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Though Lions coach Rod Marinelli has said that receiver Calvin Johnson needs to get in shape, a league source tells us that the rookie for Georgia Tech looks like a "man among boys" in training camp.

Johnson possesses every desirable attribute that a receiver can possess, and none of the attitude. He's fast, he's tall, he runs great routes, and his hands are softer than Warren Sapp's bosoms (not that we have any personal experience in that regard).

As we see it, Johnson's impact in 2007 will be determined by the extent to which opposing defenses opt to use two men to cover him. If they don't, he'll make them pay. If they do, Roy Williams and/or Mike Furrey will run wild.

We've posted our take on the No. 31 overall franchise in the NFL, based on the relative condition of the various clubs prior to the start of the 2007 NFL season.

Please keep in mind that this list isn't a prediction of how teams will finish the 2007 season, but where we see each of them in relation to each other before the campaign begins.

With only two first-round holdouts remaining, the Jets and No. 14 pick Darrelle Revis continue to be locked in a stare down regarding the length of the contract.

Because Revis, a cornerback, was taken among the first 16 picks, the Jets are entitled to require him to sign a contract with a maximum length of six years. But all of the other guys taken in the vicinity of Revis have signed five-year contracts (or six-year deals that easily void to five). Thus, the Revis camp wants the Jets to ignore the rule that permits a six-year term because most of the other teams exercising picks in the top half of round one already have done so.

So what happens next? Per a league source, the indications are that Revis would do a six-year deal if the money is right not only in year six, but also in year five.

The thinking is that incentives pushing the Revis salary in year six to the amount of the franchise tender won't be enough to get the agents to bite, since a player who signs a five-year deal already faces the possibility of being slapped with the franchise tag in year six. For a six-year deal, however, the first true franchise tag year would be the seventh season.

But if the deal were to have fair triggers that would push the pay in year five and year six to extraordinary levels, then the team would have a strong incentive to negotiate an extension after four years.

The other reality here is that, with so many guys taken in the top 16 signing five-year deals, agents Neil Schwartz and Jonathan Feinsod risk having a six-year deal used against them in recruiting. As we've said before, and surely will say again, it shouldn't be an issue. But it is. And will be.

So the Jets can either do a five-year deal, or they can negotiate a six-year package that makes it wise for Revis to defer free agency one more year into the future. Until that happens, they'll get nothing in return for everything they sacrificed to move up in round one to draft Revis.

Coach Norv Turner is looking for more ways to get RB LaDainian Tomlinson involved in the passing game.

Former Vikings owner Red McCombs gave former Vikings QB Brad Johnson a hug during a visit by Red to Cowboys camp. (Boy, they really bonded during those two games Johnson started while McCombs owned the team.)

It's been a week of knee injuries in training camp. For the most part, however, they have not been serious.

Wilford is listed as a starting receiver on the Jags' unofficial depth chart, ahead of first-rounders Matt Jones and Reggie Williams. The other starter is Dennis Northcutt.

A league source tells us that, as we previously explained, the base value of the Brady Quinn contract is not $20.2 million over five years.

Instead, the value pushes to $20.2 million based on incentive payments due in the final two seasons of the deal if, and only if, Quinn takes at least 55 percent of the snaps in two of the first three years of his career or at least 70 percent in his third season. Without these payments, the maximum base value is $8.55 million.

Also, we're told that the maximum value of $30 million requires Quinn to achieve various high-end incentive triggers, and that it's unlikely that he'll unlock the full possible payments under the contract.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that X-rays and an MRI on the injured knee of Saints left tackle Jamaal Brown were negative.

Brown was injured in practice on Tuesday, and a reporter from WLW-TV described it as serious.

Joey Galloway and Stovall are listed as the top two receivers. Clayton is number three.

Clayton has faded in two seasons since generating more than 1,100 receiving yards as a rookie in 2004. Stovall, a rookie in 2006 who caught only seven passes for 102 yards last year, has come on strong in 2007. Not bad for a guy who was under consideration for a move to tight end.

Another surprise on the depth chart is the presence of David Boston as the primary backup to Joey Galloway. Boston, a first-rounder in 1999, was cut by Tampa last season and sat out the season.

Also, tight end Jerramy Stevens is listed as a third-stringer, which suggests that he might not make the final roster. Also showing up on the third unit is quarterback Chris Simms, who despite a horrible camp is still in front of Bruce Gradkowski.

With the Brady Quinn contract being widely being reported as having a base value of $20.2 million, multiple league sources have contacted us for the purposes of calling bullsh-t on this concept.

The Browns, we're told, had only $1.14 million remaining in rookie pool space. By rule, the value of the rookie deal cannot increase by more than 25 percent of the first-year salary, excluding any signing bonus proration.

Thus, assuming that there was no signing bonus (and surely there was not), the maximum value of the Quinn contract is $1.14 million in 2007, $1.425 million in 2008, $1.71 million in 2009, $1.995 million in 2010, and $2.28 million in 2011.

That's a grand total of $8.55 million over five years as the maximum base value.

Unless the Browns included a one-time minimum play-time incentive in the amount of nearly $12 million, there's no way that the deal fairly can be described as having a base value of more than $20 million.

And there's no way that the Browns did that, in our opinion. The sum of $12 million is too much to pay for the fact that Quinn participates in 35 percent of the snaps in any one of the years of the contract.

Even if the Browns inserted a one-time payment of this magnitude based on the achievement of minimum playing time, it's still not part of the "base deal" -- it's part of the incentive package.

Of course, details like that don't matter here, since Quinn's agent will now use that $20 million number (as validated by members of the "real" media who are either unaware of its inaccuracy -- as we initially were -- or complicit in the ruse) to lure next year's crop of first-round picks.

It's a five-year deal. Glazer reports that Quinn will receive $7.75 million in guaranteed money, and a total package of $20.2 million that could escalate to $30 million.

According to media reports out of New Orleans, Saints left tackle Jamaal Brown suffered what could turn out to be a serious knee injury on Tuesday.

Brown was taken off of the field on a cart after being hurt during blocking drills.

Zach Strief, a seventh-round draft pick in 2006, is listed as the primary backup to Brown at left tackle. We suppose it's also possible that right tackles Jon Stinchcomb or Rob Pettiti could be moved to the left side, if Brown is out for the year.

An intriguing possibility would be for the Saints to attempt to lure Willie Roaf out of retirement. Roaf was a first-round pick, and a perennial Pro Bowler, in New Orleans before being traded to Kansas City.

Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in Alabama. The surgery was performed by Dr. James Andrews, and not by the team's physicians.

Porter went to Alabama for a second opinion on Monday, presumably because he didn't like what the team physicians had to say. The fact that Porter opted to have the surgery performed by Dr. Andrews suggests that Porter felt more comfortable with him than with the team doctors.

It is the second surgery that Porter has had on his right knee in less than 15 months. Since there is only a finite amount fof cartilage in the joint, and presuming that this most recent procedure removed more of it, the term "bone on bone" could eventually become a reality for Porter.

Porter is expected to be out of action for two weeks, and probably will not participate in any preseason games.

We continue to hear chatter that recruiter Melvin Bratton is leaving the firm of Lock, Metz & Malinovic, and presumably taking quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, with him.

We've now heard from two sources that Bratton is expected to join the agency owned by Eddie DeBartolo, who once owned the San Francisco 49ers.

Last year, DeBartolo Sports & Entertainment acquired Ralph Cindrich's firm. Since then, DeBartolo has tried to make a big splash in the agent business, and the arrival of Bratton (if that's indeed where he goes) and the acquisition of Russell (if he chooses to follow Bratton) would be a major step forward for the business, giving it heightened credibility as the 2007 recruiting season heats up.

Nearly a year after getting busted for getting busy in a public place, Vikings safety Dwight Smith is a changed man.

"I go out less. Drink less," Smith said. "I do a whole lot of things less, because you don't ever want your grandparents to call you and ask, 'What were doing in the stairwell?'"

Smith was charged with public indecency, and was benched for the Vikings' regular-season opener.

"For me to be benched, for Monday Night Football, first game of the year, my first start here . . . that's bigger than anything that could be done to me," Smith said. "It hit home that [coach Brad Childress] wasn't going to stand for stuff like that. It really was a slap in the face like, 'Wake up.'"

Hey, we're happy to see that Smith has learned from his mistakes. And we hope that guys who have yet to make mistakes will learn from it, too.

WR Terrell Owens had an MRI on his back, but the Cowboys don't think Owens' back spasms are a serious problem.

Giants LB Antonio Pierce says people who criticize the holdout of DE Michael Strahan are treating him "a little bit unfairly."

Eagles coach Andy Reid says he won't stop having full-contact training camp practices because "It's still a game of blocking and tackling, and those are physical parts of the game that you need to practice."

DE Jevon Kearse says that after missing 15 games with a knee injury, "I don't feel like I'm where I want to be, but I'm working every day to try to get back there."

With Redskins LT Chris Samuels out for the preseason, an undrafted rookie will protect QB Jason Campbell's blind side.

The Bears are shopping CB Dante Wesley, and if they can't get a late-round draft pick for him, they'll cut him. (So much for having leverage.)

After Vikings DE Ray Edwards got in a fight during a scrimmage with the Chiefs, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said Edwards' anger "is part of what makes him good."

Vikings S Tank Williams suffered an ugly season-ending injury in last year's training camp, but he says he's not thinking about it this year.

Saints defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs has a lot of tape study ahead of him to figure out why the Steelers ran over his defense in the preseason opener.

Bucs LT Luke Petitgout, MLB Barrett Ruud and QB Chris Simms will all miss the preseason opener with injuries.

Rookie DE Gaines Adams is getting reps on both the left and the right side of the line.

QB Matt Leinart says of the offensive line, "They're so much better than they were last year."

Kay-Jay Harris, Travis Minor, and Rich Alexis have a three-way competition for one roster spot as the Rams' third running back.

Although the Rams' indoor practice facility is air conditioned, coach Scott Linehan says, "We don't want it too cool."

NT Aubrayo Franklin will miss the 49ers' entire preseason after suffering a sprained MCL Monday, but he should be back in time for the start of the regular season.

There's chatter in league circles that quarterback JaMarcus Russell could soon be making a change in agents.

But the reason for the change wouldn't directly be related to the lingering contract impasse between Russell and the Raiders. Instead, we're told that recruiter Melvin Bratton is leaving the firm of Lock, Metz & Malinovic, and that Russell is likely to land wherever Bratton does.

Per NFLPA rules, Russell would be required to wait five days after separating from LMM before signing with anyone else. Also, LMM would be entitled to compensation for the time that they've invested in the negotiations, presumably at a fair hourly rate.

But if the change is made before a deal is done, the percentage would go to the agency that does the deal. With $30 million in guaranteed money on the table, that's $900,000 in fees -- just on the guarantees.

Bratton's destination is unclear, and it's not a certainty that Russell will follow. But since Bratton is the one who delivered Russell in the first place, it shouldn't be all that hard for Bratton to persuade Russell to make a change.

The Chiefs had hoped that left tackle Damion McIntosh would help shore up an offensive line that has been depleted by the retirements of Willie Roaf and Will Shields.

Will Svitek and Kyle "Crazy Joe Davola" Turley are the potential in-house replacements, and the free-agent market is slim.

One of the features that we've decided to, um, feature this season are position-by-position rankings that we change from time to time, based on injuries and schedule and what we have for lunch.

Panthers safety Mike Minter, a 10-year veteran who has spent his entire career with the team, will retire on Tuesday, according to various media reports.

Minter is under contract through 2009, and was due to earn a salary of $820,000 this season. He signed a four-year extension in 2005, and it's unknown whether he'll potentially owe money bonus back to the team -- or whether the team will accept it.

Our guess on this one is that the Panthers have offered to allow him to walk away, in lieu of being released. Minter's knees likely are telling him that it's time to go, and the team likely would prefer to have Minter's career end on a high note.

Indeed, is it a coincidence that the trade for Bears safety Chris Harris preceded the initial reports that Minter was thinking about calling it quits? We've been doing this long enough to strongly suspect that there's a real connection between the two events.

The MRI on the knee of Broncos DE Jarvis Moss was negative (which is a positive).

Denver's first depth chart includes a couple of surprises -- WR Brandon Stokley is a starter, RB Mike Bell is a third-stringer.

Bengals QB Carson Palmer has broke out his knee brace in preparation for Thursday night's preseason opener.

Jags P Adam Podlesh recovered a bit on Monday after a horrible performance during a Friday scrimmage.

It took us a little while to get it rolling, but we've finally launched our 2007 preseason power rankings.

Once per day, with No. 1 to be rolled out on the day of the regular-season opener, we'll unveil one team as we work our way from No. 32 to No. 1.

No. 32 is up. Coming Tuesday, No. 28. (Actually, it's No. 31 -- we just want to see if you're paying attention.)

We've received a flood of e-mails today regarding the only product currently available in the likeness of Falcons quarterback Mike Vick.

The product, which we're reluctant to advertise for free out of respect to our paid advertisers, is the ultimate canine revenge for the alleged activities of Mr. Vick -- a chew toy for Fido.

The only problem? It likely infringes on rights to Vick's name and image, and possibility on NFL trademarks. Though we can't see any NFL shields or team logos on the thing, the uniform design is unmistakably that of the Falcons, all the way down to the manner in which the stripe on the pant leg flares near the knee.

The thing can be purchased right here. If you want it, it might be a good idea to place the order now, before Covington & Burling dispatches the cease-and-desist letter.

A league source tells us that the Oakland Raiders have offered quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, a six-year contract containing more than $30 million in guaranteed money. The actual number could be closer to $31 million than it is to $30 million.

This information is contrary to reports that the Raiders have topped out at a lower number.

We're also told that the Russell camp presently is looking for guaranteed money in the neighborhood of $35 million.

Though we don't know how such a package could be put together in light of practical restrictions such as the rookie pool and the 25-percent rule, we're told that Russell's agents believe that their proposed structure would allow an amount of that magnitude to be guaranteed, and would likewise survive scrutiny of the management council.

