POSTED
10:30 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
PFT HEROES 2007:
THE JOE DELANEY AWARD
We're wrapping up the
first round of PFT Heroes awards, and today's prize goes to a running
back.
The award is named for Joe
Delaney. If you know who he is, you know why we picked him.
If you've never heard of
Joe Delaney,
click here to get the full story.
POSTED
9:37 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
CHILDRESS HAS NOTHING
TO SAY ON McKINNIE
With Vikings left tackle
Bryant McKinnie facing felony charges for aggravated battery (he
allegedly hit a bouncer over the head with a pole in Miami), coach Brad
Childress says that he's not ready to make any decisions about the
situation.
"We don't have all the
information,
so
how could you make a decision?" Childress told reporters at the
Scouting Combine on Monday.
"I don't have all the
information because I've been in meetings and workouts all weekend, but
I have gotten a chance to speak with his family," Childress said.
That's fair, but we wonder
whether anything will be done by the Vikings. McKinnie is a
solid contributor on a strong-and-improving offensive line. It's
easy to take a position based on principle with a second-stringer or a
marginal starter. But Childress would be hurting himself, and the
team, if he takes strenuous action against McKinnie.
Then again, the Vikings
might not need to do anything. If McKinnie is convicted or pleads
guilty or no contest, the league will likely suspend McKinnie pursuant
to the Personal Conduct Policy. And since McKinnie is facing
felony charges he might ultimately be protecting Michael Vick's "blind
side."
POSTED
8:56 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
WILLIAMSON HEADING TO
JACKSONVILLE
Three years ago, a
receiver with hands of stone was drafted by a coach with a head of meat.
As it turns out, they'll
be reunited soon.
Sean Jensen of the St.
Paul Pioneer Press reports that the Vikings have reached an
agreement in principle to
trade receiver Troy Williamson to the Jags for a second-day pick in
the draft.
"Second-day" used to mean
rounds four through seven. Now, round three is included. Our
guess is that the Vikings will get a fifth-round pick that can upgrade
to a fourth-round selection.
The deal can't be done
until 12:00 a.m. EST on February 29.
Williamson was the seventh
overall pick in the 2005 draft, and he was supposed to make folks in
Minnesota forget about Randy Moss.
It didn't happen. In
2007, Williamson caught 18 passes. Moss caught 23 touchdown
passes.
The Vikings' coach at the
time of Williamson's arrival was Mike Tice. After the 2005 season,
Tice was fired in Minnesota, and thereafter hired by the Jaguars as an
assistant.
In Jacksonville, Williamson
should feel right at home. None of the team's other receivers can
catch, either.
POSTED
8:47 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
FAGG DONE FOR GOOD?
On Sunday, Florida State
receiver De'Cody Fagg suffered a serious knee injury. There's now
talk that he might never play again.
Jason Wilde of the
Wisconsin State Journal reports that one scout called the injury "career-ending,"
and that an NFC running backs coach said it was "one of the worst
injuries I've ever seen."
So what does it mean for
Fagg? Wilde explains that players invited to the Combine are
covered by a primary health insurance policy, which will pay for his
medical expenses. But there's no NFL-provided insurance for lost
playing wages; it's the responsibility of the player to buy his own
policy.
It's unknown whether Fagg
had such a policy.
Some readers have asked
whether Fagg would be able to sue someone/anyone for the injury.
In this specific case, there's no evidence of any type of negligence or
other conduct that would create liability.
And workers' compensation
isn't available because Fagg wasn't working for any NFL team. He
was auditioning for the opportunity to eventually compete for what might
have become come September a position on an NFL roster.
It's a shame, but it's one
of the harsh realities of pro sports. And it's another reason for
players to get as much money as they can, as soon as they can get it.
POSTED
8:32 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
TIME TO CHANGE THE
FRANCHISE TAG
Some Internet hack has
used his Monday column for SportingNews.com as a vehicle for pissing and
moaning about the franchise tag.
Said Internet hack thinks
that the tag needs to be changed, so that the apparent prestige of the
label is matched by its true value to players who in lieu of getting
long-term financial security are getting a very good salary but for only
one season.
Click here for the story.
