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The Bucs have a need in the middle after placing two linebackers -- Antoine Cash and Sam Olajubutu (gesundheit) -- on IR this week. But Trotter has no experience in the Tampa Two defense, and we're not sure that the 30-year-old has the mobility to cover the big hole in the heart of the field that opens up when the safeties cover the deep end of the field.

An added bonus is that, if the Bucs sign Trotter, it'll keep him away from another NFC team that might end up competing with the Bucs for a wild-card playoff berth. And with Bucs coach Jon Gruden likely needing to make it to the playoffs in order to save his job, every little bit helps.

Last night, after posting team No. 17 on our list on our bottom-to-top list of the 32 NFL franchises, we mentioned that we were nearing the halfway point. But, as a couple of readers pointed out to us, No. 17 actually was the halfway point, since it was the 16th team we did.

We took a little break from the All-Seinfeld thing, but the entries kept on coming.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the starting quarterback job in Kansas City is Brodie Croyle's to lose.

Croyle has been battling Damon Huard. Huard, who performed well after Trent Green got Humpty-Dumptied last September, has been nursing a leg injury.

The return of workhorse Larry Johnson makes it easier to justify taking a chance at the position with a second-year player having only limited experience in the regular season.

But it's not a done deal yet. If Croyle crumbles against the Saints on Thursday night, the door might be opened for Huard to get the job back.

Not long after Sprint and Nextel became the official telecommunications sponsors of ProFootballTalk, yours truly picked up a Samsung A900. It's been a great phone, for all of the various reasons we've previously mentioned in this space, and more.

But it's time to give in to the temptation. Ever since the wife's law firm converted its entire cell service to Sprint and she got her hands on a Blackberry 8830 (that she still won't let me touch), I've been eyeballing the various PDAs available only from Sprint.

And, this afternoon, I decided to take it up a notch, with the MOTO Q from Motorola.

So I'm getting it on Thursday. And when the wife asks to see it, I'll resort to something completely juvenile, such as holding it out and saying, "See it?" Or I'll yank it away as she's reaching for it and say, "Psych." After which she'll likely knee me in the groin. But it will be worth it.

Anyway, to get one of your own, click the Sprint ads on this page and follow your nose. And if you plan on messing with your wife once it arrives, make sure you wear a cup.

On Wednesday, a Brady baby boy popped out of actress Bridget Moynihan in Los Angeles.

Though many (including us) has assumed that Mike Vick might have to head to Canada in order to continue his football career after being released from federal custody, a CFL source tells us that the NFL's northern cousin won't be the avenue for Vick's second chance.

Currently, no CFL teams holds the negotiating rights to Mike Vick, which is a prerequisite to signing him.

And, as several readers have told us, the felony charges to which Vick will plead guilty will prevent him from entering Canada. Technically, however, a felon can enter Canada, but must first get permission.

Still, the CFL has gotten sensitive to the appearance that it is a haven for wayward NFL players, and we have a strong feeling that Vick won't find a home there. He's more likely to find refuge in the UFL, which could use Vick to attract NFL fans who believe that the league is being unfair by imposing a stiff suspension on him and/or blackballing him.

Taking that a step farther, it could be that the league asks the Falcons to squat on Vick's rights during his incarceration and suspension, since the Falcons would then be permitted to go Pacman on Mike if he were to try to play in another football league while on suspension from the NFL. Then after Mike is cleared to return to the NFL, the Falcons could cut him.

Hold the phone, fantasy owners. The end of the holdout of Chiefs running back Larry Johnson doesn't mean that L.J. should return to the top of the fantasy draft board.

Per the AP, Johnson isn't sure that he'll be ready to play by September 9, the date of the team's first regular-season game.

"It all depends on how I'm feeling. Of course, the adrenaline takes over," Johnson said. "You're excited about playing. So we'll see. It all depends on what type of game we'll get ourselves into."

In other words, if the Chiefs can roll the Texans without L.J. on the field, L.J. might stay on the sidelines.

ESPN.com should double-check its security measures. Because it appears that someone has hacked into the system and posted a phony column under the name of Howard Bryant.

Bryant, whoever he is, claims that the NFL Players Association and executive director Gene Upshaw should be loudly defending Mike Vick and Pacman Jones in connection with their scrutiny from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Says Bryant, in part: "Must the union, to preserve balance with an ambitious commissioner, defend even the indefensible? Today, in the case of Vick and during Goodell's short term, the union's answer appears to be no. In the coming years, that will prove to be a colossal mistake."

It's very easy to spot the journalists who have little or no common sense, because their writings typically scream it. In this case Howard Bryant, whoever he is, shows his lack of common sense by suggesting that Upshaw should undermine the credibility of truly worthy causes by whining about all of them, including the weakest ones.

Even little kids understand the lessons of story like "Chicken Little" and "The Boy Who Cried Wolf."

But yet Bryant, whoever he is, would have the NFLPA banging the table about every cause, regardless of merit. That would be the colossal mistake.

Crowing about lost causes does not strengthen a union. It renders its message dilute and hollow in cases where the league is truly overreaching.

So conceding certain issues is a good thing. It shows that the unions "gets it."

In Vick's case, what should the union have done differently? More importantly, how would Vick's situation be any different based on anything the union could have done?

While we've been plenty critical of the union in the past, we think that Upshaw and his staff got it right with Vick and with Jones. And that Bryant, whoever he is, should have thought his argument through a bit more before popping off.

As the catfight between former Giants running back Tiki Barber and current Giants quarterback Eli Manning continues, one league insider shared with us some strong opinions regarding Barber's decision to take aim at Manning.

One of the questions making the rounds in league circles regarding the Mike Vick situation is this: If the feds had such a great case against Vick, why did they offer him a plea deal?