Other obstacles remain, including the extent to which the guaranteed money will be paid out in the form of an option bonus. But the present gap in guaranteed money is wider than previously believed, and unless Russell's side of the table drops its number significantly, this one isn't getting done any time soon.

Our guess is that the Raiders believed that the Russell camp was demanding amounts in the neighborhood of $35 million guaranteed in order to get the team to go north of $30 million, and that the Raiders planned to do so, possibly along with a request that concessions be made as to the other issues. But now that the Raiders have moved up, Russell's folks are holding firm.

Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, sidelined with a right knee injury that the team has been (in our estimation) trying to downplay, traveled to Alabama on Monday to see Dr. James Andrews, one of the best known orthopedic surgeons in all of sports.

Technically, Porter went to see Andrews for a "second opinion," which implies that there's a "first opinion" that the player and/or the team doesn't like.

Porter had arthroscopic surgery on the same knee in May 2006, during which cartilage was removed. One full football season -- and nearly 15 months in the aging process -- later, Porter is having more trouble with the knee.

It doesn't bode well for a veteran linebacker whom many thought had lost some of his pop in 2006, or for the team that paid him $20 million in guaranteed money.

Last season, the Dolphins' medical staff swung and missed on the overall conditions of quarterback Drew Brees and quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Based presumably on input from the doctors, the team opted not to pursue Brees, a free agent, but instead to give up a second-round draft pick for Culpepper.

This time around, the physicians might have made a very expensive blunder regarding Porter.

Though the Training Camp Reports have been a popular feature over the past week, more than a few of the residents of PFT Planet have asked us to put the reports in the Rumor Mill.

Starting tonight, we'll present our Training Camp Reports in a One-Liner format on the Rumor Mill, and the entries will generally be referred to as "Training Camp One-Liners."

Though agent Tom Condon has maintained a very low profile in connection with the ongoing Brady Quinn holdout, it now seems that Condon is allowing himself to be heard via the leakage of information to Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com.

How else would Pasquarelli know that the structure for incentive payments being proposed by Condon is similar to the incentive formula used in contracts for other Condon clients such as Jets quarterback Chad Pennington, Jags quarterback Byron Leftwich, and Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart?

In all fairness, it's possible that Condon has shared this information with the Browns, and that someone from the team is the unnamed "source with direct knowledge of the bargaining process" mentioned in Pasquarelli's item. But why would someone from the team leak information that, if anything, tends to make the team look unreasonable for not agreeing to a structure that multiple other franchises have deemed acceptable?

Pasquarelli also reports that progress is being made in the talks, and that meshes with things we're heard from league and industry sources. But, still, more progress would be made if Condon would get his caboose to Cleveland for face-to-face discussions aimed at bringing this matter to a conclusion.

As we've heard it from multiple sources, the two sides are roughly $500,000 apart on guaranteed money, with the bigger sticking point being the back-end payments. There's a sense that the deal will get done as early as later this week.

Again, it could get done in a matter of hours if Condon would just go to Cleveland and make it happen.

Submitted for your consideration is the 2007 version of the PFT All-Time, All-Turd team. There are several new faces, to go with the folks who were placed on the list a year ago.

And in light of the recent Pro Football Hall of Fame ceremonies, we will now unveil the second class of inductees into the All-Turd Hall of Fame. Last year's class was O.J. Simpson, Lance Rentzel, Mossy Cade, Rafael Septien, and Rae Carruth.

This year, the "honor" goes to only two players: Leonard Little and Pacman Jones.

Little killed a woman while driving drunk in 1999. Jones has become the face of the off-field player misconduct movement in the NFL -- and he'll remain there unless and until Mike Vick is convicted.

There's a rumor sweeping the Intergoogle of another arrest of a Bengals player. But, for now, it appears that it's merely the latest example of what we'll call from this point forward the Tedy Bruschi phenomenon.

A couple of weeks ago, there were rampant rumors that Bruschi had died. Though untrue, the rumor spread like wildfire, even after reports surfaced that Bruschi was fine.

As the rumor goes, the arrest is supposed to be disclosed on Monday afternoon. But we now have a feeling that this rumor is simply that -- a rumor.

And if it's not a rumor, we figure that someone will break the news soon enough.

Bill Williamson of the Denver Post reports that Moss was carted off of the field. Writes Williamson: "The pass-rushing defensive end was injured in an individual pass-rushing drill. He attempted a spin move, planted his leg, then fell to the ground. He got to his feet, but was assisted to the cart."

Moss, who played college football for Florida and was a force in the team's shellacking of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national championship game, was the 17th overall selection in the April draft.

It's official. Titans cornerback Pacman Jones will spend his one-year exile from the NFL as a participant in the "sport" of pro wrestling.

Jones has signed with TNA, an actual, non-phony rival of WWE. He'll make his initial appearance on Thursday night on Spike TV. Though USA Today reports that his first official "match" will come no later than September 9, it was reported last week that Jones would not actually be wrestling, since doing so could be a breach of his football contract.

Then again, TNA and Spike probably welcome the uncertainty as to his specific role, since it will get more people to tune in and watch.

Jones says that wrestling is "something to do, to keep me out of the streets while I have my little off-time from my real job, and, I'm a big fan of wrestling, so I wanted to give it a try."

He also says that wrestling will keep him in shape for football, which makes even more unclear the question of whether he'll be actually in the ring.

"[I]t will help get my mind off a lot of stuff that I'm going through," Jones added. "It's sort of a way to relieve some stress."

Frankly, Pacman's decision to get involved with pro wrestling is even more proof that he doesn't get it. With felony charges still pending against him in Las Vegas and in Georgia, and with a slim possibility of having his suspension reduced to 10 games, Jones should be keeping a low profile, and not attaching his name to an activity that, while still loved by many, is regarded by "real" sports as a notch above (or maybe below) a circus sideshow -- especially with rampant suspicion that most of the actors are on steroids.

There's no way he plays football in 2007, in our view. His behavior since being suspended suggests to us that he won't play in 2008, either -- and that he might not ever suit up in the NFL again.

With high temperatures and limited space inside the team's indoor facility, the Rams have closed training camp to the public, until further notice.

The team will be making a decision on a daily basis as to whether the practices will be held indoors or outdoors. Last week, the Rams allowed fans to attend an indoor practice, but things got a little cramped.

"There is uncertainty as to whether we will practice outside or go indoors because of expected high temperatures and heat indexes this week," coach Scott Linehan said in a statement. "We are going to proceed cautiously, taking into consideration possible health issues for players and fans."

One of the new things we noticed during last night's Hall of Fame game was that each of the quarterbacks had affixed to the backs of their helmets a small green dot.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tells us that the sticker is a new device being used to help officials confirm that only one player on offense is wearing a helmet with a radio receiver from the coaching staff.

So, if a team plans to put two quarterbacks on the field at the same time, one of them must change helmets before entering the game.

It's uncommon but not unheard of for two quarterbacks to be on the field at the same time. Last year, the Falcons ran a few plays with both Matt Schaub and Michael Vick on the field. In 1995, Kordell Stewart regularly entered the game as a receiver or as a running back.

During the offseason, there was some discussion about allowing one player on defense to have a radio in his helmet as well, but nothing to date has come of it. Also, there is a movement to place a receiver in the helmet of each offensive player, so that they can all hear the signals being called out by the quarterback.

It's been a while since a member of the Cincinnati Bengals has been busted. Specifically, the last one came more than two months ago, when former Bengals linebacker A.J. Nicholson was arrested on assault charges.

We've heard from two different tipsters that another Bengals arrest has occurred. We've got the name of the player, and we're working to corroborate the information before we reveal the name.

In his last NFL game, defensive tackle Tank Johnson's team lost to the Indianapolis Colts. In his next NFL game, could Johnson be wearing that blue horseshoe on his helmet, instead of in his rear end?

This is pure speculation on our part, but we would not be surprised -- at all -- to learn in the not-too-distant future that Johnson is the newest member of the Super Bowl champs. By signing him before the start of the season, Johnson can serve his eight-game suspension, work his way into game shape, and be ready to help the defense turn it up a notch or two for the playoffs.

Having Johnson waiting in the wings also could provide some incentive for the remaining defensive tackles on the depth chart, following the loss of Booger McFarland for the season with a serious knee injury. NFLN reports that it's a torn ACL. The Indianapolis Star reports that it is a torn patellar tendon. Either way, it's an early 2007 exit for Booger.

Johnson has all of his pro experience in the same defense that the Colts run -- the Tampa Two, a 4-3 attack that relies upon defensive tackles to stop the run effectively, and to pressure the quarterback without the assistance of extensive blitz packages. Given that the pickings are otherwise slim at the position on the free-agent market, Tank could be the best option, even with eight games that must be served after he signs with a new team.

Of course, Tank brings plenty of baggage. But the Colts haven't been averse to signing or draft a turd or two over the years, and acquiring Johnson could be justified by explaining that his release from the Bears was the result of an incident for which Johnson was not ultimately charged.

Besides, the Colts currently are in their post-Super Bowl grace period; if they swing and miss on a guy like Johnson, so what?

One last factor to consider is that G.M. Bill Polian is a short-timer, and might very much want to pull an Elway, retiring from the game after back-to-back championships. To make that happen, and to likewise take some heat off of Polian's $12 million per year defensive end named Dwight Freeney, the team needs some more talent up the middle.

Our guess is that the Colts will begin to discreetly and quietly flirt with Johnson as they also monitor the waiver wire. It has been speculated, for example, that Warren Sapp might be cut by the Raiders. If Sapp or some other veteran who would upgrade the talent at the position in Indy becomes available, then Tank might not be the guy. If that doesn't happen, Tank could end up rolling into Indy.

In response to our report from Sunday night that Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter has already had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right knee, a Dolphins source says that no such procedure has been performed. Yet.

Per the source, the knee is "still in the evaluation process" and "no definitive decision has been made regarding any potential surgery."

We're going to follow up with our own sources on this one, and if Porter indeed has not yet been 'scoped then we'll say we were wr-wr-wr-wr-off the mark. But the quotes set forth above make us think that a scalpel or some other type of surgical instrument will soon be poking around inside of the joint that connects Porter's lower leg to his upper leg, and that the organization is proceeding with caution and discretion for fear of undermining the decision to give Porter $20 million in guaranteed money five months ago.

Besides, the team is losing a regular-season home game this year to the NFL's export plan. So with only nine total home games instead of ten, and with two of them to be played during a preseason that Porter very well might miss, there's no reason to discourage prematurely fans who might be inclined to buy tickets to either of the two exhibition contests to be played at Dolphin Stadium (on August 11 and 25) in order to get an early look at J. Peezy in something other than street clothes.

With the two of the three remaining first-round holdouts being the only two quarterbacks drafted in round one, a rare semi-original thought occurred to yours truly during a Monday morning spot with Scott Clark and Dave Ragone on 1570 The Zone in Louisville.

Could it be that the Raiders and the Browns want these holdouts to linger deep into the preseason and/or into the regular season in order to counter pressure from the fans and the media to play their rookie first-rounders right away?

Though it might not have been intentional in either city, the hidden benefit is that these guys will now most likely be able to sit for their entire initial seasons and watch and learn.

It's even more beneficial in Oakland, since Russell's rookie year is also year one of the new coaching regime. So why not take a year to let the new staff get acclimated before dropping Russell onto the field?

In Cleveland, the holdout of Quinn might also buy another year for G.M. Phil Savage and coach Romeo Crennell. Both are viewed as being in trouble, but owner Randy Lerner might decide (even after a 3-13 season) that they should get a chance to show what Quinn can (or can't) do before passing final judgment on either or both of them.

Though our guess is that a holdout wasn't engineered by either team, both franchises now have an easy excuse to offer if/when folks start clamoring for the new guys to play in October or November. And both quarterbacks might be better off for it over the long haul.

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports reports that the holdout of Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell could continue to drag on, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the negotiations.

Said one source: "This could go to September, easily, with the way the Raiders have approached it. Their approach has been from the start of this that it's their way or the highway. They were told before the draft that if that's how they wanted to do it, they shouldn't draft [Russell] . . . . Look, this could be done in two days if they'd just realize it's not going to happen the way they think."

Though Raiders owner Al Davis has said that the primary sticking point is the amount of money that Russell's camp wants to be paid as an option bonus, Cole writes that the real problem is the manner in which the guaranteed money is protected against the possibility that Russell will be a bust. But, frankly, Cole's article is a little murky on this point, and we need to see more details about the structure of the offer before concluding that Russell's guaranteed money won't really be guaranteed.

We also get the feeling that Cole is carrying the water, at least a little bit, for Russell and his agents, Eric Metz and Ethan Lock. Cole points out that the decision of Davis to mention the inexperience of Russell's agents is off the mark, given that Metz has been in the business for 20 years and Lock has been in the business for a decade. (Cole characterizes the pair as having "30 years combined experience," but in our experience a group is only as experienced as the most experienced person in it.)

The overriding point regarding experience, however, is that Metz and Lock have never had a No. 1 overall pick, which is a completely different stratosphere of first-round contract.

There are other things that we don't fully understand about the report. For example, Cole's explanation of the lack of an option bonus in the Calvin Johnson deal seems to be presented as a counter to the Raiders' position on the issue when, in reality, the Johnson contract undermines the Russell camp's position that the option bonus should be maximized. Because Johnson got no option bonus, Russell needs to abandon the position that as much money as possible should be pushed into his.

Finally, we think that the notion that guaranteed money to be paid in the fourth year of the deal is separate and distinct from the concept of guaranteed money being earned in that year. Many contracts defer the actual payment of signing bonus and related guarantees that are earned by the player on an earlier date. Surely, agents with "30 years combined experience" will be sufficiently competent to prevent the Raiders from including those earned-but-unpaid amounts in any extension offered in the season in which that money comes due.

