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Seahawks QB Hasselbeck appears healthy again
By PFW staff
April 19, 2009
NFC Whispers
Are you looking for some reassurance that Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck’s back is feeling better these days after it forced him to miss a career-high nine games last season? “He wasn’t constantly stretching and working it (the back) out like he was last year between plays,” one observer of the team’s first minicamp under Jim Mora told PFW. “He said the trunk of his body is much better aligned after all the conditioning he’s had.”
With running back widely considered the Cardinals’ greatest need, we hear two rookie runners who are either at the top or near the top of the team’s wish list are Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno, who probably won’t be available to the Cardinals unless they somehow move way up in the first round, and Connecticut’s Donald Brown, who is considered a much more realistic target at the Cardinals’ current 31st spot in Round One.
Regarding the Rams’ remaining free agents, sources tell us the team is still very interested in re-signing CB Jason Craft, who it believes performed decently in the nickel CB role last season. It’s a different story, though, with former starting CB Fakhir Brown, who we hear no longer figures in the mix.
Although Alex Smith is still expected to get a legitimate shot to win back the Niners’ starting QB job, daily team observers who watched him closely at the team’s last minicamp weren’t overly impressed by what they saw. “He really didn’t look that sharp,” said one observer. “Most of his passes wobbled. It still looks like he has a long way to go before he gets all his arm strength back.”
We hear the Cowboys like some of the players they view as second-round possibilities but fear that they might be taken off the board in the first part of the round, before the team is slated to select at No. 51. We are not guaranteeing the Cowboys will make a trade to move up, but it appears a strong possibility if one of those coveted players is still on the board in the 40s.
The word is that the Commanders are waiting on deciding whether to re-sign LB Marcus Washington, who might be willing to return after having been cut for salary-cap purposes, until after the draft. If the Commanders come away with a player they feel can step in at strong-side linebacker, Washington almost certainly won’t return. But if the team goes in another direction — likely with its first-round pick at No. 13 — there’s a good chance Washington could be back.
The Lions currently have five of the first 82 picks in the draft but don’t select thereafter until the top of Round Six. We hear they would love to add at least one more pick in between those spots, in either the fourth or fifth round.
He’s hardly entrenched as the Bears’ starting strong-side linebacker, but we hear Nick Roach appears to have an edge over former starter Hunter Hillenmeyer, whose level of play has declined somewhat. Word is the savvy Hillenmeyer remains a serviceable performer, however, and is still expected to see plenty of action both as a backup ‘backer and on special teams.
With little cap space to spend on a free-agent long snapper, the Panthers dealt a conditional 2011 seventh-round pick to the Packers for LS J.J. Jansen on April 13. However, sources say that trade doesn’t necessarily preclude the Panthers from re-signing their long snapper of the previous eight seasons, Jason Kyle, who is an unrestricted free agent. Carolina doesn’t have the money to re-sign Kyle at this point but could make moves close to the draft to clear cap room, including a trade of DE Julius Peppers, who is taking up nearly $17 million of cap space with his unsigned franchise tender.
Sources say Mark Brunell is still ahead of Joey Harrington on the Saints’ depth chart at quarterback. New Orleans re-signed Harrington in late March, but head coach Sean Payton still has more confidence in Brunell, should he need to go to a backup if Drew Brees were to suffer an injury that kept him out for a few games. Word is the Saints view Brunell as a near-perfect fit as a primary backup — he doesn’t have great arm strength, but that’s not necessary in Payton’s offense. Brunell is known as a sound decision maker, which is a trait Payton values.
Saints WR Lance Moore was looking to cash in this offseason after coming off a career year, but it appears the kind of payday he’s looking for won’t be coming his way any time soon. Moore, who had been expected to sign a one-year, second-round tender of $1.545 million last Friday, will miss all of the team’s minicamps this offseason after undergoing shoulder surgery that will keep him off the field until training camp, at the earliest. Moore will likely need another big season in 2009 before he’ll get a long-term commitment from the Saints.
By PFW staff
April 19, 2009
NFC Whispers
Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck
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