Meanwhile, said Internet
hack's relationship with the very good folks at Sporting News is
gradually expanding. In addition to the Tuesday night spots on
Sporting News Radio with our great friend
Todd Wright, we're gradually invading other SNR programming.
Most recently, we paid a visit to
The
Tim Brando Show on Monday afternoon.
Brando is one of those
all-sports guys, but he was amazingly knowledgeable about college and
pro football. (Yeah, we're sucking up to get a return invite.)
POSTED
8:20 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
FLACCO ON THE RISE
One of the rumors coming
out of the Scouting Combine is that Delaware's Joe Flacco has made the
best impression of any of the quarterbacks on the NFL folks in
attendance.
Others have written on
this same concept,
including our own MDS for AOL's FanHouse and Peter King of SI.com.
Flacco is a former Pitt
quarterback who transferred to Delaware in lieu of sitting behind Tyler
Palko. Flacco could be a high second-round option for a team that
might pass on taking a passer at the top of round one.
POSTED
8:05 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
BRONCOS REELING IN
ROGERS?
Maybe Mike Shanahan thinks
that he's overdue to acquire a veteran defensive lineman who doesn't
turn out to be a complete waste of money. That's the only reason
we can think of to explain the Broncos' decision to pursue a trade with
the Lions for defensive tackle Shaun Rogers.
According to the Rocky
Mountain News, the two teams are in "aggressive
discussions," and an agreement could be reached soon.
But a trade can't go down
until Friday, the first day of the 2008 league year.
Over the years, Shanahan
has burned cash and/or draft picks on guys like Gerard Warren and
Courtney Brown and Daryl Gardener in a perpetual effort to improve the
defensive line. It hasn't happened.
Rogers is signed through
2010, and is due to make $4.25 million in 2008. He was a
second-round pick of the Lions in 2001, CEO Matt Millen's first year
with the team.
POSTED
3:13 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
LIONS FIRE FERNANDO
The Detroit Lions have
announced that they have released veteran cornerback Fernando Bryant.
Bryant, signed as an
unrestricted free agent in 2004, was under contract through 2009.
He was due to earn a base salary of $3.35 million in 2008.
Selected in the first
round of the 1999 draft by the Jaguars, Bryant spent five seasons in
Jacksonville before heading to Detroit.
He immediately becomes an
unrestricted free agent, and can sign with any team.
POSTED
2:49 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
'BOYS EYEING JAVON?
So Cowboys owner Jerry
Jones wants to put some "wow" into the offense? One possibility
we're hearing about is by acquiring receiver Javon Walker from the
Broncos.
A league source tells us
that the Cowboys are working on a deal that would bring Walker to Big D.
The problem, however, is Walker's knee. He tore an ACL during the
first game of the 2005 regular-season, and he missed plenty of time in
2007, his second year in Denver, due to lingering problems with it.
There's a chance, said the
source, that Walker wouldn't pass a physical.
If Walker were to land in
Dallas, however, things could get interesting. Said the source:
"Can
you picture [Terrell] Owens' reaction? Walker has pissed people
off in Green Bay and Denver because he wants the ball so much.
They are supposedly friends so I'm sure they think it could work but it
would be fun to watch."
Owens and Walker made
plenty of headlines three years ago in their efforts to get new
contracts. Both threatened to hold out and, in the end, both
caved.
Walker was traded to
Denver in April 2006, and received the new contract he craved.
After a solid first season with the Broncos, the team picked up an
option for 2007. In hindsight, it's yet another poor decision from
Denver's de facto G.M.
POSTED
1:25 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
NFL GETTING SKITTISH
ABOUT THE UFL?
One of our connections at
the Scouting Combine says that one of the big topics in Indy is the UFL,
which currently is scheduled to begin play in 2009.
Per the source, the
powers-that-be are increasingly concerned about losing some employees to
the new league. One of the fears is that the UFL will pilfer some
of the good younger coaches and scouts.
Supposedly, the UFL will
be paying $1 million per year to head coaches, and $500,000 per year to
General Managers.
The bigger issue is the
potential impact of a work stoppage in 2011. If/when teams lay off
folks in departments such as marketing, sales, and/or ticketing,
opportunities could be created for the UFL to hire up the best of those
who find themselves out of work.