Also, Cole's source was only partially correct when explaining that, if Russell plays well, the team will want to extend his deal after three seasons, in comparison to the timing of extensions paid to Carson Palmer and Mike Vick. But while Palmer indeed received his extension at the end of his third season, Vick didn't get his second contract until the completion of his fourth season.

Here's the full text of a loooooong statement released on Sunday night by Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, addressed to the fans of the New York Giants:

"As many of you know, I am contemplating one of the biggest decisions of my football career, whether I should retire or continue playing. Like all athletes, I knew this day would come when I would have to stand before that proverbial fork in the road. But I must admit that it's not until you're actually staring at the two diverging paths do you really grasp how impactful and painful this decision can be. I was hoping to make this personal decision quietly and without much hoopla, but given the recent torrent of erroneous media reports and totally inaccurate assumptions, I feel that I have to come forward and publicly set the record straight with those for whom I have toiled the last fourteen years -- you fans.

"This off season has been one of the best in my professional career. I have worked extremely hard to make sure that I'm in shape and ready to tackle the rigors of another physical season. I am proud to say that at my body feels years younger and ready to compete at the highest level. I love training and preparation, and this off season has made it clear to me that this is one aspect of the game that I will miss tremendously when I decide to one day unstrap the helmet for the last time. I went into this off season with every intention of entering a 15th season with the Giants, the only team I've ever played for during my career. But I am human, and despite the images of me grimacing and tackling opposing quarterbacks and running backs, I have to face my mortality like anyone else. When an athlete like myself who does what I do for a living starts having doubts, then it's time to take a step back and seriously consider my future. Anyone who plays in the NFL with doubts or second guessing is not only putting themselves at risk, but their teammates also. I will never do that.

"What's been most disappointing has been all of this nonsense that I'm holding out for more money. The truth is that football has been very good to me and I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by advisors who have ensured that my family and I will live comfortably for the rest of my life. You deserve to know what's really going on. My agent met with the Giants earlier in the year and discussed many things including my contract. Money is not the reason that I have not reported to training camp and it will not be a factor for my return. This has already been communicated to the Giants and while the reports may indicate a"hard line" taken by the team regarding money, it is not necessary, as this issue had been decided well before July.

"Despite what some might believe there are those of us who make decisions that have nothing to do with money. Many athletes ask themselves daily if they are emotionally and psychologically at the level where they can compete at the highest level for twenty-four weeks. For them also it isn't about the money, rather a serious athlete asking serious questions about his future. All that I ask, after fourteen seasons, is that you afford me the patience so that I might arrive at my decision on my own terms.

"As GM Jerry Reese has said, the Giants are not going to hold a spot for me. I completely understand his stance as football is a business and he must do what is in the best interest of the team. I know that I am only one player. I want to express my thanks to the owners and coaches for their extremely kind words about my career as a Giant to date. I have been proud to wear the Giant uniform thoughout [sic] my professional career. You have my word that I will try to make the correct decision as quickly as possible. If I decide to play, I hope that you will continue to cheer me on like you have for all of these years. If I decide to hang up the cleats, then I will bid you all a tremendous thank you for the privilege to play a game that has blessed me in so many ways and created memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. I humbly thank you for your understanding and being the best fans in the world."

Sheesh. We hope that whoever hires Strahan to work in television after he retires gets to work on getting him to make his points a little more quickly and concisely.

We also wonder whether those same "advisors who have ensured that my family and I will live comfortably for the rest of my life" are the same people responsible for the pre-nup that resulted in Strahan owing a large chunk of his fortune to his wife. If so, living "comfortably" for Strahan could eventually be a refrigerator box with not one but two layers of half-popped bubble wrap.

In response to our item from earlier on Sunday, in which we mentioned that we recently received a tip that Miami linebacker Joey Porter already has had arthroscopic surgery on his ailing right knee, a league source says that Porter has indeed undergone the procedure, and that he's likely out until the regular season opens.

It's unclear why the team would be concealing Porter's condition at this point. On Saturday, coach Cam Cameron indicated that the knee was still being evaluated.

The Dolphins signed Porter in March to a contract that pays him $20 million in guaranteed money. Other teams believe based on his performance in 2006 that Porter's best days are in his behind. Right next to that bullet hole.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Giants defensive end Michael Strahan says he isn't contemplating retirement (i.e., holding out) because of the money.

Schefter also reports that Strahan is still 50-50 as to whether he'll retire, and that he continues to waver. He's supposedly waiting for inspiration to play, and right now doesn't have it.

And we suspect he'll have that inspiration if the Giants offer to give him a big raise (which they won't) or if the Giants will trade him to someone who will.

Per Schefter, Strahan is in L.A. for now, and will be issuing a statement thanking fans for their support and asking that they be patient while he makes his decision.

Our guess? Strahan senses that he won't be getting a big payday from anyone in the NFL, and he's laying the foundation to convert his deliberations into a decision to retire.

The Indianapolis Star reports the Colts defensive tackle Anthony "Booger" McFarland has told teammates and close friends that he suffered a serious knee injury on Friday.

McFarland is believed to have suffered a torn patellar tendon, which would most likely knock him out for the season.

The report meshes with a top we recently received that McFarland will likely miss the season. Scroll down for more.

Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com reports that Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter is having his right knee evaluated after missing two days of practice.

"It was something that he noticed during the offseason program," coach Cam Cameron said. "He was working his way through it. It isn't something that happened since we started practice. He just wanted to get it checked out."

Coincidentally, we received on Friday an e-mail from a tipster who told us that Porter has had arthroscopic surgery on the knee, and that he will miss four weeks. We assumed that the e-mail was in reference to a media report on the subject, but our own MDS determined on Saturday that there was no available evidence at the time of any knee trouble for the guy known also as J. Peezy.

So we opted to take a wait-and-see approach on the issue. Though the report doesn't state that Porter has had any type of medical procedure, we wonder whether the Fins are opting to manage discreetly any evidence that Porter might have something more than a day-to-day thing. Especially if it was an issue that should have been realized by the team before $20 million in guaranteed money was paid to an aging defender whom many teams believe based on film study of his 2006 performance no longer has it.

We're particularly suspicious at this point because Pasquarelli's item seems to be parroting a party line about Porter's condition: "Porter, 30, has been relatively free of knee problems during his eight-year NFL career. The former Pittsburgh Steelers star has missed only six games in his career, and has never been sidelined for more than two contests in a year. He did wear a brace on his right knee during organized team activities sessions (OTAs) in June, but has not employed it in the early portions of training camp."

"I played through it so well through the playoffs that nobody thought [the knee] was as bad as it was," Porter said in August 2006. "It was hurting, but nothing where I couldn't play through it. At that point, it swelled up, I iced it, I took the necessary precautions. But, at the same time, I never knew there were some loose particles in there and wondered why it kept showing up in the offseason when I'm working out."

One year later, it was the same thing all over again, with a problem being first noticed during the offseason program. This time around, however, it's not known whether Porter first injured the knee in the 2006 regular season. If he did, and if the Fins paid out $20 million in guaranteed money for a guy who ends up being damaged goods, someone is going to have to answer some tough questions to the boss, baby.

The prevailing theory in league circles is that Bowe had been waiting for the deal directly before him, Brady Quinn at No. 22, to get done. But we explained on Saturday night that the Chiefs would not use the Quinn deal as the ceiling for the Bowe contract, given that Quinn is looking for (and apparently will get) a "quarterback premium" over his draft slot.

There also was a theory that Bowe's holdout was specifically aimed at providing support for his former LSU teammate and good friend, JaMarcus Russell.

So with Bowe signing, could it mean that Russell will be the next to go? Stay tuned.

There's an interesting theory making its way through the NFL grapevine regarding the root of the holdout of Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe, the No. 23 overall pick in the draft.

We've heard for a while that Bowe has decided to wait until a deal for Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, the No. 22 overall selection in the draft, is done at No. 22. But, as we explained on Saturday night, Bowe is wasting his time if he thinks that Brady's deal will set the ceiling for the No. 23 slot.

Some league insiders speculate that the real reason for the Bowe holdout arises from the connection between Bowe and quarterback JaMarcus Russell.

Russell and Bowe played together at LSU. They were (and presumably still are) close friends.

The speculation (and we're not reporting or suggesting that it's true) is that LMM are holding out Bowe in order to keep Russell company during his holdout with the Raiders -- and to ensure that Russell's resolve doesn't weaken.

The former college teammates reportedly are in Atlanta together. At a minimum it's quite a coincidence that they make up 50 percent of the remaining holdouts from the class of 2007.

Still, we're not saying that the agents are using Bowe to keep Russell strong (or vice-versa). Our point is that some folks are wondering whether that might be the reason for Bowe to still be out, and we find that hypothesis sufficiently intriguing to point out here.

An industry source tells us that former Cowboys receiver and ESPN commentator Michael Irvin, a brand-new member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is preparing a radio show that will be paired with Dan Patrick's new syndicated radio broadcast to be distributed by the Content Factory.

They apparently won't be on the same show; instead, it will be Patrick then Irvin, or vice-versa.

Irvin was a regular guest on Patrick's ESPN Radio show during Irvin's tenure with ESPN. It was on The Dan Patrick Show in November 2006 that Irvin made his infamous remarks suggesting that one of Tony Romo's female ancestors was impregnated by a slave.

With unhappy running back Thomas Jones being shipped to the Jets in the offseason, most NFL observers assume that Cedric Benson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2005 draft, will be the featured tailback in an offense that could be a very good one this season.

On Saturday, however, Benson was at practice -- but Adrian Peterson took "virtually all of the reps" with the first-team offense.

Coach Lovie Smith says that Benson's role at the No. 1 guy isn't in jeopardy. "Once you go through a week or so, most of the skill players can use a day off," Smith said, according to the Chicago Tribune. "Cedric was a little sore so I had him get a few individual reps and held him out the rest of the time. Adrian is a big part of what we're going to do. Once you have a player like that move into that role, it's always good to see them play with the 1's."

But if this is merely a case of giving Benson a day off, then the Bears should have given him the day off. Having him dressed and present but not part of the first-team offense can be interpreted as a message --to Benson and to the rest of us.

The Tribune notes that Benson has had a little bit of a fumbling thing in camp, and we've got a feeling that the Bears have decided to get Peterson ready in the event that Benson has trouble holding onto the ball in the preseason, or once the regular season gets started.

And if Peterson ends up as the starter at any point this year, we suggest that either he or the tailback of the same name in the same division consider changing from Adrian to something like Stuart, Todd, Alex, Ned, Ellis, or Remy.

That one-day detour out of town caused yours truly to slip a bit in the whole Training Camp Report department. But we're back on top of it today.

MDS, who hasn't missed a beat in his assignment to update two divisions each per day, has posted new entries for the Vikings, Lions, Packers, and Bears.

The guy who once allegedly threatened to kill Mike Martz is back in the NFL, with a second season in Kansas City.

And tackle Kyle Turley, to whom we lovingly refer as Crazy Joe Davola, is making his presence felt by sparking a sidelines-clearing fight during a scrimmage with the Vikings on Saturday.

Turley reportedly mixed it up with Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards. It's unknown whether Turley was aiming to put the "kibosh" on Edwards, or whether Turley successfully did so.

We mentioned the other day that Mike Sando of ESPN.com said in a piece that somehow made its way through editing and proofreading that Dan Marino and Troy Aikman are not yet in the Hall of Fame.

The Bristol crowd has now gone the other way, inducted guys who are not yet eligible for enshrinement.

Moments ago, the dude anchoring the Sunday morning SportsCenter described Michael Irvin as the last of the Cowboys' triplets to enter the Hall of Fame.

The other two members of the aforementioned triplets are the aforementioned Aikman and running back Emmitt Smith.

How in the world can the self-styled "Worldwide Leader" in sports make such basic mistakes? And what's next? A graphic spelling "NFL" with a "PH" instead of the "F"?

A couple of readers have raised an intriguing question in response to Michael Irvin's stellar, classic, inspiring Hall of Fame induction speech.

Who is the real Irvin? The guy we saw last night? Or the guy we saw on ESPN over the prior few seasons?

And if the Canton version of Irvin is the real guy, why did he come off as such a complete id-ee-it during his time on ESPN?

Could it be that Irvin was goaded by ESPN producers into adopting an over-the-top buffoonish shtick and that, in time, Irvin became a creation that they could no control?

We recall that Irvin set the stage for his ESPN gig with some work on FSN, but we can't recall whether Irvin was the same guy on FOX that he was on ESPN. If he wasn't, then how did he get that way?

Regardless, we hope the guy we saw last night is now the real Irvin, and that someone else will give that guy another chance in broadcasting. If, and only if, the guy we saw in Canton is the guy who shows up every Sunday.

The Panthers drew the line in the sand. The agent for linebacker Jon Beason tried to cross it but, in the end, yielded.

Several days ago, Huyghue moaned to the media that the Panthers were bargaining in bad faith by refusing to include an option bonus in the deal, since most of the other first-round picks received an option bonus.

But after No. 2 overall pick Calvin Johnson signed a contract that included no option bonus, Huyghue (we believe) was able to back off of his position without fear that his failure to finagle an option bonus would be used against him in the recruiting of next year's crop of draft picks.

The option bonus, a lump-sum of money earned at the outset of the second year of a contract, cannot be pursued by an NFL team if the player defaults on his contract via a holdout or a suspension, as a result of the ruling in the Ashley Lelie grievance filed against him by the Broncos last year.

In lieu of an option bonus, Beason reportedly received a $3.2 million signing bonus. But loading too much cash into the option bonus can be a problem, since the first-year signing bonus proration doesn't count toward the salary number that forms the basis for application of the rule that limits annual growth of the compensation to 25 percent of the first-year pay. (Sorry, we need to talk like that once in a while to maintain our nerd cred with front offices and agents.)

We also get the impression that Beason will be paid reporting/roster bonuses starting in year three, which give the team protection against a player not showing up (for whatever reason) by requiring him to show up in order to get the money.

On the same day that the Colts terminated the contract of free-agent bust Corey Simon, the guy whom the Colts acquired last season to take his place was undergoing an MRI.

