Footballguys Daily Email - Volume 9, Issue 49 (Wednesday, June 11th)
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Hi Folks,
Good Thursday to you. Another great player bows out with Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden set to announce his retirement. They're dropping like flies. Which means there is plenty for you to keep up with and you know we've got you covered. Let's get to it. JINSIDE THIS ISSUE
1. NYG - Giants WR Burress Skips Work Over Contract Dispute2. NYG - Giants Super Bowl Rings Stolen
3. NYG - TE Shockey Reports To Camp
4. BUF - RB Lynch Returns To Practice
5. BUF - Rookie WR Johnson Impressing Coaches
6. BAL - Ravens LT Ogden Will Announce Retirement
7. DEN - Broncos TE Scheffler Participating More At Practice
8. SEA - Seahawks HC Holmgren Returns To Practice
9. BAL - Ravens OT Gaither The Front-Runner To Replace Ogden
10. CLE - C Bentley Asks For Release
11. JAC - Jags WR Jones Could Be Odd Man Out
12. DEF - CHI - Bears LB Urlacher Shows Up At Mini Camp
NYG - Giants WR Burress Skips Work Over Contract Dispute
Source: Mike Garafolo, Newark Star-Ledge
Rather than play under the contract he signed, New York Giants WR Plaxico Burress has decided to sit out in protest. Burress signed a 6-year, $25 million deal in 2005, meaning he is only halfway done with the deal he signed. Burress is slated to earn $10 million over the next three seasons. Given all that. he's not participating in minicamp because he's unhappy with his contract. "Me and my agent (Drew Rosenhaus) have been trying to get a deal done, so I can (be) a New York Giant for a long time," Burress said today. "I personally don't like the way its going. I'm not happy about it and I'm going to choose not to participate."
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I understand players wanting to restructure deals. I get that. I just wish they wouldn't act like we're stupid. When Burress says, "Me and my agent (Drew Rosenhaus) have been trying to get a deal done, so I can (be) a New York Giant for a long time," what he really means to say is, "Me and my agent (Drew Rosenhaus) have been trying to get a deal done, so I can (be) a New York Giant as long as they'll pay me more than the other WRs in the league." Rosenhaus and Burress should send a fruit basket to Al Davis thanking him for overpaying for Javon Walker.
NYG - Giants Super Bowl Rings Stolen
Source: Boston Herald, Associated Press
Thieves broke into a jewelry manufacturer over the weekend and stole up to $2 million in gold, gems and other valuables, including a number of New York Giants Super Bowl rings, police said. It's not clear how many rings were taken; most of the players received their rings at a ceremony last month.
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Just for you conspiracy theory folks, the facility that was broken into is about 12 miles from Gillette Stadium, where the New England Patriots play...
NYG - TE Shockey Reports To Camp
Source: ESPN.com
New York Giants TE Jeremy Shockey arrived at the team's training camp today, after threatening not to attend. Shockey is still recovering from a broken leg suffered last season and will not participate in any drills.
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What a relief, Shockey is at Minicamp to get treatment on his leg. We all make a big deal about this but the reality here is that it doesn't really matter much what Shockey does in June. Barring something big, he'll be a Giant this fall. He'll whine and make some noise and then he'll be be a very good fantasy TE. Again. In his six years in the league, he's been a top 7 TE four of those years and never worse than the #11 guy.
BUF - RB Lynch Returns To Practice
Source: Chris Brown, BuffaloBills.com
Buffalo Bills RB Marshawn Lynch returned to practice yesterday, a day earlier than expected. He'd missed time after having Lasik eye surgery. He is expected to fully participate in the mandatory camp that begins today.
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Now let's see if he can get that pesky Hit And Run incident cleared up and he can get back to focusing on football.
BUF - Rookie WR Johnson Impressing Coaches
Source: Allen Wilson, Buffalo News
Rookie WR Steve Johnson, a 7th round pick from Kentucky, has caught the attention of his coaches, along with most of the passes thrown his direction during offseason practices. Johnson's size, hands and run after the catch ability have impressed the coaches so far.
"He's doing a good job," Bills wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said . "He's like all the other rookies, the head's spinning a little bit. But he's a playmaking guy. We were very fortunate to get him where we drafted him because we had a higher grade than where we got him."[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
We've said it before - it's best to not get too excited about rookie WRs in June. Especially 7th round rookie WRs in June. But every year, players emerge out of "nowhere". When in reality, the sharp owners saw it coming for a while. I'm not saying Steve Johnson is the next Marques Colston. I'm saying we'll keep an eye out for him as he might be...