"I get the sense that the
league office and the owners are very concerned that a lot of their key
front-office people will be poached," the source said.
Another possibility in the
event of a work stoppage is that some NFL players might opt to jump to
the UFL until the labor impasse is resolved. It would create a
replacements-type scenario, but instead of the owners signing non-NFL
talent to fill the uniforms the NFL players would take the field for
another league. Though the individual contracts prevent
potentially hazardous activities, a decision by the owners to lock the
players out presumably would allow then them to play football or wrestle
or cage fight or charm cobras or date Britney Spears.
POSTED
12:15 p.m. EST, February 25, 2008
COWBOYS SENDING MIXED
SIGNALS ON McFADDEN
There's an odd dynamic
playing out regarding the potential interest of Cowboys owner Jerry
Jones in the big-name running back from Jones' alma mater of Arkansas.
On Sunday, Adam Schefter
of NFL Network confirmed that there were rumors last month that the
Cowboys would package multiple draft picks and running back Marion
Barber as ammunition to get from the Fins the No. 1 overall pick in the
draft, which would then allow Jones to pick McFadden. Schefter
suggests that McFadden's stellar performance at the Scouting Combine on
Sunday could breathe new life into that possibility.
It would be the flip side
of the Herschel Walker trade for the Cowboys, who fleeced the Vikings
more than 18 years ago for the guy who was supposed to be the missing
piece of the puzzle with a Vikings team that was on the fringes of the
NFL's elite.
But other talk in league
circles is that the Cowboys wouldn't move into the top ten for McFadden.
And Jones denies that he's plotting a reverse-Herschel.
As a source tells us,
however, Jones' demeanor at the Combine after McFadden ran the 40 in
4.33 seconds indicates that Jones indeed wants to bring Darren to Big D.
Jones, per the source, was "smiling proudly" after McFadden's first
effort in the 40, and then got up and left the RCA Dome after McFadden's
second try, with a "huge grin" on his face.
Stay tuned on this one.
Jones could be as driven to get McFadden as then-Saints coach Mike Ditka
was to land Ricky Williams in 1999. The danger for Dallas is
giving up too much in return.
And if Jones wears his
heart on his sleeve, the Dolphins might be able to lasso the same kind
of package that helped launch the Dallas dynasty of the early 1990s.
POSTED
11:37 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
FINS, CHIEFS INTERESTED
IN LOSMAN
A rumor making the rounds
at the Scouting Combine is that the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City
Chiefs are talking to the Buffalo Bills about the availability of
quarterback J.P. Losman.
Losman, a first-round
draft pick of the Bills in 2004, is entering the final year of his
rookie contract. He has asked to be traded, and he has said that
he intends to leave Buffalo after the deal expires.
The former Tulane
quarterback wants out because he has lost the starting job to Trent
Edwards, a third-round selection in 2007.
But the Bills would be
wise to have a backup with game experience. Thus, having Losman
around as Edwards develops makes sense.
The question that the
Bills have to ask themselves is whether any offer for Losman is
sufficiently significant to offset the risk of having to bring in a new
backup to Edwards.
Then there's the issue of
whether the Bills want to set a precedent that guys who are unhappy can
talk their way out of town. Oh, wait . . . they already did that
last year with running back Willis McGahee.
WATCH THE COMBINE LIVE
ON YOUR PHONE OR YOUR COMPUTER
As the guys in Indy
continue to run around in T-shirts and shorts, you can keep up with the
action either by enjoying a live stream of NFL Network on your Sprint
phone, or by clicking the NFL.com ads on this page.
Today, it's defensive
linemen and linebackers.
Tomorrow, cornerbacks and
safeties.
POSTED
11:06 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
COLEMAN TO VISIT BUCS
Former Falcons defensive
tackle Rod Coleman could be staying in the division.
Per our friends at Pewter
Report, Coleman
will visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers later this week.
Since Coleman has been cut
by the Falcons, he's free to talk to -- and sign with -- any team.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden and
G.M. Bruce Allen drafted Coleman in 1999, when they both worked for the
Raiders.
