WR Holmes will not wear new Jets jersey until Week 5

Late Sunday night, wide receiver Santonio Holmes was shocked to be informed by his old team the Pittsburgh Steelers that he had been traded to the New York Jets, and early in the next day, he was stunned with another announcement that he is suspended for the first four regular-season games. Well, at least now he has time to get accustomed his role as a Jets receiver before appearing in his new Jets jersey.


The suspension will delay Holmes’ Jets regular-season debut to Week 5 and the Jets won’t have to pay him anything for the first four weeks. The suspension without pay is taken as punishment for the receiver’s violation against the league’s substance abuse policy. Actually it’s a risky move for the Jets to accept the deal for him with the Steelers as Holmes could be suspended for a whole season if he violates the league’s policy again.

What caused the Jets to be determined to acquire troubled Holmes from the Steelers could simply be the receiver’s talent in football. The 2009 Super Bowl MVP had his best season in 2009 with 79 catches for 1,248 yards and five touchdowns and has had 235 catches for 3,835 yards and 20 touchdowns since being drafted out of Ohio State by the Steelers as a first round pick in 2006.

Ravens RFA Chester is unlikely to put on new NFL jersey soon

Although the Baltimore Ravens restricted free agent offensive lineman Chris Chester is quick and versatile, having played center, both offensive guard spots, blocking tight end and fullback during his first four career seasons with the Ravens, he remains on the free agent market without forthcoming offer while it’s only three days left before the deadline of free agency.


Actually, Chester did have been receiving exploratory interest from other NFL teams, but teams are simply normally reluctant to surrender a draft pick in exchange for a player, and Chester, the second-round pick in 2006 draft, is assigned an original-round tender. Any team that is to sign Chester away will have to compensate the Ravens with at least a third-round draft pick. So what is more likely to happen is that Chester will remain in Ravens jersey as a key backup this coming season.

Having started 33 games during the past four seasons, the 6-foot-3, 315-pound lineman started 13 games last season but the only chances for him to get starting job again is either offensive tackle Jared Gaither being traded or center Matt Birk or guards Ben Grubbs and Marshall Yanda getting injured.

Eagles ask for top 42 pick in trade of McNabb

According to reports, the Philadelphia Eagles are planning to make the most use of their quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is 34 years old and has been wearing the Eagles jersey for 11 seasons since being drafted as a first-round pick in 1999. Any team who wants to trade for the quarterback will have to get a top-42 draft pick prepared in hand.


After months of saying McNabb would return for another year, Eagles coach Andy Reid acknowledged Wednesday he was listening to offers for McNabb, Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick. And it has been reported that the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills and the St. Louis Rams are interested in the trade, and each team has two picks in the top 42. However, the Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo made it clear on Thursday that the team has no plan to trade for McNabb at the cost of a high draft pick.

The Raiders have the eighth pick in the first round and the Bills have the ninth. Both of the teams also have second-round picks, with the Raiders being the 39th and the Bills the 41st. It’s unlikely that any team would like to spend a first-round pick on signing McNabb away from the Eagles, but second-round picks would also be accepted by the Eagles if the team offers it with other picks or players. All in all, the Eagles will try to make the most benefit in trading the twelve years veteran, which became expendable after leading the team to two consecutive losses in the final two games last season.

Redskins coach disagrees with DT Haynesworth’s plan of missing workouts

After the Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said on the first day of team’s offseason workout program that he would not volunteer to take part in the program, new head coach Mike Shanahan made it clear that he did not like the defensive lineman’s plan.


"I totally disagree with his decision to not be there," Shanahan told reporters this morning during the NFL owners meeting. "But I respect him being there the first day and sitting down and talking to me man to man. Any time a person’s willing to do that, you feel good about the communication."

Haynesworth is unwilling to take part in the program possibly because he does not like his role in the new 3-4 defense. One year ago he did similar things by expressing his displeasure with Greg Blache’s defense publicly, but this year he has not said anything negative about the contract yet. But Shanahan still expects that Haynesworth could wear back his Redskins jersey to join the offseason workout in preparation for the new season. He said that the team will evaluate Haynesworth to see whether he is in the right shape and has best chance to lead team to win.

Broncos keep starting job for QB Orton

Quarterback Kyle Orton is not only to continue wearing the Denver Broncos jersey for the 2010 season but also will remain as the team’s starting quarterback, leaving newly-acquired Brady Quinn a backup role unless he could win the job over Orton with better performance.


