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Buffalo Bills general manager Marv Levy said Wednesday that it appears unlikely his team will trade for Chargers restricted free-agent running back Michael Turner prior to the April 28 NFL draft. ,During a media luncheon with Buffalo-area reporters, Levy said he doubts the Bills will be able to work out a deal with the Chargers.
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Ricky Williams is six days from being eligible for reinstatement to the NFL, but the suspended running back may have to wait until after the draft April 28-29 before being able to officially rejoin the Dolphins. Williams was banned from the NFL on April 25, 2006 after losing an appeal of a fourth failed drug test. Agent Leigh Steinberg said Wednesday that Williams has sent a letter asking for reinstatement to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and is undergoing regular drug testing under the NFL's auspices. ... Immediate reinstatement is unlikely because Williams' petition is subject to a review process that includes evaluation of his medical records and substance-abuse history. Williams has tested positive for marijuana three times since 2002, but his fourth failed test was for another substance.
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The Bengals are continuing their defensive veteran shopping spree. Linebacker Ed Hartwell, who started eight games at middle linebacker for Atlanta last season, will visit the Bengals today and Friday, agent Harold Lewis said Wednesday night. Hartwell, who will be 29 on May 27, was a fourth-round draft pick out of Western Illinois in 2001 by Baltimore. The Ravens' defensive coordinator was Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. "Marvin is one of his favorites," Harold Lewis said. "Ed's not necessarily looking for the most money. He's looking for the best fit."
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Pro Football Weekly has learned that three potential top-10 picks have admitted to using marijuana. The admissions were recorded during standard interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine administered by the league to every player in attendance and submitted to all 32 teams for review. Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson, Clemson DE Gaines Adams and Louisville DT Amobi Okoye, according to multiple sources who have watched the interviews, all admitted to using marijuana.
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It's no secret the Detroit Lions want to trade out of their second overall NFL draft position in order to move down and acquire additional picks. And it's no secret that several teams -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (fourth overall pick), Washington Commanders (sixth), Minnesota Vikings (seventh) and Atlanta Falcons (eighth) -- want to trade up to get their hands on Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson. But here's the big secret: Who are the Oakland Raiders going to draft with the first overall selection? Most analysts believe it's going to be Louisiana State quarterback JaMarcus Russell, but they've been wrong before. And there's the rub. It would be beyond foolish for any team to pull the trigger on a deal with the Lions before they really know who will be available at the No. 2 position.
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The New York Jets are shopping former Titans receiver Justin McCareins around the NFL, and Tennessee is a team that could have interest in bringing back the former fourth-round pick. “I talked to Mike Reinfeldt about three weeks ago and he told me they definitely would have some interest in Justin at the right price,” McCareins’ agent Cliff Brady said. According to Brady, the Jets have been attempting to deal the six-year veteran, who spent his first three seasons with the Titans, and Brady has done some deal brokering of his own. Brady said he believes the Jets are currently seeking a first-day (first three rounds) pick for McCareins, whom they acquired from Tennessee in 2004 for a second-round choice.
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Free-agent defensive tackle Ian Scott is expected to visit the Cincinnati Bengals this week. He also has met with the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings but hasn't received any big offers. If he isn't offered much more than the league minimum, the Bears might bring him back.
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A member of the Buccaneers front office responding to the rumored trade of Tampa Bay's No. 4 overall pick and defensive end Simeon Rice to the Lions for Detroit's No. 2 overall pick at a time when trade rumors are running rampant: "So far this week we have made three trades. And its only Wednesday."
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JaMarcus Russell walked out to the black stretch limo a little before lunchtime, carrying a Lions hat and sweatshirt along with his luggage, headed to the airport. "It's a nice place," Russell said. "I'd love to come here and play ball any day." Brady Quinn came in shortly afterward, wearing a dress shirt and slacks, ready for his job interview. "Personally," Quinn said, "I think I would be a great fit." Many consider Russell and Quinn the top quarterbacks in the NFL draft April 28-29, and both visited Lions headquarters Wednesday.