POSTED
10:59 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
MORE RUMORS FLY OF
EARLY DEALS
One of the rumors making
the rounds at the Scouting Combine is, as reported by Geoff Hobson of
Bengals.com, that the 49ers are negotiating (four days early) with
defensive end Justin Smith.
Other players who, as the
rumor mill goes, might already have deals include receiver Bernard
Berrian, cornerback Drayton Florence, and receiver D.J. Hackett.
Then again, it could be
that their agents are merely trying to drive up interest by spreading
the word that a deal is done.
For any players who have
not been released by their current teams, discussion between new teams
and the players (or their agents) constitute tampering. Virtually
everyone does it, primarily because no one ever gets caught.
MONDAY MORNING
ONE-LINERS by
Michael David Smith
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones
describes his top goal in the off-season as "to
put some more 'wow' in this offense." (How about Randy Moss
and T.O. on the same team?)
The brother of Cowboys RB
Marion Barber is a safety from the University of Minnesota, and was
the
only Gopher invited to the Combine.
If they don't trade for
DeAngelo Hall, the Giants could
draft a cornerback in the first round for the third time in the last
four years.
The Eagles are likely to
make a strong attempt to sign free agent Giants S Gibril Wilson.
The Redskins expect to
open training camp with five offensive lineman who are
30 or older.
Packers coach Mike
McCarthy has no plans to de-emphasize his
zone-blocking running scheme.
Lions coach Rod Marinelli
does not expect to trade WR Roy Williams.
Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo
says he's
learned some lessons about avoiding players with character issues.
No one seems to have any
clue what the Falcons will do
with the third pick in the draft.
The Panthers have
tough
decisions ahead with a couple of popular veterans, DE Mike Rucker
and FB Brad Hoover.
LSU DT Glenn Dorsey
weighed in at 297 pounds at the Combine.
With third receiver Bryant
Johnson
likely to depart via free agency, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt
expects to find his new third receiver among the players who are on the
roster now.
Said Rams Executive V.P.
of Player Personnel Billy Devaney of Virginia DE Chris Long, "I don't
think [pass rushing] is his forte. But against the run,
the guy will be a force."
Cal WR DeSean Jackson's
4.31-second 40-yard dash
opened some eyes at the Combine.
The Seahawks are
reportedly offering CB Marcus Trufant
less money over six years than the $43 million the 49ers gave CB
Nate Clements over the first five years of his deal.
Says Chargers G.M. A.J.
Smith, "Our
team is pretty much built. There's always a little bit of
change but we're beyond a lot of change."
Broncos K Jason Elam
hasn't reached a deal on a new contract and says of the front office, "I
still don't really know what they're thinking. It's still real
preliminary. I guess I would say at this point
the ball is still
in their court."
Titans coach Jeff Fisher
interviewed former Chargers assistant Matt Simon for Tennessee's
vacant running backs coach position.
The Colts are
finalizing arrangements to keep their training camp in Terre Haute.
Iowa CB Charles Godfrey is
from Texas and has a Houston Texans logo
tattooed on his hand, which could make things awkward if one of the
other 31 teams drafts him.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin
and director of football operations Kevin Colbert say their year of
experience working together will make this year's draft
operate
more efficiently.
At the Combine, Kentucky
QB Andre Woodson reflected on his week at the Senior Bowl: "Obviously,
it didn't go as well as I had planned."
Ravens coach John Harbaugh
described Boston College QB Matt Ryan as a "very
impressive, sharp, competitive good person."
POSTED
8:28 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
McFADDEN VOWS TO CHANGE
With questions and
concerns swirling regarding some of the off-field issues involving
Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, we're hearing that McFadden has
been addressing the situation head-on, and that he has vowed to change.
As we hear it, McFadden
recognizes that he put himself into a couple of bad positions while in
college, and he claims that he will avoid those kinds of circumstances
in the future. Regarding concerns that some of his associates will
follow him to the NFL (a la guys like Ray Lewis and Michael Vick), we're
told that McFadden is telling teams that his gym bag is the only
"baggage" he'll be bringing to the NFL.
There also are rumors
among NFL scouts that McFadden already has four children via four
different mothers. A source with knowledge of the situation(s)
contends that two of the paternity claims have been proven to be
inaccurate. In any event, the source says that McFadden is
committed to doing the right thing in any situation where it is
established that he has fathered a child.
