Stevie Johnson ready for minicamp

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 14, 2012, 8:08 PM EDT

AP

After groin surgery in April, Bills receiverStevie Johnson has been unable to participate in Organized Team Activities and was expected to miss the team’s upcoming minicamp. But after recently pronouncing himself “way ahead of schedule,” Johnson now says he’s ready to work at minicamp.

Johnson said on NFL Network’s Total Accessthat he will, in fact, be on the field when the Bills open their minicamp on Tuesday.

Champ Bailey: I am as good as when I was 22 or 23

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 14, 2012, 2:51 PM EDT

AP

When Champ Bailey entered the NFL in 1999, he was a physical freak of nature whose natural athleticism was so great that at Georgia, he had averaged more than 100 all-purpose yards a game as a part-time player on offense and special teams while playing enough defense to win the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as college football’s best defensive player. But now that Bailey is about to turn 34, how does the Broncos’ cornerback now compare to that young player of 13 years ago?

“I am still as good as I was when I was 22 or 23,” Bailey told Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com.

At first blush, that would seem hard to swallow: The reality is that athletes in their mid-30s simply aren’t in their peak physical condition anymore. But Bailey acknowledges that he’s not the same athlete he was when he entered the league. The reason Bailey hasn’t declined, he says, is that he’s mentally stronger than ever.

“I can’t run as fast as I did then or jump as high,” Bailey said. “But I am smarter. I know how to take care of my body better. I know how to anticipate things a little better. I understand football a lot better, which keeps me on top of my game.”

Bailey said he can feel his age and the wear and tear of his 13 NFL seasons, and he knows he won’t play forever. But for now, he thinks he can play just as well as he ever has.

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Kendall Wright will miss time with shoulder tweak

Kendall Wright - WR - Titans

Titans rookie WR Kendall Wright is expected to miss next week's minicamp after falling on his shoulder in Thursday's practice.

Coach Mike Munchak doesn't believe the injury is serious, and the Titans "assume he will be fine." It sounds like Wright is just dealing with a little post-practice soreness. Munchack also emphasized that the first-rounder has been "awesome" in OTA, and the team is pleased with his progress to date.

Source: Jim Wyatt on Twitter

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Son of NFL great impresses at Redskins minicamp

Chase Minnifield - DB - Redskins

Redskins DC Jim Haslett revealed that the team had a third-round draft grade on CB Chase Minnifield before the Virginia star underwent microfracture knee surgery.

Although Minnifield claimed to run a 4.3 forty prior early in his Cavaliers career, he fell out of the draft after turning in a 4.7 in late March. After being limited in rookie minicamp last month, Minnifield has been a standout in this week's practices. The Redskins coach staff is "ecstatic" that he fell in their laps after the draft.

Source: Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star

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Fans boo Kevin Kolb at Cardinals Fan Fest

Posted by Mike Florio on June 14, 2012, 2:06 PM EDT

AP

As the saying goes, the backup quarterback is the most popular guy in town.  While John Skeltonmay not have earned that title in Glendale, Arizona, they’ve found their pariah.

During a Fan Fest held Wednesday night at University of Phoenix Stadium, starting quarterback Kevin Kolb was booed.

Darren Urban of the team’s official websiteacknowledged the reaction on Twitter, pointing out that Skelton received no noticeable audio feedback from the 15,000 or so fans who attended.

It’s never a good sign for the starting quarterback to be booed.  It’s even worse when it happens while the team is 0-0, and hasn’t even opened training camp yet.

The organization did Kolb no favors by pursuing/flirting with/evaluating Peyton Manning.  It represents a vote of no-confidence in the quarterback about whom the Cardinals, in hindsight, had too much.

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Greg Schiano on Aqib Talib and his concerns

Brad Biggs - National Football Post

Aqib Talib will go on trial June 25 in Texas on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, putting the status of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback up in the air for this season.

The guess here is the Bucs are relatively confident Talib will emerge unscathed in the legal process but you never know. Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Bucs coach Greg Schiano is “concerned” about the situation. Talib, of course, has been disciplined previously for violating the league’s personal conduct policy, so NFL commissioner Roger Goodell could always punish him.

Texans extend Kubiak and Smith

Posted by Josh Alper on June 14, 2012, 11:42 AM EDT

Getty Images

Texans owner Bob McNair has put his money where his mouth was.

Back in early May, McNair said that contract extensions for coach Gary Kubiak and General Manager Rick Smith were in the works and now comes word that the work is finished. John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports that the team has signed both men to extensions on Thursday. Neither the length of the deals nor the amount of money involved is known at this point.

