Browns expect Josh Gordon to contribute immediately

Posted by Josh Alper on July 12, 2012, 4:14 PM EDT

AP

It’s something you could probably guess by the fact that the Browns chose to use next year’s second-round pick to acquire Josh Gordon in Thursday’s Supplemental Draft, but General Manager Tom Heckert confirmed it in comments after the draft.

The Browns expect Gordon to play a role in their offense right away. Gordon has some serious catching up to do because of the late start to his time with Cleveland, but Heckert obviously wasn’t put off by that challenge.

“Where we got Josh was good value and we got him a year early,” Heckert said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We hope he comes in and plays right away. We expect him to play.”

Heckert placed Gordon alongside rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden and rookie running back Trent Richardson as the foundation of the team’s offense, which explains why he also revealed he was putting a second-round bid on Gordon regardless of where the team landed in the lottery. The door is certainly open for Gordon to win immediate playing time in the Browns offense and Heckert’s comments indicate he’s going to get every chance to earn it.

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Terrell Owens talks about his need for a job and his respect for Jerry Jones

Posted by Darin Gantt on July 12, 2012, 1:55 PM EDT

AP

The Terrell Owens “Please Hire Me” tour continues, as the controversial wide receiver tries to get past his ill-fated stint with the Allen Wranglers.

In an interview with Yahoo.com (via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News), Owensexpressed his admiration for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. (The full video can be seen here).

“Jerry’s a great guy,” Owens said. “Obviously, he gave me an opportunity in 2006 and I had a great three years there with the Cowboys. That’s the type of guy Jerry is. It goes beyond just the football relationship. I think he’s done that not only with myself, he’s done that with a number of his players. You think about the Troy [Aikamn]s, the Emmitt [Smith]s the Michael [Irvin]s, Charles Haley.

Browns give up a 2nd round pick to land Josh Gordon

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2012, 1:28 PM EDT

Getty Images

Josh Gordon is heading to Cleveland.

Gordon, the former Baylor wide receiver who left college football behind and entered the NFL supplemental draft, was selected by the Browns with a second-round pick today. That means the Browns do not have a second-round pick in next year’s draft, but they do have another young playmaker on offense.

The supplemental draft order was determined using a lottery in which the Browns got the second pick of each round, so only one other team — the Buffalo Bills — even got a shot at drafting Gordon in the second round. Every team passed on Gordon in the first round.

Cam Newton faces criticism for charging for autographs

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2012, 8:31 AM EDT

AP

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton will appear at a mall on Saturday and sign autographs for anyone who has the time to stand in line — and at least $125.

Newton is appearing at an autograph session at which he’ll charge $125 to sign a picture, $150 to sign a football and $175 to sign a jersey, with another $50 on top if you want him to personalize it. Newton will be there for two and a half hours, and he could easily sign his name enough times that he and the organizers of the event could bring in more than $100,000. Not bad for an afternoon of work.

TTR is pleased to announce the addition of Don Phan

Hello TTR fans, I just wanted to take a second and let you get the chance to meet the newest member of The Tiger Report, Don Phan.  -Tiger


Hey NFL fans! My name is Don Phan and I really enjoy spilling my thoughts about the NFL to readers just like you. My passion for football started while I was a kid growing up in Illinois and watching the Chicago Bears win the Super Bowl in 1985. Being witness to Walter Payton's bulldozing runs and William "The Refrigerator" Perry's goal line dives is a huge part of what makes me the die-hard Bears fan I am today.

When I’m not writing about the NFL, I’m working full-time at Fanatics Inc. as a marketing associate out of our comfy office in Northbrook, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. My company sells sports merchandise for every NFL team, so it's great to look at NFL gear all day and plan my next Bears t-shirt or hat purchase.

I'm really looking forward to the next NFL season and hope you are too.

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How does the supplemental draft work?

Don Caputi - National Football Post

The Supplemental Draft process is very different from April’s installment of the same kind.

Each year, we as analysts, draftniks, and enthusiasts alike all get prepared for late April’s NFL Draft as if the outcome directly affects our lives — and in many ways it does. As a raging football fan, nobody can tell you your team’s success (or failure) does not affect your mood throughout the week. This can typically be correlated to an organization’s ability to annually piece together a solid, complete draft class.

