to renegotiate his deal. They'll work that out and he'll be fine in my opinion.DAL - Cowboys, RB Barber Agree On New Deal
Source: Albert Breer, Dallas Morning News
According to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, RB Marion Barber has a new contract. The Dallas Cowboys and Barber have come to terms on a seven-year, $45 million deal, with $16 million guaranteed. Barber will earn $21 million over first three years of the deal. "I gotta credit the Cowboys, they do a great job of getting players signed," Rosenhaus said. "Representing Marion's been a pleasure, on and off the field, he's a champ."
Barber had been training in Fort Lauderdale this offseason, with fellow Rosenhaus clients Fred Taylor and Frank Gore. He'll report to OTAs tomorrow morning.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
We've been anticipating this but I actually thought it might take a little longer. Jerry Jones opened the vault here and they locked up Barber without a long drawn out negotiation.
ATL - Falcons, QB Ryan Agree To Deal
Source: Adam Schefter, NFL Network
The Atlanta Falcons have agreed to terms Tuesday afternoon with rookie QB Matt Ryan on a six-year contract valued at $72 million, with $34.75 million guaranteed. Ryan is the second first-round draft pick to sign, following top overall choice Jake Long, who signed a five-year contract worth $57.75 million. Ryan was in attendance when the Falcons held organized team activities on Monday. "I was going to be here regardless, that's off-the-field stuff," said Ryan of contract negotiations. "I'm down here, working with the guys, and getting ready for the season."
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We've been saying for a while that Ryan's chances for success this season were closely tied to how quickly he could get into camp. He cleared that hurdle today nailing down a contract. Good for him and good for the Falcons.
TEN - Titans Expected To Use Carr As Main Returner
Source: Terry McCormick, Nashville City Paper
The Tennessee Titans signed KR Chris Carr from the Oakland Raiders this offseason, and they plan to expand his return duties from what he did in Oakland. McCormick speculates that Carr will likely take over as the Titans primary return man in at least one capacity this season. The Titans struggled to find punt and kickoff returners last season, and Carr has experience in both roles. “Chris Carr is out here fielding punts and he’s doing very well, despite the fact that he only returned kickoffs for [the Raiders] last season,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. “Chris Johnson can return, and Chris Davis can. If your name is Chris, you can do it. It’s wide open, and never in my experience here have we had this many good returners.”
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Sounds like the Titans are pretty loaded with quality returners. That's nice but I'm sure Titans fans would rather them be loaded with quality wide receivers. It's still a crowded field right now for returners but the early feel seems to be that Carr has the inside track.
DET - Lions Taking It Easy On QB Kitna
Source: Tom Kowalski, MLive.com
The Detroit Lions are taking some measures to protect the arm of starting QB Jon Kitna. The Lions are operating with only three quarterbacks, so they do not want Kitna getting an excessive workload. During an individual drill where receivers ran nothing but fade patterns, only backup QBs Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton participated in throwing the ball.
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No surprise here as Kitna isn't as young as he used to be. He's the clear starter here even though the Lions have some quality young guys behind him. He knows what he has to do to be ready to play and the Lions want to keep from wearing him out in the spring.
DET - Several Lions Missing From Workouts
Source: Tom Kowalski, MLive.com
For the Detroit Lions, there are five players that are not participating in OTAs. All five are in attendance, but are not working out. This list consists of WR Shaun McDonald, LB Ernie Sims, DT Cory Redding, S Daniel Bullocks and TE Dan Campbell. None of those players took part in the OTA days two weeks ago either. However, all five are expected to be ready for the start of training camp in mid July.
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Nothing surprising here - just keeping you updated. McDonald is the guy we've been watching here and he's about where everyone thought he'd be at this point.
BUF - WR Evans Anticipates Improvements
Source: Mark Gaughan, Buffalo News
Bills WR Lee Evans sees great things for his new counterpart, rookie WR James Hardy. In turn, he sees better results on his behalf was well. Evans, who is recovering well from offseason shoulder surgery, saw his reception total dip from 82 to 55 due to primarily a lack of offensive support from the entire unit which ranked 30th in the league. “Certainly he’ll help our offense out. He’ll help our run game, where you won’t be able to just sit a safety down in the box. In the red zone, you’ll have to account for him.... and it’ll certainly help me out on the other side. He gives us more diversity of what we can do down in the red zone.”
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Evans has the right attitude I think. Football is the ultimate team game and there's nothing better for a #1 WR than to have a dangerous #2 guy on the other side. On the flipside, Hardy is a rookie so you have to wonder just how dangerous he'll really be at this level. For the Bills' sake, we hope the answer is "very".