This question has spawned the theory/hypothesis/speculation that the NFL privately plowed political connections to get Vick a reasonable offer, in order to avoid the damage that a public trial of Vick would have done to the league.

We're not sure that we buy this, but it's definitely being discussed in league circles. Though the NFL has vast influence, we can't imagine the league being able to influence a federal prosecutor who is ready and willing to go after Vick as hard as possible, especially in the wake of the debacle that occurred earlier this year in the wake of the firing of various federal prosecutors who supposedly weren't playing ball with the politicos.

The head of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP thinks Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the Falcons after serving his prison sentence.

"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter, according to the Associated Press. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."

White said Vick has made a mistake and should be allowed to prove that he has learned from that mistake.

White is wrong on a number of levels. First of all, saying that society should rehabilitate criminals is a very different thing from saying that criminals are entitled to get their jobs back as if nothing had happened as soon as they get out of prison. If an NAACP employee committed a crime that caused harm to the NAACP's reputation, and then had to miss a year or more of work to serve a prison sentence, is White really saying the NAACP wouldn't take any action against that employee?

Secondly, Vick didn't make "a mistake." He broke many laws, many times, and still has not shown any remorse at all. No one seriously believes he's pleading guilty because he feels guilt; everyone knows he's pleading guilty because he knows the government has overwhelming evidence to use against him at trial.

The NAACP has a long history of speaking up for innocent people who don't have the means to speak up for themselves. What does White think he's accomplishing by speaking up for a guilty person who does have the means to speak up for himself?

Former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis reveals in a new book that he faked an injury to avoid getting cut in training camp in 2000 and that he thinks former coach Bill Cowher conspired with Steelers management to run quarterback Kordell Stewart out of town.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Bettis says in his new autobiography, The Bus. My Life in and out of a Helmet, that in 2000, he reported to training camp with an injured left knee and didn't say anything about it because he thought the Steelers would release him on the spot. Instead, he waited until he was tackled during a short-yardage drill, then yelled and grabbed the knee so the Steelers would think it was a new injury and that they'd be on the hook for his 2000 salary if they released him.

"Man, did I do a nice job of acting,'' Bettis writes. "The thing is, I wasn't faking that I had an injury. I was just faking that the injury happened on that short-yardage play. I had to fool the coaches and the team's medical department into thinking the injury had occurred on that play. Otherwise, the Steelers would have had their reason to cut me and my salary."

Bettis might think the "I wasn't faking ... I was just faking" excuse is an acceptable justification, but still: He lied to the team. At the same time, given the way NFL teams often treat injured players, it's not a big surprise that players aren't always completely honest about their injuries.

Bouchette reports that Bettis also suggests that Cowher wanted Stewart to fail because if Stewart had become a star quarterback, he would have commanded more money than the team wanted to pay. Stewart played in Pittsburgh from 1995 to 2002, and Bettis believes that Cowher was looking for an excuse to replace him with Tommy Maddox as the team's starter in 2002.

"Nothing against Tommy, but I always had my doubts that he won the job fair and square," Bettis writes, adding, "I can't prove it, but in my heart I really believe that Kordell was set up for failure that season."

Bettis's other revelations include that he thinks former Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski is "a coward" and that he had a secret appendectomy before the 1999 season, which the team told him not to tell the media about. To avoid having his name show up on hospital records, he registered under the name Tex Goldstein.

A report this weekend from Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News is raising eyebrows and raising questions in league circles about whether Jets coach Eric Mangini is going too far in his demands for secrecy about injuries.

Cimini reported that Mangini was livid when Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for running back Thomas Jones, revealed that Jones had a strained calf and would be back by the start of the regular season. According to Cimini, Mangini threatened the team, and told players he'd fine them if their agents released information on injuries.

When it comes to keeping injury information close to the vest, Mangini had a good teacher, Bill Belichick. But some league sources say Mangini is going too far, trying to bully his players. Teams have neither the right to restrict what players can say to their agents nor the right to prevent the agents from talking to others about injuries.

It's particularly odd that Mangini would make an issue of this at a time when the NFL claims it wants more openness when it comes to injuries. The league says it has a newfound commitment to encouraging players with concussions to resist pressure to play before they're ready. So how does the league square that with a coach telling players they can't talk to their agents about injuries? If a player tells his agent he's concerned about having suffered a concussion, and the agent then tells someone else, does the player's coach have the authority to fine the player?

The NFL also says it wants injury information to be publicly available because if it isn't, bookies and gamblers could try to make inroads with NFL training staffs to try to get inside information. So shouldn't the league tell head coaches to stop acting like the severity of a calf strain is a state secret?

Dave Forster of The Virginian-Pilot reports today that the federal prison sentence Michael Vick is likely to serve will feature a lifestyle of jobs like mopping floors for 12 cents an hour and living in a dorm with 100 other inmates.

Forster quotes Mike Truman, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, who says that many factors go into determining where to place an inmate, but someone with a relatively short sentence and no previous criminal convictions would likely be sent to a minimum security camp within 500 miles of his home address.

But a minimum security camp isn't a country club. Barring an illness preventing him from working, every inmate must have a job, which might include waxing or mopping floors, cleaning toilets, painting walls or cutting grass. Inmates get paid for their work, at a rate of 12 cents an hour. Vick can buy items like shoes and sweat suits from the commissary, and while he's not limited to buying whatever he can afford on his 12-cents-an-hour job, he also can't spend much beyond that. Inmates are held to spending limits of about $290 a month at the commissary, Forster reports.

A big question about Vick's prison sentence is whether he'll be able to stay in shape. Forster reports that most federal prisons have a running track and a basketball court. Some locations have weight rooms; others don't. In any event, Vick won't be getting the kind of training he's accustomed to as a professional athlete.

