The Giants won the Super Bowl in February, but it wasn’t without loses as their top two tight ends, Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum, tore their ACLs. Ballard’s injury was the more serious of the two and, because he was not expected to be able to contribute at all in 2012, the Giants cut him outright today. Ballard’s agent did suggest that Ballard would likely be resigned by the Giants in 2013 when he’s healthy again. The Giants are his best fit. He was a no name prospect with no career catches before Eli Manning turned him into a capable pass catching tight end this season, something he did with a similar player, Kevin Boss, before. Boss has struggled since leaving the Giants.

Beckum, meanwhile, is still on the roster, but anything they can get from him this season is extra. The Giants drafted Martellus Bennett, who still has a lot of upside, and drafted Adrien Robinson in the 4^th round this offseason. They’re very thin at the position on paper, but Eli Manning has turned mediocre talents at tight ends into productive players before. Bennett has some fantasy football upside for this reason.

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So far, Matt Flynn has been the talk of Seahawks’ practices, but Pete Carroll today said that it was incumbent Tarvaris Jackson, not big free agent acquisition Matt Flynn, who has “his nose” in front in the starting quarterback competition. Russell Wilson has also been the talk of Seahawks’ practices, leading to some speculation that Jackson could actually be cut, with Wilson serving as Flynn’s primary backup. It’s clear that nothing is decided at this point, but I still predict Flynn will be the starter. He’s the more talented and highly paid of the two quarterbacks.

Jackson will have to continue his strong play to hold off Wilson as the backup. There’s already been some speculation this offseason that Jackson would have to take a pay cut down from his 4 million dollar salary to stay on the roster. In fact, Brock Huard of ESPN Seattle says he’d be “willing to bet” that Jackson has to take a pay cut.

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When Jason Peters, one of the top offensive tackles in the league, tore his Achilles in March, the Eagles signed Demetress Bell to replace him at left tackle, paying him 3.25 million to do so. Bell is a talented left tackle when healthy, but has only made it through more than 8 games once in his 4 year career, but in a weak offensive tackle class, he was the best option.

However, according to comments made by Head Coach Andy Reid today, Bell is not guaranteed of a starting job even if healthy. Reid says that Bell will have to compete with King Dunlap, their top reserve at the position last season, for the starting job. Bell figures to be the heavy favorite, based off of his salary and experience, but the fact that Dunlap is in the discussion says a lot about how unsure the Eagles are about the position.

Even if Bell wins the starting job, Dunlap could have to start at least a few games this season because Bell will probably get injured. He figures to be one of the league’s worst at the position if that happens. The good news is that starting quarterback Michael Vick is left handed so the right tackle is actually the blindside protector and right tackle Todd Herremans did well in that role last season. The bad news is that Vick is often injured as well and all of his backups are right handed, which would make the left side the blind side again.

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Maurice Jones Drew is the Jaguars’ best player and he has been noticeably absent from voluntary team activities so far this offseason as he is looking for a new contract. Jones Drew has two years left on his current contract, but he knows how short running back’s shelf lives are and he is very underpaid over the last 2 seasons of his current deal at a total of 9.4 million. He’s likely seeking a deal similar to what players like Chris Johnson, LeSean McCoy, and Arian Foster have gotten in the past calendar year, 8-9 million per year over 5 years.

The Jaguars, however, stated today that they have no such plans to even discuss a new deal with Maurice Jones Drew and want him to “fulfill the obligation” of his last 2 years, according to comments by GM Gene Smith. This seems a bit hypocritical because teams, the Jaguars included, frequently rip up the contracts of underperforming players rather than “fulfilling their obligation.” Though, perhaps, this Jaguars front office has never had a high profile player like Maurice Jones Drew so they don’t understand how this works and what it means when a guy earns a new contract.

MJD has not said whether or not he will attend minicamp, which is voluntary. If he skips it, the Jaguars can fine him 60K, but that amount of money is a drop in the ocean compared to what he could get in a new deal from the team if he takes his holdout seriously. We’ll have to see what happens. If he skips, he officially becomes a holdout and it would be a big sign that he’s serious about wanting a new deal. If he holds out officially, the Jaguars may soften their stance because he’s essentially their whole offense.