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The agent of cornerback Tory James anticipates a formal announcement of his client’s signing with the Pats will come tomorrow, though he said there are still a few language issues to be resolved before the one-year $1.35 million dealbecomes official
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The newest Viking never has played organized football. And Todd Lowber doesn't know the difference between a cover 1 and cover 2. But the Vikings were among a handful of NFL teams willing to overlook such facts because of Lowber's potential to wreak havoc on those defensive schemes. Although Lowber is the latest anonymous receiver to sign with the Vikings, agreeing Wednesday to a three-year contract that includes a modest signing bonus, his remarkable athleticism is reminiscent of another basketball player turned NFL player: San Diego Chargers all-pro tight end Antonio Gates. Lowber, 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, ran a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash for the Vikings on Wednesday at Winter Park. He won the NCAA Division III high jump title in 2006 by clearing 7 feet for Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. He also started 49 games for the Ramapo basketball team, averaging more than 12 points a game in two seasons and helping the team win its first New Jersey Athletic Conference title in 2005.
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Michael Irvin, guest-host of FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period," on if Pacman Jones’ one-year suspension is too excessive: “I don’t think so. Not for this situation.”
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Character questions have followed California running back Marshawn Lynch, a projected first-round pick. Teams have done extra homework on Lynch, which helps explain why the running back visited Kansas City on Tuesday, Buffalo on Wednesday, and is scheduled to visit Detroit on Thursday and Green Bay on Friday. Lynch already has visited or met with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. Teams told Lynch's agents that their character questions had been answered, and each is comfortable with what it heard. Lynch is expected to be the second running back drafted, behind Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson.
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A letter from the noted sports orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, was emailed to 32 teams Wednesday, stating that Louisville running back Michael Bush "is 99 percent healed" from his fractured tibia and fibula. Bush is the running back that was projected as a top 10 pick -- until he injured his leg. About four weeks ago, he underwent more surgery to have a larger rod placed in his leg. Teams have been concerned about whether Bush would be able to contribute this season.
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UCLA's Justin Medlock, the NCAA leader with 28 field goals last season, won’t consider himself a trail blazer if he becomes the league’s first African-American placement specialist since Denver’s Gene Mingo in the early 1960s. “I don’t really see it as a big deal,” said Medlock, selected to the 2006 All-America team. “It was a big deal to have two African-American coaches in the Super Bowl. In all honesty, this is just something to put in the record books. “I don’t think there’s any big thing about skin color or anything like that. I just kick.” Besides Mingo, who also played halfback, there have been just a few black kickers in NFL history, including Donald Igwebuike, who was Nigerian; kickoff specialist Danny Kight and punters Reggie Roby and Rodney Williams.
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Miami announced Wednesday that it would not match the Rams’ five-year, $5.59 million offer sheet on restricted free agent Donnie Jones. That means Jones is now Rams property, with the Dolphins getting a seventh-round draft choice from the Rams -- No. 225 overall -- in exchange for Jones. With Matt Turk, who’s an unrestricted free agent, locked in a contract stalemate with the Rams, Linehan decided to go young at the punter position. As such, it’s a radical departure from recent Rams teams. Over the past five seasons, the average age of the Rams’ primary punter was 38. That group included: Turk, Bryan Barker, Sean Landeta, and Mitch Berger.
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David Ball went to New Hampshire as a high jumper in track. He was a walk-on in football who eventually ran and caught his way into the NCAA Division I-AA record books. Ball, a native of Vermont, broke Jerry Rice’s NCAA mark for career touchdown catches with 58. (Rice had 50 TD catches at Mississippi Valley State in the early 1980s.) Ball also tied Rice’s I-AA career mark with 23 games with 100 yards receiving. Ball spoke to Rice after breaking the TD record. What did Rice say? ‘Why did you break my record?’ " Ball recalled. "So he’s always a competitor, and he always will be. That’s his mentality. But truthfully, he was very respectful, and he was proud of me. I could sense it. And it was a privilege to talk to him. Ball played for a small school and lacks blazing speed in the 40. (Then again, so did Rice.) But Ball knows he must prove himself all over again at the NFL level.
