WR Bryant might lose his chance of putting on Browns jersey

Being ranked the top wide receiver of this year’s draft, former Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant has to manage a list of teams that he is going to visit. However, his value seems dropped to some team like the Cleveland Browns, who were said to be no longer interested in the receiver.

According to some rumors, the Browns will cancel the visit of Bryant as they removed his name from the team’s list of acquirable players. One of the possible reasons is that the Browns would not like to take a player with checkered background and Bryant is well-known for his off-field issues. That is reasonable if we recall why the Browns released wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who was signed by the New York Jets two days after being cut and how they gave up tenth overall pick Michael Crabtree to the San Francisco 49ers.

The Browns under head coach Eric Mangini have a lot of reasons to be strict or careful with players’ background, but the problem is other teams are making bold move to acquire as good player as possible and the remaining players that are qualified to put on Browns jersey may be just less talented.

WR Holmes took off Steelers jersey to join Jets

After spending all his first four career years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, wide receiver Santonio Holmes finally had to say goodbye to his No. 10 Steelers jersey. He was traded to the New York Jets by the Steelers on Sunday night for a fifth-round draft pick this month. While the Steelers felt getting rid of a trouble-causer, the Jets happily accepted a great help in passing game.

Being named the 2009 Super Bowl MVP, Holmes has 235 career catches for 3,835 yards and 20 touchdowns during the past career. However, he kept getting troubled off the field. The latest trouble is a lawsuit against him from a woman, who claims the 26-year-old receiver threw a glass at her, cutting her above the eye, in an Orlando nightclub. Before that he used to be arrested for possession of marijuana in 2008 and involved in a domestic violence incident in 2006.

Lucky for Holmes, what matters in Jets is only his talent in football. The team has shown an open mind to players with questionable backgrounds. They traded for receiver Braylon Edwards two days after the Cleveland Browns released him for punching a friend of NBA star LeBron James, and they also acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie from the San Diego Chargers even though the back is dealing with paternity issues. They are even interested in bringing in former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, who is serving a prison sentence for possessing unlicensed gun.

Cowboys RB Jones could win starting job over Barber

According to the Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, running back Felix Jones has a big chance to win the starting job over Marion Barber, who has been the starting running back in Cowboys jersey for the past two years. Felix’s winning chance is majorly resulted from his performance in the final six games of last season.

"That has been a consideration, and it certainly is a consideration," Jerry Jones told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "… Based on preliminary input from our coaches, you could certainly see Felix in there earlier."

Jones’ numbers in the final six games include 475 rushing yards, two touchdowns on 79 carries, 13 passes for 94 yards and 92 touches for 569 yards, while starter Barber had only 73 rushes for 281 yards and eight catches for 77 yards with a total of 81 touches for 358 yards in the same final six games.

Latest reports said Rams are not interested in acquiring McNabb

While earlier reports said that the St. Louis Rams had already offered a second-round draft pick along with safety Oshiomoghe Atogwe for acquiring the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, the latest reports said it was definitely untrue.

Per the new reports, Atogwe is coming off shoulder surgery and ended the season on injured reserve, and would have to sign a tender offer before the Rams could trade him. He had made 60 consecutive starts and was the team’s second-leading tackler before getting hurt in early December. Instead of being interested in McNabb, the reports said the Rams actually are planning to take Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford with the first pick of the draft.

Well, by so far, there has not been any confirmation of either report from the Rams general manager Billy Devaney. But it’s just reasonable for this kind of thing to happen as the Rams, who ended last season 1-15, indeed need a big-name quarterback to improve their offense line, while the Eagles are believed to get rid of at least one of their three quarterbacks remaining on roster. McNabb is the oldest and thus unsurprisingly surfaced in such trade rumors.

Veteran OT Sims returned to 49ers on a one-year contract

The San Francisco 49ers has brought back veteran offensive tackle Barry Sims with a one-year contract as part of the plan of bringing some continuity to a unit that was plagued by injury last season. That is to say, Sims could still play a fill-in role that he played for the 49ers last season.

“Yes, I assume that would be the case, to provide depth and with my experience, be able to play both sides and really help the younger guys develop a little quicker,” Sims said. “We have such a great group of guys, especially on the offensive line, which I really look forward to working with those guys.”

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Sims has been wearing NFL jerseys for 11 years with the last two being spent with the 49ers. Appearing in 30 games and making 15 starts, he had eight starts at right tackle in 2008 as replacement to injured Jonas Jennings and seven starts last season replacing Joe Staley, who was sidelined with a knee injury.

Tom Brady will remain a part of the Patriots

According to the New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the team will keep both star quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick as part of the franchise for a while. He is also confident that Brady would like to stay in Patriots jersey for the rest of his NFL career.