Will Vick be able to watch NFL games from behind bars? Probably some, as dorms typically have two televisions. But Monday Night Football might be out: Not all facilities have cable.

Michael Vick will most likely never collect another NFL paycheck. And he may be forced to write the Falcons a very large check, for more than $28 million in bonus money the team has already paid him.

But that might not be the end of Vick's financial woes. Vick has damaged the reputations of the companies that had endorsement contracts with him, and he's cost them money in products and marketing campaigns tied to him that they won't be able to use. Nike, for example, was all set to roll out the new Zoom Vick V shoe before Vick's indictment led them to halt the campaign.

That leads to the question of whether companies might be able to sue him for damages to their brands resulting from his conduct. Some endorsement contracts specifically mention this possibility; the specific language of Vick's endorsement deals is not known.

Although Nike might decide that going after Vick would just create more headlines that would remind people that it was once closely associated with him, it would be completely reasonable for Nike and other companies to expect Vick to compensate them for what he's cost them.

If the Falcons, Nike and others line up to try to get money from Vick, he could be forced to file for bankruptcy. Vick doesn't seem like the type of savvy investor who would have tens of millions of dollars saved up in a rainy day fund, and it seems extremely unlikely that he would be able to withstand such claims against him.

It wouldn't be unprecedented for a man who was once among the highest-paid athletes in the world to go broke. Mike Tyson earned around $300 million in his boxing career, and he ended up filing for bankruptcy. Vick may follow in Tyson's footsteps.

Mike Nolan halted practice to berate the 49ers for getting too physical in a practice without pads.

Falcons LB Demorrio Williams will make his preseason debut Monday night after recovering from a torn pectoral muscle.

Packers RB Vernand Morency, currently sitting out with a knee injury, will definitely be ready for the regular-season opener.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips is not worried about WR Terry Glenn missing practice time.

The Chargers will play most of their starters for about 40 plays in Saturday night's preseason game in Arizona. (LaDainian Tomlinson, of course, won't play at all.)

Tuesday's release of middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter by the Eagles is further proof that there are few sacred cows in the NFL, and none in Philadelphia. Every guy on the roster eventually will be cut, traded, or "retired." It's just the way it is.

The next big-time guy on the Eagles roster to whom this could apply, within the next year or two, is quarterback Donovan McNabb.

And if/when McNabb is unceremoniously nudged out of Philly, the last thing that anyone will be able to call it is unceremonious. One reader told us after inspecting the Eagles web site that the many tributes to Trotter created the impression not that he had been released, but that he had died.

So will McNabb be next? One clue could come from the images on the team's tickets. As one reader told us on Tuesday, each of the tickets to the Eagles' games this year bear the image of a player, and Trotter isn't one of them. If/when McNabb isn't one of the players appearing on the tickets (or, more likely, if/when there's a season with no player images on them), it could be a sign that McNabb could be done. Assuming, of course, that he isn't traded or released before the tickets are printed.

Whether McNabb will be the 2008 Trotter depends on how McNabb plays in 2007. But, surely, the Eagles didn't invest a second-round pick in Kevin Kolb to let him sit on the bench for four years and then leave via free agency. So at some point between 2007 and 2010, McNabb most likely will be the guy whose face is plastered all over the team's web site as it bids him a sad, yet premeditated, farewell.

Though we otherwise have no use for the NBA or anyone associated with it, we couldn't help but notice (thanks to a reader who pointed them out to us) the comments of Stephon Marbury regarding Mike Vick.

Count Marbury among the Clinton Portises of the world, who think that dog fighting is no big deal.

Said Marbury, while promoting his latest line of low-cost sneakers: "They don't say anything about people who shoot deers or shoot other animals. You know, I mean, from what I hear, dog fighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors."

Here's the difference, Stephon. Hunting "deers" is legal. Fighting dogs is not. If people who live in the U.S. don't agree with that aspect of our legal system, then the alternative is to move to a country where dog fighting doesn't have to happen "behind closed doors," because it's perfectly legal there.

Excuse us for being cynical, but we have a feeling that Marbury is saying what he's saying in the hopes of getting some of the folks who blindly support Vick (even after he has admitted guilt) to devote some money that would have gone to high-priced Nike shoes with Vick's name on them to the cut-rate offerings marketed by Marbury.

But we can tell you this -- Florio Jr. has two pairs of Starbury shoes. And they'll be the last ones he ever gets.

Judge John Burlew made some interesting comments on Tuesday in connection with the situation involving Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman.

Calling the NFL "hypocrites" for promoting alcohol consumption while preventing players who drink it from playing, Judge Burlew said, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, "This case upsets me more than anything else, primarily . . . with the National Football League. The allegations are that you had a legal substance – alcohol -- in your body, a substance which they advertise from and get money from, millions of dollars a year from."

The comments were made in connection with a hearing regarding allegations that Thurman violated the terms of his probation resulting from a 2006 DUI arrest. The matter was continued for two weeks, so that Thurman could retain a lawyer.

You might be wondering what Judge Burlew's thoughts on the NFL and its sponsorship strategies have to do with Thurman's case. The answer, well, is nothing.

But, you see, judges are elected in most states, and plenty of the registered voters in Hamilton County are very upset about the league's decision to cast Thurman aside for a second season. And Burlew is up for re-election in 2008. And a little grandstanding from the bench that generates local news coverage is a helluvalot cheaper than billboards and the television commercials.

At a time when multiple Falcons players are falling all over themselves to pledge unconditional loyalty to a man who has been living a warped dual life for years, spending his time away from the gridiron as a breeder and trainer of fighting dogs, at least one member of the team realizes what Monday's events mean.