CHI - QB Grossman Leads First Team At OTAs
Source: Brad Biggs, Chicago Sun Times
A day after working behind QB Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman led the Bears first team squad at practice on Tuesday. The two are expected to continue to take turns with the starters.
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Don't expect coach Lovie Smith to tip his hand too early here. And to be truthful, it's honestly a little tough to get excited about either guy.
TB - Bucs RB Graham Misses Sixth OTA Session
Source: Orlando Sentinel
Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting RB Earnest Graham missed his sixth OTA session today, as part of his protest to management regarding his wishes for a new deal.
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With new RB Warrick Dunn back in Tampa and Cadillac Williams returning from injury, I'm not certain that Graham is in the strongest position to negotiate here. We'll see.
NYG - QB Manning Anticipates TE Shockey's Return
Source: Dan Martin, NY Post
As been the case in previous years, Giants TE Jeremy Shockey is not with the team during OTAs. But this year, the team was shopping the boisterous tight end, but to no avail. Either way, QB Eli Manning isn't worried and believes Shockey will join the team eventually. "I've been in touch with Jeremy," Manning said. "We've just gotta get everybody back. I think Jeremy will be back and ready to play."
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This is probably more public relations from Manning more than anything else but it does make sense. You'd think that if the Giants were going to make a deal shipping Shockey out of town, they'd have done it by now.
DEF - DAL - Cowboys Give CB Newman $50 Million Extension
Source: Todd Archer, Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Cowboys and CB Terence Newman on Tuesday agreed to a six-year contract extension worth $50.2 million, beating a deadline in which the salary-cap rules will change after NFL owners decided to opt out of the final three years of the collective bargaining agreement. He will receive $22.5 million guaranteed over the first three years of the deal.
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Newman is the guy the team obviously felt was key to defense so they didn't hesitate to open up the bank here. Good for Newman and good for the Cowboys as they got the guy they wanted.
DEF - HOU - DT Johnson Falling Behind
Source: Megan Manfull, Houston Chronicle
Texans DT Travis Johnson missed a minicamp two weeks ago because of his weeding, and now he's sidelined with a pelvic injury and his return to the practice field is unknown. "He's missed a lot of time," HC Gary Kubiak said. "Before I put him on the football field, I want to make sure he catches up with his teammates conditioning-wise, so you'll just see him conditioning at the time."
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The not so subtle message here is "don't miss minicamp for personal reasons". Johnson should be fine but he's got to get his conditioning in line.
DEF - NO - WLB Shanle Leads Competition
Source: Mike Triplett, New Orleans Times-Picayune
New Orleans weak-side LB Scott Shanle heads the battle for the starting role now that LB Dan Morgan has retired. Shanle will compete with LB Mark Simoneau while linebackers Troy Evans and Marvin Mitchell figure into the mix as well.
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For you IDP guys, this will be a camp battle you'll want to keep up with. Morgan wasn't the long term answer there so you have to think these guys were anticipating this competition.
DEF - DAL - Cowboys Owner Jones Supports S Williams
Source: Tom Orsborn,San Antonio Express-News
Cowboys S Roy Williams has been under fire this offseason and has been the center of rumors that he will not be with the team this coming season. Tuesday, he received a vote of confidence from team owner Jerry Jones. Jones said, “I have, candidly, a lot of confidence in Roy Williams’ competitiveness, his record as an outstanding football player,” Jones told reporters in Grapevine, Texas. “I know what a competitor he is, I know what a team player he is, and that hasn’t changed as far as I’m concerned. And for us to be the team we want to be, we need Roy to really be the player he can be. That’s possible to do here.”
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Take this for what it's worth. Jones is right in that the Cowboys need for Jones to be the "player he can be". What Jones needs to realize is that player isn't the guy that's a liability in pass coverage.
DEF - MIA - Dolphins DE Taylor To Skip Upcoming Mini-Camp
Source: ESPN
Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor will not participate in the team's upcoming mini-camp, and is planning to travel to Los Angeles and not Miami following a Good Morning America interview on Tuesday morning. "I know what the reaction's going to be: Oh, he's the leader of that team, and he needs to be there," Taylor said. "...people are saying now, 'Your example should be being there working out with the team.' Well, at the end of the day, I will show up and I will do anything I need to do, and I will be the best football player I can be."
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Thankfully this Dancing With The Stars business is over.
That'll do it for today, Folks. Have a great Wednesday and we'll see you tomorrow with the update.
J