Brady’s current contract will expire after the 2010 season when he is to be 34 years old, whether he would continue playing in the league or announce retirement remains questionable. What’s more, under the uncapped year rules, teams are limited to giving veterans more than a 30 percent raise each year in new contracts. With a base salary of $5 million in 2009, Brady’s salary could rise to only $6.5 million in 2010 if any new contract is coming.

Under the current contract, Brady’s base salary for 2010 is $3.5 million. If he decides to leave for a new team next offseason, his base salary could start at $4.55 million. So apparently, it’s better for Brady to remain with Patriots before retiring as a whole-life Patriot.

Steelers do not plan to look for replacement to Roethlisberger

Despite the lawsuit against the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers seem confident that the quarterback will be fine enough to be available for the 2010 season and they do not have any plan to draft a quarterback using their high picks.

According to director of football operations Kevin Colbert, the job of starting quarterback is set to be given to Roethlisberger, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student in Milledgeville, Ga. and is receiving investigations.

Roethlisberger has not been charged with a crime yet and his attorney, Ed Garland, has denied that Roethlisberger has committed a crime. However, Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin expressed his concern about the situation, seeming less confident than Colbert about the quarterback’s returning. If the quarterback is charged with a crime, will the Steelers get a replacement quick enough to fill in? Let’s stay tuned.

Whitehurst trade was finished between Chargers and Seahawks

One day after restricted free agent quarterback Charlie Whitehurst signed the offer sheet with the Seattle Seahawks, the trade of him from the Dan Diego Chargers to the Seahawks was finalized, and the Chargers received a second-round pick in next month’s draft and a 2011 draft pick as compensation for losing the little-used Whitehurst.

Whitehurst put on his first Chargers jersey in 2006 as a third-round draft pick but has never thrown a pass in the NFL and played in only two NFL regular-season games. However, he still received a two-year $8 million contract with incentives from the Seahawks, who are very likely to use him as backup for three-time Pro Bowl passer Matt Hasselbeck.

The Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll explained the reason for the team’s confidence in Whitehurst.

"We looked at the films -- he has played extensively in the preseason -- the kinds of throws he's made, the defenses he played against, all kinds of situations," he said during Thursday's news conference to introduce Whitehurst. "We thought we accumulated enough information. The fact that he is such a good athlete, that he runs so well, he has very good feet, good speed for the quarterback position, we think he enhances the style of play we want to put out there."

Seahawks’ new general manager John Schneider also said that Whitehurst would be part of the team’s draft class but he added that the team could add another quarterback to roster from next month’s draft with one of the two first-round picks in their hands.

Eagles signed free agent WR Baskett back from Colts

Five-year veteran wide receiver Hank Basket ended his free agency on Friday by signing a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles, wearing back his No. 81 Eagles jersey after spending several months with the Indianapolis Colts.

Baskett was released by the Eagles last September after three seasons in Philadelphia. Finding his new job with the Colts, Baskett played totally 15 games primarily as a special teams player for the Colts, including the playoffs. He caught five passes for 34 yards with the Colts.

During the three seasons he played as an Eagle, Baskett totally played in 47 games with 71 catches for 1,046 yards and six touchdowns, including three longer-than-85-yard TD catches.

Jets signed free agent safety Pool with one-year contract

Free agent safety Brodney Pool did not receive a second-round tender from his former team the Cleveland Browns; however, after becoming an unrestricted free agent, he received a one-year deal from another team, the New York Jets.

According to latest reports, Pool and the Jets have agreed in principle to the one-year contract worth $1.3 million on Thursday. And Pool’s agent Ben Dogra gold reporters that the deal also includes a $1.2 million guaranteed money.

“He’s going to sign there and have a great opportunity to play in a terrific defense under Rex Ryan,” Dogra said. “It was the No. 1 place for him and hopefully it’s the first year of many for him there as a New York Jet.”

At age 25, Pool was expected to replace Kerry Rhodes, who was traded by the Jets to the Arizona Cardinals last weekend. However, he has been suffering head injuries that caused him to miss the Browns’ final five games last season. Before that he had had at least three concussions.

Regardless of his health condition, Pool has done pretty good job since putting on the Browns jersey in 2005 as a second-round pick out of Oklahoma. He had 50 tackles, four interceptions and a sack before being injured at Cincinnati in Week 12. Having 11 interceptions and 4 sacks in five seasons, he also holds the Browns’ franchise record of interception return that went 100 yards for a score in a 2007-season game against the Baltimore Ravens.

Raiders released two veterans on Monday

Two days after cutting ties with veteran running back Justin Fargas on Saturday, the Oakland Raiders continued dumping veteran players by releasing another two veterans: wide receiver Javon Walker and defensive end Greg Ellis.

