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AFC Whispers
Ravens ILB Ray Lewis is running out of options. He was hoping to join the Jets as an unrestricted free agent, but when his contract demands got too high for the Jets’ liking, they moved on and signed his former teammate and fellow ILB Bart Scott. Having lost out on his preferred option, Lewis wanted to sign with the Cowboys, but because they’re trying to get OLB DeMarcus Ware locked up with a long-term extension, they can’t afford Lewis, either. Instead, on Saturday they opted to sign 11-year veteran LB Keith Brooking to a contract that calls for only $2.5 million in guaranteed money. It now appears a return to Baltimore is the only high-paying option left for Lewis.
Fred Taylor said that Buffalo and New England were the only clubs that showed serious interest in him upon his release in Jacksonville and that it was pretty clear that the Patriots were going to be the team he’d sign with shortly after his visit to Foxborough. The fact that the Pats feature a stacked RB stable doesn’t faze the grizzled veteran, as he told reporters on a conference call that, as one of five children growing up, he’s used to competition.
Just because the Bills tendered offers of $1.01 million to OLB Keith Ellison and FS George Wilson doesn’t mean the club wants to head into next season with those players needing to play prominent roles on the defense. The fact that Wilson, in particular, was tendered his offer was surprising, given that the coaching staff lost confidence in him last season.
Though Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome hinted at the Combine that the team might be looking for a replacement for PK Matt Stover, a source close to the club suggests this could simply be posturing by the Ravens with an eye on getting Stover, 41, to sign a deal more amenable to Baltimore.
At the Scouting Combine, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said that the club wants to see QB Joe Flacco improve his lower-body strength “so that it’ll help him be able to avoid some things, but also it will help him be able to slide one way and still deliver the ball. It’s a highly technical thing. He improved in so many things over the year. You can see how he played in the first Tennessee game (a Ravens loss in October) and then the second Tennessee game (a Ravens win in the divisional round in January). So, we just don’t know where that ceiling is. But we do know if we can add some other pieces to him, that he will become a much better player.”
Sure, the release of veteran DE Paul Spicer was partially because of the diminishing returns the Jaguars were getting on his investment, but it is also a vote of confidence in young DEs Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves. Both were disappointing in their rookie seasons of 2008, yet they are counted on becoming defensive cornerstones.
Speaking of Groves, he could very well see some repetitions next season at outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense. The Auburn product has tremendous speed but too often had difficulty disengaging from bigger offensive tackles on the line of scrimmage in 2008. Although the Jags will remain a 4-3 base, it was revealed during the Combine week that the team plans on tinkering with some “30” fronts.
The Chargers’ move to re-sign OG Kynan Forney, who didn’t play in a game for them last season, before the free-agency period began likely means he is the favorite to replace Mike Goff at right guard. Goff, an unrestricted free agent, won’t be retained by GM A.J. Smith, so a new starter will be needed at his vacant spot. Unless San Diego takes a guard early in the draft, Forney appears to be the club’s best option to slide into the starting lineup.
NFC Whispers
With DRE Chris Canty set to leave Dallas, we hear it’s likely that Jay Ratliff will shift from nose tackle to right defensive end, at least part time — something Ratliff, who made his first Pro Bowl playing the former position last season, might not be too wild about, we also have heard. That also opens a gaping hole at nose tackle, so those plans are not set in stone but rather a legitimate possibility.
The Eagles are not yet convinced that S Quintin Demps can be a full-time starter, we hear. But like Quintin Mikell, who took a few years to groom into the solid player he is now, Demps might need a few years to mature. The staff still likes him as a player but might not be entirely comfortable handing him a starting job, if one opens up.
The Lions would like to upgrade both returner positions but want to do so with players who also can play offense and defense, we hear. They already have a thin roster and would not like to take up too many spots with specialists who only return kicks or punts and don’t contribute in many other ways.
On the Bears’ QB front, we hear Northwestern product Brett Basanez, who was signed Feb. 3 after spending the 2008 season on Carolina’s practice squad, and ’08 third-stringer Caleb Hanie are expected to enter the offseason on “equal footing” in pursuit of the team’s backup job behind Kyle Orton. When asked at the Combine if he would be comfortable with either Basanez or Hanie as his No. 2 signalcaller, Bears head coach Lovie Smith said, “Yes, I would.”