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Did You Know? The most popular surnames among NFL draftees over the years -- Smith 257, Williams 255, Johnson 235, Jones 203, Brown 188. Calvin Johnson and Steve Smith will increase those numbers on April 28.
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USC's Dwayne Jarrett probably made a tactical error in not running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. A month later, he ran a pedestrian 4.62 at his pro day — that’s the only time NFL teams have to go on before deciding to commit millions of dollars on Jarrett. Of course, current NFL star Anquan Boldin of Arizona ran a 4.72 at the Combine in 2003. Jarrett must show he’s the next Boldin, rather than the next Mike Williams.
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In videotaped comments during standard interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Louisville defensive tackle Amobi Okoye admitted trying marijuana in college, NFL personnel people said this week. Okoye confirmed the admission through his agent, Ian Greengross. Through Greengross, Okoye said he was a 16-year-old underclassman at the time he tried marijuana and he would not lie to his future employers about it. Okoye said he has not smoked since then and the incident is a non issue. He never tested positive to any of the NCAA's random drug tests.
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Who Knew? Ohio State’s Anthony Gonzalez likes to cook Cuban food, and wants to enter law school once his playing career is over.
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The Vikings open with Atlanta on Sept. 9, then play four of their next six games on the road. But Vikings coach Brad Childress says he has no complaints. "I know there's some unknowns there, but I'm fine with the schedule," he said. "You go back through and look at the history, the road was not as big a factor as it has been in the past."
___________________________________________
Who Knew? Here's the most drafted positions over the past nine years: Wide receiver (294), cornerback (230), defensive end (207), safety (204).
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Ricky Williams is six days from being eligible for reinstatement to the NFL, but the suspended running back may have to wait until after the draft April 28-29 before being able to officially rejoin the Dolphins. Williams was banned from the NFL on April 25, 2006 after losing an appeal of a fourth failed drug test. Agent Leigh Steinberg said Wednesday that Williams has sent a letter asking for reinstatement to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and is undergoing regular drug testing under the NFL's auspices. ... Immediate reinstatement is unlikely because Williams' petition is subject to a review process that includes evaluation of his medical records and substance-abuse history. Williams has tested positive for marijuana three times since 2002, but his fourth failed test was for another substance.
___________________________________________
The Bengals are continuing their defensive veteran shopping spree. Linebacker Ed Hartwell, who started eight games at middle linebacker for Atlanta last season, will visit the Bengals today and Friday, agent Harold Lewis said Wednesday night. Hartwell, who will be 29 on May 27, was a fourth-round draft pick out of Western Illinois in 2001 by Baltimore. The Ravens' defensive coordinator was Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. "Marvin is one of his favorites," Harold Lewis said. "Ed's not necessarily looking for the most money. He's looking for the best fit."
___________________________________________
Pro Football Weekly has learned that three potential top-10 picks have admitted to using marijuana. The admissions were recorded during standard interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine administered by the league to every player in attendance and submitted to all 32 teams for review. Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson, Clemson DE Gaines Adams and Louisville DT Amobi Okoye, according to multiple sources who have watched the interviews, all admitted to using marijuana.
___________________________________________
It's no secret the Detroit Lions want to trade out of their second overall NFL draft position in order to move down and acquire additional picks. And it's no secret that several teams -- the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (fourth overall pick), Washington Commanders (sixth), Minnesota Vikings (seventh) and Atlanta Falcons (eighth) -- want to trade up to get their hands on Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson. But here's the big secret: Who are the Oakland Raiders going to draft with the first overall selection? Most analysts believe it's going to be Louisiana State quarterback JaMarcus Russell, but they've been wrong before. And there's the rub. It would be beyond foolish for any team to pull the trigger on a deal with the Lions before they really know who will be available at the No. 2 position.
