NFL 2017 Offseason

The NFL offseason is full swing. They have teams making roster decisions left and right, they have the NFL Scouting Combine going for the next week and some high profile players have been released by the only team they have known as a professional football player. There is also the 2017 elephant in room with the constant speculation about what the hell is going to happen with Tony Romo.

Players cut loose by their long time teams:

Adrian Peterson – his career is really sort of flagging because of injuries and he just cost too much to chance him getting hurt again. Of course the rumor mill has Dallas interested.

Jamall Charles – Kansas City has younger guys in Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West and they signed CJ Spiller about 10 days ago. Charles is 30 and knee injuries have robbed him of a lot of playing time, just like AP, the last two seasons. It’s a shame because of what an electric player he has been when healthy. If he was a reasonable cap hit I would like to see him go to Dallas.

Alshon Jeffrey – He hasn’t been released but the Bears declined to either tag him with the franchise tag or the transition tag so when March 9 comes around he could be on the open market.

Speaking of free agents, teams have started placing the franchise tags and a few transition tags on players they intend to keep. Basically, the franchise tag means the team has to pay the player an average of the top 5 salaries at his position and it prevents other teams from coming in with a long term deal and stealing the player away. Players don’t like being franchised in most cases because if they get hurt they have only the one year deal and no long term income to depend on. The one exception is apparently Kirk Cousins. You can understand why when you consider he was paid $19.95 MM under the franchise tag last season and he has been franchised again this season which means he will make $23.94 MM. That means he will make a whopping $43.89 MM and if he gets transition tagged next season he will make north of $24 MM and he will set the record for most money in a 3 year period by any player in NFL history. Cousins will make more money in 2017 than most players make in their entire careers. So, I guess it’s no duh that he’s cool with being franchised.

The combine began yesterday with registration and measuring heights, weights, strength in the bench press and general orientation to the event. That continues today as the other half of the participants check in and do what the players who were scheduled for Tuesday did yesterday. The televised portion of the combine will come beginning tomorrow when on field work will begin.

The NFL has announced that the 2017 salary cap will be $167 MM up about $12 MM from the $155.27 MM cap in 2016. (Thank you Jerry Jones. That is the principal reason he’s going into the Hall of Fame this summer, because of the immense impact he has made on the profitability of the NFL. The man knows his way around a contract and the man knows how to make money.)

Here is an article from NFL.com that lists potential free agents and who has been tagged so far. If you notice, there are tabs in the article that break players down by team or by position.

2017 NFL free agency: Top 101 available players

2017 NFL free agency: Top 101 available players

Free agency begins at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 9. Who'll be available? Gregg Rosenthal and Chris Wesseli...

The LA Rams will have a dramatic new look in 2017. Yesterday the team unveiled their new helmet to be worn in the coming season. It’s not strictly new but most people will have never seen the helmet unless they watched old NFL films of the 60’s and early 70’s during what is being called the “Roman Gabriel era” of the Rams. Roman Gabriel was the QB of the Rams during that time and he was very successful and a popular player at the time. The new(old) helmets are dark blue shell with white horns. The helmets the Rams have worn since their last uniform revision was not as dark a blue, but it was dark, with gold horns. I’ve hated these unis because I just thought the gold looked tacky.

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The first helmet is the one worn in the 60’s and 70’s. The second helmet comes from the change made in 1979 to a less dark blue with yellow with different iterations of the uniform from ’79 to ’99 in the same color scheme. This era uni has been the Rams throwback uniform the past several years and this color scheme was the basis for the ‘color rush’ uniforms this past season. The third helmet comes from the change made in 2000 following the Rams Super Bowl win over Tennessee after the 1999. The Rams returned to the Super Bowl after the 2000 season only to lose to Tom Brady and the Patriots and the Rams team has been in steady decline ever since. The last helmet is the new helmet for 2017 and it is a direct copy of the 60’s era helmet. It’s a clean look and the uniforms should reflect this basic blue and white color scheme. I don’t care as long as the Rams ditch that ugly, ugly blue and gold color scheme. I would have been happy if the Rams went back to the pre-2000 unis as long as the gold went completely away. I would have even preferred the “color rush” unis even though they make the players look like a runaway banana.

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Not much news out of the NFL Scouting Combine so far, news is mostly confined to current player status. The biggest headlines on NFL.com are that DE Chris Long will not look to resign with the Patriots meaning he is one-and-done in Bahston. Long said he was grateful for his time with the Patriots but he said he was not happy with his role. At 31 he may not be the player he once was and he won’t be able to be a hand-on-the-ground three down defensive end any more. He may well find out he should have stayed in New England where he was definitely going to the playoffs at very least. I think if I’m a player slightly past my prime and I have the opportunity to hitch my wagon to the Brady-Belichick train I’d be all in on that move all day, every day. Guys with big egos, gotta love ‘em.

Also, a day after Jamaal Charles was released Philly is said to be showing interest. Please, please, please Jamaal, please don’t go to Philadelphia---not the Eagles! NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

The Detroit Lions are said to be quite disappointed that Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon isn’t at the scouting combine. According to league rules any player who has misdemeanor or felony convictions involving violence or use of a weapon, domestic violence, a sexual offense and/or sexual assault are not invited to the combine. The NFL has the discretion to review a case if special circumstances warrant but I suppose Mixon’s domestic violence conviction when he was a freshman isn’t worth the NFL’s time. The Lions wanted to see Mixon at the combine because he is on their radar for the draft. The will have to settle for Oklahoma’s pro day instead.

Jimmy Garoppolo isn’t the only young backup QB garnering interest around the NFL. Cincinnati backup AJ McCarron is getting some interest. McCarron has gotten into some games in the last couple of years when Andy Dalton got injured. McCarron is will going into his last year of his rookie contract this year so if McCarron moves it will only happen by trade and the Bengals like McCarron simply because he has won games for them as Dalton’s backup. Last year the Bengals put a 1st round tender on McCarron and they likely won’t drop that this year. If McCarron does remain in Cincy this year AND he gets to play AND he does well then his value as a free agent next year could skyrocket.

Cleveland did not franchise WR Terrelle Pryor but it doesn’t mean they don’t value him and it doesn’t mean they won’t be able to come to an agreement on a contract between now and free agency. Last year was Pryor’s first full season as a bona fide 100% wide receiver and he did very well. He was forced to step up even more because Cleveland’s top WR draft pick Cory Coleman was injured most of the season. I cannot imagine the Browns would want to let this guy get away. If the Browns do let him get to free agency I would love to see him go to Dallas. Terrence Williams is a free agent and I really think Pryor is a step up from Williams.

Is Johnny Football a changed man? The man has a new agent and Browns CB Joe Haden says Manziel is in the best shape he’s seen him since Cleveland drafted him in the first round of the 2014 draft. If Manziel can get a tryout somewhere he is free to do so because the Browns released him last March but at this point given his history and the fact he hasn’t played football in nearly two years doesn’t make him more than a curiousity right now. The same things that he was criticized for is still there and I’m not talking about his off field issues. He’s 5’11” and a has a small frame and his style of play will put in harm’s way more than a traditional pocket passer. He does win and he is an electric player so I’m sure somebody will give him a look. Hell, Jerry Jones want him in the 2014 draft and he could still get him and much cheaper now too. The thing is Manziel won’t want to be a backup and he won’t see the field as long as Dak Prescott is healthy.

One last item, former NY Giants and Miami Dolphins CB Will Allen was convicted of defrauding former teammates out of $17MM in a Ponzi scheme in which he used money for his own expenses. According to Yahoo's article on the matter Allen and he accomplice Susan Daub was sentenced to 6 years in prison and pay approximately $17 MM in restitution. It was reported that Allen and Daub were in tears as they were led out of the courtroom by marshals.