Still, others are taking up for a man who got his jollies watching dogs rip each other to shreds.

"Michael is a human being," tight end Crumpler said. "People have been trying to dehumanize him. But he's hurting. I know that. Believe me, he's hurting."

Um, Alge? We know you're upset that the guy who looked to you as soon as he felt the slightest pressure in the pocket and ran out of it won't be there to help you justify that big contract you received, but please don't tell us that anyone has been trying to "dehumanize" Mike Vick. He dehumanized himself when he opted to act like something less than a human being by subjecting animals he professed to love to cruel activities, killing in cold blood those who were judged to be unfit to fight.

Meanwhile, we've heard that other current and former Vick teammates are carrying his dog-drowning water even after the revelation that Vick necessarily lied to them and the rest of us by claiming that he had nothing to do with the thing to which he now admits involvement. We've received several e-mails complaining about the nonsensical ramblings of Ray Buchanan, who told FOX Sports Radio colleague Chris Landry in April that Vick fights dogs and who then tried to deny it while saying that even if he thought that Vick was a dog fighter he wouldn't snitch on him.

But Buchanan's recent words mirror those of many others who refuse to recognize the realities of this case. Dog fighting is illegal. Gambling is illegal. Vick was immersed in the dog fighting and gambling lifestyle for years. But yet people are attacking the system for picking on Vick when, for example, Rams defensive end Leonard Little served only 90 days after killing Susan Gutweiler in 1998, followed by an eight-game suspension.

The fact that Little got off easy doesn't mean that Vick should, too. We've complained for years about the manner in which Little's situation was handled, and we're convinced that, if someone like Little were to kill someone while driving drunk in 2007, the consequences from an NFL standpoint would be far more dire.

Justice really is blind. Though some claim in defense of Vick that the laws are in some way slanted against African-Americans, it's simply not true. The law does not discriminate on the basis of race. That said, rich people usually can afford far more skilled counsel than those who aren't. The fact that the evidence in this case was strong enough to prevent even the best lawyers that money could buy from even trying to mount a defense should help to persuade anyone and everyone that Vick really is guilty, and that our sports heroes really can be capable of barbaric acts when out of the spotlight.

And it's all the more reason for our society to stop putting someone on a pedestal simply because he can run really fast or throw a ball hard.

We continue to get positive feedback (and we're not just saying that to get you to buy it) from folks who have bought the Rotoworld Fantasy Draft Guide.

Seriously, we've gotten several e-mails from folks who really like the thing. More importantly, we have not received a single e-mail from anyone complaining that it was a waste of their hard-earned money.

So buy it. The drafts are coming up. For all you know, every other person in your league has bought it. Where will you be without it?

Ravens coach Brian Billick wasn't happy that 11 penalty flags were thrown against his team on Sunday night.

X-rays were negative on the ankles of Ravens CB Samari Rolle and WR Mark Clayton.

The Texans' four starting defensive linemen registered one tackle against the Cardinals.

Jags S Reggie Nelson is expected to be available for the regular-season opener despite an ankle sprain.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning, previously believed to have the personality of a mop bucket, apparently is changing.

During his Sunday night debut on NBC's football coverage, Tiki correctly questioned Eli's leadership skills, explaining that Eli was awkward and uncomfortable while addressing a room full of veterans such as Barber, Michael Strahan, and Jeremy Shockey.

Well, Eli has responded. It's not quite fire-and-brimstone material but, for Eli Milquetoast, it's a start:

"I guess I could have questioned his leadership skills last year with calling out the coach and having articles about him retiring in the middle of the season and [how] he's lost the heart," Manning said, according to Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger. As a quarterback, you're reading your running back has lost the heart to play the game and it's about the 10th week. Well, I could see that a little bit at times."

Why do we have a feeling that this one will continue? Oh, yeah -- it's because Tiki doesn't know when to shut the hell up.

We intended to put this up on Monday, but technical difficulties prevented up from doing so.

Still, the Vick issue is still a red-hot subject. So, in other words, watch the damn thing.

He was taken from the field on a cart, and was later seen on crutches. It is believed that Sears has gone to a hospital for evaluation.

Sears, a second-round draft pick, is listed as the first-team left guard on the Bucs' depth chart.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the Seattle Seahawks have signed backup quarterback Seneca Wallace to a three-year, $5.4 million contract.

The contract increases his 2007 salary from $800,000 to $2 million. Also, Wallace is due to receive a $400,000 roster bonus in March. If the team chooses not to pay it, Wallace will be an unrestricted free agent.

So, basically, Wallace gave up his ability to hit the market for $1.6 million, since he otherwise would have been an unrestricted free agent after the season.

We're not so sure we agree with the move. At a time when the market has been going crazy, Wallace would have been in line for a lot more than the $4.6 million in the new money that he'll get by tying himself to the 'Hawks for the next three years.

And while we've got no quarrel with Wallace if he has decided to stay in Seattle over the long haul, the package seems a little bit light to us, even as backup quarterback contracts go.

A league source tells us that the new contract between running back Larry Johnson and the Chiefs includes a $13.5 million signing bonus.

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that the total guaranteed money is $19 million, and that the six-year deal has a total value of $45 million.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network has the contract at $19 million guaranteed, $43.2 million total value, and $27.7 million over the first three years.

It remains to be seen whether the $45 million (or $43.2 million) is a realistic number, or whether it requires Johnson to do things like lead the league in rushing multiple times, win an MVP award, and/or dress in drag and do the hula.

Okay, we know that that was incredibly lame. But we couldn't think of anything else.

UPDATE: Agent Alvin Keels tells us that the value of the five-year extension is $43.2 million, and that the total six-year value (including the old money) is $45 million.