And before word of the Booger McFarland MRI broke, an anonymous tipster advised us that the injury is serious, and likely season-ending.

Though we have not yet corroborated this tip, and are not officially reporting that McFarland is out for the year, we can understand why the Colts aren't announcing the severity of the injury, if it indeed is severe. With an even greater need in the interior of a defensive line that was getting shredding against the run before it somehow picked it up in the playoffs, the Colts would likely like to finagle a trade with a team that doesn't realize the urgency that the team might now be facing, because that would drive the price tag north.

Just as the "days without an arrest" counter made a rare return to the land of two digits, we can set it back to zero.

Hargrove, a Bills defensive end, is charged with striking a police officer early Sunday morning in Rochester.

Hargrove is charged with harassment, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest. His brother, Terrence, also has been charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.

Hargrove is a fourth-year player from Georgia Tech. He spent his first two seasons with the Rams, starting in four games as a rookie and 15 in his second year. He started the first four games of the 2006 season with the Rams before going AWOL. In October, he was traded to the Bills for a fifth-round pick in the 2007 draft.

He currently is listed as the second string right defensive end, behind Aaron Schobel.

In the offseason, the Bills offered to Hargrove the low-level restricted free agent tender of $850,000. Since the payment is not guaranteed, the arrest could be enough to get Hargrove released.

A league source tells us that the Cleveland Browns are prepared to give quarterback Brady Quinn, the No. 22 overall pick in the draft, more guaranteed money than the guy drafted in front of him, Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson, was paid.

The other issue is the trigger for Quinn's incentive payments in the final years of the deal. The Browns want the incentives to kick it at a higher percentage of snaps than Quinn does, and our guess is that the two sides could meet in the middle, if they were to ever get together and hammer out the issues.

We reported several days ago that the agents for the No. 23 overall pick, receiver Dwayne Bowe, will be waiting until Brady Quinn, the No. 22 selection, does a deal before getting a contract negotiated with the Chiefs.

Since then, Bowe has yet to sign, and as far as we can tell there has been little or no progress.

But as a league source told us on Saturday, the presumption that Bowe will be able pull a Kenny Banya on Quinn's coattails is incorrect.

If Quinn gets a premium at No. 22, it will be because he's a quarterback. So unless Bowe plans to become a quarterback, Quinn's deal will have no relevance to Bowe's.

Oh, and the guy calling the shots on this one for the team is Carl Peterson. He's got a reputation for being, you know, a little hardheaded.

Has anyone seen Michael Irvin? Because it's time for him to give his Hall of Fame speech, but he's not there. Instead, there's a man who is giving a contrite, humble, and stirring speech.

The other guy looks like Michael Irvin. But he's not acting like Michael. He's acting like a guy that we would love to see covering the NFL every week, a guy to whom we'd love to listen give his opinions on the NFL, on life, and on anything else he'd care to talk about.

The Charlotte Observer reports that rookie linebacker Jon Beason and agent Michael Huyghue are en route to Carolina for the purposes of finalizing a contract on Sunday.

Beason, from the University of Miami, was the 25th overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Huyghue complained several days ago that the team was refusing to provide Beason with an option bonus. We've heard that the Panthers are hoping to set a precedent of paying an option bonus to no first-round pick, since option bonuses no longer can be recovered by the team in the event of a default.

But with Calvin Johnson, the No. 2 overall pick of the Lions, getting no option bonus at all in the contract he signed on Friay, our guess is that Huyghue is now willing to yield the point, since Huyghue can't be criticized by other agents for being the only guy with a first-round client who didn't get an option bonus.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave a speech at Titans camp today, and the first player to approach him afterward was defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.

Goodell, of course, gave Haynesworth a five-game suspension last season after he stomped on the head of Cowboys center Andre Gurode. That was the longest suspension in NFL history for on-field behavior, and the first sign that Goodell would make cracking down on player misconduct a major theme of his tenure as Commissioner.

But Haynesworth told reporters today that he has no ill will toward Goodell. "He's a player's Commissioner and a people person," Haynesworth said. "It was awesome to meet him and talk to him personally. He said, 'Don't worry about me being the Commissioner, just ask me questions.' I thought that was awesome."

It's interesting that Haynesworth is showing his magnanimous side, considering that just last weekend Tom Curran of NBCSports.com reported that Haynesworth seemed agitated at the world in general, and that his nasty attitude toward teammates in practice included telling one, "Be a [expletive] man and step up, bitch."

Haynesworth apparently didn't display that attitude when talking to Goodell. "He grabbed me right after the meeting and said he wanted to talk about the help he was getting," Goodell told the Associated Press. "He wanted me to know he was getting help for his problems. It was good to hear. You like to think that players who get in trouble can work on turning around their lives."

Goodell said he brought up the name of one Titan who wasn't there, suspended cornerback Pacman Jones. Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said he appreciated Goodell's candor in that respect: "It's cool. . . . It was a great opportunity. I can't say that Paul Tagliabue ever came in and met with this team. It's good for the young guys to see the Commissioner come in and care, especially with Pac not being with us."

Randy Moss practiced on Friday in Foxborough after sitting out both the Patriots' training camp practices Thursday with a hamstring injury, but the session was a light workout and it's not clear whether Moss is back to 100 percent.

The injury came Wednesday when he tried to reach an overthrown pass in the end zone. He got iced and wrapped and missed the rest of the day. A hamstring injury is a particular concern for Moss because in 2004 -- his final season with the Vikings -- he was plagued for much of the year with a hamstring problem.

Rich Garven of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported that Moss didn’t do enough in Friday's practice to break a sweat, even though the heat index was over 100. Moss jogged through a couple plays but mostly stood around talking with fellow receivers Troy Brown, Chad Jackson, and Donte' Stallworth, all of whom are on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

Chargers wide receiver Eric Parker had surgery on his right big toe yesterday, and his recovery time of 10 weeks means the Chargers' No. 1 wide receiver likely won't play until their October 28 game against the Texans.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that although Parker had arthroscopic surgery on his foot this offseason, this injury has nothing to do with that. Acee reports that Parker cracked the sesamoid bone during practice.

The Chargers were already in the midst of a youth movement at wide receiver, as last year's No. 2 wideout, Keenan McCardell, departed as a free agent. Parker's injury will cause the Chargers to rely even more on first-round draft pick Craig Davis, who has been getting reps with the first-team offense in training camp. Second-year wide receiver Greg Camarillo, who played only special teams last year, will also likely see playing time on offense to fill some of the void created by Parker's absence.

Coach Norv Turner said of Davis and Camarillo, "We've got to get the young guys to step up and do what [Parker] was doing."

Michael Strahan's agent said Friday that the Giants' holdout defensive end will release a statement in the next couple of days. But it remains a mystery whether that statement will shed any new light on the motivation for Strahan's holdout or reveal his future plans.

Agnone said he urged Strahan to ask other players who have either retired or considered it recently -- including Brett Favre, Willie Roaf, and Deion Sanders -- what advice they have.

"I'm not sure he's ready for it," Agnone said of playing this season. "I told him not to go to camp and then decide three weeks later that he wants to retire. Take a couple of extra weeks. If he decides to play, there will be 24 weeks of hell after that."

If Strahan considers an NFL season "24 weeks of hell," it's understandable that he wouldn't want to keep playing. But why wait until training camp starts to tell the team about these feelings? Obviously, it's because he doesn't actually want to retire, which would require him to pay the Giants $4.5 million. He just wants to use the possibility of retirement to get more money.

Strahan is a likeable guy and a natural fit to become a TV commentator as soon as he retires. This holdout isn't going to make him more money from the Giants, but it could make him less likeable to his future TV audience.

Earlier this week, a league source opined to us that Browns quarterback Brady Quinn should fire agent Tom Condon. We disagreed, due in large part to the rule that requires Quinn to wait five days before hiring a new agent.

But given the fact that Condon has displayed no sense of urgency to get the contract finalized so that Quinn can commence his career as a member of a football franchise that desperately needs to give folks in Cleveland a reason to cheer, we now believe that Quinn should write up the letter disengaging from Condon and send it to the NFLPA.

Just do it, Brady. Forget about the marketing guarantee or whatever other inducement Condon offered to get you to sign. He has given you, in our opinion, nothing but bad advice, every step of the way.

The tipping point for us was when we read that Condon only "talked briefly" with the Browns on Friday, and that Condon has invited Browns management to travel to Kansas City to get the deal done.

Condon, in our opinion, should pack his bags and get his ass to Cleveland, and stay there until there's a contract. Quinn clearly wants to play, as evidenced by his response to a question from ESPN's Collen Dominguez regarding whether he is willing to sit out the full season.

"You know, I don't think it's gonna go that far," Quinn said. "I don't think we're in that sort of situation. That's something that I don't wanna do."

Does Condon have the entire Quinn family so bamboozled that they can't see that the agent's foot-dragging does nothing to get Quinn ready to pursue his next contract? You know, the one that will pay him more than $30 million in guaranteed money, if Quinn becomes the player that he thinks he is.

With that said, there's a school of thought that Condon is holding out for the best deal possible for Quinn because Condon believes that Quinn will be a bust, and thus Condon thinks that he needs to get the most possible money for Quinn now, since there likely won't be a second big contract.

And part of Quinn's reluctance to dump Condon could be due to the fact that Quinn is unwilling to admit that he might have erred by hiring him.

Regardless, it's time for the deal to get done. It's wrong for Condon to be exercising so much control over the player. Reasonable people should be able to work something out reasonably quickly, if they all can get together and work on making it happen.

As we've previously said, we think that this is all about Condon setting the stage to attract his next crop of quarterback clients, and not about Condon taking the best possible care of his current one.

We also think that the Browns should call Condon's bluff and go to Kansas City and tell him that they are ready and willing to do whatever needs to be done to make this contract happen. That'll put even more pressure on Condon to crap or get off of the commode.

Also, why not publicly disclose the specific terms of the offer that the Browns have made, and the terms that Condon is seeking? Sure, this stuff usually happens under a veil of confidentiality, but we think that the Browns should put it all out there, so that folks can make their own assessment as to who's right, and who's wrong.

Though we continue to hear that the primary sticking point in the Brady Quinn contract is that agent Tom Condon wants to get more guaranteed money and more total dollars than Quinn's draft slot dictates, one of the other issues is the back-end incentives that Quinn will receive based on playing time and other factors.

The Quinn camp wants the triggers to be easy to meet, and the Browns want the bar to be higher than that.

But, as one league source pointed out to us, if Quinn and company are so focused on ensuring that he is paid a "fair" amount if/when he becomes the starting quarterback, is Quinn also willing to agree to reduce his future pay if he ends up being the next Ryan Leaf or Akili Smith or Cade McNown or Dan McGwire or David Klingler or Andre Ware or Tim Couch or any of the other first-round quarterbacks who got a bunch of money for, in the end, not much at all in return?

Probably not, because the player-friendly rookie compensation system never accounts for the fact that the first-round pick might be a first-class bust.

So, on one hand, Quinn and Condon want to tilt the field in their favor if Quinn becomes the starting quarterback (which most quarterbacks taken in round one are expected to do), and on the other hand they'd never agree to reduce future salaries figures if Quinn becomes the starter, but has a passer rating lower than his jersey number.

The system protects first-rounders from ever having to pay money back. So if Quinn wants to reap the benefit of that system in the event he never delivers as the Browns' quarterback, then Quinn should also respect that same system when formulating his demands.

Lions receiver Calvin Johnson was in town when his contract was finalized on Friday. Thus, he was able to sign it, take a physical, and get his butt to the practice field.

It sets the right tone for what could be a long and extremely fruitful career for Johnson, who was in our belief (and that of many others) the most talented player in the 2007 draft pool.

In contrast, too many of these first-rounders have been in other cities when their deals are finished, further delaying their arrival at camp.

And as to anyone who thinks that having the player in town and ready to go impairs the agent's leverage, take a gander at Johnson's deal, which will once he participates in 35 percent of the offensive snaps in any year pf the deal will acquire a base value of $55 million.

As to the five remaining first-round holdouts, we suggest that you get your butts to the towns in which your teams are conducting training camp and be ready to join your teammates as soon as your deal gets done.

There's an intensifying feeling in league circles that Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio needs to take his team to the playoffs in 2007 or he'll be looking for new work in 2008.

We've been hearing rumblings in this regard for a while now. The bigger question, as we see it, is whether V.P. of player personnel Shack Harris will get the boot as well if the team tanks this season.

Del Rio's tenuous hold on the coaching job might have been a major factor in quarterback Daunte Culpepper's decision not to sign a three-year, $15 million contract with the team. If Byron Leftwich had played poorly enough to open the door for Daunte in 2008, the coaches who signed Culpepper would likely be gone -- and the new coaching staff might want to have nothing to do with him. In contrast, if Lefwtich performs well enough for Del Rio to keep his job, then it likely will be enough for Leftwich to get an extension and remain the starter.

If anything, it could be that former Vikings coach Mike Tice, an assistant on the Del Rio staff, was lobbying for Culpepper because Tice hoped that, if Del Rio gets poop-canned, Tice could use his track record of success (at times) with Culpepper to lobby for the job.

Earlier this week, the NFL circulated its annual memo to all teams reminding them that preseason games should be given the same treatment as regular-season contests.

Though the league doesn't expect teams to keep starters on the field of excessive amounts of time, the purpose is to ensure that franchises don't give in to the temptation to hold key players out of action completely in one of more games.

The reason? Those "preseason" games account for a full 20 percent of the total annual home games that a team will play, and the teams need to do their part to ensure that fans will continue to plunk down 20 percent of their total annual football money for the ability to view these glorified practice sessions.

Typically, starters play a quarter or less in the first preseason game, a quarter or more in the second contest, a half and maybe a little more in the third installment, and in many cases not at all in the final game.

The primary benefit to teams of the preseason games is to give players at the back end of the roster live game reps in order to help determine who'll make the team.