Kubiak and Smith were both scheduled to be out of contract after the 2012 season, something that wasn’t going to happen after they took the Texans to their first playoff berth and win last season. McNair stuck with the duo through some disappointing seasons, so it was hard to imagine that he wasn’t going to reward them for finally pushing the Texans over that hurdle.

Kubiak was hired in January 2006, shortly before Smith was hired to replace Charley Casserley. Each of them has received one previous contract extension from the Texans and they’ll be able to put themselves in position for a third if they can push the Texans past being one of the final eight teams playing in the years to come.

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Is DeSean Jackson heading down a path to financial ruin

Posted by Evan Silva on June 14, 2012, 10:18 AM EDT

Getty Images

The writing was on the wall about a year ago when Eagles receiver DeSean Jacksondropped some $25,000 at a Los Angeles nightclub to fund his Jaccpot Records launch party. Yes, DeSean Jackson is the Chief Executive Officer of a rap label. And a rapper he employs, named Kid Cali, tweeted a receipt of a least part of Jackson’s expenditures on that night last June.

Jackson made the aforementioned investment when he was still collecting minimum base salaries. Last November, there were whispers Jackson was broke. He since signed a five-year, $47 million contract with $15 million guaranteed. Which makes you wonder how much he’s ponying up now.

Banks feels honored to be taken seriously and given a chance

Posted by Josh Alper on June 14, 2012, 9:35 AM EDT

AP

The clearest sign that Brian Banks has been away from football for a long time didn’t come on the field.

His game has some rust on it, to be sure, but the most obvious way to know that Banks hasn’t been spending the last 10 years at practices is that he looked forward to being chewed out by Seahawks linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. Most players have heard enough from coaches over the years, but it probably sounded like a song to Banks after spending 10 years trying to clear his name from wrongful rape charges. Banks has been exonerated and now he’s getting a chance to make his dream of playing in the NFL come true at Seahawks minicamp.

Antonio Brown will handle his contract situation differently than Mike Wallace

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 14, 2012, 6:40 AM EDT

Getty Images

The Steelers have a restricted free agent wide receiver this year in Mike Wallace, and they’re scheduled to have a restricted free agent wide receiver next year in Antonio Brown

Asked on NBC SportsTalk about Wallace’s continuing contract negotiations and about Brown’s own status as a player heading into the final year of his contract, Brown said he thinks he’s going to go about things differently next year than Wallace has this year.

Possible Revis holdout should have been expected

Posted by Mike Florio on June 13, 2012, 10:16 PM EDT

Getty Images

The Jets thought they had come up with a foolproof plan for preventing another Darrelle Revis holdout.

By signing him in 2010 to a new deal that paid $32.5 million over the first two years but only $13.5 million over the next two, the Jets included a term aimed at preventing another holdout after the truly big money was paid out on the front end.  The Jets promised to wipe out the 2014 through 2016 seasons of the contract, which pay a mere $3 million per year, and not to use the franchise or transition tag on Revis after the 2013 season, on one condition.  He can’t hold out.

Robert Griffin III learning the offense faster than expected

Posted by Josh Alper on June 13, 2012, 7:51 PM EDT

AP

We already knew Robert Griffin III could run fast, now we know that he learns fast as well.

The Redskins quarterback earned high marks from offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan during a post-practice press conference on Wednesday. Shanahan said that Griffin has been getting better every day this offseason and that he can make every throw that the Redskins need him to make. Shanahan wasn’t surprised by those things, but he has been surprised by how quickly Griffin has picked up a totally new offense.

Emmanuel Sanders removed from anti-littering commercial, after littering

Posted by Mike Florio on June 14, 2012, 6:39 AM EDT

Getty Images

Well, it seems like every member of the Steelers receiving corps is making news this week.

From the Steelers possibly dropping Mike Wallace’s restricted free agency tender by more than $2 million on Friday to Antonio Brown contending on NBC SportsTalk that he won’t handle his business next year the way Wallace has handled his business this year to, now, Emmanuel Sanders losing his spot in an anti-littering campaign after pleading guilty to, yes, littering.

Terrelle Pryor: I'm a pocket passer

Posted by Michael David Smith on June 13, 2012, 8:38 PM EDT

AP

Terrelle Pryor is at the Raiders’ minicamp this week trying to demonstrate that he’s a quarterback first and an athlete second.

Pryor talked to reporters in Oakland today and said that while it’s true that he’s a good athlete who ran for more than 2,000 yards at Ohio State and could have played Division I college basketball, he’s primarily a pocket passer. Pryor said he’s often wrongly lumped in with college quarterbacks who thrived in a spread offense.