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that running back Larry Johnson has agreed in principle on a six-year contract with the Chiefs. The contract will replace the final year of Johnson's rookie deal, during which he had been scheduled to earn $1.7 million.

Terms are not yet available, but the guaranteed money could be in the range of $19 million, which would be above the market for good veteran running backs but below the LaDanian Tomlinson ballpark.

They say that one man's trash is another man's treasure. In the NFC North, the cliche´ couldn't be more accurate.

The Vikings and the Packers have a history of picking through each other's garbage, and the tradition apparently will continue when former Green Bay receiver Robert Ferguson signs with the purple rivals to the west.

Per Scout.com, citing a television report from Houston, Ferguson will pass on a potential opportunity to join the Texans, and will instead join the Vikings.

Though heading to Houston seemed to be a natural fit for Ferguson, the truth is that he would have become, at best, the No. 3 man on the depth chart there. In Minnesota, he could soon be the go-to guy.

Last year, the Vikings cut receiver Koren Robinson not long after an alcohol-fueled high-speed police chase back to the team's training camp. Enter the Packers, who signed Robinson before a one-year suspension was imposed on him.

Other former Packers in Minnesota include kicker Ryan Longwell and safety Darren Sharper.

Defensive tackle Gerard Warren is now a member of the Raiders. But current Raider Warren Sapp isn't impressed.

"He's not going to make or break us," Sapp said. "If you don't make or break us, you're irrelevant to us. We're a unit. We're a unit that runs together. I see my eight. My eight's been here since I first walked in the door and I said, 'There's my eight.' . . . And he never came into that picture until I walked into the job this morning. I don't see him cracking that eight. . . .

"I wouldn't want to go to a team three weeks after their training camp and try to make their team, with my talent," Sapp added. "I wouldn't want to do that."

Gosh, it sounds like Sapp is more than a little threatened by the addition of Warren. Could it be that Sapp has heard the whispers that 32-year-old coach Lane Kiffin doesn't want to have on the team guys who are: (1) older than him; and (2) inclined to undermine Kiffin's objectives for the team?

Then again, if Sapp fears that interfering with the program might get him cut, he might not be openly criticizing the Warren trade.

Our guess is that Sapp simply can't help himself. He doesn't want to be overshadowed by anyone, and he doesn't appreciate the suggestion from the front office and/or the coaching staff that the current defensive tackle rotation needs help from someone like Warren.

Especially if an effective new Warren makes it easier for the Raiders to part ways with the old Warren.

A thought occurred to yours truly during a Tuesday morning visit with Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware on SportsRadio 610 in Houston. While discussing the trade that sent Gerard Warren from Denver to Oakland, and addressing the conditional draft pick premised on Warren being on the opening day roster, the proverbial light bulb flickered.

If the Raiders cut Warren before the first game and re-sign him after it, they owe the Broncos nothing. So the Raiders can cut him before the first game, and re-sign him after it, and keep their fifth-round pick in the 2008 draft.

Every year, several veterans are released before Week One, in order to avoid the provision that allows their salaries to become fully guaranteed if they are on the opening day roster.

As to Warren, the only risk that the Raiders would be taking is that someone else could swoop in and sign him. But if the Raiders and Warren work out a wink-nod thing, they can pull off the maneuver and stick it to the Broncos.

A major factor in the final outcome of the entire Mike Vick legal imbroglio is what will happen to him under Virginia law. Though several readers have raised with us the notion of "double jeopardy," Vick has not faced animal cruelty charges under state law. The feds had no jurisdiction over such crimes, since they happened only in Virginia. For now, Vick has pleaded guilty only to conspiracy to violate several federal statutes dealing with interstate gambling and interstate dog fighting. He has never been placed in jeopardy for animal cruelty charges.

And, if the statement of facts he signs on August 27 includes an admission that he participated in the killing of the eight dogs that Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace admitted to killing with Vick, then it will be very easy to prove that Vick violated Virginia law.

We used to think that Poindexter was dragging his feet on Vick because Poindexter, a part-time prosecutor in his 60s, didn't want to face an O.J.-style dream team. But the challenge is now far easier than it would have been, and if Poindexter doesn't push forward aggressively, we'll conclude that his motives arise from corruption, not from sloth.

WIP radio, Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, and Jay Glazer of FOX report that Trotter will be released. An official announcement will be made at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Trotter became a star with the Eagles, and was slapped with the franchise tag after the 2001 season, when his rookie contract expired. The team lifted the tag later in the offseason, and Trotter signed with the Redskins. He spent two disappointing years in Washington before being released, and then returned to the Eagles, where he worked his way back into a starting job -- and was a key player during the team's 2004 Super Bowl run. He started 15 games in 2005, and 16 games in 2006.

UPDATE: The Eagles have officially announced the move. Said head coach Andy Reid: "Jeremiah is one of my favorite guys. There's no question that this is the toughest part of this job. He and I met about this last night and it was very emotional for the both of us. Jeremiah and I have been together for many years and he's played a vital role in helping this team win a lot of football games. He developed himself into a Pro Bowl middle linebacker through a lot of hard work and desire. In my mind, he will always be a Philadelphia Eagle and I'm sure he feels the same way. I wish he and his family nothing but the best in the future."

We'd been impressed by the work of ESPN.com's Lester Munson during the Mike Vick situation. Munson has a knack for making legal concepts readily understandable, using an easy-to-read question-and-answer format.

"The local prosecutor in Surry County, Va., where Vick built his dogfighting compound, says he will now take action against Vick. What can he do to Vick that the federal authorities haven't already done?