Since it's been six months since we've last had the privilege to live blog an NFL game, and given that many people still don't have access to NFLN, we'll be doing a live blog thing of the Hall of Fame game between the Steelers and the Saints.

Whether we can muster the spirit to continue while the bottom of both rosters is on the field remains to be seen. But even that can't be as bad as last year's Raiders-Seahawks Monday night mess.

We've heard from plenty of Vikings fans since posting last night an item regarding the comments of team owner Zygi Wilf of his ongoing desire to get a new stadium, which comments were made in the wake of the bridge disaster in Minneapolis, and the vast majority of input was supportive of Wilf.

Part of the problem is that the Associated Press report that we read Friday night on ESPN.com has one set of comments from Wilf, and that the Minneapolis Star Tribune has quotes that create a far different impression.

Said Wilf, per the AP: "We all understand that there has to be a focus on the infrastructure, that we have to dedicate ourselves to make transportation a priority for the sake of safety and for the sake of a growing community that needs transportation infrastructure that will move us into the 21st century. That does not exclude the fact that we understand that the Metrodome is also one of the oldest facilities in the league, and we want to make sure that we have a facility that meets the standards of the 21st century."

Said Wilf, per the Star Tribune: "We should make sure that we take care of the right priorities, and take care of the infrastructure [including the bridge]. I hope that we can get that done quickly. We have time to deal with stadium issues. That's for another time."

Also, the Star Tribune report makes clear that Wilf mentioned the stadium project only because he was asked a question about it, and the Star Tribune characterizes Wilf as "set[ting] aside" the issue.

Because most Minnesotans will be seeing the words of Wilf in the Star Tribune, and given the e-mails we have received in the nine hours since posting our story, we get the impression that there won't be a backlash against Wilf or the team.

Still, that AP story creates a far different impression regarding the situation, focusing heavily on Wilf's wish for a new home for his football team.

And while the AP story also mentions that Wilf plans to donate all proceeds from training camp practices with the Chiefs to relief and recovery efforts, the AP story omits Wilf's statement of regret regarding the tragedy. His words in this regard appear in the Star Tribune article: "We just felt like we wanted to help the families of the victims and those that are touched by this tragedy. The Vikings organization and the Vikings family, we all feel that we should dedicate the proceeds."

In all, it's just another example of how those who report the news have the power to shape opinion based on the manner in which the news is reported. The Star Tribune story and the AP story created two sharply different images of Wilf, and we'll assume going forward that the Star Tribune article captures his reaction to this situation more accurately.

Our own MDS got all of his camp reports in on Friday, and he's off to a good start with his Saturday set, with updates on the Titans and Rams already posted.

Meanwhile, yours truly failed to deliver on seven teams on Friday, primarily because of that annual event known in some circles as a wedding anniversary. (It's actually not until later in the month, but this weekend was the best one of the month to get out of town for a day or so.)

We'll be back at PFT headquarters tonight, and we'll get caught up on the camp reports. Meanwhile, the wife deserves serious consideration for sainthood after 13 years of putting up with me.

We previously haven't said anything about the Minnesota bridge disaster from earlier this week, but it's been in the front of our thoughts ever since it happened. Nearly all of us travel on bridges, and most of us do so on a regular basis. It's something that truly can affect any of us, and the event should be a call for meaningful change regarding the manner in which bridges are inspected -- and with respect to the implementation of warning systems that can sense the early signs of failure and drop barriers like railroad track gates in order to prevent more weight from entering the span.

When we first heard folks complaining (and rightfully so) about the diversion of public money for the construction of a baseball stadium in the Twin Cities when clearly not enough resources were being used to protect citizens from bridge hazards, our first thought was this: "The Vikings will be moving to L.A."

It's unavoidable, we concluded. There's no way that the powers-that-be in Minnesota can justify public funds for anything other than measures aimed at reinforcing the infrastructure. The politicians will get only one shot at making this right -- if it happens again in Minnesota or anywhere else, they all should be removed from office immediately.

We were going to wait a little while longer before expressing our thoughts on this issue, because whether or not the Vikings move to L.A. or anywhere else is presently irrelevant to the grieving folks in Minnesota.

But then Vikings owner Zygi Wilf opted to address the situation -- and to make a renewed pitch for a new stadium.

"We all understand that there has to be a focus on the infrastructure, that we have to dedicate ourselves to make transportation a priority for the sake of safety and for the sake of a growing community that needs transportation infrastructure that will move us into the 21st century," Wilf told the Associated Press.

"That does not exclude the fact that we understand that the Metrodome is also one of the oldest facilities in the league, and we want to make sure that we have a facility that meets the standards of the 21st century."

Uh-oh.

Minnesota folks are well known for being extremely nice. But we have a feeling that Wilf, an outsider, has just burned up any and all goodwill that he ever would have have there. His words could be -- and should be -- viewed as incredibly crass and insensitive by the local residents. At a time when bodies are likely still trapped in watery graves beneath the rubble of a negligently managed mass of concrete and steel, the last person who should be saying anything other than "the thoughts and prayers of the Vikings organization go out to the victims, their families, and all citizens of Minnesota" is the owner of a football team who has been trying his damnedest to get public money ponied up for a new football stadium.

Indeed, Wilf would have a better chance of getting a taxpayer-financed stadium if he'd declared, "Wednesday's tragic events help to put in perspective the things that are really important in life. It is obvious to me that our government's dollars are better spent on ensuring that nothing like this ever happens again in Minnesota. We therefore are committed to finding a solution to the challenges presented by our current stadium situation through means other than imposing any burden on public funds."

If he could have said that -- and truly meant it -- we predict that a groundswell of support would have eventually developed to get the team a new stadium. Heck, people probably would have donated their own money in droves for the project.

But Wilf, in our view, missed out on an opportunity to do the right thing, and to reap the rewards of doing so. Instead, we predict that the folks in the region will become ambivalent about Wilf and his football team, and that the only acceptable solution will be to move the team away. Or for Wilf to sell the team to local interests.

Wilf's only saving grace would be to quickly clarify his comments and apologize for raising the topic of stadium funding with the incident still raw in the hearts and minds of Minnesotans.

And mean it.

A league source tells us that the contract signed to Lions receiver Calvin Johnson includes no option bonus.

As a practical matter, this wrinkle could quickly crack the impasse between the Raiders and No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell, since the Raiders and Russell's agents have been wrangling over the amount of Russell's option bonus.

The team is willing to include some of the money as a roster bonus -- but Russell's agents want to maximize the amount of the option bonus. The concept of the option bonus has become significant this year, since teams cannot seek reimbursement of any amount of the option bonus if the player later holds out, is suspended, or otherwise defaults.

Since Johnson got no option bonus at No. 2, the Raiders have some extra leverage to hold the amount of the option bonus down.

Also, the fact that Johnson even has a deal in place significantly increases the chances of a Russell deal getting done, since now there's no way that the Russell deal can be eclipsed after the fact. We previously reported that the Russell camp would wait for the Johnson deal to come in before finalizing anything with the Raiders.

In lieu of an option bonus, we're told that Johnson will receive an $8 million advance on guaranteed future salaries early in the 2008 league year. Though we haven't researched this specific issue, we assume that the Lions would be able to recover the advance on the future salaries if Johnson later defaults in some way.

The fact that the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft did not receive an option bonus will (or at least should) also make it easier for the Panthers to end their impasse with the No. 25 overall pick in the draft, linebacker Jon Beason.

The Panthers don't want to pay an option bonus to Beason. Huyghue's concern (we believe) is that if he's the only agent in round one whose client didn't get an option bonus, that fact will be used against him aggressively in recruiting.

Now that the No. 2 overall selection has no option bonus, Huyghue is less likely to be slammed for not getting one for Beason.

We suspect that Huyghue and the Panthers will be getting their mitts on the Johnson deal, and will "borrow" the structure of it to put something together that will allow a similar contract to be negotiated with Beason. For slightly less money, of course.

Once again, PFT Planet has had an impact. Though it's not quite to the level of, you know, curing polio, our readers have a knack for spotting mistakes in high-profile NFL media content, and of alerting us to those errors.

So we mention them (most of the time) in this space and -- voila -- they are fixed. Without, of course, any acknowledgement that they were even there.

The latest example was Mike Sando's item about the dearth of Denver Broncos in the Hall of Fame. Several readers pointed out to us on Thursday a statement from Sando indicating his belief that Dan Marino and Troy Aikman are not yet in the Hall. As anyone who even casually follows the sport knows, however, Marino and Aikman both have bronze busts in Canton (and Marino is the only guy in the place whose sculpture exactly matches his actual skin tone). The text of the article has since been revised.

But there are a couple of additional things about the article that are bothering us. First, Sando notes that receiver Jerry Rice is a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer. While Rice never actually played in a regular-season game for the Broncos, he was a member of the team when he called it quits. Indeed, Rice's player page on NFL.com shows him in a Broncos jersey, and the page identifies the Broncos as his team. Though, in our view, Rice doesn't count as a member of the team of HOF purposes, his short-term tenure with the team would have been an intriguing little nugget for Sando to add to the piece.

Also, in listing the Broncos players who could be eligible for the Hall, Sando mentions that "Shannon Sharpe and Rod Smith are among those not yet eligible." In Rod Smith's case, the assertion is technically accurate . . . since he is still a member of the team.

Under that same reasoning, John Lynch and Champ Bailey should have been mentioned, too. (And why not take a page from the Page 2 foofs and mention Jay Cutler and Jarvis Moss as possible candidates, too?)

Hey, we're not in the process of making Sando into our latest ESPN whipping boy. But for any beat writers who dream of escaping from the slowly dying newspaper industry and landing a lifetime gig with a broadcast and print behemoth, it just ain't enough to know only one team really well. You've got know the whole league.

As another work week winds down and you try to kill the last hour or so before escaping that cubicle for 64 hours or so, you can kill a few minutes of someone else's time by checking out the last couple of the most recent PFTV segments.

Have a great weekend. And don't be afraid to check us out on Saturday or Sunday. You're allowed to surf the net on your own time, too.

To create a roster spot for their first-round draft choice, the Lions shut their second-rounder down for the season.

Though Stanton would have been healthy in time for the regular season, most of his real work in 2007 was going to come in the preseason.

As a practical matter, the move allows the Lions to keep both Dan Orlovsky and J.T. O'Sullivan on the roster this year.

Curious as to whether Daunte Culpepper fumbled every snap in practice on Thursday? Or whether Coach Kevlar had to use the lie detector to find out who used all of his bronzer? Or whether the Chiefs will be luring Raymond Berry out of retirement to play wideout? Or whether Shawne Merriman ate anyone's kidney?

Well, MDS has polished off camp reports for all of the teams of the AFC West -- Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers.

We can't say that these reports will answer all of those questions. But you won't know unless you take a look.

When Sprint became the official telecommunications sponsor of ProFootballTalk, yours truly promptly converted his cell phone plan to Sprint. A few months later, Florio Jr. got a Sprint phone of his own.

But the wife had a phone through her law firm, and they were using someone other than Sprint or Nextel.

Not anymore. They've now converted their wireless service to Sprint, and the wife is carrying around, pretty much wherever she goes, a fancy little Blackberry with all sorts of bells and whistles.

Unfortunately, I can't get close enough to the thing to even determine the model number. But she definitely is pleased with it.

So, as we usually do at this time of the week, we ask you to support the wireless company that helps make all of the stuff you see on this site free. Click the ads on the page and follow your noses to the various Sprint and Nextel products. You can buy your phone and get your service starter from your desk.

If nothing else, it beats the hell out of actually working on a Friday afternoon.

Browns right tackle Ryan Tucker has been suspended for the first four games of the 2007 season for violation of the league's policy on anabolic steroids and related substances.

The suspension means that Kevin Shaffer is likely to start the season at right tackle, with rookie Joe Thomas getting the nod on the left side.

Tucker missed several weeks in 2006, reportedly due to an undisclosed mental illness. Per league rule, he will be eligible to remain with the team for the rest of training camp and the preseason.

Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, whose agent inexplicably allows him to talk to the "real" media about his lingering holdout, has essentially admitted that he doesn't know what's going on with the negotiations.

Asked by the Columbus Dispatch how far apart the two sides are, Quinn said: "I don't know. And to be honest with you, I'll ask Tom [Condon] a few questions, but with everything dealing with the contract I try to stay out of it. Tom gives me the heads up of where we're at. And as of right now, I think they've made a little bit of progress, but I don't think they're close."

How does he not know? How does he not want to know? There's nothing else going on for the kid right now. His life currently is on the "pause" button, and other than eating, sleeping, using the facilities, lifting weights, and periodically engaging in crotch-touching for fun with his friends, what the hell else doe he have to do?

Quinn also says that he doesn't want to find himself in the same situation as Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who is holding out in Kansas City because he's only making $1.7 million in base salary in the fifth and final year of his rookie deal. But Quinn's situation is much, much different. Johnson plays a position with a very finite shelf life, he has carried the ball a lot over the past two years, and coach Herm Edwards has a habit of running his primary tailbacks until their legs come off. So L.J. needs to get paid now, or never -- especially since the franchise tag for tailbacks is expected to drop in 2008.

For quarterbacks, it's different. Sure, the injury risk is there. But if Quinn is as good at a quarterback as Johnson is at tailback, Quinn will get $30 million or more in guaranteed money before the final year of his contract. Thus, in our view, screwing around over escalator triggers is a waste of time. Quinn's better bet is to get cracking on cracking the starting lineup.

Quinn closes by saying that he's asking for is "reasonable." But how in the hell does he know that when he doesn't know what the hell is going on with the negotiations?

Attention all you folks who like any of the teams of the NFC North. And those of you who hate one of more of them enough to follow obsessively what they are up to. And those of you who are considering adding Devin Hester to your fantasy team.

And those of you who are looking to kill another a minute or two before getting back to the Penske file.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the six-year deal includes almost $27.2 million in guaranteed money, and a maximum value of $64 million.

We'd previously heard that Johnson wanted $30 million in guaranteed money, but that the maximum possible guaranteed money for his slot was in the neighborhood of $27.5 million.