With that being said, after every April installment of the NFL Draft — but before the start of a new regular season — comes the less glamorous, but occasionally prosperous Supplemental Draft. The ‘Supp Draft’ is an intriguing and often-times mysterious entity to most NFL fans. Some have an idea of how the process works, while others know less than nothing about it.

The Oakland Raiders gave up a third round pick last season for the right to land Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

For those of you who fall under the category of the latter, lets go ahead and change that. Here is how the NFL’s Supplemental Draft works:

Firstly, note the Supplemental Draft is a process designed to allow individuals, who did not enter April’s initial draft, entry into the league. Players typically go the route of entering the Supplemental draft for special or unideal circumstances. Often the cause is underclassmen have not declared their intent to gain early entry into the league in order to be an applicant in April’s draft prior to the listed deadline to do so — and have been ruled ineligible for the forthcoming college football season. Reasons for being ruled ineligible are generally due to academic infraction or disciplinary consequence.

Peyton Manning buys $4.575 million home in Denver

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2012, 9:51 AM EDT

Peyton Manning said when he signed with the Broncos that he would make Denver his permanent home, and now he has found his home. And it’s a home that will cost about one-fifth of his annual salary.

The Denver Post reports that Manning bought a seven-bedroom home in Cherry Hills Village, about 10 miles from the Broncos’ practice facility, for $4,575,000. That’s a lot of money for most of us, but Manning — whose contract with the Broncos pays him about $19.2 million a year — can swing it.

The house is 16,000 square feet on 3.37 acres, with seven bathrooms, a billiard room, a safe room and an elevator. It also features a media room, which in the Manning household will probably serve as the place to study film, at least until his 1-year-old twins are old enough to crowd him out with their Pixar DVDs.

The house was originally listed at $5.25 million, so Manning got himself a pretty good deal.

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D.J. Williams accused of cheating three drug tests

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 12, 2012, 7:01 AM EDT

Reuters

Broncos linebacker D.J. Williams, who is embroiled in a legal fight with the NFL over his looming six-game suspension for violating the league’s policies against banned substances, is accused of repeatedly attempting to cheat the drug testing system.

“The evidence is clear,” hearing officer Harold Henderson wrote, according to documents obtained by the Denver Post, “that Williams was involved in three separate incidents of attempted substitution of a specimen.”

Ed Reed makes it clear he is holding out

Posted by Mike Florio on July 12, 2012, 6:10 AM EDT

Getty Images

Ravens safety Ed Reed has been sending fairly cryptic messages to the team on Twitter.  On Wednesday, he made more clear his threat, or possibly his plan, to hold out until the Ravens give him a new contract.

“The only way we protect ourselves, … the only way a player gets what he wants is by holding out,” Reed told 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore, via Matt Vensel of the Baltimore Sun.  “So if Ray Ricedoesn’t show up, so be it.  If Joe Flacco didn’t show up and got a contract, so be it.”

No progress between Brees and Saints

Posted by Mike Florio on July 11, 2012, 10:35 PM EDT

Getty Images

The clock keeps ticking, but no one is talking.

Or, perhaps more accurately, they may be talking, but they’re making no progress.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Saints and quarterback Drew Brees made no progress on Wednesday toward a long-term deal.  That gives the two sides four full days and 16 hours of a fifth to work something out.  Otherwise, Brees and the Saints can do only a one-year deal for 2012.

Vikings stadium options include retractable roof

Posted by Michael David Smith on July 11, 2012, 9:50 PM EDT

Getty Images

Now that the Vikings know they’re getting a new stadium, the planning is underway to determine what, exactly, that stadium will look like. And one of the features under consideration is a partially retractable roof.

Lester Bagley, who has been overseeing all of the issues related to the new stadium for the Vikings, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the stadium might have a roof that opens, at least part of the way.

“It’s a fixed-roof facility, but if we can cut costs, manage costs, our goal is to have a retractable feature [such as a portion of the roof that can be opened to view downtown],” Bagley said. “Some retractable feature, we think, is important. That’s the one thing we’re working on.”

Unfortunately for those of us who believe football is meant to be played in snow, the Vikings aren’t going to be playing under an open roof in December. But a partially open roof, some of the time, will be an option.

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