"Gerald Poindexter, the local prosecutor, can huff and puff and seek attention, but that's about it. Vick need not worry much about Poindexter. The federal authorities have the seven witnesses, the financial records, the e-mails and all the other evidence. Poindexter can charge Vick with dogfighting under a Virginia law that makes it a felony, but any punishment the player might serve on that charge would be done at the same time Vick is serving his federal sentence. Poindexter appears to be a bit embarrassed that the feds took over an investigation that he had started, and so whatever action he ultimately takes might be motivated, at least in part, by a desire to save face."

Lester, have you gone mad? If Vick admits to participating in the killing of eight dogs deemed unfit for fighting, he's on the hook for eight counts of animal cruelty, at a maximum prison sentence of five years each.

And Poindexter won't need the "seven witnesses, the financial records, the e-mails and all the other evidence." All Poindexter will need is the signed statement of facts, and it's a one-day, one-exhibit trial.

"I killed eight dogs."

Case closed.

Lester, what the hell are you thinking?

Though we're going to wait to see the statement of facts that Mike Vick signs on August 27, we will presume for now that it will contain an admission from Vick as to his involvement in the killing of eight dogs in April 2007 who were deemed to be unfit for fighting. We think that this is a fair presumption to make, because two of his codefendants admitted to participating in these activities, and said that Vick was involved, too. Thus, our guess is that federal prosecutors have pre-drafted Vick's statement of facts to include such an admission, and that prosecutors have made it clear to him that signing the document as written is a condition for accepting the plea offer.

So, if that's true, Vick will be admitting not only to being an illegal gambler and a dog fighter, but also to killing canines in cold blood. Man's best friend. The things that Vick has said he loves. Remember this?

As many talking heads already are saying, Vick's decision to plead guilty and, more importantly, to admit guilt is the first step in his quest for redemption. As Tom Jackson correctly said on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown on (duh) Monday night, we are a society that loves to give second chances.

But some people don't get second chances in our society. Pedophiles don't get second chances. Mass murderers don't get second chances (largely because they never get out of jail). Even today, some 40 years after the commission of his crimes, would anyone give Charles Manson anything other than a minimum-wage job if he were to find himself again among the free?

Though our society has never had the occasion to consider whether to give a second chance to a star athlete who admits to killing dogs, we think that no second chance should be available to Mike Vick, and we hope to hear from the "real" media plenty of skepticism regarding Vick's apparent effort to lay the foundation for his redemption by authorizing his lawyer to issue a statement in which Mike acknowledges the "mistakes he has made."

Folks, this wasn't a bad decision made in a night club under the influence of Grey Goose. This "mistake" was a lifestyle that unfolded over a period of years. It's something that Vick likely would still be doing if his property in Virginia hadn't been searched by authorities in late April.

And after the operation was found, what did Vick do? Did he take responsibility then? No -- he blamed his friends and family.

"I'm never there. I'm never at the house. I left the house with my family members and my cousin. They just haven't been doing the right thing. The issue will get resolved."

Folks, he lied. To you, to the Commissioner, and to the man who has paid him millions of dollars.

And then Vick hunkered down, using the notion of innocent until proven guilty -- a principle aimed only at protecting the truly innocent -- to force local and federal officials to marshal enough evidence before Vick would even consider admitting that he'd been caught.

He almost got lucky. Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter was, by all appearances, ready and willing to sweep all of this under the rug, until federal authorities wisely got involved.

Then, when Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury, he continued to remain silent. His lawyer professed his innocence on the courthouse steps, but in a perfunctory way that convinced no one who wasn't already predisposed to believing that Vick was clean.

It was only after Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace pleaded guilty that Vick even began to ponder the possibility of coming clean. And he only "did the right thing" after trying to get the best deal possible for doing it.

Look, we've got no problem with a guy engaging in aggressive plea negotiations in an effort to come out of the discussions with the most positive (or, as the case may be least negative) outcome, it's unfair and inappropriate for Vick to sell this as acceptance of full responsibility.

The notion of accepting full responsibility implies that Vick has done something honorable. But there is no honor in Vick's actions. He cried "uncle" as his arm was about to be snapped off.

Other members of the media ("real" or otherwise) might be sufficiently naive to be buffaloed by this. But not us. And we hope that any NFL team that might be seduced by Vick's superb but primarily one-dimensional skills in 2010 or thereafter will consider the situation very carefully before giving this man a second chance that, in our view, he simply does not deserve.

So maybe the right outcome here is for the Commissioner to protect all future owners and coaches and G.M.'s from themselves by banning Vick for life.

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the Washington Redskins have signed linebacker Randall Godfrey. To create room for Godfrey, the Redskins released linebacker Lemar Marshall.

Godfrey, an 11-year veteran, has spent the last three seasons with the Chargers. Before that, he played for the Titans, Seahawks, and Cowboys.

Marshall entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 2001, and has spent his entire career with the Redskins. He has been a starter for most of the past three seasons, and he was due to earn $1 million in 2007, the final year of his contract.

So we're watching Man-Girl and Meatball in the Morning on ESPN2, but as usual one or both of the Mike's is gone. (How much freakin' vacation time do those guys get?) In their place, Doug Gottlieb and Michael Smith are soldiering on, complete with the weekly "Just Shut Up" feature.

And one of the possible choices caused us to choke on our whole wheat double fiber toast (which, actually, isn't hard to do).

The option was Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace, "For agreeing to plea deals and failing to stick up for the embattled QB."

What the f--k? We don't watch a lot of ESPN programming, but we somehow missed the fact that Bristol is now at the forefront of the "stop snitchin''" movement.

How can ESPN even begin to justify suggesting that two men who confessed to the commission of crimes -- crimes that we now know Mike Vick himself committed -- should be criticized for telling the truth? We are virtually speechless. (We couldn't just say "speechless" because, obviously, we're not silent.) This sends a horrible message to impressionable youths who will view the move as a subtle acknowledgement by ESPN that the right thing to do when the chips are down is to say nothing.