Lost in the talk about the $14,000 or so in daily fines to which Giants defensive end Michael Strahan is exposed via his non-holdout holdout is the fact that, if Strahan eventually retires, he'll owe the team a big chunk of bonus money.

Per a league source, Strahan would owe roughly $2.5 million in 2007, and another $2 million in 2008.

Factoring in his $4 million base salary over each of the next two seasons, the net cost of retirement would be in the ballpark of $6.5 million this year and $6 million next year.

Of course, Strahan might be banking on the Giants exercising some goodwill in this regard, and not seeking to enforce repayment. Given the ugliness that has arisen over the past few days, however, we doubt that the team would do so.

The possible repayment obligation also makes us wonder whether Strahan would be able to get some partial relief from that eight-figure divorce payment to his wife. If paying the Giants $2.5 million were to mean owing her $1.25 million less, then maybe that option gets a little more attractive for Strahan.

With Strahan's approval, agent Tony Agnone reportedly placed the calls in March and in April. The calls reportedly were made to teams regarded as potential Super Bowl contenders.

Per the report, Agnone got mixed results, and reported to Strahan that there was some interest in him. But Strahan backed off at that time. He decided that he wanted to "protect his 'legacy'" as a guy who only played for one team.

Agnone declined to comment to the Daily News regarding whether he had made the calls; Giants G.M. Jerry Reese likewise would not comment on the question of whether Strahan, through his agent, had been looking for a landing spot elsewhere.

NFL rules prohibit a player under contract from talking with other teams unless permission to do so has been given by the team that holds the player's rights. Any team that engaged in such communications technically is guilty of tampering. As a practical matter, however, the rules in this regard are rarely enforced, due in part to the fact that it is often difficult to prove violations.

Agnone also could be in hot water with the NFLPA for contacting other teams about a player who is under contract. When it comes to union-imposed discipline, however, there is suspicion in league circles that the powers-that-be are extremely selective.

Besides, if Agnone were to be punished for gauging the market for Strahan, then nearly every other agent who has ever had a player who was either unhappy in his current situation or getting squeezed to take a pay cut should be slapped across the knuckles as well. It's a very common practice for agents to get an idea as to what his guy can get elsewhere before finalizing his position as to a player's current team.

Myers also reports that Strahan's trade value is limited. "There is not a lot of interest in him out there," the source said. "Most people think he is done. His agents were thinking he was going to get out of there."

Still, our discussions with league and media insiders are pointing to a trade, primarily since the relationship between the team and Strahan is deteriorating by the day. A week ago, the indications were that Strahan could change his mind and report, just as he changed his mind about not exploring a trade in March and/or April. But, if anything, Strahan has become more entrenched since failing to report to camp.

We heard ESPN's Chris Mortensen earlier this morning on ESPN Radio talking about the ongoing Brady Quinn holdout, and the overall theme of Mort's comments is that it's the duty of the team to yield to Quinn's demands and get him into camp.

Mort acknowledged that Quinn wants what has been described to us as a "pop-out" deal; in other words, Quinn wants more guaranteed money and more overall money than his draft slot otherwise would dictate.

In defense of agent Tom Condon's desire to bust the slotting process for Quinn, Mort argues that the Browns declined to pay No. 3 overall pick Joe Thomas the same money paid to No. 3 pick Vince Young in 2006, since Young was a quarterback.

But Young got $25.7 million in guaranteed money on a five-year deal with a sixth-year option. Thomas got $23.5 million on a six-year deal that easily voids to five.

So Young's average guaranteed money per year was $4.28 million. For Thomas, it was $4.7 million.

Regardless of the specific details of the Quinn negotiations, we tend to think that the Browns are willing to be fair and reasonable, based on a recent track record of treating players fairly and reasonably. As G.M. Phil Savage said on Thursday, why would they be trying to reverse course now and stick it to their quarterback of the future?

We suppose that Mort could say we're carrying the Browns' water on this one. Maybe we are. But we happen to think that, in this case, the Browns are right. And we think the facts back up our position.

Meanwhile, with each passing day, Quinn's ability to lay the foundation for getting his next contract sooner rather than later is evaporating.

Browns G.M. Phil Savage commented publicly on Thursday regarding the ongoing impasse between the Browns and first-round draft pick Brady Quinn.

Though Savage chose his words carefully, the import of his opinions is clear -- he believes that there's no reason why the team and agent Tom Condon can't get together and work out a fair deal for everyone.

"You have to have two sides that are willing to engage," Savage said on WTAM radio, according to the Canton Repository. "That's what happened with the Joe Thomas thing. There were talks all summer, and then in the 11th hour, basically in six hours, we got that thing done.

"What we did in six hours with Joe Thomas seems to be taking almost two weeks with, you know, our other player."

Savage explained that the team has been more than willing to pay good money for good players. "All of a sudden the Browns are gonna shift gears and try to extract blood from the quarterback that we picked, that we say is gonna be the face of the franchise, that we say is the future of this team? It makes no sense. It's not logical. I think people are smart enough to figure this out."

With all that said, Savage seems to think that progress is being made. "We feel like we’re on the same neighborhood but not on the same street yet," he said. "I don't think it’s so much the money. It's how it's gonna be gotten to, playing time percentages, what happens in year 4 and 5."

In other words, the parties are haggling over the triggers for incentive payments. Condon wants Quinn's path to the back end money to be easy, and the team wants higher thresholds.

Regardless, it sounds like a deal can get done if both sides will focus on getting it done. And that means that Condon and Savage should lock themselves in a room until an agreement is reached. Marc Bulger is signed. Simeon Rice isn't yet ready to sign. This should be Condon's top professional priority.

But yet why do we have a feeling that Condon is already spending plenty of time sizing up his next crops of potential clients? Heck, he's probably already been to Louisville to sniff around Brian Brohm.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the Arizona Cardinals have come to terms with tackle Levi Brown, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Per Schefter, Brown signed a six-year deal with a maximum possible value of $62 million and guaranteed money in excess of $18.5 million.

The guaranteed money puts Brown meshes with the deal given to the No. 4 overall pick, Bucs defensive end Gaines Adams, who received $18.5 million in guaranteed money on a six-year contract.

Per year, however, Brown got less guaranteed money than Redskins safety LaRon Landry, the No. 6 overall pick. Landry received $17.5 million in guaranteed money on a five-year deal.

Of course, Segal likely will claim that the deficiency in guaranteed money is counterbalanced by the total value of the Brown deal, which has an average of more than $10 million per year. But if the maximum incentives in Brown's deal are anything like the maximum incentives that Segal inserted into Landry's contract, Brown shouldn't assume that he'll be earning the top dollars.

Per a league source, Landry will get the maximum value of his five-year, $41.5 million contract only if he wins the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award. Four times.

So, then, that would make it not the most lucrative contract in NFL history for an offensive lineman, right? Buy, hey, why let reality get in the way of Segal's 2008 recruiting materials?

Bucs coach Jon Gruden says that cornerback Philip Buchanon, who is expected to be the team's nickel corner and to contend for punt and/or kick return chores, will be used on offense this season.

"You're going to see more of Buchanon on offense," said Gruden. "He's going to play some offense for us. . . . There will be some things that we get to here later in camp."

We'll believe it when we see it. We're skeptical because there often was talk, several years back, of cornerback Ronde Barber playing offense for the Bucs. If it ever happened, we don't remember it.

Buchanon has a reputation for being a little on the soft side, and for avoiding contact. So if he does play offense, we suspect that his primary (if not only) route will be a "go".

In response to the news that the Bears have traded third-year safety Chris Harris to the Panthers, some league insiders are wondering why Chicago would part with a guy who has been a key as an injury replacement over the past two seasons.

Said one source: "Something doesn't seem right about that trade. It's real unusual to trade a player this early in camp, especially someone who has started twenty of twenty-five games since he's been in the league. What will the Bears do if one of their safeties gets hurt now? I think, in theory, it's a hell of a move for the Panthers to get essentially a starter for a fifth-round pick heading into the season. Why would the bears trade him unless there was an auxiliary issue? From a personnel standpoint, it's odd. Either the Bears know something we don't, or they are taking a big risk."

We agree. Though the Panthers' management doesn't need to be worrying about using second-day picks in 2008 since a lot them might not be there if the team doesn't turn it on in 2007, it's hard not to wonder why the Bears would move him now, unless there was interest expressed by the Panthers during the offseason and the Bears wanted to see whether the guy who'll take Harris's spot on the depth chart gets off to a good start in camp.

Folks who reside on the Asia side of the Mississippi love to point to an East Coast bias in the media, accusing national and regional writers of focusing less on the teams that are in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

But, by all appearances, new ESPN.com keyboard-banger Mike Sando wasn't paying much attention to the NFL outside of his Seahawks beat for the Tacoma News-Tribune.

Why do we say that? Well, consider this sentence from an item in which Sando boo-hoos the lack of bronzed Broncos in the Hall of Fame: "The next few years will deliver Dan Marino, Troy Aikman, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Rod Woodson as first-time candidates."

Dude. Marino is in. Aikman is in. No offense, but how in the hell does someone who follows the NFL for a living not know that? And if there was any doubt in Sando's mind (as there should have been), he should have checked.

So, for the self-proclaimed worldwide leader, that's an embarrassment. A big one.

And we say that knowing that we mistake our share of makes, but we don't have editors and fact-checkers and other folks on the payroll to keep us from stepping in poo (but we do have plenty of readers who are happy to tell us when we've screwed up, and we listen to them).

We've identified the 2007 All-Turd offense and the 2007 All-Turd defense. But that's not the entire roster.

Here are the rest of the spots on the team that no one should want to be a member of.

Harris was a sixth-round draft pick in 2005. He is due to earn $435,000 this year and $460,000 in 2008.

At a time when all eyes in Vikings camp are on the collar bone that running back Adrian Peterson busted last year, the No. 7 overall pick in the draft suffered a hip injury on Thursday when he took an elbow to the joint.

"It's not a big deal," said Peterson, who already has been pegged by ESPN.com for eventual enshrinement in Canton. No pressure, though.

"He went numb for about 30, 40 seconds out there. He got his feeling back, which is a good sign," coach Mike Shanahan said. "I don't know anything for sure. . . . It was a good sign when he could move his fingers, move his toes and was able to sit up. We'll keep our fingers crossed."

Holdman crumpled to the ground after apparently hitting the crown of his helmet on another helmet. He was taken to a local hospital for tests and treatment.

Another day, another division preview, courtesy of PFTV. This time, we take a spin through the NFC North.

In next week's PFTV, we'll look at the AFC South and the NFC South. But, for now, give a click on the box below and listen to what Florio and Brocato have to say.

A league source tells us that the new contract signed by Bears defensive tackle Darwin Walker is, in essence, a one-year deal with a team option on four more.

Walker will make a base salary of $1.9 million in 2007, a $600,000 increase over what he was due to earn in his prior contract.

In March, a $5 million option bonus comes due. The only way that the Bears can avoid it is to cut him before then.

Years two through four average roughly $3.5 million per year, with the option bonus included in that number. The fifth year, per the source, is a sham -- which means that it likely carries an unrealistically high salary.

So, for the Bears, they get a one-year test drive with Walker. If they like what they see, they pay the $5 million and pick up the balance of a pretty reasonable deal, especially in a market that has made guys we'd never heard of into multi-millionaires. If the Bears don't like Walker, they walk away.

It also has been reported that the fifth-round deal that the Bears gave to Buffalo for Walker can upgrade to a fourth-rounder based on the number of snaps that Walker takes this year.

We have a rare opportunity to catch our breath on a somewhat slow-moving Thursday afternoon, so we want to give the loyal citizens of PFT Planet a quick glimpse at the new content to come over the next several weeks.

Now that the Top 25 list is in our rear-view mirror, we'll begin in earnest with our team-by-team season preview, um, thing. One per day is the goal, and they'll be presented in a power ranking format, with the worst first and the best last.

But just because the Top 25 list is done, we still need to unveil our best of the rest. Look for that list soon.

For the fantasy season, our plans are still in development. Let us know what you'd like to see. (We reserve the right to ignore any suggestions that don't mesh with what we independently decide to do.)

And we're not through with the All-Turd teams. We'll be rolling out later today the miscellaneous members of the 2007 team, and the updated All-Time team is coming on Saturday -- along with the next class of All-Turd Hall of Famers.

Finally, several readers have asked us to offer up our own list of current players whom we think will make it to the Hall of Fame, given the debacle at ESPN.com that proclaims Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson destined for Canton. We just might have to do that.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who knows a thing or two about the rare occasions when one NFL player calls out a colleague, is adhering to the jockocracy code when it comes to embattled quarterback Mike Vick.

"I'm a supporter of Vick," McNabb said Tuesday. "That's because I'm a good friend of his and also we're guys that obviously compete to win the Super Bowl. We push each other. Now, I don't know exactly what happened in that situation, and I think for all of us that have read over the stuff that was over the Internet, the report, you look at it as kind of like, 'Wow, you've got your so-called friends and family members turning their back on you now to make their situation better.' They're throwing you under the bus so that they can clean their name. That's unfortunate. That goes to show, I always have a saying that I've always lived by: If you can't trust family, who can you trust? It's an unfortunate situation, and I just hope everything works out well for him where he can get back out on the field."

We've got no problem with one quarterback supporting another quarterback, but McNabb's read on the situation is in roughly the same category as the musings of Emmitt Smith and Deion Sanders.

"Wow, you've got your so-called friends and family members turning their back on you now to make their situation better," McNabb said. "They're throwing you under the bus so that they can clear their name."

What the hell does that mean? That Tony Taylor lied about being guilty as charged of conspiracy to violate federal gambling and dog-fighting laws just so that he could put Vick in hot water, too? And, Donovan, how exactly does Taylor's decision to plead guilty and go to prison "clear [his] name"?

It's naive to the point of stupid, in our opinion, to think that Taylor is willingly going down merely so that he can take Mike with him. Taylor isn't throwing Vick under the bus; he's jumping under the bus while sharing with Vick a pair of three-legged pants.