The Raiders have been in the news lately. First, with the help of David Carr the Raiders have signed who free agents which will help Carr and the offense out. They acquired WR Cordarelle Patterson and TE Jared Cook as they try to reload to overtake the Broncos and Chiefs in the AFC West. In the second week of free agency the lost their starting RB Latavius Murray to the Vikings who were willing to let Adrian Peterson walk after spending his first 10 years there. Peterson is still a free agent which may be because he is asking too much to sign him. The biggest news surrounding the Raiders is the continuing saga of whether they will relocate to Las Vegas or remain in the Bay Area. The latest news is Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf sent a letter to the NFL detailing a new plan for a new $1.3 Billion plan for a new football only stadium in Oakland at the current Oakland Coliseum site. Her Honor pledged to the people of Oakland that she and the investors will not give up even though it is the 4th quarter of the process.

It was a shock to see Latavius Murray go to Minnesota. First, the Raiders have built a nice team and he was in on the ground floor of that process. Second it was a bit of a shock for the Vikings to cut bait with Peterson. The fact is the last couple of seasons Peterson has been a non-factor for the Vikes because of injuries and because of his issue with abusing his son. As a reminder it wasn't sexual abuse he actually took a switch and spanked his son with it that caused the boy injuries bad enough that he ended up in an emergency room. Ten years is a long time for a RB in the NFL until you realize he lost a season due to a torn ACL and he lost a season to that domestic violence issue so he's got less wear and tear on his body that you might expect. He still wants to play and he's been vocal about not being worried about whether or not he will play this season.

The Raiders are moving to Las Vegas. The move was approved at the NFL Owner’s meetings yesterday. It will be the 2nd time in franchise history that the team has pulled up roots and moved to a city other than Oakland California. In the 80’s the team relocated to Los Angeles but by the end of the decade they were back in Oakland. La-La Land wasn’t the dream location Al Davis thought and the team never got that new stadium they were looking for. Al Davis is dead and gone but he’s probably looking down, or up as the case may be, and he’s probably smiling. His son, Mark is the owner/GM of the Raiders and he seems to be cut from the same bolt of cloth as his old man. Mark Davis also has the absolutely worst haircut ever, worse even than President Trump’s swirly doo. The City of Oakland made a last ditch plea to keep the Raiders in Oakland but it was not enough to dissuade Davis from making the move to the desert. It’s going to be an awkward two, possibly three, years however. Las Vegas won’t be done building the new stadium until spring 2020 which means that the Raiders will remain in Oakland during construction because there isn’t a college stadium in Nevada big enough for an NFL game. The venue the Raiders will use in 2019 is still up in the air because the Raiders lease at the Oakland Coliseum is up after the 2018 season. Mike Greenberg on Mike and Mike this morning gave this scenario, “Imagine your wife comes up to you one day and says she’s met someone else and she wants a divorce BUT he won’t be available for two years so we will continue to live together and you will continue to give me your undying devotion.” Sounds messed up doesn’t it? On NFL.com this morning there is a headline that says Mark Davis wouldn’t classify Oakland as a “lame duck” situation. That’s an owner trying to put a positive spin on a lousy situation. So Oakland, which is what they will continue to be for the next two years at least, will move into their $1.7 billion brand new stadium in 2020 and, because the Raiders are very much in the discussion as a potential Super Bowl contender, the consolation prize the folks in Oakland could get is a Super Bowl trophy. I would not put it past the leadership in Oakland to try to do what the folks in Cleveland did when Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore and that is retain the name of the team. I hope this is so because I will never be able to wrap my head around the Las Vegas Raiders. Who the hell ever heard of a “pirate” in the desert? Nobody, that’s who.

There is a true freak of nature residing in the Boston area and his name is Tom Brady. Currently Brady is 39 years old and in the article linked below Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Tom told him he intends to play 6 or 7 more years. Are you kidding me? The fact is, it is entirely possible Brady could do it. Besides, so far during free agency the Patriots have added more weapons for Brady to rely on in the years to come. The Pats, as the roster sits right now, is better than the team that just won the Super Bowl! If I’m Brady I would continue to play as long as Bill Belichick is willing to coach. Belichick is 64 years old and he will turn 65 on April 16th so you wonder how long his willing to go through the grind of an NFL head coach. When Bill goes, if I’m Brady, I’m gone too. Their legacies are intertwined as it is so it would be appropriate if they leave the NFL together.

The debate about why Colin Kaepernick is still a free agent is moot. It’s no secret why he’s still available-- he stinks. Since Jim Harbaugh left San Francisco Kap hasn’t been worth a damn. People are saying that he has been black-balled because of his stance, or lack thereof, on the National Anthem. The fact is NFL owners have shown time and again they don’t care if a player commits murder, if he’s good, somebody will sign him. Domestic violence is the only unforgivable sin in the NFL but short of that, if Kap had been a better player, he’d have a job right now.

As in life the rich just richer and the poor just get poorer. I’m referring to the New England Patriots now. Not only have the Patriots managed to get even better this offseason than they were when they won the Super Bowl back in February they don’t appear done yet! On the surface it seems like the Pats got a touch worse because they decided to let their workhorse LeGarrette Blount test the free agent market they have one of the best RB’s to ever play make an appearance at their Foxborough headquarters. Adrian Peterson was allowed to walk in free agency this spring by the Minnesota Vikings and it could be AP could very well sign with the Pats to take a legit run--or--two at a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Pats. It’s the kind of signing that is right up the Patriots alley--as long as Peterson will agree to the Patriots offer. Why not give the Patriots a discount if he wants a SB ring? As I mentioned earlier the Pats are a better team now with the additions of WR Brandin Cooks from the Saints, TE Dwayne Allen from the Colts and DE Kony Ealy from the Carolina Panthers to name just 3. The Patriots will have a first round pick to go with the rest of their picks for the first time in 2 years since before the deflate-gate sanctions cost them their 2016 1st rounder (and they still won the SB---suck on that Roger Goodell!) or they would have if they hadn’t traded it for Cooks. The Patriots don’t have a 2nd round pick because that went to Carolina in the Kony Ealy deal. The Patriots have 2 - 3rd round picks, their own at 96 overall and the Browns 72nd pick overall they got in the Jaime Collins deal last fall. The Patriots got the Saints 4th round pick, #118 overall, in the Cooks deal with the Saints but it will be forfeit as the last of the deflate-gate penalties will be enforced here. They will have the 131th pick they got from Seattle in a draft day 2016 deal. The Patriots original pick at 137 was sent to Indianapolis for TE Dwayne Allen. The Patriots also have 2 picks in the 5th round and one each in the 6th and 7th rounds.

Speaking of the poor of the NFL, who would you say is the very poorest in the NFL? I’ll bet your first thought was Cleveland? Am I right? I know there are a lot of arguments to support that statement but is there another franchise that seems even more stuck in the mud than the New York Jets? Even when they have good players injuries to stupid derails that franchise. Mike Greenberg of Mike and Mike loves his Jets in much the same way Cubs fans loved their eternally doomed team. But, the Cubs finally broke the mold with their World Series win last fall. No reason to feel sorry for, or bash, the Cubs any more. But the Jets are another story. Since they won their lone World Championship in 1969 their record for futility is almost as epic as Cleveland’s. You’d think a team headquartered in the Big Apple would have better management but they really don’t. The Jets haven’t made a good deal in a long time but the same cannot be said of the Browns. In the past two drafts the Browns have actually made out like bandits acquiring draft picks and good players. Their only fault is they have had can’t find a QB they can hang their hat on. There is one move the Browns didn’t make and that was to sign WR Terrelle Pryor to a deal. The Browns have cap room to spare and Pryor was the Browns best WR in 2016 but they let him test free agency and he ended up signing a one year deal with the Washington Redskins. To me, that is a lateral move at best and I can’t understand why Cleveland didn’t offer more than the $8MM one year deal Pryor accepted to go to Washington. Pryor had a history with Browns head coach Hue Jackson, he was the one who drafted Pryor in the 2011 supplemental draft and Jackson was instrumental in bringing Pryor to Cleveland last year. It seems like a huge blunder on the Browns part especially if they intend to depend on oft suspended Josh Gordon. Gordon is tremendous talent who is wasting it all on being wasted. Either way you cook the books the Jets and the Browns are living in the NFL slums the only difference being the Browns have some successful managers in the building. The trouble is, they weren’t successful in football. We shall see if they can turn the franchise around. Here’s a thought, Cleveland does a Brock Osweiler deal to get Tony Romo to help them get up to the minimum amount of cap money they have to spend. Then, the Browns do a deal with Houston to send Romo to the Texans for a draft pick or two or a draft pick and a player or two like, for instance, Jalen Strong. Everybody wins. Cleveland solves it’s cap spending deficit and gets a draft pick or picks or a good player or two. Houston gets the franchise QB they need to get to the Super Bowl and Dallas gets out from under their huge cap hit and dead money issues if they are stuck with Romo’s contract. Or, Cleveland can rightly point out that there is now a lot of talent in Cleveland and all THEY needed was a QB. It’s fun to dream but realistically, there is no reason for Cleveland to court Romo and his bloated contract because they already ate Brock Osweiler’s deal. Still Cleveland may not be that bad………