Real life isn't Goodfellas. We want our kids to know right from wrong, and it couldn't be more wrong to suggest that it's somehow wrong for someone to admit responsibility for his actions, even if the admission gets someone else in trouble.

These guys weren't tattling on Vick; they were confessing to their own misdeeds.

And so what if they "told on" Vick? He was guilty, and he lied about it. If the goal of the justice system is to get to the truth, and if the only way to get there is for other people to tell what they know, it's completely and totally inappropriate for a major broadcasting entity with a near ubiquitous (thanks, Tiki) presence in modern life to suggest that folks should clam up as a way to "stick up" for their friends.

POSTED 11:04 p.m. EDT, August 20, 2007; LAST UPDATED 12:18 a.m. EDT, August 21, 2007

A PFT reader who also practices law in Las Vegas has alerted us to the filing of a civil action by Natalie Jones against a variety of defendants, including Adam Bernard Jones.

Here's the description supplied by a service that alerts Nevada lawyers to new case filings: "Assault and battery action. Defendant Jones, a football player for the Tennessee Titans, fired a gun into a crowd outside of the defendant gentlemen's club and shot the plaintiff in the head. Jones had been thrown out of the club earlier that night for an altercation during which he grabbed a dancer by her hair and slammed her head against the stage. The plaintiff seeks punitive damages."

Maybe we missed the news items about, you know, a woman being shot in the head, or the reports that Jones actually fired a gun that night.

Obviously, these are only allegations at this point. And the plaintiff will have a chance to prove her claims. But we're skeptical of these claims, primarily since we think we would have already known about the incident if there was anything to it.

Last week, we got a look-see at the new Madden game for the Wii and the regular Xbox. Tonight, yours truly took a break from updating the site to get his butt kicked by a 16-year-old nephew on the Xbox 360 version of the game.

We ordinarily don't like to pimp products that don't pay for space on the site, but we have to give credit where it's due. The game is incredible.

Besides, we figure it's okay to give the game a plug because Sprint has a strong presence in every version of it -- a wise move by the official ProFootballTalk telecommunications sponsor to align itself with a high-quality product.

UPDATE: A reader who was disappointed with the initial Madden offering on Xbox 360 has asked us to elaborate on what makes the new version so good -- the game play or the graphics. For us, it's both. Oh, and the intro segment made me ready to run into a wall, without pads on.

One of these days, Emmitt Smith will show up at PFT headquarters and put his shoe so far up my ass that a lace will be protruding from a nostril.

But we can't keep quiet about this. Emmit was a great football player. He is unfit to be a broadcaster. He needs to go. Now.

Consider these lowlights from Monday night's pregame show, which we recorded so that we could get the quotes right.

First, Emmitt referred to his new colleague, former NFL coach Bill Parcells, simply as "Parcells."

Then, Emmitt got himself all tongue tied when talking about Mike Vick. Consider this passage: "let alone now spending three -- three years or whatever many -- however many time -- how much time he's away from the game."

Also, Emmitt generally needs to work on his conjugation of verbs. We understand that, in some settings, it's okay to speak in an informal, colloquial manner. But, when attempting to work as a broadcaster, it's time to talk correctly. You know, like a guy who has been to college.

It's not "he come," it's "he comes." It's not "he like," it's "he likes." It's not "all he have to do," it's "all he has to do."

There's simply no excuse for a guy who now makes a living by talking to talk so poorly. And to not demand that ESPN and other networks hire men and women who can speak properly sends a subtle message to the audience that it's perfectly okay for them to butcher the language, too.

And, please, don't send us a bunch of e-mails arguing that Emmitt is entitled to learn on the fly. There are plenty of people who could do that job better than Emmitt. He was hired for his name recognition, and nothing more. We're supposed to be impressed that ESPN was able to attract the all-time leading rusher -- and we're supposed to not notice that, if he played football like he comments on it, he would have been cut during the first week of camp.

The National Football League has issued the following statement regarding Mike Vick:

"We are aware of Michael Vick's decision to enter a guilty plea to the federal charges against him and accept responsibility for his conduct. We totally condemn the conduct outlined in the charges, which is inconsistent with what Michael Vick previously told both our office and the Falcons. We will conclude our own review under the league’s personal conduct policy as soon as possible. In the meantime, we have asked the Falcons to continue to refrain from taking action pending a decision by the commissioner."

The league's statement doesn't address possible violations of the gambling policy but, it's likely that a separate review will be conducted within the confines of that specific rule.

The difference between the two provisions is that Vick would have the ability to pursue a grievance regarding any penalties imposed under the gambling policy. Under the Personal Conduct Policy, the Commissioner is the judge, jury, executioner, court reporter, bailiff, and appellate court.

Let's take a break from the Mike Vick coverage to address a couple of other issues, as discussed by the boys of PFTV.

Five arrests were made at the Packers game on Saturday night. (We didn't know the Bengals were in town.)

With Mike Vick agreeing to plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges, what will transpire next? Read on for our take on the coming developments.

First, Vick will officially enter his plea on August 27. At that time, he will sign a statement of facts similar to the document that Quanis Phillips and Purnell Peace signed on Friday, with detailed admissions. The biggest question? Whether the document will include an acknowledgement from Vick that he participated in the killing of eight dogs in April 2007.

Second, if the statement of facts contains an admission as to the killing of the eight dogs, Vick will be giving Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter all he needs to obtain a conviction on eight counts of violating Virginia's animal cruelty laws. Under Virginia law, he faces up to 40 years in jail.

