When Johnny Knox suffered a gruesome spinal injury late last season, it was fair to wonder if he’d ever play again. While he hasn’t ruled out playing again, Knox did acknowledge today that he could miss part of all of next season. Knox, the Bears’ leading receiver with 37 catches for 727 yards and 2 touchdowns in 14 games last year, has lost 30 pounds since the injury and looked noticeably frail jogging as part of his rehab.

Given that he is acknowledging he could miss a significant portion if not the entirety of next season already in May, I’d say it’s very doubtful that he plays in 2012. The Bears probably agree as they brought in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery this offseason. They seem content going into 2012 with Marshall, Jeffery, Earl Bennett, and Devin Hester as their top 4 receivers. They’re also prepared for the possibility that Knox never plays again, a strong possibility given the recent spotlight on neck, spine, and head injuries and their post-career effect.

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According to the Chicago Tribune, Jay Cutler could be getting a long term deal from the Bears before Matt Forte. Cutler is due 16.17 million over the final 2 years of his deal, while Matt Forte has yet to sign his 7.7 million dollar franchise tender in hopes of a long term deal. These are the first real rumblings of a Cutler extension and an extension would likely not sit well with Forte, who was angered earlier this offseason when the Bears gave 3 million dollars per year to Michael Bush to be his backup.

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According to Head Coach Joe Philbin, the Dolphins will be selecting their starting quarterback in the preseason, before week 3, so they can get their starter a full preseason game of reps. The Dolphins are choosing between incumbent Matt Moore, veteran free agent acquisition David Garrard, and #8 overall pick Ryan Tannehill. Matt Moore was the predicted starter by owner Stephen Ross, as well as ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter believes Moore will be the starter until he is no longer producing and winning.

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One day after it was reported that Ray Rice wants Adrian Peterson money (7 years, 96 million, 36 million guaranteed), Jason La Canfora is reporting that Rice and the Ravens are talking. The Ravens reportedly will not even consider giving that much money to Rice, but the fact that they are talking is a good sign. La Canfora has called the talks between the two sides “constructive” and believes the two sides will agree on something in the neighborhood of 8.5 million per year over 5 years with 20-25 million guaranteed.

That contract would be on par with what Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy, and Chris Johnson have received in the last calendar year. That contract is also a good guess for what the Bears will give Matt Forte and what the Jaguars will give holdout Maurice Jones Drew. The situation doesn’t sound as bleak as it did yesterday if La Canfora is to be believed and it sounds like the two sides could come to an agreement before Training Camp and avoid a long holdout.

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The Lions slapped defensive end Cliff Avril with the franchise tender earlier this offseason. However, he has yet to sign the 10.605 million dollar tender. He and the Lions are in negotiations, but reportedly are not close. Avril wants to make that franchise tender amount for 4-5 seasons, according to NFL.com’s Albert Breer, who says Avril is shooting for 42 million over 4 years with more than half of that guaranteed.

The Lions, meanwhile, won’t budge from 8-9 million per year. Jason La Canfora, also of NFL.com, reports that the two sides are not close and not even talking at the moment. I would still say the two sides will get a deal done before Training Camp, but I can’t say for sure. Avril is undersized at 6-3 260, but has 30 sacks in 4 seasons after going in the 3^rd round in 2008, including 11 last year. He is also an ideal fit for the Lions wide nine scheme.

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Staying true to his word that there would be an open competition for starting quarterback, Pete Carroll is giving Matt Flynn, Tarvaris Jackson, and Russell Wilson equal reps in OTAs. Jackson is the incumbent and a mediocre starter for a 7-9 team with a 23^rd ranked offense last year. Matt Flynn was a big money offseason acquisition as Aaron Rodgers’ former backup. He’s played very well in 2 career starts. Russell Wilson was their 3^rd round pick and someone they’ve talked up endlessly this offseason. All signs right now are pointing to Flynn winning the starting job, Wilson being his backup, and Jackson, owed 4 million, will be cut as part of final cuts. Nothing is set in stone, however, and Carroll loves competition.

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The first major injury of OTAs happened today as Giants wideout Hakeem Nicks broke a bone in his foot. Nicks was given a time table of 12 weeks for recovery, which would put him back right around the end of August. Head Coach Tim Coughlin acknowledged that Nicks’ status for week 1 would be “close.” It’s definitely possible he’ll miss the entirety of the preseason, at the least. Despite catching 76 passes for 1192 yards and 7 touchdowns last season, he’s a risky pick atop fantasy drafts this year.

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Once a 2^nd round pick in 2009, Ron Brace is now on the roster bubble for the Patriots. A 330 pound defensive tackle, Brace has just 35 tackles, 3 for loss, and 1 forced fumble in 3 seasons and could be behind Vince Wilfork, Kyle Love, Brandon Deaderick, Myron Pryor, and Gerard Warren on the depth chart at defensive tackle. He’s facing an uphill battle to stay on the roster. He has been a rare miss by Bill Belichick early in the draft.

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When the Dolphins drafted Lamar Miller in the 4^th round of the 2012 NFL Draft, it didn’t fill a need at all at running back as they already have Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas. However, Miller was just too good of a value to pass on. The Dolphins are trying to come up with creative ways to get him in involved. He is expected to return kicks for them.

Now the Dolphins are also saying they will be using him some as a receiver, which makes a lot of sense since they have very little proven depth at receiver. Reggie Bush is still very injury prone so there’s a chance that Miller could end up seeing a good amount of snaps at running back. Bush is a free agent after the season so Miller, once projected to go in the 2^nd round, could have a much larger offensive role in 2013.

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When the Texans traded DeMeco Ryans this offseason, they did it presumably to get Daryl Sharpton some more playing time. Sharpton, a 2010 4^th round pick, was solid in limited action last season. The Texans also signed Bradie James this offseason. James, an aging veteran at 31, has 4 years of experience in Wade Phillips defense from Dallas. According to linebackers coach Reggie Herring, it is James, not Sharpton, who is the favorite to start week 1 for the Texans next to Brian Cushing. James’ best days are behind him so we still could definitely see Sharpton play a good deal this season.

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