Speaking of Romo, NFL.com just posted an article in which Jerry Jones is giving the rest of the NFL permission to court Mr Romo. According to the article Jones has notified all the other 31 NFL GM’s that they are permitted to contact Romo or his agent to schedule a visit, a workout or physical. Jones also informed the clubs that all conversations will be relegated to talks about his contract status from 2017 thru 2019 meaning only clubs wanting a trade need apply. As has been said since the Super Bowl, no team will agree to a deal when they know Jones has no leverage in a trade. Teams will simply wait until Jones has to release Romo. At least it is something and it has to give Romo a little hope he will get his wish to leave Dallas to be a starting QB preferably for a contending team.

Rob Gronkowski got a dream fulfilled when he appeared in a WrestleMania match over the weekend.

The NFL and HBO have signed a long term deal to continue to produce the popular “Hard Knocks” program. Terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed and the team to be featured this summer has yet to be determined but I’m glad the show will be back on HBO.

Finally, Phase 1 of the NFL offseason program will begin today for two teams, the Bills and the Chargers will begin today because they both have new coaches so the get the extra time. The offseason work is broken down into phases and all teams must adhere to the guidelines in each phase as negotiated by the NFLPA. Here’s the link to the NFL.com article that includes what is legal for teams to do in Phase 1.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000796999/article/bills-chargers-begin-voluntary-offseason-programs

Sorry, this post is ridiculously long---even for me---but there was a lot to talk about.

Flash!! The Patriots are in deep trouble! It was revealed this morning on Mike and Mike that there is an area set aside in the Patriots home field, Gillette Stadium, for championship banners. Unfortunately, there is only room for 4 banners and the Patriots have just collected their 5th championship this past February. What are they going to do? How about this, make smaller banners! It makes sense because you know Tommy Boy has at least one more ring in his arm.

Over the past two weeks or so there have been rumors flying around that the Seattle Seahawks have star CB Richard Sherman on the trading blocks. The thinking is that Pete Carroll has had enough of Sherman’s mouth. Carroll isn’t one to sensor his players but late last season Sherman was seen chewing out the Seahawks OC Darrell Bevil during a game for poor play calling. Even the staunchest fan has to admit Sherman crossed a line. A defensive player just doesn’t do that to a coach, especially a coach on the other side of the ball. Sherman’s ego may have tried to cash a check he didn’t have funds to cover. While Carroll may be a player’s coach he doesn’t have a history of putting up with that type of shenanigans and there is no reason he will start now. Carroll has faith in his GM and player personnel people and he figures they found Sherman, they will find his replacement.

Tim Tebow hit his 1st ever pro home run in a game last Thursday. He hit his 2nd HR Saturday giving him 2 in 3 days. Everyone is rooting for the 55 year old Tebow to fulfill his dream of making the bigs but nobody is quaking in their boots over a couple of dingers in low A ball. Okay, Tebow isn’t 55, he is 29, soon to be 30 in August but it’s true, nobody is really all that impressed with homers in low A. Yes, it’s a milestone in Tebow’ s baseball career but it’s low A for God’s sake…… Tebow plays in the NY Mets farm system for the Class A Columbia Fireflies of the South Atlantic League. Tebow, is starting baseball out late and he’s probably looking at very least 4 years before he could be good enough to make the bigs. That’s 34 years old and that’s pretty old for a rookie. Especially for a guy who takes off weekends to do is ESPNU gig with college football. C’mon Tim, are you a broadcaster or a ball player? Everyone loves Tebow and hope that he succeeds but he is a longshot, at best, to make the bigs.

Tony Romo will be in a Dallas uniform at least one more time this week only it won’t be for the Cowboys. The Dallas Mavericks have declared Romo will be a Maverick for a day when they play their home finale tomorrow against the Denver Nuggets. It could be Mark Cuban saying ‘thank you’ to Romo for his time with the Cowboys or it’s a way for him to capitalize on the sentimentality of Romo’s retirement, who knows? Or who cares? Romo will be in uniform and sitting on the bench with the team so you know it will get some air time as a result. The Mavericks are eliminated from the playoffs so this is their last hurrah at home Tuesday night. I have been a lifelong Cowboys fan but there is such a bad taste in my mouth over the way Romo was kicked to the side of the road by Jason Garrett that I sort of hope they fall on their faces and go 7-9 this coming season. I am still holding out hope Romo will un-retire and play for the Texans this season. The Cowboys going 7-9 AND the Texans winning the Super Bowl with Romo? Priceless.

Once around the NFL.

Aaron Hernandez just a week removed from being acquitted in a murder trial apparently committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell with a bed sheet. Hernandez is reported to have had “John 3:16” written on his forehead as well as odd marking on his hands and feet. It is being speculated that he was putting stigmata markings on himself prior to committing suicide. I had to look up ‘stigmata’ because I didn’t know what it meant and it turns out it means marks on a body coinciding with the marks on the body of Jesus suffered during his crucifixion. In this case, the nails used to nail Jesus to the cross that went through his hands and feet. It has also been reported that just hours before his death Hernandez allegedly smoked K2, a synthetic marijuana, and that K2 has been known to have side effects that include erratic behavior. Hernandez’ attorney and former manager, as well as family members, believe that Hernandez was the victim of foul play because they didn’t believe he would commit suicide.

The Hernandez news broke on the morning of the same day the New England Patriots were to visit the White House and meet with President Trump to celebrate their latest world championship. Media like ESPN wanted to know how the news of Hernandez’ death would affect the Patriot’s visit. I didn’t think it was an issue because Hernandez hasn’t been a Patriot for several years and there are hardly any players left on the team that played with Hernandez. As it turns out it wasn’t an issue because the Patriots did not let it. There were no comments from owner Robert Kraft or head coach Bill Belichick or any of the players in attendance at the White House ceremonies.

6 Players from the Patriots Championship team did not go to the White House in protest over President Trump, whether that be against the man or his policies. Tom Brady also missed the trip to the White House but it was because he chose to stay in Boston to spend time with his mother who has been battling cancer over the past two years. How can you hate a guy who does stuff like that? I’m jealous of him for sure, he’s married to a super model, has 3 healthy children and is rich as hell not to mention he’s generally acknowledged now, with his 5th World Championship, as the greatest QB of all time. If you look up the term “idyllic life” in the dictionary Brady’s picture would be beside the definition.

The Tampa Bay Bucs will be the team featured in the next edition of HBO’s Hard Knocks. That could be a very interesting choice because there are some interesting storylines including QB Jameis Winston as he’s about to begin his 3rd year in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000800955/article/tampa-bay-buccaneers-on-hard-knocks-giddy-up

Former Cleveland WR Terrelle Pryor claimed in an interview he should have had 1,500 yards receiving last year. Not such a bold claim when you consider he actually had 1,007 yards on 77 catches for a Cleveland team who couldn’t field a starting QB for more than 3 games in row last season. Last year was Pryor’s first full season as a WR and he was the best playmaker on the Browns offense this side of RB Isaiah Crowell. It is amazing that Cleveland allowed Pryor to leave via free agency when they had the cap space to sign him. That would automatically have given the Browns 2 ++ receivers for a playmaker starved offense. Instead the Browns made a trade with Houston that netted them Brock Osweiler and his bloated contract and a 2nd round draft pick in 2018. Now Browns GM Sashi Brown is saying Osweiler will compete for a starting job when clearly he fell flat on his face in Houston. Let’s see, blue chip WR vs a QB with poor field vision and questionable decision making skills. Hmmmm. Could it be just the same old Browns different verse? We’ll see.