___________________________________________
The New York Jets are shopping former Titans receiver Justin McCareins around the NFL, and Tennessee is a team that could have interest in bringing back the former fourth-round pick. “I talked to Mike Reinfeldt about three weeks ago and he told me they definitely would have some interest in Justin at the right price,” McCareins’ agent Cliff Brady said. According to Brady, the Jets have been attempting to deal the six-year veteran, who spent his first three seasons with the Titans, and Brady has done some deal brokering of his own. Brady said he believes the Jets are currently seeking a first-day (first three rounds) pick for McCareins, whom they acquired from Tennessee in 2004 for a second-round choice.
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Free-agent defensive tackle Ian Scott is expected to visit the Cincinnati Bengals this week. He also has met with the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings but hasn't received any big offers. If he isn't offered much more than the league minimum, the Bears might bring him back.
___________________________________________
A member of the Buccaneers front office responding to the rumored trade of Tampa Bay's No. 4 overall pick and defensive end Simeon Rice to the Lions for Detroit's No. 2 overall pick at a time when trade rumors are running rampant: "So far this week we have made three trades. And its only Wednesday."
___________________________________________
JaMarcus Russell walked out to the black stretch limo a little before lunchtime, carrying a Lions hat and sweatshirt along with his luggage, headed to the airport. "It's a nice place," Russell said. "I'd love to come here and play ball any day." Brady Quinn came in shortly afterward, wearing a dress shirt and slacks, ready for his job interview. "Personally," Quinn said, "I think I would be a great fit." Many consider Russell and Quinn the top quarterbacks in the NFL draft April 28-29, and both visited Lions headquarters Wednesday.
___________________________________________
The agent of cornerback Tory James anticipates a formal announcement of his client’s signing with the Pats will come tomorrow, though he said there are still a few language issues to be resolved before the one-year $1.35 million dealbecomes official
___________________________________________
The newest Viking never has played organized football. And Todd Lowber doesn't know the difference between a cover 1 and cover 2. But the Vikings were among a handful of NFL teams willing to overlook such facts because of Lowber's potential to wreak havoc on those defensive schemes. Although Lowber is the latest anonymous receiver to sign with the Vikings, agreeing Wednesday to a three-year contract that includes a modest signing bonus, his remarkable athleticism is reminiscent of another basketball player turned NFL player: San Diego Chargers all-pro tight end Antonio Gates. Lowber, 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, ran a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash for the Vikings on Wednesday at Winter Park. He won the NCAA Division III high jump title in 2006 by clearing 7 feet for Ramapo College in Mahwah, N.J. He also started 49 games for the Ramapo basketball team, averaging more than 12 points a game in two seasons and helping the team win its first New Jersey Athletic Conference title in 2005.
___________________________________________
Michael Irvin, guest-host of FSN's "Best Damn Sports Show Period," on if Pacman Jones’ one-year suspension is too excessive: “I don’t think so. Not for this situation.”
___________________________________________
Character questions have followed California running back Marshawn Lynch, a projected first-round pick. Teams have done extra homework on Lynch, which helps explain why the running back visited Kansas City on Tuesday, Buffalo on Wednesday, and is scheduled to visit Detroit on Thursday and Green Bay on Friday. Lynch already has visited or met with the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. Teams told Lynch's agents that their character questions had been answered, and each is comfortable with what it heard. Lynch is expected to be the second running back drafted, behind Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson.
___________________________________________
A letter from the noted sports orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, was emailed to 32 teams Wednesday, stating that Louisville running back Michael Bush "is 99 percent healed" from his fractured tibia and fibula. Bush is the running back that was projected as a top 10 pick -- until he injured his leg. About four weeks ago, he underwent more surgery to have a larger rod placed in his leg. Teams have been concerned about whether Bush would be able to contribute this season.