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The Patriots already gave out one record extension to a tight end this offseason, signing Rob Gronkowski to what might have been the first record extension to ever look incredibly team friendly. However, don’t expect them to do the same with their other stud tight end, Aaron Hernandez. According to the Boston Herald, the Patriots will not be talking extension with Aaron Hernandez this offseason.

Like Gronkowski was, Hernandez is under team control through the 2013 season, but the Patriots aren’t in any hurry to get him under contract. He’s the least valuable of their two tight ends and now that Gronkowski is extended, they’ll have the franchise tag free for Aaron Hernandez in the 2014 offseason if it gets to that point. Hernandez is owed just over a million over the next 2 seasons.

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Chris Johnson had his worst season as a pro last year, rushing for 1047 yards and 4 touchdowns on 262 carries. This down season was likely fueled by his holdout before the season, during which he reportedly got out of shape. However, he was better in the 2nd half of the season, carrying the ball 141 times for 681 yards and 3 touchdowns, good for 282 carries for 1362 yards and 6 touchdowns over 16 games.

Everyone around him is saying he’ll have a bounce back season and I would agree. As I just said, he got better as last season went on and he’s been working out incredibly hard this offseason to get back into shape. He normally skips all the voluntary offseason workouts to work out at home in Orlando, but he attended all of them this offseason. The Titans also improved their interior blocking this offseason, which also helps. He probably won’t be CJ2K again, but the 1364 yards and 11 touchdowns he had on 316 carries in 2010 are definitely in reach.

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Mike Jenkins has made it known that he’s disgruntled after losing his starting job as the Cowboys have brought in both Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne this offseason. He has requested a trade and has not gotten one yet. However, he still will report to the Cowboys’ mandatory minicamp next week. This could be strictly a monetary decision as the Cowboys could fine him for missing these, but Jenkins probably wouldn’t want to miss practice either way.

It doesn’t look like the Cowboys will be trading him and any missed practice time could drop him further on the depth chart. He’s still in the running to be the nickel cornerback, 3^rd on the depth chart. The Cowboys have gotten offers for Jenkins from 4 different teams, including the Colts and Lions, and have turned them all down while maintaining a public stance that Jenkins, a 2009 Pro Bowler, will not be moved.

There is still some speculation that the Cowboys could trade Jenkins later in the offseason, once they know Morris Claiborne hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his recovery from wrist surgery. That, of course, is contingent on all of their cornerbacks staying healthy. At the same time, the Cowboys could keep all 4 of their cornerbacks, Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Orlando Scandrick, and Jenkins, and try to get them on the field often to try to mask their lack of talent at safety.

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Daniel Thomas was a 2^nd round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2011, but struggled as a rookie, rushing for just 581 yards on 165 carries (3.5 YPC), catching  only 12 passes for 72 yards, and only scoring once. Today, Thomas blamed injuries for his struggles as a rookie. If that’s true and he’s healthy in 2012, he could have a breakout year.

He’s a very talented player and Reggie Bush is hardly a proven durable lead back. Thomas could see a good amount of carries this year and do a lot with them. At the same time, he could struggle and the Dolphins did bring Lamar Miller in through the draft (4^th round) to push him. Ideally though, they’d like Miller to be a successor for Bush in 2013 as a compliment to Thomasn and beyond as Bush is a free agent next offseason.

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Justin Blackmon had a very high profile DUI earlier this month and now another NFL player and has been arrested for the same thing. David Diehl, an offensive lineman for the New York Giants, was arrested Sunday night for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.18. Diehl was the Giants’ left tackle when they won the Super Bowl in 2008 and was a starter for the Giants when they won against last season, but he played very poorly.

In 20 games en route to the Super Bowl, Diehl allowed 13 sacks, 61 quarterback pressures, and committed 6 penalties, while splitting time at tackle and guard. He was one of the worst offensive linemen in the league last year and his future was already up in the air with the Giants. Diehl, 32 in September, has been moved to right tackle this offseason and could lose a starting job to James Brewer, a 4^th round pick in 2011. This arrest certainly won’t help his cause.

He may have to serve as a 6^th offensive lineman next season, though he’d be a versatile one at that. Kevin Boothe has the inside track to start at Diehl’s old spot at left guard, while William Beatty will remain at left tackle, where he hopes to finally be able to stay healthy. David Baas and Chris Snee will round out the starting lineup at center and right guard respectively.

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