“He is our starter. There is no question,” coach Josh McDaniels said of his incumbent at the AFC coaches’ breakfast at Orlando, Fla., on Tuesday, reiterating what he’s been saying both privately and publicly since acquiring Quinn from the Cleveland Browns on March 13. The Coach insisted that Orton deserves to keep his job based on his performance last season, when he threw for 3,802 yards and 21 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

McDaniels did not rule out the possibility of Quinn winning the job through giving good performance as he made it clear that Orton will have to retain the starting job through performance and continuous improvement. That means Quinn, formerly a starting quarterback with the Browns, still have the chance to be starter again as long as he can prove that he is the best quarterback among the Broncos.

Second-year pro Byrd had to leave Chargers

The San Diego Chargers eventually decided to get rid of last year’s seventh-round pick from LSU, wide receiver Demetrious Byrd, who spent his rookie season in Chargers jersey without playing any game because of the serious injuries he suffered in a horrific car crash prior to the draft.


It was rendered that Byrd will be unable to play football anymore, but the Chargers still drafted him.

"Despite the injuries, the Chargers selected him and generously extended him a contract for the season," the Chargers said in a statement.

However, a lot of people guess that Byrd was released possibly because of shenanigans on his Twitter account, including this comment:

"Hey twitt fam is it gay to like justin bieber? Cuz I’m not gay but I’m feelin dat baby sng dat shit rockin right now on my cd also."

Byrd refused to admit that he was cut because of his comments on twitter but because he was healthy enough to be released without any further financial obligations. Thanking Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, he added that he would go back to school to complete the 21 remaining credit hours for his degree requirements.

Broncos QB Quinn’s foot is fine now

Months after finishing the 2009 season earlier than most other players wearing the Cleveland Browns jerseys because of the foot injuries that put him on injured reserve, quarterback Brady Quinn, now in the Denver Broncos jersey, says he has been fully recovered from the injury and will be healthy enough for the new season.


The former Notre Dame star passed a physical Tuesday that finalized the trade that sent him to Denver, and he said his left foot injury, a severe Lisfranc sprain that forced him to be in a walking boot for two months, is no longer an issue.

Quinn also had to finish the 2008 season on injured reserve because of a broken finger. Without having a surgery on the injured foot, Quinn hopes he could avoid serious injuries that could cause him to end the third consecutive season on injured reserve.

Redskins added a second RB by signing Larry Johnson

Now the Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis will face competition from newly-signed running back Larry Johnson, who signed a three-year, incentive-laden contract with the Redskins on Friday night. The base value of the deal is $3.5 million and the maximum is $12 million if Johnson manages to reach the incentives.


With Johnson joining Portis, the Redskins will have an intriguing backfield dynamic under new coach Mike Shanahan. 30-year-old Johnson and 28-year-old Portis are similar in at least three things: they both have been to Pro Bowl game for twice, both need to show some sort of resurgence rather than a steady decline toward retirement, and both have been known to get in trouble for saying too much.

Johnson had his last season split between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals. Being released by the Chiefs in November, he finished the last season with the Bengals, the first team he played for since putting on Chiefs jersey as a first-round draft pick in 2003. His 6 1/2 years in Kansas City were full of off-the-field problems and he was suspended twice during the last 12 months with the Chiefs. Then, after posting a gay slur on his Twitter page, he was released by the Chiefs.

Johnson’s best on-field performance came in 2005 season and 2006 season when he had back-to-back 1,750-yard seasons. The overall numbers for his career include 6,219 yards and 55 touchdowns on 1,421 carries over eight NFL seasons, plus 154 catches for 1,373 yards and six TDs.

Former Colts CB Jackson joined Eagles with two-year contract

Although he has had surgeries to repair his injured knee, former Indianapolis Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson still found a new job in the Philadelphia Eagles, who signed the free agent cornerback to a two-year contract on Wednesday.


Putting on the Colts jersey in 2005 as a first-round draft pick, Jackson missed the second half of 2008 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Returning to play for the Colts in 2009 season, however, he tore the ACL again but this time on the left knee during a November practice. However, his production still sounds amazing to teams that were interested in the cornerback. He had 284 tackles and four interceptions in 56 career games with the Colts. Before coming to Philadelphia, he visited the Baltimore Ravens and originally planned to meet with the New York Jets if finishing the visit to the Eagles without any deal being done.

The Eagles had been looking for a perfect replacement for safety Brian Dawkins and they expect Jackson to compete for the starting free safety job before the regular season begins. Jackson’s career as an Eagle will begin as a secondary player along with Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, Pro Bowl strong safety Quintin Mikell and longtime starting cornerback Sheldon Brown. With the experience of playing free safety in his junior year at college, Jackson is confident to do good job either as a cornerback of a safety.