Walker was a disappointment right from the start after signing a $55 million contract that included an $11 million signing bonus two years ago. He caught 15 passes for 196 yards and one touchdown in two injury-plagued seasons in Raiders jerseys, while receiving $14 million in pay. When they signed Walker, the Raiders’ expectation was to add a No. 1 receiver to roster because Walker’s previous performance was good enough to have a good deal. He had 89 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2004 for the Green Bay Packers and 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight scores in 2006 for the Denver Broncos. After injuring his knee in 2007, he was totally a different player. He was out of shape at the beginning of 2008 season and was injured again in June during a robbery in Las Vegas. In his first season with the Raiders, he played in eight games before getting injured again and having to finish the season in injured reserve. He barely played in 2009 season while recovering from a knee surgery.

As for Ellis, he was offered a two-year contract by the Raiders after being released by the Dallas cowboys. Contrary to Walker, Ellis proved a strong veteran presence on Raiders’ defensive line by tying for the team lead with seven sacks last season. He was cut along with Walker partly because he got hampered by chronic knee problems in the second half of last season. Another possible reason is that he was due a $2.5 million salary for 2010 season but the Raiders do not want to pay him that money.

Browns got OL Pashos with three-year contract

Finishing last season with the San Francisco 49ers, veteran offensive lineman Tony Pashos is ready to enjoy the new season in the new Cleveland Browns jersey. According to latest reports, the Browns have signed Pashos with a three-year contract worth $10.3 million.

When his free agency began last Friday, Pashos made a visit to the Washington Redskins, but didn’t progress to his liking. Then he flew to Cleveland on Saturday night and a deal was done on Sunday at Browns headquarters in Berea, Ohio. Thus the big, physical lineman from Illinois with a blue-collar mentality will fit in the offense line of the worst team in the AFC North.

Pashos’ experience as a pro:

His NFL career started in 2003 when the Baltimore Ravens drafted him as a fifth-round pick. He spent all of his first four seasons with the Ravens and then left for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season he joined the 49ers but only played in five games before going on injured reserve.

Safety Rolle now has more choices after being released by Cardinals

By so far, being released by the Arizona Cardinals has not been a bad thing for safety Antrel Rolle, who is now a hot target of many other teams on the free-agent market. According to reports, he is now having at least four choices for the 2010 season.

The New York Daily News reported that the suitors for Rolle now include at least the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears and the Cardinals, yeah, the Cardinals are actually hoping that Rolle would wear back his No. 21 Cardinals jersey after being released for financial reason.

According to reports, the Dolphins have offered a five-year contract as the Giants did but for less money. And the Cardinals’ offer of six-year deal worth $32.6 million was refused by Rolle, causing a lot to guess if there is any possibility of Rolle’s return to Arizona. After all, he is now a free agent with the freedom to choose which team to join.

Rolle was drafted by the Cardinals as the No. 6 overall pick in 2005. Spending all of the past five seasons with only the Cardinals, Rolle had 72 tackles and four interceptions last season and has said that he wants to make $8 million annually.

Jets have acquired CB Cromartie from Chargers

It was just a few hours before the March 5 deadline for free agency and the New York Jets had a deal done with the San Diego Chargers to acquire cornerback Antonio Cromartie, who will team with Darrelle Revis in Jets’ secondary to be possibly the best cornerback tandem in the NFL.

The Jets have confirmed that the two teams agreed in principle about trading Cromartie on Thursday night but no detailed information has been available. Earlier that day, the Jets released another cornerback Lito Sheppard, seeming to prepare for the joining of Cromartie, who was an All-Pro in 2007 but did not have good time during the last two seasons with the Chargers.

Putting on Chargers jersey in 2006 as the 19th overall draft pick, Cromartie has had 15 interceptions in the past four seasons but did not satisfy the Chargers with expected performance late last season and in the playoffs.

Cromartie also has troubles off the field. He has dealt with at least five paternity suits and fathered seven children by several women. He also had a bar patron claim that he hit him in the head with a champagne bottle hours after the team’s victory at Denver last November. To make it worse, he was disciplined by Coach Norv Turner for breaking team rules regarding tweeting from the team premises.

He was no longer the talented cornerback who set the Chargers’ franchise record with an NFL-leading 10 interceptions and added two more picks in the playoffs in 2007 season, when the Chargers made it to the AFC championship game. He had just two interceptions in 2008 season and three in last season, making the Chargers increasingly disappointed with him and finally made the decision to trade him.

No deal is done: Steelers safety Clark is ready to join market

Although the Pittsburgh Steelers remain in touch with pending unrestricted free agent safety Ryan Clark, no deal has been done yet while it is only one day left before the March 5 deadline. Clark is getting prepared to hit the open market on Friday morning as a free agent.

"Right now, communication is open," Clark’s agent, Joel Turner, told National Football Post today. "We’ve agreed to stay in touch. Neither party has shut the door."