From our perspective, we
aren't troubled by the notion of a guy having one or more kids out of
wedlock, as long as he's providing for them financially and making an
effort to participate in the rearing of the children. Though we
like to poke fun at guys like Tom Brady and Travis Henry for that kind
of stuff, it's a far better pastime than fighting dogs or shooting up
strip clubs.
POSTED
8:14 a.m. EST; UPDATED 8:41 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
A PIRATE STEALS THE
SHOW FOR RUNNING BACKS
Some readers have asked us
to post some of the best numbers from the Scouting Combine. Though
we prefer that you check out the show on your own via the links on this
page to the live coverage on NFL.com, we'll give you a quick summary of
the best 40 times posted by the running backs on Sunday.
Leading the way was Chris
Johnson of East Carolina, with a 4.24. Next was Darren McFadden of
Arkansas, who unofficially ran a 4.27 but officially posted a 4.33.
Other solid times (via
fflivewire.com) include Anthony Alridge of Houston (4.36), Jamaal
Charles of Texas (4.38), Chad Simpson of Morgan State (4.42), Kevin
Smith of Central Florida (4.43), Ray Rice of Rutgers (4.44), Steve
Slaton of West Virginia (4.44), Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois (4.45),
Matt Forte of Tulane (4.46), Jalen Parmele of Toledo (4.47), Felix Jones
of Arkansas (4.47), Jonathan Stewart of Oregon (4.48).
[Editor's note:
A prior version of this story was based on a screen shot from
NFL Network of the top ten running back times, and several of the
players listed above were missing. That list apparently was
incomplete.]
Slow times of note
included Jacob Hester of LSU with a 4.6 and Mike Hart of Michigan with a
4.67. Hart was only a whisker faster than fullback Owen Schmitt of
West Virginia, who ran a 4.7.
POSTED
7:53 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
JETS WON'T TRADE VILMA
TO PATS?
New York Jets linebacker
Jonathan Vilma has been given permission to shop himself in a trade.
With asterisk.
According to the Boston
Globe, Vilma's camp claims that he's limited to 30 teams, and that
the Jets have made it clear that
he isn't permitted to shop himself to the New England Patriots.
A "high-ranking Jets
official" told the Globe that no team is off limits. Still,
we can't imagine the Jets and the Pats trading anything at this point
other than insults.
None of it really matters,
because Vilma has proven not to be a good fit for the 3-4 defense.
He needs to play for a team that runs a 4-3, and the Pats don't.
POSTED
7:42 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
PATS LOOKING AT LITO?
With New England
cornerback Asante Samuel poised to put his name on the dotted line for
the highest bidder, the Pats will need some help at the cornerback
position.
And one of the rumors
making the rounds is that the Patriots are interested in Eagles
cornerback Lito Sheppard.
The only problem is that
Sheppard officially isn't on the market. When rumors broke last
week of a possible trade,
the team denied that Sheppard has received permission to seek a
trade.
But that doesn't mean
trade offers and inquiries won't come in.
POSTED
7:16 a.m. EST, February 25, 2008
SMITH TO 49ERS?
With four days to go until
the explosion of 2008 free agency and plenty of scouts and agents in
Indianapolis for the Scouting Combine, plenty of contract talks that
shouldn't be happening are happening.
The result? Rumors
are flying that verbal deals -- deals that clearly violate the tampering
rules -- already are in place.
Geoff Hobson of
Bengals.com, citing an unnamed source, reports that the
49ers
already are working on a contract for defensive end Justin Smith.
Last week, it was reported that the 49ers currently face tampering
allegations regarding Bears linebacker Lance Briggs.
The question though is
whether the ultimate source for rumors of Smith-to-San Fran is his
agent, Jim Steiner, and whether Steiner is simply puffing in the hopes
of driving up interest in his client.
That's one of the
realities of tampering. It's so widespread that some agents will
claim that their clients have essentially illegal deals in place, all in
the hopes of inducing better deals via tampering.
POSTED
10:01 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
POLIAN CALLS FOR CHANGE
TO ROOKIE PAY SYSTEM
We don't always see eye to
eye with Colts President and G.M. Bill Polian. Okay, we've never
seen eye to eye with him.