___________________________________________
UCLA's Justin Medlock, the NCAA leader with 28 field goals last season, won’t consider himself a trail blazer if he becomes the league’s first African-American placement specialist since Denver’s Gene Mingo in the early 1960s. “I don’t really see it as a big deal,” said Medlock, selected to the 2006 All-America team. “It was a big deal to have two African-American coaches in the Super Bowl. In all honesty, this is just something to put in the record books. “I don’t think there’s any big thing about skin color or anything like that. I just kick.” Besides Mingo, who also played halfback, there have been just a few black kickers in NFL history, including Donald Igwebuike, who was Nigerian; kickoff specialist Danny Kight and punters Reggie Roby and Rodney Williams.
___________________________________________
Miami announced Wednesday that it would not match the Rams’ five-year, $5.59 million offer sheet on restricted free agent Donnie Jones. That means Jones is now Rams property, with the Dolphins getting a seventh-round draft choice from the Rams -- No. 225 overall -- in exchange for Jones. With Matt Turk, who’s an unrestricted free agent, locked in a contract stalemate with the Rams, Linehan decided to go young at the punter position. As such, it’s a radical departure from recent Rams teams. Over the past five seasons, the average age of the Rams’ primary punter was 38. That group included: Turk, Bryan Barker, Sean Landeta, and Mitch Berger.
___________________________________________
David Ball went to New Hampshire as a high jumper in track. He was a walk-on in football who eventually ran and caught his way into the NCAA Division I-AA record books. Ball, a native of Vermont, broke Jerry Rice’s NCAA mark for career touchdown catches with 58. (Rice had 50 TD catches at Mississippi Valley State in the early 1980s.) Ball also tied Rice’s I-AA career mark with 23 games with 100 yards receiving. Ball spoke to Rice after breaking the TD record. What did Rice say? ‘Why did you break my record?’ " Ball recalled. "So he’s always a competitor, and he always will be. That’s his mentality. But truthfully, he was very respectful, and he was proud of me. I could sense it. And it was a privilege to talk to him. Ball played for a small school and lacks blazing speed in the 40. (Then again, so did Rice.) But Ball knows he must prove himself all over again at the NFL level.
___________________________________________
Did You Know? The most popular surnames among NFL draftees over the years -- Smith 257, Williams 255, Johnson 235, Jones 203, Brown 188. Calvin Johnson and Steve Smith will increase those numbers on April 28.
___________________________________________
USC's Dwayne Jarrett probably made a tactical error in not running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. A month later, he ran a pedestrian 4.62 at his pro day — that’s the only time NFL teams have to go on before deciding to commit millions of dollars on Jarrett. Of course, current NFL star Anquan Boldin of Arizona ran a 4.72 at the Combine in 2003. Jarrett must show he’s the next Boldin, rather than the next Mike Williams.
___________________________________________
In videotaped comments during standard interviews at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Louisville defensive tackle Amobi Okoye admitted trying marijuana in college, NFL personnel people said this week. Okoye confirmed the admission through his agent, Ian Greengross. Through Greengross, Okoye said he was a 16-year-old underclassman at the time he tried marijuana and he would not lie to his future employers about it. Okoye said he has not smoked since then and the incident is a non issue. He never tested positive to any of the NCAA's random drug tests.
___________________________________________
Who Knew? Ohio State’s Anthony Gonzalez likes to cook Cuban food, and wants to enter law school once his playing career is over.
___________________________________________
The Vikings open with Atlanta on Sept. 9, then play four of their next six games on the road. But Vikings coach Brad Childress says he has no complaints. "I know there's some unknowns there, but I'm fine with the schedule," he said. "You go back through and look at the history, the road was not as big a factor as it has been in the past."
___________________________________________
Who Knew? Here's the most drafted positions over the past nine years: Wide receiver (294), cornerback (230), defensive end (207), safety (204).