Third, the NFL will be acting at some point, probably soon. Look for Vick to be suspended indefinitely, with a final decision made after Vick submits his signed statement of facts. Our guess? He'll be suspended for at least one year for dog fighting, and at least one year for gambling. Also, we think that any suspension will be tolled during his incarceration.

Fourth, the Falcons need to decide how to handle the situation. Though many will expect owner Arthur Blank to cut him as soon as Commissioner Roger Goodell allows the team to proceed, the Falcons need to wait until Vick defaults on his contract so that the team can recover, as we calculate it, more than $28 million in paid bonus money. The broader question is whether the Falcons must carry Vick on the roster during the term of his suspension in order to collect all of the $28 million, since the bonus money applies to future years of the contract that have not yet been served.

At some point, Arthur Blank must decide whether his desire to get his money back supersedes his desire to get Vick off of the team.

The Virginian-Pilot reports that Michael Vick has accepted a plea deal on federal conspiracy charges. But it's more than just a guilty plea. Vick is admitting that he did it. A statement from lawyer Billy Martin reads as follows:

"After consulting with his family over the weekend, Michael Vick ask that I announce today that he has reached an agreement with Federal prosecutors regarding the charges pending against him. Mr. Vick has agreed to enter a plea of Guilty to those charges and to accept full responsibility for his actions and the mistakes he has made. Michael wishes to apologizes again to everyone who has been hurt by this matter. The legal team and Mr. Vick will appear in court in Richmond on August 27th."

It's a far cry from Martin's initial statements regarding the case from July 23, when Martin had this to say: "You all heard and saw that this was the first step from Michael in proving his innocence. The indictment contains mere allegations."

In our view, Vick came clean because he realizes that there's no way he can ever return to the NFL without securing redemption, and that there can be no redemption without contrition.

The broader question is whether redemption is even available with contrition. Should he get credit for telling the truth only after it was clear that there was no way out? We don't think so.

It's unclear whether the deal includes any type of commitment from the NFL as to Vick's possible suspension, or any commitment from authorities in Virginia regarding possible charges for animal cruelty arising from eight dogs that were killed on Vick's property in April 2007, the same month in which Vick told the Commissioner that there was no dog fighting on his Surry County, Virginia property. If Vick's formal plea documents include an admission that he participated in the killings of the dogs, he's certain to face even more jail time in Virginia, where the total penalty will be up to 40 years.

Though in the fictional world of Madden 08 Trent Green is still the starting quarterback of the Chiefs, he officially has won the same position with the Dolphins, who acquired him in a June trade.

Green held off Cleo Lemon, who made an unexpectedly strong bid for the job. Lemon is in the last year of his contract, and will likely be the primary backup while second-round rookie John Beck learns the ropes.

"We're at a point where we need to start putting this offense together and the number one thing our offense needs is leadership," coach Cam Cameron said. "Trent brings that, but I do believe Cleo's time is coming and he's got a lot of room for growth."

Lemon's time will most likely come elsewhere. We recently reported that he rejected a multi-year offer from the Dolphins, and will instead become an unrestricted free agent in March.

David Elfin of the Washington Times reports that the Redskins are believed to be talking to the Falcons about a trade that would send quarterback Mark Brunell to Atlanta.

The Falcons have a clear need at the position following the recent ACL injury suffered by backup D.J. Shockley, a fan favorite due to his local connections. The only other quarterbacks on the roster are Joey Harrington and Chris Redman.

Though the Falcons could choose to go with two signal-callers on the regular-season roster, it might be wise to add a veteran like Brunell. If Harrington isn't effective, Brunell might be able to step in and salvage what otherwise would be a lost season. Redman hasn't played in a regular-season game since 2003.

Meanwhile, we think it's odd that a stodgy old-media type like Elfin would try to display some bloggers' humor and attitude by referring to Mike Vick as "Dogfighting Man."

Rule No. 1, Dave? If you want to let your hair down in the blog format with an effort at the kind of humor that can't be used when writing for the fish wrap, it's usually more effective if the end result is, you know, humorous.

The Rocky Mountain News and Adam Schefter of NFL Network report that the Broncos will receive a fifth-round pick from the Raiders for defensive tackle Gerard Warren, if Warren is on the roster when the season begins.

If Warren gets cut before September 9, the Broncos will get nothing and like it.

Warren's 2007 salary is a mere $595,000, making the Raiders likely to keep him around. Per Schefter, the Warren contract contains a $2 million incentive for Warren if he participates in at least 50 percent of the snaps on defense.

Things will get interesting in 2008, when Warren's base salary bumps to $4 million.

Though it appears that Mike Vick has opted not to plead guilty to pending federal conspiracy charges, CNN suggests that talks are ongoing.

Per CNN, the pending offer recommends a prison term of 18-36 months. Vick's lawyers are holding out for a recommended term of less than a year. Regardless, Judge Henry Hudson will have the final say on this.

CNN also reports that the Vick camp is hoping to hear from the NFL on Monday about the potential impact of a guilty plea on Vick's playing career. However, the league previously has indicated that it will not make such commitments in connection with the plea discussions.

WSB-TV in Atlanta reports that a hearing before Judge Henry Hudson on any plea deal involving Falcons quarterback Mike Vick would not occur before Monday, August 27.

The reason for this delay is that, before a hearing can be scheduled, there has to be a deal. As of yet, there is no deal.

Though the delay isn't significant, the real news here is that, if there's a deal, the judge presiding over the case hasn't been told about it. And that suggests that there is no deal.

It makes us wonder whether there even will be. At some point, prosecutors will pull the offer off of the table and proceed.

Of course, it's possible that the offer has been yanked, but that the Vick camp has yet to leak this fact to the media. Don't count on the prosecutors saying anything more about this until the new indictment, with new charges, is announced.

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