Redskins: Cooley keeps focus

Chris Cooley is aware that Redskins have initiated negotiations with his agent on a long-term extension contract. In interviews with reporters, Cooley prefers to avoid those questions, seems to be felt uncomfortable about it.

In the meantime, Cooley workout prior to the pre-season minicamp during of the Redskins in the middle of June. The training camp training initiates in July, but has a constant presence in the Redskins Park, working with weights being in shape. It is its second year as part of the Al Saunders offensive and says to be felt more comfortable in that system.

After an outstanding campaign in 2005, Cooley had to pass for an adjustment period to change to the position of the Saunders offensive. Since he was selected by the Redskins in the third round of the 2004 draft, has shown to be able to catch almost any ball. Chris had an fantastic 2005 season, trapping 71 pass for 774 yards and seven touchdowns.

While Cooley has worked tirelessly to improve his “blocking” abilities at the beginning of his career in the NFL, had his contribution by short passes and intervals of the team. Later Saunders asked to become a threat in the middle of the field as receiver. It began to understand the Saunders system by the middle of the season, ending up with 57 receptions for 734 yards and six touchdowns.

Cooley commented that he spend part of the mini recent camp working in its ability to run the routes. He has managed successfully the offensive during the last three years developing a special understanding with the quarterback. First was Patrick Ramsey. Then was Mark Brunell and now Campbell.

Raiders: Curry returns to practice

Ronald Curry returned to practice on Wednesday after missing two weeks with a leg injury, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This is considered a minor injury, so it's nothing to get overly concerned about.

Chiefs: Johnson may hold out for new deal

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson wants a new contract, and he may hold out of training camp in protest. "I'm prepared," Johnson tells the Kansas City Star. "They (my agent and father) got me saving money." Agent Alvin Keels adds, "If we were to have to hold out, it would be for the sake of good business, not being greedy... it's not good business for him to come back in and play for $1.7 million." Johnson is in the final year of his rookie contract.

Johnson and the Chiefs have been at odds for a while about his contract. Clearly LJ is worth more, but the Chiefs seem reluctant to spend a boatload on him past this season.

At this point, I'm not letting this news affect Johnson's fantasy ranking.

Buccaneers: Stovall pushing Clayton

Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden reiterated on Wednesday that Maurice Stovall is competing with Michael Clayton for a starting job. "Maurice Stovall is not here to sign autographs on the sideline," Gruden told the St. Petersburg Times. "He's here to play. He's going to get a great look during the offseason." Gruden added that David Boston is also in the race.

I'm not taking the Boston talk too seriously, but I believe there is a chance that Stovall could swipe the starting job from Clayton.

After catching 80 passes for 1,193 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, Clayton has been held to just 65 grabs and one touchdown over the last two seasons.

I'll keep fantasy owners updated on this training camp battle throughout the summer.

Buccaneers: Rice sits out

Defensive end Simeon Rice was unable to take part in the team's minicamp practice on Tuesday.

"He's going through his rehab and he's not fully able to participate at this point," head coach Jon Gruden told the St. Petersburg Times. "Other than that, he's a guy who will be ready for training camp and a guy we missed last season, obviously." Rice missed the last eight games of 2006 with a shoulder injury.

The Bucs hope Rice's shoulder surgery will help him bounce back from an embarrassingly awful 2006 campaign. His stock is down with IDP owners compared to this time last year.

Titans: Brown comes back

Running back Chris Brown agreed to a one-year contract with the Titans on Monday and will join the team in time for their final minicamp starting tomorrow. "I wouldn't have necessarily predicted this when the free agency period started," Brown's agent told the Associated Press.

"But we're constantly evaluating things. It really comes down to opportunity, and we're hoping Chris can go in there and compete and contribute."

Brown provides much-needed veteran depth to a backfield that includes LenDale White and rookie Chris Henry. His track record suggests he can be extremely productive when healthy, but he hasn't demonstrated the ability to hold up over the course of a 16-game season.

Jaguars: Receiver spots wide open

The Jaguars have spent first-round picks in two of the past four drafts on wide receivers.

However, neither Reggie Williams nor Matt Jones has locked down a starting position. "They don't stand at the front of the line," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio told the Florida Times-Union of his two first-round picks and their depth-chart status. "It's wide open. We're searching for somebody to emerge coming out of the OTAs.

The guy who's really stepped up and really put himself into the picture is Charles Sharon. He's a guy who's earned his opportunity and look in camp. When a guy was drafted, how a guy was brought in here, doesn't really matter at this point."

Sharon was signed as an undrafted free agent last year. And while he's been looking good in mincamp workouts, Williams and Jones have battled injuries much of the offseason.

Whether Del Rio is simply looking to light a fire under his higher picks or whether he'll follow through on his threat to play Sharon over them remains to be seen. However, given the Jaguars' proclivity to running the football as well as their instability at quarterback, even Jones isn't looking like a safe fantasy play this season.

As for Williams, he's been going largely undrafted in most mock drafts.

Jets: Jones excited about offense

Thomas Jones had an impressive minicamp over the weekend and came out of the proceedings excited about his new offense. "It is different than Chicago," Jones told the Newark Star-Ledger. "In Chicago, we ran the ball so well we had a certain amount of plays that we ran on.

Here, we have so many good players on offense – so many good receivers and very good running backs. There are a lot of weapons on offense, so they have a lot of different ways to get guys the ball."

Jones is expected to be Eric Mangini's workhorse and get 15-20 carries per game, with Leon Washington serving as a change-of-pace option.

Jones also has the ability to catch passes out of the backfield and should be used in that manner as well. Thomas is flying under the radar in many mock drafts this summer, and he could be a bargain as No. 2 fantasy runner this season.

