Contract holdouts have been the talk of the league this offseason and the epidemic doesn’t appear to be coming to an end any time soon. New York Jets all-world cornerback Darrelle Revis is the latest to become a member of the group disgruntled with their current contractual situations and he has been a no show to this point from Jets training camp. Revis’ camp reportedly submitted a proposed contract to the Jets front office and it was quickly rejected by team management. Would you like to know why? More »

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It’s that time of year again. No, not the time when pads start smashing together or play action fakes are pulled off with seamless ease, but the time when contract holdouts become more of a conversation point than the actual action on the field. Teams will be anxiously trying to ink their first round draft choices to multi-million dollar contracts with training camps looming around the league even though none of them have played a single snap in the NFL. Until a rookie wage scale is put into effect via a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) however, teams will just have to bite the bullet and hand the cash over willingly. More »

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The experiment with the Buffalo Bills last season did very little for Terrell Owens’ value in the minds of general managers around the league and that has to be a concern for the free agent wide receiver. Owens is much closer to the age of 40 than 30 these days and that fact also has to be hurting his chances of landing a gig in the NFL in the upcoming season. Still it is semi mind-boggling how a player with the cornucopia of statistics that Owens has accumulated during his decade plus in the league is still standing in the NFL’s unemployment line. The always flamboyant receiver isn’t taking this lying down however as he has gone on record with some rather persuasive accusations about just why he hasn’t landed a gig yet. More »

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As a master of its domain in the sports entertainment industry, the business that is the NFL is looking to push its boundaries even further with the continued discussion of regular season expansion. Reports have long been suggested that the league may look to add two regular season contests for what the NFL claims is in the best interest of its fans. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is set to expire in March of 2011 and that predicament could lead to a work stoppage if there is no progress between the NFL players union and the owners on several fronts. More »

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For years now, the New England Patriots organization has pretty much had their way with players in contract negotiations and held all of the cards while doing so. The tables have turned this offseason as their Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins now refuses to sign his tender while requesting a trade from the team. Much like the case with the San Diego Chargers where two of their stars are refusing to put their names on the dotted line of the tender offers, the Patriots have given Mankins notice that they hold the right to cut his salary for the year now substantially from the $3.26 million on the tender to a mere $1.54 million. In a similar fashion to both Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill in San Diego however, Mankins too will not budge from his stance. More »

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New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss made some headlines recently with the firing of his long time agent Tom DiPiero. Speculations were rampant that Moss was going to retire with just one year remaining on his current contract in New England and the Patriots likely not looking to re-sign the aging veteran after his deal expires. Although this would have made for a juicy story across the league, Moss cleared up those misconceptions when speaking to the Boston Herald telling the paper that he was simply setting himself up for a new chapter in his career which will likely take place in a different city after the 2010 season. More »

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Okay, stop me when this sounds familiar… the Denver Broncos could be looking to make a move at quarterback… STOP! In what promises to be an interesting saga, there are rumors floating around that Denver is shopping one of the four quarterbacks currently on their roster. The team traded with the Cleveland Browns to acquire Brady Quinn back in March only to turn around and draft former Florida Gators signal caller Tim Tebow in the first round of April’s NFL Draft. Needless to say, Denver’s depth chart under center is getting rather crowded with incumbent starter Kyle Orton and third stringer Tom Brandstater left wondering what is going on. More »

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The inevitable has finally turned into reality as the Oakland Raiders decided to officially cut ties with their former bust, errr 1st overall pick Jamarcus Russell on Thursday. Much of Russell’s pre-draft hype was a result of his phenomenal workout during which he threw a 60 yard pass from his knees and made the ball whistle through sound barriers. Raiders owner Al Davis has long been known as a sucker for the workout warriors and Russell won the heart of the old softee with his cannon arm and imposing physique.

Things really got off to a rocky start in Oakland for the number one overall selection as he held out for all of training camp and the opening weekend of the season after failing to reach a contract agreement with the team. His rookie campaign was brief considering he got little work with the team, but even years two and three were nothing to write home about as the strong armed signal caller has completed just 52.1 percent of his passes during his career. What has often been the most criticized aspect of the promising young player is his work ethic (or lack thereof) as Russell often arrived at camp out of shape and not at all ready to work on his craft.

There have been quarterbacks with difficult first chapters to their careers only to bounce back after a change of scenery and perhaps that can happen for Russell. At only 24 years of age, some team is going to take a chance on signing him to a league minimum deal and get him into camp for competition. One potential fit is with the Arizona Cardinals where the team is not sold on former 1st round selection Matt Leinart and the Derek Anderson signing certainly isn’t a long-term solution either. Many have also floated out the possibility of a landing with the Washington Redskins where there new head coach Mike Shanahan has done wonders with different quarterbacks in the past and could reinvigorate Russell’s work ethic learning behind Donovan McNabb for a year or two. Even the New England Patriots have been discussed as potential suitors where Bill Belichick is no stranger to reclamation projects and learning behind one of league’s best in Tom Brady could be a humbling experience for an athlete with tremendous potential.

All of there stops of possibilities, but none of them will be willing to bring Russell into the fold unless he shows some sense of understanding his past mistakes and willingness to correct those shortcomings. It will be a long road back to what was expected of him just three short years ago as the number one overall pick, but stranger things have happened. There is a ton of football left in Russell’s future if he chooses to rededicate himself and shows a selfless love for the game again as a competitor.

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This year’s free agent crop is going to be quite difficult to forecast with the uncapped year in the near future and many potential younger free agents becoming restricted under the pre-determined language of the current CBA. Two names who will be unaffected by the CBA’s restrictions are Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers and New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork. Both have been vocal about their standings with their current clubs and appear to be burning bridges on their way out of town. More »

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Unlike franchise quarterbacks such as Joe Montana and more recently Brett Favre, it would be difficult to picture Indianapolis Colts elite signal caller Peyton Manning ever putting on a different colored jersey. According to many sources around the Super Bowl, the potential of that ever taking place is to be put out of the realm of possibility after the season concludes as the two sides will sit down and negotiate an extension for Manning’s contract. More »

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