Until now.
Polian is pushing for
changes to the way that players in round one are paid. It's
something that we've been crowing about for at least a couple of years.
"The draft was designed to
either allow the weakest teams, based on record, to choose the best
players, or if they chose not to take a particular player, to gather a
bunch of picks to further accelerate their growth and competitiveness,"
Polian said. "That's now been skewed by the cost of the picks in
the first round.
"When that's skewed and
changed because of the agents, that isn't a good thing for the game."
Indeed, the worst team in
the league will get no better by being compelled to spend more than $30
million guaranteed on one unproven player.
We've long believed that
the NFLPA hasn't pushed for the use of a rookie wage scale because the
agents who have influence over the union want to maintain their ability
to reel in up to three percent of the full value of those big-dollar
contracts.
But why not find a way to
redirect those windfalls to guys already in the league? And why
not restrict the money that is paid to players who have done nothing at
the NFL level?
It's an issue that
hopefully will be addressed in the next CBA negotiations -- and we're
also hopeful that neither side will view the creation of such a system
as a concession. It's a measure that's in the best interests of
both sides.
POSTED
9:47 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
COMBINE WON'T DECIDE
FINS' PICK
A source at the Scouting
Combine in Indy has shared with us some scuttlebutt regarding the
Dolphins' possible plans with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft.
As the rumors go, nothing
that happens in Indianapolis will compel the Fins to make up their
minds.
They supposedly like
defensive end Chris Long, defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston,
quarterback Matt Ryan, and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. The
thinking is that they'll pass on an offensive lineman in round one
because they believe that the draft is deep in that category, and that
they can address those needs later.
POSTED
9:37 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
BRUSCHI TO RETIRE SOON?
One of the rumors making
the rounds at the Scouting Combine is that Patriots linebacker Tedy
Bruschi will soon retire.
Keep in mind that it's
only a rumor at this point.
Bruschi was a third-round
pick of the Pats in 1996, and he has been with the team during five
Super Bowl seasons. He suffered a stroke not long after the
Patriots won their third Lombardi in February 2005.
POSTED
8:53 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
McKINNIE GETS PINCHED
IN MIAMI
More than two years after
being arrested for a
very different kind of disorderly conduct, Vikings left tackle
Bryant McKinnie has been busted again for disorderly conduct and other
charges in Miami.
McKinnies was
arrested on Sunday after allegedly spitting in the face of a bouncer
at a nightclub, shoving a camera phone into his face, and then slamming
a heavy pole over his head.
McKinnie is charged with
aggravated battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest without
violence.
The most troubling charge
is aggravated battery, since it is a
second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
That'll be a total of 13
points for the Vikings, and it'll re-set the "days without an arrest"
counter to zero.
McKinnie got a long-term
deal from the Vikings notwithstanding his Love Boat shenanigans,
primarily since high-end left tackles don't grow on trees. Thus,
it'll be hard for the Vikings to take a stand against McKinnie unless
and until they find someone else who can play left tackle.
POSTED
6:04 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
"BIG DADDY" GOES BIG
TIME
One of the best-connected
guys in the NFL is Richie "Big Daddy" Salgado. Virtually everyone
we know in the NFL knows, and likes, Big Daddy.
Big Daddy typically
resides in the background. But given that there's
a feature about him in Sunday's Newsday, Big Daddy officially
has gone big time.
Salgado is a former
offensive lineman at the University of Maryland, and he obtains
insurance for NFL players through his company,
Coastal Advisors LLC.
Salgado's clients include Michael Strahan, Reggie Bush, Justin Tuck, Jeremy Shockey, and incoming rookie Chris
Long, who could end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
Strahan gives Big Daddy a
huge endorsement. "[Salgado] is a guy who values his relationship
and his friendship with you moreso than the fact that you're a client of
his," Strahan told Newsday. "If I need anything, I call
him, and if he needs anything, he calls me. He's one of my best
friends, a guy I lean on for a lot of things."
Big Daddy and Strahan after Super
Bowl XLII.
"There's a lot more to
what I do than sell insurance," Salgado said. "You just don't want
to just sell a guy a life insurance policy and then you're done. I
try to guide the players through a lot of things that people don't want
to do. With us, our clients are clients for life."