Steelers director of football operations said that Clark is a high priority during the NFL scouting combine. But it’s been more than a week since the Steelers locked up nose tackle Casey Hampton with a new contract and used a franchise tag to retain kicker Jeff Reed, and the Steelers and Clark have not agreed on a new contract.

Neither Clark nor Turner is worrying about anything. If the Steelers do not take action in time, they would be glad to hit the free agent market to test Clark’s value. It’s no need to regret for taking off Steelers jersey because there are more and better chances outside the Pittsburgh, they believe.

Patriots LB Thomas may land Jets soon

As it has been expected that the New England Patriots will release linebacker Adalius Thomas during this offseason, Thomas himself has had a plan for the next team he is going to join after taking off the Patriots jersey: the New York Jets.

"I was hanging with Adalius Thomas for Super Bowl weekend," Jets linebacker Bart Scott told ESPN Radio on Tuesday. "He made it public that he’s expressed interest in joining (Coach Rex Ryan). I think some of his better years of his career have been a part of the Ravens’ defense and under Rex Ryan’s tutelage. It’ll be exciting."

Thomas will turn 33 in this August. It would be hard if the Patriots choose to trade him as his contract will make few teams like to make good offer. Due to earn $4.9 million this season and $5.9 million in ’11, the Patriots are likely to release him some time before they have to pay him the roster bonus.

Jets set to release RB Jones this week

The New York Jets have told their running back Thomas Jones that they will cut ties with him when the league’s free agency period begins on Friday, letting the leader of the league’s top-ranked rushing offense become test his value in free agent market.

“Thomas joined us three years ago and has been a productive, passionate leader both on and off the field who has served as a positive influence for our younger players,” Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said in a statement. “We were fortunate to acquire Thomas and wish him the best.”

If Jones continues playing in Jets jersey for 2010 season, the Jets will have to pay him $3 million roster bonus and a $2.8 million base salary. Failing to persuade Jones to accept a contract restructure, which means a pay cut, the Jets now have no other choice than letting him go. The 31-year-old is coming off a season in which he set career highs by rushing for 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns while helping the Jets reach the AFC championship game against Indianapolis, and there must be a team that is willing to pay as much as he demands.

Rams said QB Vick is not on their top consideration

Although it has been rumored for quite a while that the St. Louis Rams are planning to acquire quarterback Michael Vick from the Philadelphia Eagles, the Rams themselves are considering to use first overall pick to draft some standout quarterback from the draft.

According to Rams Coach Steve Spagnuolo, the Rams have not had any conversations with the Eagles about acquiring Vick as they are giving more and more consideration to drafting Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford, assuming his injured right shoulder checks out favorably and he throws well at his pro day. They can also chose to take Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the first overall pick. So there is only very small chance that Vick would put on Rams jersey for 2010 season.

Having a different opinion from the coach, Rams running back Steven Jackson considers it is better for the Rams to trade the first overall pick to get more second-rounder or third-round picks as that would bring more choices to the organization that is in need of big improvements.

Bengals expect OT Smith to return in two months

It is hopefully that the Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Andre Smith will wear back his Bengals jersey for return by May as he is making positive process in recovery after the repairing surgery. The Bengals are expecting him to anchor the right tackle position again in 2010 season.

"We took some dramatic steps to make sure it was not a lingering issue this coming fall," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said today at the NFL scouting combine. "At this point everything has gone very, very well and he’s on schedule, which is good. He was still having some pain at some different times last season that he wouldn’t admit to very often to many people but we wanted to get it addressed. We had him looked at by a lot of foot specialists and they all recommended that he get this addressed."

Smith suffered an injury just a few days after halting his training camp holdout last summer but managed to play in the final six games of last season. The repairing surgery was operated to prevent any future fractures. Although he was overweight when he was drafted by the Bengals in the first round and drew a lot of negative attention, Smith still managed to impress people with his effectiveness as a pro athlete.

Steelers gave tag to Kicker Reed after finalized deal with NT Hampton

Instead of following the Patriots, 49ers and Packers to place franchise tag on nose tackles, the Pittsburgh Steelers turned to tag kicker Jeff Reed as they have agreed to a deal with nose tackle Casey Hampton in time before the deadline for franchise tag.

According to ESPN reports, the Steelers signed contract both with Hampton and director of football operations Kevin Colbert. Thus Reed will not become free agent but stay in Steelers jersey with a three-year and $21 million contract that also includes $11 million guaranteed money.

The Steelers should be happy to be able to retain both key players. Nine-year veteran Hampton had 43 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks last season and is expected to remain a Steeler for his rest of career. Eight-year veteran Reed made 27 of 31 field goal attempts last season. Their staying makes Steelers fan be hopeful that their beloved team will win more Super Bowl rings.