Saints safety Sharper had knee surgery

The New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper will not make his decision on his career future as a free agent until he is fully recovered from the knee surgery that was performed on Monday to correct a lingering knee issue.


Before the surgery, Sharper was believed to have to miss two games because of the very knee injury last season, the sixth season that he did not played in all 16 regular-season game since putting on NFL jersey. Fortunately, the injury did not prevent him from playing for the Saints in the Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

By so far, Sharper has not offered any information about where to go after becoming a free agent, but there is common belief that he will re-sign with the Super Bowl Champion team, who is also believed to want Sharper back. Before the free agency began last Friday, the Saints did not take the expected action to place the franchise tag on Sharper, however, it is still believed that there would be at least a one-year contract worth $1.7 million to retain Sharper for the 2010 season.

QB Pennington will stay with Dolphins with one-year contract

According to latest reports, quarterback Chad Pennington will continue wearing the Miami Dolphins jersey for at least another one year, proving the veteran’s wish to stay with the team to be true even if he is to be used as a backup in 2010 season.


Pennington is recovering from the third operation of his career on his throwing shoulder. Twice he has returned from injuries to win NFL Comeback Player of the Year, most recently in 2008, when he led the Dolphins to their first playoff berth in seven years. However, after he was sidelined last year, second-year quarterback Chad Henne did such a good job as replacement that he was rewarded with the starting job for 2010 season. And Pennington along with Tyler Thigpen and Pat White will be his backups.

White the contract with Pennington is said to be signed on Monday, the Dolphins has already signed linebacker Karlos Dansby a $43 million, five-year contract on the first day of free agency. By so far, there has been no visit of other free agents to Miami yet.

Texans WR Walter returned to Houston with multi-year contract

The Houston Texans were said to have re-signed wide receiver Kevin Walter with a multi-year contract. No terms have been disclosed but Walter should be happy to wear back his Texans jersey before having to make hard decisions about his career future.


His main suitor, the Baltimore Ravens were reported to be pretty much done with the trade for former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who is likely to form a wide receiver tandem with former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth.

According to reports, Walter would like to remain an excellent No. 2 type receiver to backup superstar receiver Andre Johnson. And the returning of Walter and restricted free agent tight end Owen Daniels is also good news to quarterback Matt Schaub, who will thus be more confident to defend his league passing yardage crown.

Cardinals finally released safety Rolle

After several weeks’ speculation and just as what has been expected, the Arizona Cardinals announced on Thursday that they have release starting safety Antrel Rolle, who is due a $4 million roster bonus on March 19 and $8 million salary in 2010 season.


Thus Rolle joined former starting inside linebacker Karlos Dansby on the free agent market. Dansby was given the franchise tag for both for the past two years but was released this offseason to become an unrestricted free agent.

Putting on Cardinals jersey in 2005 as a first-round draft pick, Rolle began his pro career as a cornerback but was switched to safety in 2008. Playing in 68 regular-season games, Rolle started in 59 of them and had 12 interceptions, four forced fumbles and 1 1/2 sacks. In addition, he had an interception and a fumble recovery in six postseason games.

On the same day of releasing Rolle, the Cardinals tendered one-year contract offers to five players: wide receiver Steve Breaston, guard Deuce Lutui, center Lyle Sendlein, tight end Ben Patrick and nose tackle Gabe Watson.

Vikings DE Edwards received first-round tender from team

In the hope of getting a long-term deal, the Minnesota Vikings defensive end Ray Edwards received a first-round tender from the team instead. It’s far from what he has been expecting, but it’s better than nothing.

With the first-round tender placed on him as a restricted free agent, Edwards will be in line to earn $2.521 million this season. That offer was not a big one for a player who made 8 1/2 sacks in the regular season and then led the team with four in two postseason games.

It’s just also hard for the Vikings to evaluate Edwards’ value. He indeed has done great job but the there are still greater pass rushers in Vikings jerseys. Comparing to Edwards, opponents always pay more attention to stop Jared Allen, and the Vikings can move tackle Kevin Williams to defensive end position if necessary. So, a first-round tender is by so far the best offer Edwards can get for 2010 season.

Vick wants his next team to be Panthers

According to some earlier reports, the Philadelphia Eagles will pay quarterback Michael Vick the $1.5 million roster bonus before March 10 and then trade him to another team. However, Eagles officials recently told media that the team plans to keep the third-string quarterback for 2010 season, and now it’s the quarterback himself who wants to leave.


"If I could play for any team in the league, it would probably be two teams, but if I had to pick one, it would probably be the Carolina Panthers," Vick told WWHT-FM on Tuesday. Well, you know, it’s close to home. I like the uniforms. You get to play against Atlanta twice a year. Ain’t nothing better than playing against your former team, right? So, yeah, that would be a good look, it would be a good look."