Forget about the rumblings that the Packers were thinking about not paying ’08 featured back Ryan Grant his scheduled $2.5 million roster bonus this March. Team insiders tell us head coach Mike McCarthy seemed a lot more comfortable at the Combine regarding Grant than he did at the end of the season.
The Falcons have to replace their two starting outside linebackers from last season, since Keith Brooking and Michael Boley have signed as unrestricted free agents with the Cowboys and Giants, respectively. GM Thomas Dimitroff has said publicly the Falcons will be making very few signings in free agency, so at least one replacement could come from within, we hear. Head coach Mike Smith said at the Scouting Combine that he expects LB Stephen Nicholas to compete for one of those starting positions next season. Smith was happy with how Nicholas, who has played on both the weak and strong sides in his two-year career, has progressed since Smith became head coach, and he probably fits best as Brooking’s replacement on the weak side.
Although Bucs CB Ronde Barber showed signs of losing a half-step or so last season, he was not part of the team’s wave of veteran cuts prior to the free-agent signing period, which included LB Derrick Brooks. Some have suggested that Barber should be used in a lesser role next season, but Barber has scoffed at that notion, and he appears to have the backing of his head coach. “(Barber’s) a selfless player,” said Raheem Morris at the Scouting Combine. “If he’s not an every-down player, he’ll be the first one to let you know.”
Any linebacker the Saints may take in this year’s draft is in line for some tough treatment. We hear Saints assistant head coach/linebackers Joe Vitt was so disrespectful to the linebackers the team interviewed at the Scouting Combine that embarrassed New Orleans scouts warned players in advance of entering the room that they should be prepared for a harsh interrogation.
Word is the Cardinals saw enough positives from Ben Graham to lean toward re-signing the free-agent Australian punter to a short-term deal — at a reasonable rate. The Cardinals were thrilled with Graham’s early work this past season after he signed with the team Dec. 1, but a groin injury hindered him a bit in the postseason. Team insiders suspect the team would bring in a few players to challenge Graham, who turns 36 next November.
Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt told PFW at the Scouting Combine that he was pleased with the job his offensive line did in 2008, including OLT Mike Gandy, who was seriously manhandled by Steelers OLB James Harrison in the Super Bowl. “Well, Mike was going against some pretty good players in the Super Bowl. That can happen,” Whisenhunt said. “But I think overall for the year, our offensive line did a pretty good job, especially with how many times we threw the football. That continuity in the offensive line is probably one of the most important things that you can have. Last year we had the entire line intact for the whole season, and that made a big difference for us, especially in the playoff run. This offseason we’re going to have all those guys back, which is very encouraging for us.”
We hear one free agent whom the Rams are more than a little interested in is Seattle FB Leonard Weaver, who could be just what the doctor ordered as a complementary, big No. 2 back behind Steven Jackson.
When asked what kind of player he was looking for with the second overall pick in the draft, Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo got some laughs at the Combine when he quickly answered: “One that will be productive for a verrry long time.” Spagnuolo went on to say that he would never insist that such a high pick be a starter on Day One.
Niners GM Scot McCloughan got right to the point when asked at the Combine if he would consider moving former first-rounder Joe Staley back to right tackle if an accomplished left tackle were available this offseason. “From our standpoint, it’s great that we have Joe Staley,” McCloughan told PFW. “As a first-year player, he played every snap at right tackle. Last year, he took every snap at left tackle. If we can get better and move Joe Staley to the right side, then we’ve improved the offensive line quite a bit. If that’s possible, I’d love to do it. I know this: With Joe Staley being our starting left tackle, we can win a lot of football games.”
Our Seahawks insiders tell us the natives in the Pacific Northwest shouldn’t get their hopes up over the possibility of the team picking up former University of Washington S Lawyer Milloy, who was released by Atlanta. The best hunch is that the 35-year-old Milloy will be looking to be a starter, and that isn’t likely to happen in Seattle, where we hear new head coach Jim Mora apparently still feels comfortable enough with current starting safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell.
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/Whispers/2009/wrapup030109.htm
Ravens ILB Ray Lewis
NFC Whispers
http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/Whispers/2009/wrapup030109.htm
