Andre Carter was a one year signing for the Patriots last offseason and he worked out very well, managing 10 sacks, despite tearing his quad in December and landing on IR. That torn quad injury, as well as his age, 33, has left Carter still on the open market without a suitor. Even though he is still not 100%, Carter has been working out for the Patriots and with team doctors as they try to evaluate whether or not he has anything left.

Carter was incredibly productive in New England’s system last year. They could still sign him, even though they have solid depth at defensive end with Trevor Scott coming in as a free agent, as well as two rookies, Chandler Jones and Jake Bequette, an incumbent Brandon Deaderick, who can play defensive end and defensive tackle, as well as two linebackers, Dont’a Hightower and Rob Ninkovich who can play there.

His age and his injury history are major red flags, but there’s really no hurt for the Patriots to bring him into camp and have him compete for a roster spot. They love using many different front 7 players and Carter was good enough last season to suggest he could still have something to offer this season. If the Patriots don’t offer him a contract, it’s unclear who will. There’s a slight chance Carter could be done at age 33.

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The Steelers aren’t close to a new deal with restricted free agent Mike Wallace and he is not expected to attend mandatory minicamp later this month. However, the Steelers are committed to doing a long term deal with him and are reportedly highly unlikely to decrease Mike Wallace’s tender, something they can do on June 15^th. They have the right to decrease his tender from 2.742 million to 577 thousand, but they won’t do that, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, because they feel that would be damaging to long term talks and don’t want to slap their #1 receiver in the face like that.

Mike Wallace said earlier this offseason that he was looking for Larry Fitzgerald money. Fitzgerald got 120 million over 8 years last offseason and in the time since Wallace asked for that type of money, Calvin Johnson got 132 million over 7 years. However, the Steelers probably don’t have the cap to do that type of deal even if they wanted to.

If he wants a long term deal, he’ll probably have to settle for Vincent Jackson type money (5 years, 55.5 million) or wait until next offseason when he can hit the open market, unless the Steelers franchise him at what would probably be around 9.5-10 million. Wallace doesn’t have a lot of leverage, but it’s good news for him that the Steelers are very interested in doing a long term deal with him and that they will not slash his salary.

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When the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Aaron Kampman in the 2010 offseason for 24 million over 4 years with 11 million dollars guaranteed, it looked like they were getting a steal. Kampman was just one year removed from being one of the league’s most feared pass rushers, with 37 sacks from 2006-2008. The only reason he was so cheap on the open market was because he was coming off a down year in Green Bay’s 3-4 (Jacksonville runs a 4-3, which Kampman had all of his production in from 2006-2008) and because he was coming off a torn ACL.

However, even though that ACL tear was the first major knee injury of Kampman’s career, he just couldn’t shake his leg injuries as a Jaguar. Injuries limited him to 4 sacks in 8 games in 2010 and caused him to miss the entirety of the 2011 season. The Jaguars cut him today, essentially admitting that he was 11 million dollars down the drain.

This move has been predicted for months as Kampman was owed 5 million in 2012. When the Jaguars used a 2^nd round pick on Andre Branch to play opposite Jeremy Mincey, who broke out last season, it sealed Kampman’s fate. At 33 years old in November, Kampman might not find a suitor on the open market and he certainly won’t unless he can prove his knee has anything left.

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Adrian Peterson, who tore his ACL last December, has remained very optimistic throughout his recovery and is insisting he’ll be fine for week 1, a recovery that would not be unprecedented since Wes Welker did it in less time. However, the Vikings’ coaching staff is not so certain. Head Coach Leslie Frazier says that backup Toby Gerhart has a “very good chance” to carry the load early on.

As much as Peterson wants to be out there week 1, it would probably be in the Vikings’ best interest to wait a bit on him. They probably won’t contend this year anyway and they don’t want to rush Peterson back. In Welker’s first season back from his ACL tear, he had his worst season as a Patriot. Besides, Gerhart is no slouch himself.

He is a former 2^nd round pick who rushed for 413 yards and a touchdown on 85 carries in his last 6 games last year. He has legitimate fantasy upside because it sounds like Adrian Peterson could easily start the season on the PUP. As for Peterson, he’ll be overdrafted. Even if he’s out there week 1, he won’t be his normal self and could lose carries to Gerhart anyway.

