When healthy, Patrick Chung is one of the best safeties in the NFL. The Patriots’ defense is noticeably better when he’s out there. The 2009 2^nd round pick will be a free agent next offseason, but the Patriots have not yet opened contract talks with him, according to the Boston Herald. Given that he missed 8 games last season, they probably won’t talk contract with him at any time this offseason.

The Patriots rarely talk extensions with players and they probably want to see Chung make it through a whole season first before paying him. They’ll have the option to franchise him next offseason at a fairly reasonable rate if he plays well so there’s not a lot of risk of them losing him for nothing. The franchise tag value for safety this offseason was a mere 6.2 million, one of the lowest franchise tag values for any position. It won’t be much more next offseason and the Patriots are frequent users of the franchise tag.

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Tight end Martellus Bennett was a 2^nd round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2008 and while he established himself as one of the better blocking tight ends in the league, he never managed to break out as a pass catcher, catching just 85 passes in 4 seasons. Bennett certainly has the upside to become a better pass catcher, running a 4.68 40 at The Combine and catching 45 passes in his final season at Texas A&M in 2007.

Needing tight end help after losing both Travis Beckum and Jake Ballard to torn ACLs in the Super Bowl, the Giants signed Martellus Bennett this offseason and it seemed like a natural fit. It gave Bennett a chance to finally be an every down tight end and the Giants require all their tight ends be great blockers. Eli Manning has gotten good receiving production out of blocking tight ends in the past with guys like Kevin Boss and Travis Beckum so there was definite upside with the Bennett signing.

However, the Giants may find themselves disappointed. Naturally in the 265-270 range, Bennett weighed in at 291 at OTAs for the Giants and tight end coach Kevin Pope acknowledged this was “too big for his legs to carry.” Bennett is currently sitting out with hamstring problems. He has done nothing to shake the notion that he doesn’t have the work ethic to live up to his potential.

If Bennett can’t get into shape, the Giants’ other options at tight end are pretty slim. They include 4^th round rookie Adrien Robinson, a raw pass catcher who managed just 12 catches last year at Cincinnati, a bunch of inexperienced no names, as well as the potential that Beckum and Ballard can make it back at some point this season.

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The Titans’ interior offensive line was one of the most publicly scrutinized units in the league last year and their poor play was a huge part of the reason why Chris Johnson had the worst season of his career. The Titans haven’t made any upgrades at the positions this offseason, with the exception of signing veteran free agent Steve Hutchinson. However, they didn’t use a draft pick on any of the 3 interior line spots.

That being said, it appears Eugene Amano’s job at center is not safe for next season. Amano is currently out with a knee injury and career backup Kevin Matthews is working with the 1^st team in his absence. According to the Nashville Tennessean, career backup Fernando Velasco and undrafted free agent William Vlachos are also in the mix.

Competition certainly can’t hurt their production at the position and whoever wins the job likely can’t be worse than Amano was last year. Amano graded out as ProFootballFocus’ 32^nd ranked center last year out of 35. Only Philadelphia’s Jason Kelce, Chicago’s Roberto Garza, and Denver’s JD Walton ranked lower. Whoever wins the job will start in between Hutchinson and LeRoy Harris, their highest rated starting interior offensive lineman last season.

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Jeff Otah has played in just 4 games over the last 2 seasons thanks to knee injuries and he has lost his starting job to Byron Bell, who has played at right tackle in his absence. Even though he was once one of the top right tackles in the league and the 19^th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, Otah has to beat out Bell, who has struggled mightily in the last 2 years at right tackle.

Otah had a setback in the battle for the starting job this week when he tweaked the same left knee that has been giving him problems for the past 2 years. He underwent an MRI on the knee and everything is fine, but this is never what you want to see if you’re Jeff Otah or the Panthers. We’ll see if he’s back at practice next week, working with the 2^nd team and competing for his old job.

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As he enters the final year of his contract, Jaguars’ linebacker Daryl Smith says he will not hold out to get a new contract. Smith, who turned 30 this offseason, will make 4.7 million this year, which is a little low for one of the best and underrated linebackers in the league. ProFootballFocus graded him as the 2^nd best 4-3 outside linebacker in the league last year. He could still be extended this offseason or he could be a free agent next offseason.

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Andrew Whitworth is one of the most underrated players in the league. He graded out as ProFootballFocus’ #12 offensive tackle last year, #2 in pass protection, allowing just 3 sacks, 14 pressures, and committing 8 penalties. In 2011, he was ProFootballFocus’ #1 overall offensive tackle, allowing 3 sacks, 14 pressures, and committing 7 penalties, while grading positively against the run. He also graded well above average in 2009.

As he heads into his 30s, Whitworth, who turns 31 in December, has begun to focus more and more on conditioning. Whitworth says he’s shed 30 pounds and is now at 320 pounds. He was listed at 6-7 335, but this suggests he may have played last season closer to 350. He says he’s eating better and feels great about where he’s at now weighing 320 at 6-7. We’ll see how this translates on the field. My bet would be on another strong season from the Bengals’ left tackle.

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Kenny Britt missed most of last season with a torn ACL and needed additional surgery this offseason on the same knee, though it was a much more minor procedure. Nonetheless, it is not good news for the Titans and it puts his week 1 status in doubt. Today Titans’ head coach Mike Munchak said that Britt will be limited for the start of Training Camp at the very least. He has yet to start running after the May 16^th surgery.

Britt’s situation is definitely one to monitor, especially for fantasy football players as Britt has had 56 catches for 1046 yards and 12 touchdowns in his last 14 full games. The biggest problem is getting on the field for Britt being 100% when on the field. Even if he plays week 1, there’s no guarantee he’ll be 100%. Derrick Morgan had a similar surgery last offseason after tearing his ACL in 2010 and struggled all last year with just 2.5 sacks in 14 games, despite being the 16^th overall pick in 2010.

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Andre Brown was suspended earlier this offseason for 4 games after testing positive for a banned substance, but he got that suspension lifted today after an appeal. Brown only tested positive for Adderall, which he has a prescription for. Brown has spent the offseason bulking up and could actually be a big part of the Giants’ running game this year. Now at 240 pounds, Brown wants to be the “next Brandon Jacobs.” Neither Ahmad Bradshaw nor David Wilson are power backs so Brown could get some short yardage work this season for the Giants.

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The Titans have said they will be having a true quarterback battle between Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck this offseason and they are staying true to their word and giving reps with the first team evenly to each in OTAs. Mike Munchak has said he feels so good about both that he’s not leaning either way on the matter, but that he’d like to have a quarterback named by the 3^rd week of the preseason.

Hasselbeck and Locker are both good quarterbacks. Hasselbeck has seen better days and Locker probably will see better days as he heads into only his 2^nd year in the league, but either one could at least replicate the 9-7 season the Titans had last year. The Titans drafted extremely well, made nice moves in free agency, and get a few key players back from injury and should be able to compete for a playoff spot this year.

However, the old saying goes that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none so we’ll have to see what happens. Locker played better last season in limited action, but Hasselbeck is capable as well and they wouldn’t go through as many young quarterback up and downs with him. It’s definitely an interesting situation. The Titans are a team I don’t have a good grasp on right now. They could just as easily go 5-11 as they could go 11-5.

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