With the NFL draft just one week away here’s a look at the CB’s in this year’s draft according to NFL.com. Note there are tabs to the other positions except linebacker in the draft which should keep you busy until next Thursday evening.

2017 NFL Draft: Marshon Lattimore atop deep CB class

2017 NFL Draft: Marshon Lattimore atop deep CB class

Who's the 2017 NFL Draft's most overrated CB? Most underrated? Boom-or-bust prospect? Sleeper? Lance Zie...

According to the countdown clock on the NFL.com website it 4 days, 5 hours and change until the 2017 NFL draft. It's not the same excitement I felt last year when Dallas had the 4th pick in the draft and a world of possibilities were on the table for the Cowboys. The Cowboys ended up taking Ezekiel Elliott with the pick and never looked back on a big season that saw Dallas go 13-3, win the NFC East and get a first round bye in the playoffs. It was also the draft where Dallas picked up Dak Prescott in the fourth round which was the biggest pick of the draft IMO because Prescott ended up being the NFL Rookie of the Year playing so well that Coach Chickenshit (Garrett) refused to even let 10 year starter and 14 year vet Tony Romo compete for his job. It was a disrespectful way to treat a guy who meant so much to the Cowboys and to Coach Chickenshit. Not only that, it was fiscally irresponsible because instead of getting your money's worth out of Romo's contract the Cowboys now have $19 MM in dead money over the next two years to deal with. Kids tell Coach Chicken----Garrett Thank You. Thank you coach Garrett.

This isn't the Cowboys thread, it's the NFL offseason thread so I will continue. I do have to mention one thing that actually comes from NFL.com and that is last year's 2nd round pick from Notre Dame, Jaylon Smith, will be ready for OTA's according to Cowboys COO Stephen Jones.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000801880/article/jones-jaylon-smith-expected-to-be-ready-for-otas

The Raiders have been in talks with former Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch for at least 3 weeks. It seemed to be a done deal when the news first broke but now the Raiders are asking Lynch or his people to please tell them if he's going to sign with them before the draft. Having Lynch would probably allow Oakland (yes, its still Oakland for the next 2 years at least) to save a draft pick for a position other than running back.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000801751/article/raiders-want-marshawn-lynchs-decision-before-draft

There isn't much news at all right now in the NFL as teams are in final meetings as they put finishing touches on their draft boards which include finalizing their draft strategies. I got my Official 2017 Dallas Cowboys Star Magazine Draft Preview issue in the mail yesterday and I will be playing with the fanspeak.com "On The Clock" draft simulator a bunch over the next 4 days. With my Cowboys draft guide and the CBSSports.com player profile pages I will put together THE definitive drafts for Dallas and Houston and maybe Cleveland. Cleveland will be fun because of the shear number of draft picks they have including the #1 overall pick in the draft.

Speaking of that #1 pick, everybody figures Cleveland will take Patrick Mahomes with the first pick, everyone that is, that is not predicting the Browns will take TAMU LB/DE Myles Garrett. Noted draft guru Warren Sapp (notice the sarcasm in my voice) said Garrett is not worth the 1st pick in the draft. Blah, blah, blah Warren. So far you really don't have much credibility as an NFL analyst. He has openly criticized players for doing the same things he did as a player, he was fired from the NFL Network after he was arrested for sexual assault and another incident involving a prostitute. I saw one report that said Sapp is the Fox News of NFL reporting. Sapp's first got into the news by heavily criticizing former Lions and current Dolphins DT Ndamukong Suh and Sapp's latest cause de celebre is Myles Garrett. Sapp seems to have come right out of left field with his grievance against Garrett when everyone is on the kid's bandwagon. To Garrett's discredit he hasn't really handled Sapp's criticism very well which would give Sapp's assessment a little credibility. But, I don't believe it simply because Sapp's credibility is so lousy. I'm not even sure Sapp has a job.

From a few days ago, I posted this on the cowboys thread.

Aaron Hernandez just a week removed from being acquitted in a murder trial apparently committed suicide by hanging himself in his cell with a bed sheet. Hernandez is reported to have had “John 3:16” written on his forehead as well as odd marking on his hands and feet. It is being speculated that he was putting stigmata markings on himself prior to committing suicide. I had to look up ‘stigmata’ because I didn’t know what it meant and it turns out it means marks on a body coinciding with the marks on the body of Jesus suffered during his crucifixion. In this case, the nails used to nail Jesus to the cross that went through his hands and feet. It has also been reported that just hours before his death Hernandez allegedly smoked K2, a synthetic marijuana, and that K2 has been known to have side effects that include erratic behavior. Hernandez’ attorney and former manager, as well as family members, believe that Hernandez was the victim of foul play because they didn’t believe he would commit suicide.

The Hernandez news broke on the morning of the same day the New England Patriots were to visit the White House and meet with President Trump to celebrate their latest world championship. Media like ESPN wanted to know how the news of Hernandez’ death would affect the Patriot’s visit. I didn’t think it was an issue because Hernandez hasn’t been a Patriot for several years and there are hardly any players left on the team that played with Hernandez. As it turns out it wasn’t an issue because the Patriots did not let it. There were no comments from owner Robert Kraft or head coach Bill Belichick or any of the players in attendance at the White House ceremonies.

6 Players from the Patriots Championship team did not go to the White House in protest over President Trump, whether that be against the man or his policies. Tom Brady also missed the trip to the White House but it was because he chose to stay in Boston to spend time with his mother who has been battling cancer over the past two years. How can you hate a guy who does stuff like that? I’m jealous of him for sure, he’s married to a super model, has 3 healthy children and is rich as hell not to mention he’s generally acknowledged now, with his 5th World Championship, as the greatest QB of all time. If you look up the term “idyllic life” in the dictionary Brady’s picture would be beside the definition.

The Tampa Bay Bucs will be the team featured in the next edition of HBO’s Hard Knocks. That could be a very interesting choice because there are some interesting storylines including QB Jameis Winston as he’s about to begin his 3rd year in the NFL.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000800955/article/tampa-bay-buccaneers-on-hard-knocks-giddy-up

Former Cleveland WR Terrelle Pryor claimed in an interview he should have had 1,500 yards receiving last year. Not such a bold claim when you consider he actually had 1,007 yards on 77 catches for a Cleveland team who couldn’t field a starting QB for more than 3 games in row last season. Last year was Pryor’s first full season as a WR and he was the best playmaker on the Browns offense this side of RB Isaiah Crowell. It is amazing that Cleveland allowed Pryor to leave via free agency when they had the cap space to sign him. That would automatically have given the Browns 2 ++ receivers for a playmaker starved offense. Instead the Browns made a trade with Houston that netted them Brock Osweiler and his bloated contract and a 2nd round draft pick in 2018. Now Browns GM Sashi Brown is saying Osweiler will compete for a starting job when clearly he fell flat on his face in Houston. Let’s see, blue chip WR vs a QB with poor field vision and questionable decision making skills. Hmmmm. Could it be just the same old Browns different verse? We’ll see.

With the NFL draft just one week away here’s a look at the CB’s in this year’s draft according to NFL.com. Note there are tabs to the other positions except linebacker in the draft which should keep you busy until next Thursday evening.

2017 NFL Draft: Marshon Lattimore atop deep CB class

2017 NFL Draft: Marshon Lattimore atop deep CB class

Who's the 2017 NFL Draft's most overrated CB? Most underrated? Boom-or-bust prospect? Sleeper? Lance Zie...