Maybe Donovan is merely plotting his exit strategy from Philly, and hoping that his words will make him the guy for whom Falcons fans clamor if/when the bus grinds Vick into the pavement. At least if that were the case there would be a semi-plausible reason for Donovan to have joined the parade of buffoons who have offered up their takes on this situation.

As the impasse between the Giants and defensive end Michael Strahan enters its seventh day, we're hearing that Strahan already has in his pocket an open-ended invitation for a television job.

At both networks, the studio lineups presumably are set for the 2007 season (unless the NFL decides to fire Deion Sanders for breaching his contract by writing NFL columns for someone other than the NFL). Our guess is that FOX would make room for Strahan as a game analyst, which would be good because then viewers would only rarely catch glimpses of that Holland Tunnel masquerading as the space between his front teeth.

But then there's that whole Cindy Brady thing, which we'd hear a lot more of if he ends up working in a two-man broadcast booth.

Though Strahan likely won't be paid his $4 million football salary to talk about football, the real question is whether he'd rather play for $4 million, or not play for the amount of the TV money. Of course, he'd also potentially be asked to pay back some of his bonus money if he retires, and a seven-figure check might not be the easiest thing for him to write given that he already owes his ex-wife more than eight figures.

There's a lot we like about ESPN. And that makes us feel even more compelled to point out the stuff we don't, especially since there's no real competition for the Bristol sports conglomerate and, thus, no real incentive to avoid complacency.

The latest "Who's Now"-style debacle from ESPN comes from a couple of guys we've never heard of at ESPN.com's Page 2. They've put together a list of 50 active players whom they think will make it to the Hall of Fame.

We've got no problem with identifying the current players who have already done enough to be Hall-worthy. But they've added to their list ROOKIES. As in "guys who have never taken a snap in the NFL."

Other guys whose NFL resumes aren't much longer than mine, but who are destined for Canton, include A.J. Hawk, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and Vince Young.

So while the general concept is intriguing, let's all try to refrain from immortalizing guys who haven't done anything yet, and those who haven't done very much.

Of course, this exercise might not be all bad. If nothing else, it gives all of the overlooked late-rounders out there like Tom Brady in 2000 even more incentive to develop into players who'll truly become Hall of Famers.

Fights are fairly common in NFL training camps. Training-camp fights involving a team's starting quarterback aren't.

But on Wednesday in Titans camp, quarterback Vince Young mixed it up with safety Donnie Nickey after Nickey hog-collared receiver Courtney Roby during a drill in which the players were in helmets and shoulder pads only. (Okay, they had pants on, but no pads in them.)

Young went bonkos. The AP says that Uncle Rico threw a punch at Nickey that glanced off of Nickey's helmet, but the video from NewsChannel 5 in Nashville shows that Young caught Nickey's face mask with an open-handed slap/push thing. (And if you're going to watch the video, do it soon -- per NFL rules, it will be active for only 24 hours from when it was posted . . . and, yes, it comes in at under 45 seconds.)

Asked about the wisdom of his move, Young said, "That's bad. That's bad. That's real bad." (Apparently, Vince provided the right answer three times in the hopes of pumping up his real-life Wonderlic score.)

Yeah, Vince. It was real bad. Stoopid, too. Already wearing the Madden curse for the 2007 season, Young was brazenly tempting fate by throwing his money hand toward the face mask of a teammate's helmet. The Nashville Tennessean reports that Young could be fined for his actions.

The most amazing thing about the incident, however, is that it didn't end with Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth killing someone.

The Indianapolis Star reports that the Colts and defensive tackle Corey Simon are close to working out a deal that would result in Simon becoming a former Colt, and an unrestricted free agent.

"I foresee us basically coming to a settlement in terms of moving forward and him pursuing his opportunity if he chooses to someplace else," owner Jim Irsay said. "We're moving forward and he wants to move forward. It's better to get it resolved instead of have it linger. I see it happening in the next day or two."

Though the hometown paper says that coach Tony Dungy has been kept in the loop, we think that based on Dungy's quote on the matter that's a generous interpretation.

"I didn't know how far along they were,'' Dungy said, "but I knew [a settlement] was a direction we were going.'''

The Star, further showing its colors as a cheerleader for the local NFL team, speculates that a settlement could include Simon agreeing to pay back part of his signing bonus.

But why in the world would Simon pay back any signing bonus money? What has he done wrong? He was placed on the non-football injury/illness list last year while rehabbing a knee injury, and the team refused to pay his salary. Simon filed a grievance, and we're not sure how the grievance was resolved, or even if it has been resolved.

The team tried to force Simon to reimburse an $8 million option bonus paid to Simon last year, but failed. Since the Colts apparently believed that Simon was in some way in default last year when trying to recover his option bonus, the Colts probably should have likewise attacked the signing bonus, too. By apparently not doing so within 45 days after the commencement of the default, the Colts have likely waived their ability to do so now.

If anything, then, the Colts need to be paying Simon, if they want Simon to leave. They can try to put him on the non-football injury/illness list again, but would be subject to yet another grievance in the amount of his $3.955 million base salary for 2007.

The mere fact that Irsay acknowledges that Simon would have an opportunity to play elsewhere strongly suggests that the team didn't flunk Simon on his physical because he can't play, but because the team doesn't want him around. So if they want to wash their hands of their mistake, it sure as hell doesn't sound to us like a situation where Simon should be paying them any money at all.

And as to the boo-hooing that Simon was paid $14 million for playing in only 14 games, that's life in the NFL. Whether it's by drafting a Ryan Leaf or signing a Corey Simon, sometimes that investment doesn't match the performance. In fact, we think it's odd that the Colts would be whining so much about this publicly, since it merely highlights their stoopidity for giving Simon so much money, especially when he obviously was out of shape and overweight when he became an unrestricted free agent in 2005 after the Eagles removed the franchise tag from him.

When the Miami Dolphins released quarterback Daunte Culpepper two weeks ago, the team avoided his $5.5 million base salary for the 2007 season.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Culpepper can make that $5.5 million back this year under his one-year deal with the Raiders. To max out the package, however, Culpepper will need to have a stellar year -- and lead the Raiders to a Super Bowl.

The more realistic high end of Culpepper's contract is $4 million, if he plays well. The base value is $3.2 million, with $750,000 in guaranteed salary.

So if the Raiders opt to dump Culpepper prior to the start of the regular season, when his status as a vested veteran would entitle him to take the rest of his base salary of $1.6 million as one-time termination pay, he'll walk away with $750,000.

The rest of the base package comes in the form of a roster bonus, part of which is paid out per game after the start of the season.

To earn the $3.2 million, Culpepper needs to be on the roster for the first six games of the season.

It's a calculated risk for Culpepper, who is hoping to play well enough in 2007 to get himself in line for a bigger payday in March. (For more on this, check out the PFTV segment on the Culpepper signing.)

But here's our primary concern as to Culpepper's ability to be an effective starter in Oakland, if he wins the job from Josh McCown and Andrew Walter. To maximize his potential, Culpepper needs time with his offensive coordinator. When Scott Linehan left the Vikings after helping Culpepper to a passer rating in excess of 110 during the 2004 season, Culpepper regressed significantly in the first year with a new guy. And that was with the benefit of a full offseason of preparation.

This time around, it's a new team, a new staff, a new offense, a new coordinator, and not nearly enough time to get properly up to speed. These factors could combine to simply make it too hard for Culpepper to get the most out of whatever ability he has left.

A league source tells us that the Carolina Panthers are refusing to pay an option bonus to first-round draft pick Jon Beason because the Panthers hope to establish a precedent of paying no option bonus to any of its draft picks.

Because teams now cannot recover all or part of an option bonus in the event of a holdout, suspension, or other default, the Panthers hope to never be in the position of not being able to recover money -- and/or to use the ability to recover money as a way to keep a player in line.

The fact that the Panthers want to pay no option bonus at all to Beason has prompted speculation that the Panthers have a specific concern about the former Miami standout. Not so, said one league source with knowledge of Beason. The source said that Beason is a good kid and will not be a problem.

The Panthers, we're told, want to have that structure in place on a year-in, year-out basis in the event that they ever are inclined to draft a guy who might become a problem down the road.

Still, with G.M. Marty Hurney and coach John Fox widely believed to be on the hot seat, shouldn't they be more concerned about getting into camp a guy who might be able to help both of them keep their jobs, and less concerned about setting a precedent that they might not be there to continue?

As expected, the Giants gave Rice a physical on Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and then Rice met with G.M. Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin at training camp.

Meanwhile, co-owner John Mara said on Wednesday that the team won't renegotiate the contract of Michael Strahan, whose supposed indecisiveness has prompted the Giants to take a gander at Rice.

."He is under contract and I think you all know what our position is on that," Mara said. "I don't want to make any statements on that."

Defensive end Osi Umenyiora said earlier this week that he wouldn't welcome Rice's arrival, and that he wouldn't willingly move from the right side of the defensive line to the left side in order to accommodate Rice. But since Umenyiora and Strahan share an agent, and possibly an agenda, we wouldn't expect Osi to say anything else.

Word out of Terre Haute (which is Latin for "Throw A Diminutive Jets Employee Up Against A Wall") is that second-round draft pick Tony Ugoh is the real deal.

Ugoh was expected to spend a season at guard before moving to the left tackle position that Glenn had manned for a decade. But now that Glenn is retired, Ugoh could draw the assignment to protect Peyton Manning's blind side as a rookie.

Meanwhile, we reported last night, citing an unnamed league source, that the placement of Glenn on the reserve/retired list prevents him from playing at all in 2007. As we now realize, that's not the case. Though we suppose could say that our report technically was accurate because that's what the source believed, we'll just say that our report was incorrect, and move on.

Our network of moles peppered throughout the league tells us that Browns quarterback Brady Quinn has been calling agent Tom Condon regularly and repeatedly of late as Quinn's holdout continues.

And in response to our item from earlier today comparing Quinn's slotted guaranteed money as the No. 22 pick to the guaranteed money paid to various other starting quarterbacks, we've received more than 200 e-mails from Browns fans unhappy with Quinn's stance. We hope to share some of them with you soon.

Condon is believed to be attempting to get more guaranteed and more total dollars than the No. 22 slot in the draft would otherwise dictate. And it's hard to blame the Browns, since they haven't been cheap when it comes to paying players; indeed, they gave No. 3 pick Joe Thomas $23.5 million in guaranteed money on a five-year deal even after the Bucs gave defensive end Gaines Adams only $18.5 million on a six-year contract.

But just as Condon wants to be the agent who blows the slotting process out of the water, the Browns don't want to be the team that creates a precedent for this kind of stuff in the future. And though Condon is apparently taking this approach to aid in his efforts to recruit more college quarterbacks, he could make it even harder to get his future quarterback clients drafted, especially if they fall on draft day.

Think about it this way -- if the Browns knew in April what they know now, would they have given up their first-round pick in 2008 to move up from the top of round two in order to stop Quinn's free-fall, or would they have opted to stand pat and pounce on Kevin Kolb or John Beck?

Raiders owner Al Davis acknowledged on Wednesday that the primary snag with the negotiation of a contract for No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell is the structure of the deal.

We've been explaining over the past few days that the major sticking point is the specific portion of the deal that will be paid out as an option bonus, even as folks like ESPN's John Clayton has declared that money issues are the root of the dispute.

And, while we're on the topic, ponder if you will this PFTV segment regarding how the option bonus dynamic is screwing up several first-round contracts.

Said Davis of the option bonus issue: "That's the only thing with JaMarcus. It's not money. That's ridiculous. It's the option bonus. They want all the money in option bonus. And they have the first choice they've ever had and they've got to come through with a decent deal otherwise they are done in the market. That is the story on JaMarcus."

As one league insider recently suggested to us, the Raiders must have some misgivings about whether Russell will or might ultimately do something that would permit the team to attempt to seek a reimbursement of bonus money. And, by wanting to maximize the option bonus payment, Russell's agents apparently are concerned about that possibility as well.

Bengals fans were up in arms a week ago when the NFL announced, with no explanation, that Thurman's request for reinstatement following a one-year suspension had been denied.

The failure to report constitutes a violation of Thurman's probation, and could result in incarceration. The probation arises from a 90-day DUI sentence that was reduced to a six-day, in-patient treatment program.

The league's decision not to allow Thurman to return in 2007 was announced on July 26. It's unknown whether Thurman was privately aware of the decision before or after he violated probation.

We've produced (and we use that term extremely loosely) six new PFTV segments for the week. Our high-powered team of marketing consultants (all two of them) have advised us to make the spots even shorter, given the emerging "snack culture" of the Internet.

So all of our spots are now less than three minutes in length, including our preview of the AFC North.

We'll be posting more here over the next few days. But if you can't wait to see even more stirring intros from Joe "Domo Arigato Mr." Brocato, all six spots for the week are posted right here.

. . . then you're missing some of the key nuggets of information about each and every NFL team, much of which could be critical to the decisions you make when drafting a team that hopefully will have a snow-cone's chance in San Diego of beating the roster that your Aunt Doris cobbled together by picking the players who seem like "nice boys."

Every day, we're posting up to 160 One-Liner-style nuggets of information that don't appear in the Rumor Mill. And it's all free. All you need to do is click on the "Training Camp Reports" link, and check out the team-by-team reports.

Patriots Football Weekly, the official newspaper of the (duh) New England Patriots reports that receiver Randy Moss injured his left hamstring while attempt to run down an overthrown flea-flicker pass at practice on Wednesday.

The hamstring thereafter was iced, and Moss later left the field, presumably for the day.

In 2004, Moss eventually missed several games after suffering a hamstring injury during a Sunday night game against the Saints. Though there's plenty of time for a pulled hamstring to heal before the start of the regular season, the injury will limit his ability to develop the proper chemistry with quarterback Tom Brady.

Steelers running back Willie Parker, a virtual unknown two years ago who has since become the team's go-to back, could miss Sunday night's Hall of Fame game due to a knee problem that has keep him out of action for the past two days.