Vick has made it clear that he wants to be a starter for another team rather than a backup in Eagles jersey to Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb. However, by so far the Eagles have only received trade offers of late-round picks instead of the higher picks they have been expecting.

Cardinals are suspected to be working on retaining safety Rolle

Although most reports said that the Arizona Cardinals will release safety Antrel Rolle as they are unlikely to extend his contract before he has to pay the safety $4 million roster bonus this month, some other reports express different opinions.

NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi reports the team still would remain the favorite to re-sign the Pro Bowler. And according to Cardinals general manager Rod Graves, the organization is indeed working on restructuring and extending Rolle’s current deal, which calls for more than $8 million in salary. Problem is the five-year veteran is unlikely to accept a salary cut.

Put on his Cardinals jersey as a first round draft pick, Rolle successfully changed his role from a cornerback to full-time safety in 2008. Starting 15 games in 2009 season with 72 tackles, four interceptions and 1.5 sacks, Rolle has played totally in 68 games and returned four of his 12 career interceptions for touchdowns. With such a resume, Rolle obviously has the confidence to test his value in free agent market if the Cardinals’ offer does not meet his demands.

Vikings retained WR Lewis with one-year contract

The Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Greg Lewis signed a one-year contract with the team before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Ant it could be the Vikings’ first step of brining back their potential agents.


Lewis caught the winning touchdown pass in Vikings’ comeback victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The 30-year-old appeared in 13 games in Vikings jerseys, catching totally eight passes for 96 yards with a touchdown. His first six seasons were spent with the Philadelphia Eagles and he joined the Vikings just before the 2009 regular-season began after Bobby Wade was released.

Signing Lewis left the Vikings four unrestricted free agents to retain: running back Chester Taylor, cornerback Benny Sapp, defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy and guard Artis Hicks. The next to be signed is most likely to be Taylor, who is also represented by Lewis’ agent Ken Sarnoff and is already in negotiation with the Vikings for a deal.

Bengals Coach Lewis was disappointed with Lb Maualuga’s off-field issue

Knowing that trouble-causing linebacker Rey Maualuga pleaded guilty recently to chargers of DUI, the Cincinnati Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis said he was disappointed with Maualuga’s failure in keeping life in order while not wearing his Bengals jersey on field.


“It’s obviously a disappointment in what occurred," Lewis said today at the NFL scouting combine. "I think Rey has taken some dramatic steps to fix and deal with this kind of behavior. He knows the situation he’s put himself in his career, our football team, the organization, the city and it’s unfortunate to try to be doing the right thing but do very poorly what he did and not to make very good decisions at all.”

Maualuga received a suspended one-week jail sentence, two years of probation, a three-month suspension of his driver’s license for driving under the influenced and ran his car into a parking meter and two parked cars. He also has to pay for court costs and the damage caused by his accident. The former USC star has apologized profusely for what he did and will check into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for at least a 30-day period. In order to avoid causing trouble again, he also promised to seek help for his alcohol issue.

Six NFL teams have selected their franchise players

By so far, six NFL players have been designated with franchise tags from their teams. The New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork was the first one, followed by San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Aubrayo Franklin and Green Bay Packers nose tackle Ryan Pickett.


The other three teams did not follow the first three teams to place the tag on their nose tackles, too. Instead, the Oakland Raiders tagged defensive end Richard Seymour, the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers both placed the tag on kickers, respectively Olindo Mare and Jeff Reed.

Among the six tagged players, five of them received non-exclusive tags that allow them to negotiate with other teams. And if they have intention to put on other teams’ NFL jerseys, their current teams have the right to match any offer or get two first-round draft picks. The only other player who was designated with an exclusive franchise is Seymour, who will be guaranteed at least $12.398 million to be one of the highest paid defensive ends in the league.

Raiders used franchise tag on DE Seymour

The Oakland Raiders remain hopeful with the value of defensive end Richard Seymour, who was traded from the New England Patriot at the cost of a first-round draft pick in 2011, so they used the franchise tag to keep him in Raiders jerseys.


The tag is an expensive one to cost the Raiders $12.398 million for Seymour’s service in 2010 season if no long-term extension can be worked out between the club and Seymour’s agent Eugene Parker. This move is actually not surprising but many doubt whether the nine-year veteran is worth the money.

The Raiders offense has already been moribund and Seymour has not been the anchor of the defense as Raiders expected. Now with the first-round draft pick in 2011, the Patriots could find a very nice player they are eager to have, but the Raiders have to be patient with Seymour to see whether he will improve to be an anchor.