The Texans moved up 13 spots, from 25 to 12, to pick DeSean Watson of Clemson. It is the first QB drafted in the first round in recent memory by the Texans will come into a situation that most people think will allow Watson to sit and learn. The projected starter is Tom Savage which is fine, I'm all for giving Savage a shot to prove himself but the thing about Savage is he has been hurt and missed more games than he's been healthy and on the field. That goes all the way back to when he was drafted. I'm sure Houston doesn't want to depend on the basically undependable Brandon Weeden so if Savage falters or gets hurt we may see Watson earlier than expected by the draft "experts", the same experts who never saw this deal coming.

This deal may have been done because the Chiefs moved up 17 spots, from 27 to 10, to pick Patrick Mahomes from Texas Tech. Mahomes goes to the best situation in that besides the Chiefs being a playoff caliber team they have a strong head coach in Andy Reid and a smart veteran QB in Alex Smith to learn from. Mahomes isn't NFL ready but he's got the best situation for a young QB to develop.

The Cowboys didn't move from their 28th spot in the 1st round and they got a pass rushing defensive end with their pick. Dallas took Michigan's Taco Charlton. His college numbers aren't great until you look at his situation. In his first three seasons at Michigan the Wolverines ran a 3-4 defense which wasn't, and isn't, conducive for a DE to put up great numbers. In his senior season Charlton recorded 9.5 sacks and was named All Big Ten on defense.

First time GM John Lynch did a nice job in the 1st round for the 49ers and the Saints did a nice job in the 1st round. You'd have to think the Bears gave away too much to move up one spot in a deal with the 49ers to get a QB they probably would have gotten anyway. Bears fans are pissed to be sure.

You have 3 rounds in the books in the 2017 draft and from first glance you'd have to say that Cleveland, San Francisco and New Orleans are clear winners in this draft so far. The Browns have had 5 picks in the first 3 rounds and they have made the most of them. The got TAMU DE Myles Garrett with pick #1 and they added Jabril Peppers late in the 1st round after trading with Houston. The Browns made a surprise trade up to pick 29 in the first round and picked up TE David Njoku from Miami for a trifecta of really good talent added to the Browns roster. In the 2nd round Cleveland took QB Deshone Kizer from Notre Dame and in the 3rd round they took DT from Larry Ogunjobi from Charlotte. The Browns won't have a 4th round pick unless they make a deal to move up. They certainly have the ammunition to make a move as they have 3 5th round picks and 2 sixth rounders to make a deal with.

The Saints were able to address a lot of needs in Days 1 and 2 as they had two first round picks, 1 2nd round pick and 3 3rd round picks. The Saints got the best ranked CB in the draft in Marshawn Lattimore and they rounded out Day one by trading up to get OT Ryan Ramcyzk from Wisconsin. The Saints went defense with 4 of their 6 picks and they needed to as they were at the top of the heep in 2016 in points scored and points allowed. The Saints defense sucked and they have made a concerted effort to fix that so far in this draft. You'd have to say they have succeeded quite well especially when you consider they signed Adrian Peterson to a deal a day or two prior to the draft.

The 49ers began Day 1 getting the best of a stupid deal with the Chicago Bears who traded up one spot with San Fran so they could draft Mitch Trubisky. First time GM of the 49ers got extra picks and the player he wanted all along in Stanford's ace DT Solomon Thomas and they closed out Day 1 by moving back into the first round to take Alabama LB Reuben Foster. Two blue chip additions for new head coach Kyle Shanahan to rebuild their defense. San Fran gave up their 2nd round pick to move back into the 1st round to get Ramczyk but they had two 3rd round picks to work with. With the 1st of those picks the 49ers got Colorado CB Ahkello Witherspoon and with the 2nd pick they got a QB in Iowa's CJ Beathard who is the son of long time NFL GM and Hall of Famer Bobby Beathard.

The highlight of Day 2 was when Drew Pearson, announcing a pick for the Cowboys, totally trolled Philadelphia fans rubbing their noses in the fact that Dallas is a 5 time Super Bowl champion and he also thanked the Eagles for making him a success in the NFL. Burn!!!!! Here's an article from NFL.com with a accompanying video of Pearson's draft announcement and an interview after his moment with NFL Channel's Colleen Wolf. Awesome job, Drew!

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000804281/article/drew-pearson-just-went-toetotoe-with-philadelphia

Here's an article from NFL.com with 'quick snap' grades for all 32 teams through Day 2 in the draft.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000803905/article/2017-nfl-draft-quicksnap-grades-for-every-team-through-day-2

Once around the NFL post draft:

Talk about a kick in the teeth, the Buffalo Bills allowed GM Doug Whaley to complete the 2017 draft and a day later Bills owner Terry Pagula fired Whaley and his entire scouting department. This seems to be all part of the massive shake up in the Bills organization that began with firing of Rex Ryan at the conclusion of the 2016 season. The only guys to keep their jobs are new head coach Sean McDermott, who seems to have earned a large helping of trust from Pagula, and his assistant coaches.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/04/30/buffalo-bills-fire-general-manager-whaley-1-day-after-draft/101122504/

After scoring a hat trick of top draft picks in the 1st round of the draft Cleveland has let TE Gary Barnidge go. Barnidge was released one day after Cleveland selected TE David Njoku from the University of Miami. Barnidge was a good TE but he had trouble staying on the field because of a list of injuries that plagued him during his 4 years in Cleveland.

Another player to lose his job after the draft was Pittsburgh QB Zack Mettenberger. Originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2014 out of LSU he became expendable in Tennessee when they drafted Marcus Mariota. Mettenberger spent part of 2016 in San Diego and he finished the season in Pittsburgh. The Steelers let Mettenberger go after drafting Tennessee QB Josh Dobbs in this year’s draft.

Jamaal Charles will be visiting Denver in hopes the Broncos will sign him. Charles was released earlier this year after the Chiefs signed CJ Spiller in free agency. Denver would be an excellent fit for Jamaal and I hope the Broncos sign him.

In the most stunning trades made last year both Tennessee and Cleveland traded away the 1st and 2nd picks in the 2016 draft to the Rams and Philadelphia. NFL.com’s Conor Orr takes a look at those deals a year later in the article linked below.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000805418/article/how-have-browns-titans-done-on-wentzgoff-deals

The writers from NFL.com have given their draft winners as a team and SI.com has given their draft winners and losers on an individual basis and both articles are linked below.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000805536/article/which-team-won-the-2017-nfl-draft-browns-jags-49ers-lead-the-pack

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/04/30/nfl-draft-winners-losers-results

The NFL teams are doing just what the Cowboys and Texans are doing. They just finished their rookie mini-camps, they are in the process of signing their draft picks and signing their undrafted free agents and filling out their 90 man rosters in prep for the beginning of OTA’s this weekend. Not a lot of earth shattering news unless……..

…..you are worried what will happen to Colin Kaepernick. The beleaguered QB of the 49ers is hoping somebody, anybody wants him. His market value has decreased over the last couple of seasons for a couple of reasons; 1) he hasn’t played very well and 2) his passive aggressive protest of the pre-game National Anthem. I’m sure of one thing; if #1 wasn’t there #2 would not be a big deal. The NFL has shown time and again it will tolerate things if a player is performing at a high level. If a player has been stinking it up on the field then the off field stuff just adds wood to the “cut him” fire. What Kap needs is a new and improved Jim Harbaugh who knows how to take advantage of his talents. Trouble is I don’t see this Harbaugh clone anywhere in sight.

…..you saw the news that Kansas City first round pick was a victim of aggravated assault when Mahomes and three friends were robbed in front of Mahome’s house in Tyler TX.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000808874/article/chiefs-patrick-mahomes-victim-of-aggravated-robbery

…..you have noticed the Buffalo Bills are putting together a strong front office. They had already signed Carolina Panthers GM Brandon Beane and yesterday they signed the Texans Director of Player Personnel Brian Gaine to essentially the same job.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000808941/article/bills-hire-brian-gaine-as-vp-of-player-personnel

…..you heard that ESPN will have broadcaster Beth Mowens, along with former NFL coach Rex Ryan, call the Week 1 Monday Night Football double header late game marking the first time ever that a female broadcaster will call a nationally broadcast NFL regular season game. It will be the first time since 1987 when Gayle Sierans called a regional broadcast in 1987 for a female to handle play by play duties on a broadcast. It’s interesting to note the person responsible for making the decision to use Mowens was ESPN Senior Vice President of Events and Production Stephanie Druley. Mowens is a veteran broadcaster and she has called college games for years and, according to Druley, she deserves this opportunity.