Jets: Kendall demands trade

Starting left guard Pete Kendall reported for minicamp on Thursday and proceeded to rip the Jets organization and demand to be traded or released. "I'm an unhappy player and I'm not going to run away from that," Kendall told the Newark Star-Ledger. "My first hope is I wanted to deal fairly with the Jets. I'm surprised we couldn't work it out."

Kendall is unhappy because he renegotiated his current four-year, $11.3 million contract a year ago with the understanding that he'd be able to negotiate a raise this season.

That hasn't happened, and things have obviously reached the boiling point. Kendall was reportedly given permission to seek a trade in exchange for a fourth-round pick prior to the draft, but was unable to work out a deal.

The Dolphins have apparently expressed interest, but the Jets may not want to deal him to a division rival. He is a very solid guard who would garner plenty of interest if he is released.

Bills: Price takes a hit

Peerless Price stayed down on the ground for a few minutes after diving for a ball and landing awkwardly on his shoulder during day two of Bills minicamp on Tuesday, according to the Bills official website. He eventually got up and returned to practice.

For a minute there I thought someone other than Price might get an opportunity to step up as the team's No. 2 wideout.

NFL offseason moves

NFL mini-camps are popping like weeds around the country and in a couple of months teams will unite at official training camps. Many teams are using the offseason well and providing their head coaches with new toys to play with. Others are overpaying, cutting or simply missing the boat on key players to make their teams better.

In January 2008 we'll find out which 2007 offseason moves panned out, but for now I'll indulge in some speculation.

See full article...

Jets: Kendall to attend minicamp

Guard Pete Kendall will show up at next week's minicamp despite being unhappy about his contract situation, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. Kendall has skipped all of the Jets offseason program because he believes he's underpaid.

Kendall just got paid a $5.2 million signing bonus as part of a four-year deal signed a year ago, but he and his agent now apparently believe he's worth more than he was just a year ago.

Seahawks: Alexander's foot feeling fine

Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander's left foot is healthy and he's ready for the season to begin. "I think by the time we get to the season I will be in the best shape of my life," Alexander told the Seattle Times. "I'll be faster and stronger than ever and hopefully I'll be able to do some good things for our team to win."

Alexander created news last month when he joked about needing more x-rays on his foot, but it appears that was blown out of context and he will be fine for training camp.

Raiders: Walter undergoes knee surgery

Andrew Walter underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Tuesday and will be sidelined for four to six weeks. He is expected back by training camp, but his absence the last few days of mini-camp will mean more snaps for JaMarcus Russell and Josh McCown, players he is battling for the starting position, according to the Mercury News. "What is good for him is he had a head start," coach Lane Kiffin said. "He was ahead of the other two guys because he was (there) first. So I guess maybe it evens it out that way."

This was just a minor cleanup and shouldn't affect Walter's chances at the starting job. He shouldn't be on your fantasy radar, anyway.

Patriots: Morris wearing red

Running back Sammy Morris has been wearing a red no-contact jersey during minicamp thus far.

Though the exact nature of his injury has not been disclosed, the Boston Globe reports that the move is precautionary after Morris underwent shoulder surgery earlier this offseason.

Morris has been able to participate in all of the team's drills despite the injury.

Morris is slated to be Laurence Maroney's top backup, which could be an important position given Maroney's offseason shoulder surgery and his penchant for getting banged up a year ago.

Given that he's participating in drills, I can only assume the shoulder won't have any effect on Morris's status for training camp.

Eagles: Johnson released

The Eagles released wide receiver Bethel Johnson on Wednesday. Johnson has been unable to practice due to a stress fracture in his leg. The Eagles are expected to re-sign Johnson later this summer, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

Johnson's main value is on special teams, notably as a kick returner. Fantasy owners don't need to know his name.

Dolphins: Culpepper decision coming quickly

On the same day Trent Green passed his physical and was officially introduced as the Dolphins new starting quarterback, it appeared Daunte Culpepper will be either traded or released before this weekend's minicamp. According to the Miami Herald, the team is concerned Culpepper could sustain an injury during minicamp, which would leave the Dolphins on the hook for his $5.5 million salary next season.

As of yesterday, it sounded like the team would be patient and was willing to hold onto Culpepper in order to get something in return for him. Now, it appears they will move much more quickly, and that Daunte could be handed his walking papers within the next day. Stay tuned.

Patriots: Brady impressed with Moss

Tom Brady had nothing but praise for Randy Moss after the first day of Patriots minicamp. "I've been excited to have him around. He's worked extremely hard, he's in the weight room every day, he's been here working out, he's taken a trip with us to New Orleans, he's been at the golf tournament yesterday," Brady told the Boston Herald.

The highlight of day one of Pats minicamp was Moss grabbing a touchdown reception in the back of the end zone during 11-on-11 drills. The early reports are good, but Moss has a long ways to go before he'll prove he's not the same lackadaisical, injury-prone player he's been for the last three seasons.

49ers: Rayburn signs

The 49ers continue to add talent to their defensive line. They signed defensive tackle Sam Rayburn, who played for the Eagles last season, to a one-year contract, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rayburn is a good fit for the 49ers' 3-4 defense because he takes up space in the middle of the line and usually consumers multiple blockers, which frees up linebackers to rack up the tackles.

Bears: Arena Leaguer signed

The Bears signed wide receiver Timon Marshall to a three-year contract on Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Marshall might be used as a return man alongside Devin Hester in two-returner sets, according to Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times. He finished last season with 102 receptions for 1,134 yards, and 35 touchdowns.

Don't get too excited about those AFL numbers. Arena League defenses allow more scoring than Paris Hilton.