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There’s been talk of them doing so since the draft, but the Chargers signed a veteran running back today, signing Ronnie Brown, 31 in December, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles. This signing is hardly an indictment against Ryan Mathews, who the coaching staff has been talking up as a feature back all offseason. Brown carried the ball just 42 times last season behind another elite feature back, LeSean McCoy, and he wasn’t very successful in that role anyway, managing just 136 yards and a touchdown on 3.2 YPC.

This is more of an indictment on their confidence in someone like Curtis Brinkley, Edwin Baker, or Le’Ron McClain carrying the load if Mathews gets hurt. As long as Mathews is healthy, Brown figures to see no more than 3-5 touches per game, at best. At the same time, if he shows nothing in camp, Brown might not make the final 53.

Mathews still figures to get 300+ carries should he play all 16 games. He’s also projected to catch a lot of passes and score a lot of touchdowns in San Diego’s explosive offense with Mike Tolbert signing in Carolina. In fact, the fact that the Chargers signed a back like Ronnie Brown, not someone who had an impact somewhere last year like Cedric Benson or Ryan Grant.

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Saints interim Head Coach Joe Vitt has talked up 2011 undrafted free agent Joseph Morgan after his performance in OTAs. Morgan was also a standout in practice last offseason, but spent his rookie year on IR. Now heading into his 2^nd season in the league, Morgan has a chance to make the roster and Vitt has compared him to Robert Meachem, who the Saints lost this offseason and need to replace.

Devery Henderson is penciled in as the starter opposite Marques Colston to replace Robert Meachem, but he could be pushed by 4^th round rookie Nick Toon. Adrian Arrington is another internal option and it looks like Morgan is another long shot candidate for that job, while Lance Moore is solidified in the slot. Morgan’s a name to monitor in the Preseason for fantasy football purposes, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up too much.

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Bobbie Williams turns 36 in September and, after December ankle surgery, his former team the Bengals added two new starters at guard this offseason, Kevin Zeitler and Travelle Wharton. He said earlier this week he was still only 85% and the Bengals did not offer him a contract after he worked out with them so it looked like he could be done. However, he is not done yet after signing a deal with the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals’ division rival.

Williams is obviously not guaranteed a starting job with the Ravens, but they might have be able to offer him the best chance at one. After losing Ben Grubbs this offseason, the Ravens do not have a proven starter at left guard. They used a 2^nd round pick on Kelechi Osemele and have converted 2011 3^rd round pick Jah Reid, formerly an offensive tackle, but Williams provides a veteran option at the position. I would still guess that Williams would be a backup at best, if he even makes the roster. Whether or he does or not will depend on how his ankle continues to heal.

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Ziggy Hood made several starts last year in place of the injured Aaron Smith and graded out as ProFootballFocus’ worst 3-4 defensive end. However, Hood was a 1^st round pick in 2009 and the Steelers still have a lot of hope for him as he is expected to take over full time for the now departed Smith in 2012.

In an effort to make good on his upside, Hood, who admits he was sluggish down the stretch last season, says he has lost 20 pounds of fat this offseason and added 18 pounds of muscle and has dropped his body fat percentage from 24% to 18%. Hood will have the first crack at the starting job, but could be pushed by 2011 1^st round pick Cameron Heyward if he continues to struggle. Now that he’s in shape, he could easily have a break out year in his 4^th year in the league.

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According to the Contra County Times, it is Denarius Moore and not Darrius Heyward-Bey who will be the Raiders’ #1 receiver next season. This might sound strange because Heyward-Bey led the team in receiving by a large margin last season (64/975/4 as opposed to 33/618/5). However, Moore was just a rookie and played just 13 games.

He also actually outgained Heyward-Bey down the stretch once Carson Palmer arrived. In 6 games with Carson Palmer, Moore caught 19 passes for 406 yards and 3 touchdowns. For reference, in those same 6 games, Heyward-Bey caught 25 passes for 398 yards and 2 touchdowns. Moore has been the talk of Raiders’ practice all offseason, earning high praise from the coaching staff, quarterback Carson Palmer, and members of the media alike. Heading into his 2^nd season and his 1^st with a full offseason of reps, Moore could easily outproduce Heyward-Bey this season.

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