……you don’t think that Florida Atlantic head football coach Lane Kiffin isn’t jumping the gun a bit offering full ride scholarship to a 13 year old QB named Kaden Martin from Redondo Beach CA who goes to Adams Middle School. Adams’ father is Tee Adams who was a QB at Tennessee and had a brief career in the NFL. The elder Adams was on Kiffin’s staff when he coached at USC where Adams is still an assistant coach. It’s incredible how a guy can offer a kid who hasn’t even taken a snap in high school a full scholarship. Talk about robbing the cradle!

……you had the list of the top six NFL teams NFL.com thinks will end a lengthy playoff draught in 2017.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000808954/article/buccaneers-most-likely-to-snap-lengthy-playoff-drought

The Chargers and Rams new stadium has suffered delays in construction and is not scheduled to open until 2020 according to reports from NFL.com.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000809686/article/opening-of-inglewood-stadium-delayed-until-2020

Remember Ryan Leaf? The QB from the University of Washington who was neck and neck with Peyton Manning coming out of Tennessee over which one would be the #1 pick in the 1998 draft? The guy who turned out to be a total bust in the NFL? The guy who was better at being a turd than he was at playing QB? Yeah, you remember him. The guy was a total tool bag and he admitted as much on Mike and Mike this morning. He talked about why he failed in the NFL, why he wasn’t liked as a person and how he had to sink to rock bottom as a person who was addicted to pain killers who ended going to prison for breaking and entering to steal money or goods to feed that addiction. Leaf talked about all that and more and what I heard was a guy who had the light come on while he was in prison. A guy who has turned his life around and with the help of family and friends is living a productive life. A guy who once was a self-centered, egotistical jerk is now making helping others his life’s work. There is an episode on the ESPN show E:60 on this Sunday morning that tells Leaf’s story and I think I’m going to check it out.

You don’t hear about the Steelers making bad personnel moves very often but when you do it is a real doozy. Last year the Steelers signed former Chargers tight end Ladarius Green to the a 4 year $20MM deal. Yesterday they cut him after just one season. The Steelers have actually paid Green $6MM of his deal before cutting him and he will count $3.5MM in dead money this season. Green was (or is?) a talented receiving TE but he has a well documented history of concussion and ankle problems which makes his signing by the Steelers a little puzzling in and of itself. The other three players on the Steelers TE depth chart are guys I have never even heard of. They are; Jesse James, Xavier Grimble and David Johnson.

Tom Brady has been in the news this past week. First his wife, Gisele Bundchen, was on a national morning talk show and she mentioned that she wishes Tom would retire because she worries about his health. She mentioned something about him having concussions. Brady has never had a documented case of having a concussion so maybe she interprets Tom saying he has a headache from time to time after a game. No big deal but the media, of course took her comments and ran with them. And of course, the NFL looked into her comments and found Brady was innocent of hiding any concussion issues. To me it was a loving wife worried about her man and, holy crap, a super model at that. Has anyone got it better than Tom Brady or what? To say Tom Brady’s life, other than deflate-gate, is idyllic is a huge understatement. The other news is Brady is now an official spokesman of the British automobile company Aston Martin. You know, the James Bond car makers?

What going on around the NFL?

Cleveland signed their #1 pick Myles Garrett to a $30.4MM deal.

NY Giants guard Justin Pugh is in the final year of his rookie deal and he feels like he is in the driver’s seat in contract negotiations with the team. He might want to take his foot off the gas because he has had trouble staying healthy. In his 4 years in the NFL he has only played all 16 games in a season once, in his rookie year, so he may not be in as good of a position as he thinks.

The Falcons are semi-confident they can get a deal done with RB Devonta Freeman. Two years ago he emerged as a top tier NFL RB and he expects to get paid as such. It sounds like Freeman is playing from a position of power in that relationship which is unlike the position Justin Pugh is playing from.

Troubled WR Michael Floyd is back in his home state after signing a deal this offseason to play for the Minnesota Vikings. The talented receiver is trying to resurrect a flagging career that he has nobody but himself to blame for. The incident that ended his career in Arizona was an incident classified by Scottsdale Arizona police as an extreme case of DUI when he was found passed out at an intersection with the motor running last season. The Cardinals actually cut Floyd and he was signed by New England. Talk about being shit on and coming up roses. He went from humiliation and losing his job to being on a Super Bowl winning ball club. Vikings coach Mike Zimmers is confident the Vikings have a strong support structure that can help Floyd overcome his substance abuse issue. The Vikings have high hopes for their season as they have moved on from the Adrian Peterson era and they are embracing the Sam Bradford-Latavius Murray era which also features a receiving corps led by Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and TE Kyle Rudolph.

With the 2016/17 school year ending comes this story from a high school in Iowa. A student got his teacher, who is a huge Aaron Rodgers fan, to agree to excuse her class from taking their final exam in her Sports Literature class. A student in the class tweeted to @AaronRodgers12 that if he would retweet the message his teacher would excuse them from the exam. This was Rodgers response; I'm sure a sports lit final is very important, but here you go....#PayItForwardFriday https://t.co/Kj9pMwMDlT â Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) May 19, 2017. Later in the day a students in another high school got out of an American History final by soliciting a Brett Favre retweet.

OTA's have begun. Actually, this is Week 2 of offseason workouts around the league. Here are some things I find interesting.

> Mike Tirico will be the new play-by-play announcer on NBC's Thursday Night Football games replacing Al Michaels. Michaels isn't out altogether at NBC as he will still be paired with Cris Collingsworth on Sunday Night Football, which is IMO the best prime time telecast going. The report is that Tirico will only be on a one year deal but he's definitely elbowing his way into the top of the NBC broadcasts since he moved away from ESPN last year.

> Brock Osweiler is "a pleasant surprise" in Browns OTA's.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000812358/article/brock-osweiler-a-pleasant-surprise-in-browns-camp

> The Jets' Christian Hackenberg has a cannon but has a lot to prove according to an NFL.com article.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000812306/article/christian-hackenberg-has-cannon-but-still-needs-work

That's about it. I hate to say it but there really isn't anything worth talking about. NFL.com just has filler content right now and Bleacher Report is about the same. The Osweiler article is a bit of a hoot. I remember this time last year I was fired up as Osweiler was saying and doing all the right things to get fired up about. Unfortunately, he didn't live up to the hype and that's why he's in Cleveland. Now, he does talk a good game and he's probably a cracker-jack QB against air but as we all saw last season he has poor field vision and he's inaccurate as hell as times. Cleveland could be in trouble if Osweiler is better than Cody Kessler or Kevin Hogan then I would be extremely worried about the prospects for this 2017 team. The Browns have spent the past two drafts in a real life "Draft Day" scenario. They have accumulated a lot of talent and stockpiled a ton of really good draft picks but this is two years in a row they have passed on drafting their future franchise QB. 3 years ago their shot at a franchise QB was Johnny Manziel who was a bust and a half for them. Before that it was Brandon Weeden and before that it was Brady Quinn, etc. Maybe this franchise is just afraid of pulling the trigger on a QB because they have been so bad at drafting. Can you believe it's been since the 1980s when Cleveland had their last really good QB? Can you name him? Okay, you give up, I'll tell you. Bernie Kosar. He led the Browns to two consecutive AFC Championship games but he just couldn't get past John Elway and the Broncos. I feel bad for Cleveland. The Jets too because they have been so bad for so freaking long. It would be great for the NFL if Cleveland could make a climb back to respectability. I have to admit, and I think I have admitted this before but Cleveland is my NFL guilty pleasure. I like watching them in hopes that they have finally found the formula to beat the damn Steelers and the Ravens. I really don't like either team. I can take Cincinnati or leave them. I don't care but they seem to embrace the criminal element more than most teams. But I just need for Cleveland to be the best team in the AFC North. Do you guys have a secret love of a team? Who could it be?