Regardless of whether
young players buy their insurance from Big Daddy or from someone else,
it's a subject that they shouldn't ignore.
We realize that other guys
who sell insurance to NFL players might be a bit miffed at the attention
that one of their competitors is receiving. Still, Big Daddy has
earned the attention, and he deserves it.
POSTED
5:31 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
NO MARKET FOR
STALLWORTH
A league source tells us
that there's little or no interest on the open market for receiver Donte'
Stallworth, whose tenure with the Patriots is ending after only one
season.
A year ago, Stallworth was
believed to be one of the hottest free-agent receivers on the market.
After languishing on the shelf while the big money flowed, Stallworth
signed a long-term contract in New England that was essentially a
one-year "prove it" deal.
But Stallworth never got a
chance to prove anything, because only a few weeks after he signed the
Pats traded for Randy Moss.
One possible destination
for Stallworth could be Minnesota, since the Vikings run the same
offense as the Eagles, for whom Stallworth had a solid season in 2006.
Ditto for the Buccaneers, who seem to be always on the hunt for more
pass-catchers.
POSTED
5:23 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
RED FLAGS FOR DORSEY
During the 2007 football
season, plenty of folks were presuming that LSU defensive tackle Glenn
Dorsey could be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
As it now stands, Dorsey
might be this year's Alan Branch.
According to Howard Balzer
of the Sports Xchange, NFL scouts have lingering concerns about a stress
fracture that Dorsey suffered during the 2006 season. Per Balzer,
Dorsey was sent to an Indianapolis hospital for further testing after
undergoing a physical at the Scouting Combine.
Dorsey had not planned to
work out at the Combine. He said that he'd stopped working out due
to the recent death of his grandmother.
A year ago, Dorsey
considered entering the draft but recognized that the leg injury could
hold him back.
POSTED
4:48 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
BEARS EXTEND CLARK
Despite the strong
development of 2007 first-round pick Greg Olsen, the Bears still like
tight end Desmond Clark, who started all 16 games last season.
They like him enough to
extend his contract for two years.
Clark is now under
contract through 2010. He was due to earn a base salary of $1
million in 2008, which had been the final year of his deal.
POSTED
4:42 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
SMITH LANDS IN SAN
DIEGO
Well, we'll have to take
Derek Smith out of the official PFT dumpster.
The veteran linebacker
signed a contract on Sunday with the
Chargers, less than a week after being cut by the 49ers.
Smith had spent seven
seasons in San Fran. As a reader pointed out to us, he originally
was drafted by the Redskins in 1997, at a time when Chargers coach Norv
Turner was the head coach in D.C.
POSTED
4:35 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
DARREN McFADDEN IS FAST
So much for Darren
McFadden's draft stock falling.
Sure, there will be
concerns about off-field issues and other such nonsense. But speed
blurs not only the eye but also the mind. And given that McFadden
ran the 40-yard dash in 4.27 seconds on Sunday at the Scouting
Combine, he'll be holding a jersey not very long into the draft-day
proceedings in April.
It's an extremely
impressive time, and it will only result in more comparisons to guys
like Adrian Peterson and other speed-burning backs of the present and
the past.
POSTED
2:57 p.m. EST, February 24, 2008
RAIDERS SHOPPING
MICHAEL HUFF by Michael David Smith
The Oakland Raiders are
sniffing around to gauge interest in a potential trade involving safety
Michael Huff, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT.
Huff, the No. 7 overall
pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, has started all 32 games of his NFL career
and would be a solid addition to any team that needs help at safety.
Like all Top 10 picks, however, Huff has a hefty contract that would be
a factor in any trade.
As Jay Glazer of Fox
reported early in the 2007 season (and as
PFT noted
at the time), the Raiders were calling teams in September and saying
most of their defensive players, including Huff, were available via
trade. After taking defensive backs in the first round of five of the
last seven NFL drafts, the Raiders may feel that they've invested too
many resources at that position.
The Raiders also
reportedly believe
Huff hasn't tapped his potential, so if there's a team out there
that thinks it can tap Huff's potential, this is a trade that could make
sense.
