Lions safety search continues with Sean Jones

Posted by Josh Alper on May 10, 2012, 12:55 PM EDT

AP

The Lions had former Bengals safety Chris Crocker in for a visit earlier this week, but he wasn’t their only option for veteran help at the position.

Adam Caplan of Sirius XM Radio reports that former Buccaneers safety Sean Jones also visited the team this week. Jones started 32 games at strong safety for Tampa over the last two years, but he hasn’t generated much interest on the free agent market as of yet. That’s not terribly surprising given that it was far from Jones’ best season and that his own play was overshadowed by the generally bad state of affairs on defense in Tampa last season.

Revis not backing down on Belichick and Brady comments

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 10, 2012, 2:35 PM EDT

Getty Images

In an interview in March, Jets cornerbackDarrelle Revis called Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a jerk. With some time to reflect on that comment, Revis isn’t backing down.

“I gave my honest opinion,” Revis said today, via Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “It’s just how I felt. That’s how I feel. I feel that people let him slide when he says his smart remarks [about] certain things. He says comments about us.”

Lions agree to terms with four more rookies

Sean Yuille - Pride of Detroit

As expected, the Detroit Lions are moving quickly when it comes to signing their 2012 NFL Draft picks. On Wednesday, seventh-round pick Travis Lewis agreed to a four-year deal, and so far on Thursday, four more draft picks have agreed to four-year deals.

The first draft pick to get a deal done this morning was fourth-round pick Ronnell Lewis. Shortly after, deals were agreed to between the Lions and fifth-round picks Tahir Whitehead and Chris Greenwood. More recently, the Lions agreed to terms with second-round pick Ryan Broyles. All of these deals are for four years, as required by the collective bargaining agreement.

With five picks now ready to sign, the Lions only need to work out deals with first-round pick Riley Reiff, third-round pick Bill Bentley and sixth-round pick Jonte Green. Dave Birkett reported earlier that Green's deal is "basically done," so it's possible he could agree to terms on Thursday as well.

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Alshon Jeffery prioritizes workouts over Rookie Premiere

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 10, 2012, 7:42 AM EDT

AP

During his senior season at South Carolina, questions surfaced about wide receiverAlshon Jeffery’s conditioning. But Jeffery is taking steps to make sure there are no such questions during his rookie year with the Bears.

Jeffery, the Bears’ second-round draft pick, has decided not to attend the 2012 NFL Rookie Premiere, an event in Los Angeles celebrating some of the league’s top rookie, so that he won’t miss any time in the Bears’ offseason program, ESPN Chicago reports.

Jacoby Jones ready for a fresh start in Baltimore

Terry McCormick - National Football Post

Jacoby Jones is looking for a fresh start in Baltimore after agreeing to a two-year, $7 million contract with the Ravens, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Jones, who had a critical fumbled punt in the Texans playoff loss to the Ravens in January, had become a target of fans and media in Houston to the point where his agent Kennard McGuire asked the club to release him.

Jones is scheduled to be Baltimore's third receiver behind Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith.

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Vikings speed towards stadium resolution

Posted by Mike Florio on May 10, 2012, 7:02 AM EDT

Getty Images

The Vikings stadium bill has now cleared every hurdle but one.

With a Conference Committee striking a deal Wednesday night on language harmonizing the House and Senate versions of the stadium bill, the Vikings signed off on the revised agreement — and early Thursday morning the House of Representatives voted to accept the deal, 71-60.

Adrian Peterson on track for Week 1

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 10, 2012, 6:51 AM EDT

AP

Four months from the Vikings’ opener against the Jaguars, running back Adrian Peterson continues to believe he’ll be on the field.

Peterson told reporters on Wednesday that his recovery from his torn ACL is progressing well, and he said he’ll be surprised if he can’t play by September.

“I will be very surprised,” Peterson said. “I have been ahead of the schedule since day one. The staff here in Minnesota, the staff down in Houston, they have been doing a great job of just pushing me and pushing me, but having that limit on it, knowing I want to do this, I just have to play it slow and it will come. From square one I have been ahead of the curve. So, me personally, because that’s my goal, I set my goals and expectations high, and that first game against Jacksonville I plan on being back. It will be disappointing if I am not.”

Cris Carter and the bounty talk continues

Posted by Mike Florio on May 9, 2012, 9:42 PM EDT

Getty Images

The good news is that Cris Carter’s confession to a career of bounties has gotten ESPN to quit talking about whether current and former NFL players will let their kids play football.  The bad news is that we’ve now heard far more about Cris Carter and bounties that we ever wanted to hear.

He was back on ESPN Radio’s Hill & SchlerethWednesday night, for another extended discussion about the use of cash payments to teammates to protect himself and others from getting blown up by certain defensive players.  Though Mike Hill and Mark Schelerth continued to try to help Carter massage his message, Carter didn’t deviate all that far from what he had said on Tuesday night.