The NFL is gearing up for the openings to training camps across the league. The Cowboys and Cardinals begin training camp today because they will be playing in a fifth preseason game, the Hall of Fame game, coming up in a couple of weeks.

The link below comes from NFL.com as they give a training camp preview of all the teams. There are tabs in the article and you can browse the tabs that are separated by division. The first tab is the AFC North and there are a lot of questions to answer in this division but if you don’t give a crap about a given division you can cherry pick a division you do care about.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000818517/article/afc-north-training-camp-preview-key-issues-players-to-watch

It looks like Andrew Luck is starting out training camp next week on PUP as he continues to rehab from offseason shoulder surgery.

The Arizona Cardinals, who begin training camp today, have already announced that QB Carson Palmer and WR Larry Fitzgerald will not play in the Hall of Fame game. Not exactly earth shattering news.

Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com gives his list of 13 veteran players who could be surprise cuts during this training camp. It’s rather surprising that the #1 guy on his list is former Texans and Broncos QB Brock Osweiler. How far has this guy fallen from grace?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000821386/article/nfl-training-camp-thirteen-potential-surprise-cuts

I am still pissed that the Cleveland Browns for allowing Terrelle Pryor test the free agent waters for 2 reasons. 1) I have been hoping the Browns finally escape mediocrity and start winning games again. They haven’t been relative since the late 80’s when Bernie Kosar was the QB and letting a player like Pryor go don’t make sense especially when they had plenty of space under their salary cap. The other reason is because by allowing Pryor to become a free agent allowed a division rival, the Washington Redskins, got better by signing him.

In fantasy circles who will you choose between Dalvin Cook and Latavius Murray to be a RB1 or 2 in fantasy leagues this fall? Murray signed a free agent deal to move from Oakland to Minnesota and Dalvin Cook, a highly touted college prospect, was drafted in the 2^nd round and both guys will be trying to fill the very big shoes of Adrian Peterson who is now a New Orleans Saint.

Still in Minnesota, the Vikings have all kinds of issues. The projected starting QB last summer was Terry Bridgewater but he was knocked out for the season with a devastating leg injury. Bridgewater is rehabbing from that injury and will begin training camp on PUP. NFL.com is also reporting that Sam Bradford is much better after a full offseason with the Vikings. Last year after Bridgewater got hurt he had a week to prepare for Week 1 which included learning the whole Vikings playbook. Another guy of concern in Minnesota is head coach Mike Zimmer. Last season Zimmer got something in his eye and he sort of blew it off but he ended up scratching the lens of his eye and he actually missed time late last season because of it. There was a feature on the NFL Channel yesterday talking about the fact that Zimmer is not and may remain legally blind in that eye.

Finally, there is an article linked below from NFL.com that features LaDanian Tomlinson giving his take on 5 RB’s who could have a breakout season for their teams and also for fantasy football team owners. Within the article are page tabs for breakout cornerbacks and linebackers.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000820756/article/packers-ty-montgomery-among-running-backs-set-to-break-out

There is some news of note in the NFL so let’s not waste any time.

Jay Cutler is now a Miami Dolphin due to the injury to Ryan Tannehill. The Dolphins head coach, Adam Gase, was Cutler’s OC at Chicago and it’s a logical fit to bring in Cutler. Tannehill injured his left knee in practice last Thursday and its feared he will need season ending surgery. Cutler had his first practice today and Gase was pleased with what he saw. Cutler signed a one year, $10 MM contract yesterday. The Dolphins will play their first preseason game Thursday but Cutler isn’t expected to play as he continues to round into football shape. Matt Moore will lead the first team offense on Thursday night. Considering how much Cutler was just paid the Dolphins don’t expect Cutler to be the backup, he’s there to start and as soon as he’s back up to NFL speed that is what he will do. Cutler might have the best supporting cast since he was traded away from Denver in Miami and he’s playing for the coach who coached him during the best season he had as a pro.

Could we just stop with all the Colin Kaepernick crap? Kaepernick is an average QB AT BEST. He had two decent seasons under Jim Harbaugh but that’s it. Since Harbaugh left San Fran Kap has done nothing of note but protest the National Anthem. Kaepernick was the second leading rusher among QB’s but 498 yards isn’t all that great. The people who want Kap to be playing probably are fantasy football fanatics. There’s a big difference between being valuable as a fantasy player and actually being good for a real-life football team. He’s ranked 29th in passing in the NFL and if you can’t succeed as read-option QB in a Chip Kelly offense you suck, period. Nick Foles did better than Kaepernick in Kelly’s offense in Philly. Listen, if Kaepernick was all that great he would be on an NFL roster right now. Jay Cutler is a better NFL QB and he’s familiar with the Adam Gase offense. THAT is why the Dolphins signed Cutler and not Kaepernick. For all those dummies who think Kaepernick is being black balled because of his National Anthem protest think again. If he was all that great teams would be falling all over themselves to sign him protest be damned. The fact is -- he’s not good enough for a team to deal with the circus surrounding Kaepernick’s off-field issues and the ultimate fact is, he’s not all that good period.

Vince Wilfork officially retired this week meaning the nose tackle spot will likely be filled by former Clemson DT DJ Reader.

Brock Osweiler has been named the starter in the Browns preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night. Osweiler failed in Houston and was dealt to Cleveland this past spring as NBA-like salary cap move by the Browns front office because they were so far under the minimum money they needed to have on the books under the NFL/NFLPA labor agreement. Nobody, based on his performance in Houston in 2016, believed Osweiler had a snowball's chance in hell of remaining with the Browns even this long. It doesn't mean Osweiler will be the Browns starter going forward, it just means he's starting Game 1 of the preseason. It could be the Browns are showcasing him so they can get a trade with somebody or maybe Osweiler didn't get good coaching from Bill O'Brien's staff last year? Who knows? I sort of care because the Browns are my NFL guilty pleasure.

One thing I'm still pissed about is the Browns not signing WR Terrelle Pryor and allowing him to test the free agent market and eventually going to the damn Redskins. I want the Browns to get better so I'm disappointed about that and I am totally against one of Dallas' NFC East foes getting better. Pryor was about the only consistent playmaker for the Browns last season and the Browns had plenty of cap space to sign him long term. Last year was Pryor's first year playing WR and he did a damn nice job. Boo Cleveland front office, you guys blew it again.

For a while there will be more football on TV than you can shake a stick at with games on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for starters. By the time you get tired of wannabe’s trying to make an NFL roster College Football will start. Football is back, baby!

HBO’s Hard Knocks returns tonight featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It should be an interesting show because the Bucs have a decent team and they had a nice draft this spring. The only person not happy about it is Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter. Koetter doesn’t like the spotlight so much and, while he admits he likes the Hard Knocks show, he’s not a fan of BEING on the show. That, in itself, is funny. Can’t wait to watch.

The Tampa Bay Bucs have cut their 2016 2nd round pick K Robert Aguayo on the heels of the Bucs loss to Cincinnati on Friday night. Aguayo missed an extra point and a 47 yard field goal in the game. Aguayo was a pretty high draft pick to give up on so quickly but a kicker is either good or he's bad and apparently the Bucs didn't see any future with him.

Earlier in the week the Bills traded away former 1st round pick Sammy Watkins to Rams in exchange for CB EJ Gaines with the deal also including a swap of draft picks in 2018. Watkins did not play in last night's game against Dallas. In a corresponding move Buffalo made a deal with Philadelphia sending starting CB Ronald Darby to Philly in exchange for WR Jordan Matthews. The Bills have apparently tired of Sammy Watkins always being on the DL and his lack of production when he does play so they decided to move on.

Earlier this week the Chicago Bears saw the debut of their 1st round draft pick Mitch Trubisky and he didn't disappoint. He showed poise, arm strength and accuracy. A pleasant surprise for Chicago and to the people who thought drafting Trubisky with the 2nd overall pick in the draft. Now, it's way too early to declare him the 2nd coming of Tom Brady but for his first NFL game experience he was impressive. He certainly looked better than veteran Mike Glennon who the Bears signed this offseason and who people expected to be the Bears starter in Week 1. Glennon has to be sweating just a little be after being out played by Trubisky.