BAL - Ravens LT Ogden Will Announce Retirement
Source: Jamison Hensley and Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun
Facing a toe injury that he knew would hinder his ability, Baltimore Ravens LT Jonathan Ogden said today that he will announce his retirement tomorrow. Ogden, 33, has been voted to the Pro Bowl in 11 of 12 NFL seasons. "It took a little while to decide," Ogden said. "You just can't make a decision like this overnight."
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Ogden was the first player ever drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. Making the Pro Bowl in 11 of his 12 seasons, I'd have to say it worked out OK for them. There is talk that he could be the first Raven to make it to the Hall of Fame. We'll see. Congrats to Ogden on a great career and we wish him the best in all he's doing.
DEN - Broncos TE Scheffler Participating More At Practice
Source: Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com
In his second day back after returning from a left foot injury, Denver Broncos TE Tony Scheffler partially participated at practice today by running routes and catching some passes. "I'm doing a little more each day and slowly getting back," Scheffler said. "I'm feeling pretty good."
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We told you we'd keep an eye on Scheffler's foot and that's what we're doing here. Good news so far as he's been able to work pretty well. We're still concerned though and want to see him practice on it for a bit.
SEA - Seahawks HC Holmgren Returns To Practice
Source: Associated Press, NFL.com
Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren was back at practice on Wednesday after missing two days due to a minor medical issue. Holmgren made no statement in regards to his absence.
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Holmgren missed Monday but was supposed to be back Tuesday. When he wasn't there Tuesday, that raised a few eyebrows. Looks like all is well now.
BAL - Ravens OT Gaither The Front-Runner To Replace Ogden
Source: Associated Press, NFL.com
Jared Gaither appears to be the favorite to replace the retiring Jonathan Ogden as the starting left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. "He's young; he's not J.O. by any stretch," commented head coach John Harbaugh. "He's got a long way to go to become a great offensive tackle in this league, but we're really pleased with his progress."
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Gaither will have some pretty large shoes to fill there. Fortunately, this news isn't any shock to the Ravens and it's something they've been preparing for. We'll see how Gaither handles the workload.
CLE - C Bentley Asks For Release
Source: James Walker, ESPN
One day after returning to the practice field, C LeCharles Bentley asked for and was granted his release from the Cleveland Browns. "When LeCharles originally signed with the Browns, their situation [was] entirely different than it [is] today." commented Bentley's agent Jonathan Feinsod. Uninterested in the idea of serving as a backup in Cleveland, he will look to join a team where he has a better opportunity to start.
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This was a pretty weird deal. Browns fans were all so happy to see Bentley back running on the field. It was a feel good story. Then he's asking for his release saying he wasn't feeling it.
"I just didn't have the same feeling being there as when I first signed with the Browns."JAC - Jags WR Jones Could Be Odd Man Out
Source: Michael C. Wright, Sporting News
Wright speculates that if Jacksonville Jaguars WR Matt Jones does not win one of the final two spots at wideout, that he could be released. Wright says that, "the team appears to be ready to cut ties with Jones." Jones is in a battle with other WRs John Broussard, D'Juan Woods, Mike Walker and Troy Williamson.
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More of what we've been telling you about Jones. Things move fast around here and it looks like the former first round pick is on thin ice.
DEF - CHI - Bears LB Urlacher Shows Up At Mini Camp
Source: Vaughn McClure, Chicagosports.com
Brian Urlacher's presence at organized team activities Wednesday fueled speculation that a contract resolution is near. Such is not the case.
Urlacher said Tuesday night that he is not close to signing a deal, although both the Bears and Urlacher's camp continue to have positive dialogue after a long standoff. The Bears made it clear that Urlacher could help his cause by returning to the practice field and that is part of the reason he showed Wednesday. No new financial terms have been discussed, although Urlacher's cameo appearance Wednesday--the first time he has attended a voluntary practice this off-season--could change the status of the talks by week's end.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]
Let's hope the two sides can move closer together this week and get a deal done. Good faith move by Urlacher to get in there and see if something good will happen.
That'll do it for today, Folks. Have a great Thursday and we'll see you tomorrow with the update.
J