Parker reportedly has swelling in his left knee, and the Steelers plan to proceed with caution.

If Parker doesn't play, it means that backup Najeh Davenport, Kevan Barlow, and Verron Haynes will have extra opportunities to get noticed as they jostle for spots on the depth chart behind Parker. One of them most likely will not make the final roster.

For the first time, the Hall of Fame game, which will pit the Steelers against the Saints, will be televised on NFL Network. If you don't have NFLN, it might be a good idea to get it, pronto. And if you live in an area that is serviced by Time Warner, our advice is to attach a satellite deesh to the top of the bird bath.

Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News reports that a deal soon could be struck between the Lions and Calvin Johnson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 draft.

O'Hara writes that the two sides "appear to have narrowed the gap on financial aspects of a contract for the wide receiver, but still must negotiate on the structure and language related to the proposed deal."

All due respect, there surely have been talks about structure and language before today. The big sticking point in this deal is money. Though O'Hara mentions unconfirmed reports that the Lions have offered Johnson $30 million in guaranteed money, we've heard rumors that Johnson wants that much. One league source explained to us that, given Johnson's draft slot and various other factors that control the negotiation of rookie deals, the maximum possible guaranteed money for the No. 2 pick is in the range of $27.5 million.

Johnson reportedly has been in and out of Detroit since training camp opened last week, and Johnson is believed to be in town and ready to join the team as soon as a deal is done.

Other unsigned first-rounders are JaMarcus Russell of the Raiders (No. 1), Darrelle Revis of the Jets (No. 14), Brady Quinn of the Browns (No. 22), Dwayne Bowe of the Chiefs (No. 23), and Jon Beason of the Panthers (No. 25).

Though Giants defensive end Michael Strahan has done his best to avoid linking his current retirement deliberations to his $4 million base salary that he is due to earn in 2007, it's now clear that money -- or, more accurately, the lack of it -- is at the root of the dispute.

Strahan now supposedly feels even more disrespected by the fact that there are reports that the Giants believe that his unexcused absence from training camp is about money.

Another source tells the Daily News that Strahan feels "betrayed" by the manner in which the organization has reacted to his seemingly abrupt decision not to report to training camp.

"How could he not feel betrayed?" said the source. "After spending 14 years, after being a loyal and dedicated player to an organization, and now that he is considering retirement, the most difficult decision in his career, instead of giving him space to make this decision, people are talking about fines and replacements?"

But couldn't the team just as easily say that it feels betrayed by Strahan for taking its money all these years and then dropping an "I might retire" bombshell on them the night before training camp opens?

As several league insiders see it, Strahan wants to engineer an exit from the Giants without having the media, the fans, and the local corporate interests turning on him.

Said one source: "When he goes somewhere else for one season I hope they remember it when he wants to come back. Don't bring your sorry ass back to New York after your career by telling folks you're still a Giants. You're either a Giant or you're not."

The source also thinks that Strahan should be happy with his wages, given his age and history of big money from the team. "This guy has been paid and paid and paid. He's getting a good salary and he's an old man."

The bottom line is that Strahan needs to make up his mind soon. As coach Tom Coughlin said, "We certainly don't want to spend an entire year again talking about someone's retirement." (Memo to Tiki: Zing!)

Our guess is that Strahan will make up his mind only after the team signs a replacement, and that Strahan will at that point declare he wants to play. This will, Strahan likely hopes, force the team to trade him or cut him.

We haven't spoken much about the racial component of the Mike Vick prosecution because, in our firm belief, the investigation and prosecution of Mike Vick has nothing to do with skin color.

But, clearly, race is a factor in the manner in which the court of public opinion has received this issue, just as it was 12 years ago when O.J. Simpson was being tried for murder.

Most recently, racial tensions reared their ugly heads when a hate-filled note was sent to the Surry County Courthouse.

We'd like to think that our society has evolved past the point of allowing superficialities like race to guide our thought processes. But it would be naive to think that the 100 percent presumed guilt of Vick by many whites and the unconditional support of Vick by many African-Americans is unrelated to the fact that Vick is black.

But why didn't the Kobe Bryant rape prosecution stir similar feelings? Though Bryant was accused of raping a white woman, we never got the impression that a segment of the white population was ready to stone him without a trial, or that a segment of the black population was ready to throw the alleged victim in jail for making up false accusations.

Then again, the Bryant brouhaha never struck the same chord with the public that the Vick case or the Simpson trial ever did. Vick's case involves shocking brutality against man's best friend; Simpson's involved the slaughter of two human beings.

Many people, of various races, suspect that the intense publicity directed to the Vick case also is driven by the color of his skin, and that it wouldn't be as big of a story if the defendant were a famous white NFL quarterback.

We don't buy it. Not for a second. Tom Brady's impregnation of a woman became national news. Tony Romo's love life is regarded as a matter of actual significance (although the fact that a guy who looks like Gomer Pyle can get a date with any celebrity probably is newsworthy). Last year, Brett Favre's press conference about nothing drew the entire Green Bay media to Mississippi on a dreary Saturday morning.

If Brady or Romo or Favre or Manning were accused of owning property from which 54 live dogs, 17 dead dogs, and various piece of dog-fighting equipment had been removed, and any of them were later indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to maintain an interstate gambling operation and to engage in interstate dog fighting, it would be every bit the story that the Vick case is. We are absolutely certain of it.

With all that said, there's no escaping the fact that race is a factor in the public's perception of the Vick case. Our only hope is that race won't be a factor in the courtroom, and that it won't be a factor (consciously or otherwise) in the jury room.

Although Mike Vick is the only current NFL player who has been linked to dog fighting, there are plenty of other NFL players who own pit bulls and other large dogs -- and not all of these players are good at keeping their animals from causing harm.

Last year, two of Joey Porter's dogs killed a horse. It was a small horse. But, still, a horse.

Now, three dogs (a pit bull and two boxers) owned by Colts tackle Charlie Johnson, one of the potential replacements at left tackle for Tarik Glenn, attacked a woman and her small child. The child had minor injuries; the woman suffered "non-life threatening" injuries to both legs and an arm.

Lisa Whitehead, 41, and her husband had been caring for the dogs, since Johnson is at training camp. The animals attacked Whitehead when her child began to cry while Whitehead was feeding them.

When a reader sent us an e-mail on Tuesday with the link to Leonard Shapiro's article in the Washington Post about the decision of ESPN to dump Joe Theismann from the Monday Night Football broadcast, we assumed it was one of those e-mails that got lost in the pipeline for a couple of months before showing up.

But, as it turns out, there's a new article about the Theismann demotion, which contains more of the same old stuff from Joey Sunshine about the decision to yank him out of the MNF booth.

"It was a total and complete shock to me that they were going to make a change," Theismann said in a "recent telephone interview" with Shapiro, which in many respects was an exact duplicate of other interviews Theismann has given since getting the word.

Echoing past comments on the matter, Theismann explained: "I asked them 'was it the quality of my work?' They said no. They said they noticed that when they studied the tape, when it came back to me, I talked about football. I guess that was the problem, but you'll have to ask them."

For his part in the process, Shapiro shakes the pom-poms for Sunshine, suggesting that there was some unspoken (and thus sinister) reason for the decision to make the change from Theismann to Ron Jaworski.

Hmmm. Maybe Theismann had discovered a secret group of vampires in Bristol, and was dangerously close to figuring out that the head vampire wasn't Chris Berman, but that it was one of the people that no one ever expects it to be, like Erik Kuselias or Sage Steele.

Len, wake up. Theismann was and has been terrible on the air. He is humorless, especially when he is the subject of the attempt at humor. He contradicts himself. And, though he earned his name "Joey Sunshine" for heaping undue praise on the players playing in the games he was covering, the real problem with his analytical skills is that there was no middle ground -- 95 percent of the time, what he saw was great; five percent of the time, what he saw was horrible.

We also suspect that Theismann heard what he wanted to hear when he was told that he was being sent to the showers. Maybe the concern was that, when Mike Tirico and Tony Kornheiser attempted to inject some levity into the broadcast, Theismann opted instead to rigidly change the subject back to something about the Xs and the Os.

Though the show got a better as the year went on, there's more chemistry in a meth lab than there was in that booth. Regardless of whether Theismann and Kornheiser got along when the red light was off, the combination was a disaster when they were on the air. And since we know that Kornheiser can bring it in other settings, the fair inference is that Theismann was the impediment to making it work.

The real problem here, as we see it, is that ESPN opted too quickly to combine Joe Theismann with Al Michaels during the period of time that Michaels was going to make the leap to the four-letter network -- you know, before he was traded for a rabbit. We suspect that Theismann got the nod when Michaels was hired because ESPN didn't want the search for a new analyst to overshadow Al's arrival, without regard to the reality that Theismann really wasn't all that good. More than a year, that decision now means that, for the next few years, ESPN will get to pay Theismann a lot of money to do not very much at all.

It's still better than paying him a lot of money to be on Monday Night Football.

Mired in a holdout with the team that traded up to provide a last-minute safety net for his first-round free-fall, Browns quarterback Brady Quinn recently explained his position: "[I]t's a long contract, and I have to make sure it's fair in the event I become the starter."

We're told that Quinn's agent, Tom Condon, deems "fairness" in this regard to be paying Quinn more guaranteed money and a bigger total package than his draft slot -- No. 22 -- dictates.

But let's take a broader view of this. The guy drafted in front of Quinn at No. 21, Jags safety Reggie Nelson, received $7.2 million in guaranteed money. So let's say that Quinn's slot will pay him $7 million in guaranteed money.

So if Quinn, who has never taken an NFL snap, gets $7 million in guaranteed money to become the Browns starting quarterback, is that "fair"?

Jeff Garcia, who has played in a few more NFL games than Quinn, got $3 million in guaranteed money to become the starter in Tampa. Joey Harrington got less than that, and he'll be the de facto starter in Atlanta. Is Joey now bitching about his deal being "unfair"?

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo got $2 million in guaranteed money last year, at a time when it was surely clear to him that he could be the starter at some point before the end of the 2007 season. Jon Kitna? He $3.5 million to be the Lions' starter.

Damon Huard, one of the potential starters in Kansas City, received $2.75 million in guaranteed money on an extension that he signed afterthe 2006 season. And if Huard loses out to Brodie Croyle, Brodie will become the starter despite receiving only $515,000 in guaranteed money, due to his draft slot.

Quarterbacks selected in round one, but like Quinn after the first 20 picks, who became starters include J.P. Losman, Jason Campbell, and Rex Grossman.

Losman got $4.7 million in guaranteed money. Campbell got $4.9 million. And Grossman, taken in the very same slot as Quinn in 2003, got $4.42 million.

So is it fair for Quinn to get $7 million in guaranteed money and then become the starting quarterback of the Browns? We ask all Browns fans to let us know their thoughts on this.

And we ask the "real" media to ponder this reality a bit before presuming that this is another case of team management stepping in something brown.

ESPN's John Clayton continues to insist that no progress has been made in talks between the Raiders and No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell since prior to the draft in April.

We continue to hear that progress has indeed been made, and that the two primary impediments at this point are the structure of the deal, and the reluctance of Russell's agents to pull the trigger until Calvin Johnson has signed a contract at No. 2.

As to the structure of the contract, we heard earlier this week that the snag is the amount of money that will be devoted to an option bonus. Unlike the Panthers, who supposedly want to give No. 25 pick Jon Beason no option bonus, the Raiders (as we hear it) as resisting efforts by Russell to maximize the option bonus.

The option bonus is the second-tier of the signing bonus, earned as of (in many cases) the outset of the next league year. Exercising the option bonus extends the contract by a finite period of time, usually one or two years. Many option bonuses also have a non-exercise fee that is equal to the amount of the option bonus, which means that the money gets paid even if the option isn't exercised.

The only way to avoid having to pay the option bonus is by cutting the player prior to the due date.

But option bonuses have fallen out of favor of late, due to a ruling in a grievance involving former Broncos receiver Ashley Lelie. After his 2006 holdout, the team tried to recover a big chunk of his option bonus, based on contractual language allowing the team to do so. It was determined, however, that option bonuses are not subject to forfeiture.

Thus, teams that want to restrict option bonuses are looking merely for protection. Some of the first-round contracts signed this year have pushed option bonus money into roster/reporting bonuses paid in future years, thereby giving the player an incentive to not holdout, and to not get suspended -- and protecting some of the team's money in the event that the player isn't available.

Redskins running back Clinton Portis was suffering from tendonitis in his knee during offseason workouts. It supposedly was healed before the start of training camp.

Portis was plagued by injuries in 2006. Unless the 'Skins can get this thing cleared up, we might see more of a two-back approach this year, with Ladell Betts getting plenty of touches.

There's video of an interview of O.J. Simpson on TMZ.com, and the folks who did the interview made the mistake of allowing people to call in and ask question.

Says one caller: "My kid Chris was wondering, do you think it was a bigger feat to break 2,000 yards in one season, or slice two necks in one night?"

O.J.'s response, to the clearly audible question: "I'm having a little trouble, Kevin, hearing you."

Says another: "It was reported back during the famous chase that when on in '94 . . . that you were squeezing your helmet."

Two days after acquiring him from the Buffalo Bills, the Chicago Bears have extended the contract of defensive tackle Darwin Walker through 2009.

The contract replaces a deal that covered the next two season. The Bills had been unable to reach an agreement with Walker on a new contract after acquiring him in a trade from the Eagles.

"This has been an ongoing thing for about eight months with us," Walker said, according to the team's official web site. "I'm happy that the team felt the way they did about me. I'm excited. Now I just want to go out there and play well and I'm looking forward to this opportunity."

We continue to crank out more and more camp reports -- quick, easy glimpses of significant developments for each of the 32 franchises. Why spend time scanning all of the newspapers and other sources of information when we do it for you?

Most of the camp reports were updated on Tuesday, and more will be updated on Wednesday. And so on, with every team hopefully being updated one every other day.

Quick Team Pages