The Colts have big problems. Right now, Andrew Luck is currently rehabbing his right shoulder following offseason surgery but the problem is, it is looking like he won’t be available to begin the season. He began training camp on PUP and he continues to be on PUP as of today. The problem is, if Luck begins the season on PUP he will have to miss the first six weeks of the season. The Colts could remove Luck from PUP prior to the beginning of the season and he would be eligible to play Week 1 with no difficulties from NFL league rules. The trouble is, if Luck is active but unable to play they will have to rely on either Scott Tolzien, 2nd year player Stephen Morris or rookie Phillip Walker. Yikes!!

Michael Bennett of the Seahawks and Marshawn Lynch of the Raiders both sat down during the National Anthem prior to their games this past weekend. Bennett said he was doing it in protest to raise awareness to racism and intolerance. He was not singling out the police as Kaepernick did but rather he wants people to live together in peace. Nice sentiments Michael but doing something so inflammatory can’t do anything but cause a division between people of like minds and people who feel disrespecting the flag and our National Anthem is spitting in the face of all the men and women who defend our nation and communities, especially those who have died in that service.

Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht, in an interview with Monday Morning Quarterback, expressed deep regret at having to release 2nd year kicker Roberto Aguayo this past weekend after he missed an extra point and a 47-yard field goal. According to MMQB Licht is truly broken up about the turn of events just a little over a year after he traded up in the 2016 draft to select Aguayo. Aguayo’s problems are equated to a golfer with the yips, a condition where the golfer has trouble mentally with putting that translates to a physical inability to execute the shot properly. Aguayo was not able to find any level of consistency in 2016 and his struggles continued through OTA’s and training camp. All the discussion of this will certainly come to light in graphic detail as the Bucs are featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks. Either this week’s or next week’s episode with likely feature this in typical HBO depth. The story isn’t over for Aguayo either because he was signed by the Chicago Bears almost immediately. In a very ironic twist of fate Aguayo will be battling Connor Barth for the kicking job. Connor Barth was released by Tampa last year to make room for ---- wait for it ----- Roberto Aguayo.

Here’s NFL.com’s assessment of the winners, losers and standout rookies from the first full week of preseason football games.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000829698/article/the-debrief-winners-losers-and-standout-rookies

I am a fan of Oklahoma football and I have watched both Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon during their careers and I always thought that Mixon was the better player even though Perine got most of the publicity. It seems to be manifesting itself even more in the NFL as Mixon did a great job for Cincinnati this past weekend and Perine struggled with the Giants. If you’re thinking fantasy think Mixon, at least ahead of his former teammate, Perine.

NFL.com needs to get its stories straight. In one article (linked above) the NY Jets Christian Hackenberg was considered one of this past week’s losers while in the following link a different author feels Hackenberg’s outing was a signal of hope for Jets fans. Go figure.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000829403/article/jets-christian-hackenberg-inspires-hope-in-first-outing

My guilty pleasure in the NFL is the Cleveland Browns. Maybe it’s because they are the ultimate underdog and we all know Americans love to root for the underdog. I have been hoping that all the really great things the Browns have done on the past couple of drafts will finally bear some righteous fruit. When the Kevin Costner move “Draft Day” came out it was like a precursor to all the wheeling and dealing the Browns did on the real draft day less than a month after the movie's release in 2014.

The past 4 drafts the Browns have cleaned up on draft picks because of all the wheeling and dealing the Browns GM’s have done. In 2014 and 2015 the Cleveland GM was Ray Farmer. After a major overhaul of the Browns front office by owner Jimmy Haslam Sashi Brown, a non-football guy who made his bones as a lawyer was the de facto GM only his title was Vice President of Football Operations. Brown then hired Paul Dipodesta, who was the model for Jonah Hill’s character in the film Money Ball, to be the guru for player acquisition. Another non-football guy who was going to bring sabermetrics to the NFL. Nobody in the Browns organization holds the title of General Manager but it’s Brown who has been calling the shots. The common thread in the organization since Haslam bought the team has been instability at the top of the team. 3 GMs since 2012 and 4 head coaches in the same time frame. However, people really seem to have bought into the Sashi Brown-Hue Jackson regime despite the fact that their first year yielded the worst record in the NFL (1-15) and earned them the #1 pick in this year’s draft. In recent years, Cleveland has had a number of high picks but they have been trading them to move down in the first round while stockpiling a slew of draft picks. Last year Cleveland traded their 3rd pick in the draft to Philadelphia who selected Carson Wentz. There has been much speculation about the loss of that opportunity as the Browns are still looking for a franchise QB. Could it be this year’s second round pick, DeShone Kizer? Could it be Hue Jackson’s pet cat Cody Kessler? Or could it be Brock Osweiler who the Browns took in a trade with Houston for the sole reason of upping their team salary to get above the minimum salary spent by a team. It was an NBA type of trade that everyone praised the Cleveland front office for because of their ability to think outside the box. Trouble was, nobody told Osweiler he didn’t have a shot in hell of being the Browns QB according to the football pundits. The deal of their 3rd pick in 2016 and the deals made in previous years netted the Browns 14 draft picks in last year’s draft led by WR Corey Coleman, DE Emmanuel Ogbah and Cody Kessler. To the Browns credit all but one of their picks from last year are still on the team. The only guy not with Cleveland is 7th round pick LB Scooby Wright III who was signed off the Browns practice squad in December of last year by Arizona. Not bad drafting. Still it only resulted in one win in 2016 for the year.

The very first pick in this year’s draft belonged to Cleveland and this year the Browns did not trade back to get more draft picks. They opted to keep the pick and they drafted consensus #1 prospect Myles Garrett from TAMU. He was the first of 3 first round picks by the Browns who selected Michigan S Jabril Peppers and Miami TE David Njoku. The Browns picked DeShone Kizer in the 2nd round and he’s been gaining ground on Kessler and Osweiler. In 2016 there were at least five games the Brown had won but let slip away. That is the problem with young teams, they have to learn how to win. Personally, I am sort of torn between rooting for Kessler or for Osweiler. Kessler did well in limited action last year and Osweiler got hammered so badly in Houston last season I can’t help but feel like the guy could use another chance. It’s pretty consensus that Kizer will be good but he’s not ready to start in the NFL. There will be another shot for Kessler and Kizer this week against Tampa Bay on Saturday night. It’s being reported that Osweiler won’t be playing. The question is whether Osweiler is being protected from injury because the Browns are still looking to trade him or did the interception he threw against the Giants cost him a shot at being the Browns starter in Week 1?

One other note about the Browns, I don’t know why Cleveland let the best playmaker the Browns had in 2016, Terrelle Pryor, go via free agency. They had the cap space and could have signed him easily but they didn’t. The Browns would have had 2 big, fast targets for whoever wins the starting QB job in Pryor and Corey Coleman. Maybe the Browns were counting on getting Josh Gordon back off his suspension for marijuana use. Gordon missed the entire 2016 because of the suspension and if Cleveland was counting on getting Gordon back they have got to be pissed because NFL.com is reporting that Gordon’s reinstatement isn’t even on the league office’s radar.

I will be paying attention to this week’s game because this 3rd game is usually tabbed the dress rehearsal game and whoever starts is likely going to be the Week 1 QB for this team. Unless, of course, he stinks up the place in which case Kizer or Osweiler may be back on the radar. As you can tell, I am assuming Cody Kessler will start Saturday night and if he does, I hope he does well.

One last note. A fairly chicken-pickin’ low hit on the Giants Odell Beckham Jr was enough to throw a scare into the Giants coaching staff. OBJ had to be helped off the field and you could feel a definite chill in the air as Giants coaches and fans were holding their collective breath. The current weather patterns were likely influenced by the high pressure system that resulted after the collected exhale by those same coaches and fans when x-rays on OBJ’s knee came back negative. I think it’s needless to say that the Browns CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun will not be on OBJ’s Christmas card list since he’s the one who scared everyone in Giant-nation half to death with that low hit.