The Seahawks made a surprise pick in 2011 when they took James Carpenter 25^th overall, over higher rated tackles like Gabe Carimi and Derek Sherrod. Most places didn’t see Carpenter as anything higher than a 2^nd round pick. Their controversial pick didn’t get any better when Carpenter struggled as a rookie, before finishing the season on IR with a torn ACL. Some Seahawks fans were expecting a better year from Carpenter in his 2^nd year, which often happens with young players. However, according to the National Football Post, those folks could end up disappointed.

They are reporting that there’s a “decent” chance that Carpenter misses the entirety of the 2012 season with that torn ACL. It almost certainly sounds like he’ll start the season on the PUP list. Carpenter has the ability to play both tackle and guard so his loss hurts as they try to patchwork an offensive line that already made Robert Gallery a cap casualty this offseason. Veterans Paul McQuistan and Breno Giacomini are expected to fill in for Gallery and Carpenter respectively. The Seahawks offensive line was one of the worst in the league last year thanks to injury and it might not get any better in 2012, even if John Moffitt and Russell Okung are healthy, which they are expected to be.

The Broncos made a controversial decision to sign Ty Warren to a 2 year, 8 million dollar deal with a 2.5 million dollar signing bonus last offseason. It didn’t get any better when Warren, who had missed the entirety of the 2010 season with a hip injury, needed surgery on his triceps that ended up costing him his entire 2011 season as well. He’s owed 4 million dollars in 2012, a ridiculous amount for someone who hasn’t played since 2009, and the Broncos are logically asking him to take a pay cut to the 1-1.5 million dollar range.

Warren is refusing and it could end with him getting cut, meaning the Broncos would have paid him 2.5 million dollars for absolutely nothing. Warren would be smart to take the pay cut because I doubt he gets anything close to that amount guaranteed on the open market. Denver is still one of the neediest teams at defensive tackle, even after taking Derek Wolfe in the 2^nd round in April’s 2012 NFL Draft so they’d need Warren more than anyone would. On the open market, he might not find a single taker. We’ll have to see how this plays out.

Mike McCoy said today that Peyton Manning’s 1^st and 2^nd reads would often be tight ends in the Broncos’ offense. Given the way their receiving corps stacks up, this makes a lot of sense. They have two solid tight ends in Jacob Tamme, who caught 67 passes in 10 games with Peyton Manning in relief of an injured Dallas Clark in 2010, and Joel Dreessen, one of the league’s top #2 tight ends for years in Houston.

Meanwhile, at wide receiver, Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas, who traded off being the #1 receiver last year depending on the quarterback, will start. For depth, they have the unproven Andre Caldwell and an aging and mediocre Brandon Stokley. It makes a lot of sense that the Broncos would go with two-tight ends whenever possible in 2012.

Had Jonathan Massaquoi been able to come out of college after his 2010 season, in which he managed 12.5 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss, he could have been a high pick. He declared in 2011 despite a disappointing season in which he managed just 10.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks and ended up going in the 6^th round to the Atlanta Falcons due to questions about his motor, passion, and consistency.

The Falcons are obviously hoping they can get the 2010 version of him so they had to be happy when Massaquoi weighed in at 260 at Falcons rookie camp, down from 275 at The Combine. If he can stay in shape, he could regain the explosion the tape showed in 2010 and compete immediately for snaps as a nickel rusher on a Falcons team starved for pass rush.

How does the FBS’ all time leader in career receptions end up going in the 2^nd round? Well lack of size was one problem for Ryan Broyles, but a torn ACL was another. If Broyles can stay healthy, he could be a steal for the Lions, who hope he can be a dynamic receiver out of the slot for them long term with Calvin Johnson and Titus Young on the outside.

He ran in the low 4.6s, high 4.5s at his Pro Day earlier in April and is still rehabbing and Head Coach Jim Schwartz said he could be ready for week 1. The Lions would not be wise to rush him back, however, as Broyles would likely start his career as the #4 receiver either way, behind Johnson, Young, and veteran Nate Burleson. It seems like Broyles will have to wait until 2013, when Burleson could be gone, to have any sort of major impact.

Had Omar Bolden played in 2011, he could have been a 2^nd or even 1^st round pick, but he missed the entirety of the season with a torn ACL. He was not 100% at The Combine, but the Broncos took a chance on him in the 4^th anyway, not needing cornerback help right away. Champ Bailey, Tracy Porter, Chris Harris, and Drayton Florence can man the fort in 2012, but Florence is over 30 and struggled as a starter in Buffalo last year, Bailey is 35 next offseason, and Porter will be a free agent next offseason.

Bolden is someone they are hoping can have an impact for them in the future with young Chris Harris as well. Bolden claims he’s 100% healthy now and even if he isn’t, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he was by the start of the season. Still, with the logjam at cornerback for now, Bolden is not expected to be anything other than a 5^th cornerback and special teamer. He could be in the mix as a return man, however.

The holder of the NFL’s single season touchdown record, LaDainian Tomlinson, confirmed today what many had expected since the season ended. That he was done playing football. Or at least “pretty much done.” LT stopped short of an official retirement, but after early this offseason saying he was “95% retired” and that it would take the “right situation” for him to retire, you can basically connect the dots and assume that Tomlinson is done playing football. It’s very possible that Tomlinson, who turns 33 in June, didn’t get any takers after averaging 3.7 YPC last season over 75 carries with the Jets.

If he does, indeed, retire officially this season, he’ll do it as the NFL’s 5^th all-time leader in career rushing yards, with 13,684, and 3^rd all-time leader in career touchdowns with 162, which puts him only behind Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. Tomlinson played 9 seasons with the Chargers and 2 with the Jets, with his best coming in 2006, when he set the all-time mark with 31 touchdowns in a season. If he does, in fact, retire this offseason, we can expect to see him entering the Hall of Fame in Canton in 5 years.

The Panthers used the 9^th overall pick on linebacker Luke Kuechly back in April’s 2012 NFL draft after they lost both Jon Beason and Thomas Davis to injury in 2011. Beason’s injury was the first major one of his career, but Davis has torn his ACL 3 times. The Panthers, however, do expect both to be healthy for the start of the season. Beason will keep his starting job in the middle, but Kuechly has been penciled in at weak side linebacker, Davis’ old spot. Davis will likely need an injury to either Kuechly or strong side linebacker James Anderson to earn a starting job, assuming he, in fact, can even still play after 3 ACL tears. That doesn’t happen very often.

The Browns used the 22^nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft on Brandon Weeden, quarterback out of Oklahoma State, making the 28-year-old the oldest player ever to be drafted in the 1^st round. The Browns are counting on Weeden, who spent 5 years playing minor league baseball before attending Oklahoma State for football, to have an immediate impact for a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in seemingly forever.

However, according to the Akron-Beacon Journal, Weeden is reportedly struggling with a fundamental part of the quarterback position, taking snaps under center. This makes some sense as he spent most of his college career in the shotgun, rather than under center. This shouldn’t be a huge deal for the Browns as it’s a fairly easy skill to learn with practice. Weeden is still expected to be their week 1 starter over incumbent Colt McCoy.

Eagles’ starting tight end Brent Celek had both shoulder and hernia surgeries this offseason, but Andy Reid doesn’t seem too worried about his status for the start of the regular season. Celek is fully expected to be out there week 1, but Andy Reid would not commit to saying Celek would be ready for the start of OTAs. Reid is normally very secretive with the media so I wouldn’t read much into this, but it’s a situation to monitor.