When the Lions selected Nick Fairley 13^th overall in 2011, it was viewed as possibly the steal of the draft by many. Fairley was coming off a 12.5 sack season as a defensive tackle for the NCAA Champion Auburn Tigers and was once a candidate for the #1 overall pick. However, he seems to be the exact opposite of a steal so far. He didn’t play much as a rookie thanks to injuries and while the Lions had high hopes for his 2^nd season in the league, Fairley doesn’t seem to care.

Earlier this offseason, Fairley was arrested for a marijuana related offense and just when it was starting to look like he’d avoid suspension, after entering in the NFL’s substance abuse program, Fairley was arrested for drunk driving early this morning. He’ll almost definitely face some sort of suspension now and is probably going to be in the Lions’ doghouse again. With plenty of depth at the position, the Lions don’t need Fairley and he could end up having another lost season in 2012.

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The Cleveland Browns selected John Hughes in the 3^rd round of the 2012 NFL Draft in a move that surprised everyone. Hughes was widely projected as a 6^th or 7^th round pick if he got drafted at all. Even Hughes himself didn’t plan his draft party until day 3 of the NFL Draft (rounds 4-7) because he didn’t expect to be drafted before then.

Hughes was drafted for purely depth reasons, but when starter Phil Taylor tore his pectoral, putting his season in danger, the Browns had a need for their depth. While veteran Scott Paxson is currently working out as the starter in place of Taylor, the Browns have been very impressed with Hughes, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. They may just be making him earn his way into the starting lineup, but it’s looking like he’ll start there week 1. 6^th round rookie Billy Winn, a surprise of another kind (a surprise slip), is another candidate.

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The Cowboys have already said publicly that they will not be moving disgruntled cornerback Mike Jenkins, who lost his starting job this offseason with the additions of Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. The Cowboys have already essentially hung up on at least both the Colts and Lions, who have come asking about Jenkins, who wants to be a starter somewhere.

ESPN’s John Clayton chimed in on the situation today by saying that the Cowboys won’t trade Mike Jenkins, but added until Training Camp. If Clayton is right, this could suggest that the Cowboys only want to keep Jenkins in case of injuries to one of the 3 guys ahead of him on the depth chart, or if there are any further setbacks in the recovery of Morris Claiborne from wrist surgery. If all goes well injury wise at cornerback for the Cowboys, they could be willing to part with Jenkins for the right price in July or so. We’ll see if teams are still interested then and at what price.

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In an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, Chargers Head Coach Norv Turner said that he believes Ryan Mathews could lead the league in rushing. Normally everything coaches say should be taken with a grain of salt, especially something from a coach as publicly criticized as Turner, as coaches often overestimate their own talent. However, this was a belief I had before Turner said anything so this just solidifies it.

Mathews is a former 12^th overall pick (201) and the Chargers really don’t have much in the way of backup options behind him. Gone is touchdown vulture Mike Tolbert (21 touchdowns in the last 2 seasons) and right now all the Chargers have is Curtis Brinkley and his 32 career carries, 7^th round pick Edwin Baker, and fullback Le’Ron McClain. Turner has always preferred one workhorse back over multiple specialized backs and it appears he’s finally comfortable with Mathews in that role.

On an offense as explosive as the Chargers, with as much talent as he has, if Mathews gets 300 carries, he could easily lead the league in rushing. Injuries might be the only thing that will stop him from those 300 carries. Last year, Mathews and Tolbert combined for 1581 rushing yards on 343 carries, 16 total touchdowns, and 104 receptions. And that was a down year for San Diego’s offense. There’s a reason why Mathews is my #3 fantasy back.

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A day after it was reported by ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss that it would be Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, not veteran free agent acquisition Joseph Addai, that would get the bulk of the carries for the Patriots, the Jeff Rowe of the Boston Herald is reporting that Shane Vereen is getting all of the 1^st team work in OTAs.

That being said, I wouldn’t read too much into Vereen being 1^st string and Ridley 2^nd because Belichick has never been one for using just one back. Both were high picks a year ago and he’ll use both in different roles. Ridley will probably see the goal line carries, but this could be a sign that Vereen will lead the team in carries. Danny Woodhead will continue to work as a passing down specialist, while Rowe seconds Reiss’ suggestion that Addai is no lock to make the final 53 at 29 years of age.

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The Browns may have traded up to use the 3^rd overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft on Trent Richardson, but according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Brandon Jackson will be used on 3^rd downs. This move is consistent with what Head Coach Pat Shurmur normally does, taking his feature back out on 3^rd downs. He did so in St. Louis with Steven Jackson when he was their offensive coordinator in 2010 and then again last year in Cleveland with Peyton Hillis.

Richardson is a rookie, so he’s obviously raw in pass protection, even coming over from being coached by Nick Saban. Meanwhile, Brandon Jackson’s specialty is pass protection. This would leave Montario Hardesty without a clear role, but according to the same Cleveland Plain Dealer report, the 2010 2^nd round pick is not likely to be cut. Instead, they believe it will be Chris Ogbonnaya who will be cut, unless he can prove himself as valuable on special teams. Obviously the Browns view Hardesty as the better of the two as a pure runner and want him around in case something happens to Richardson.

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Pete Carroll has said it will be a true competition for starting quarterback between incumbent Tarvaris Jackson, free agent acquisition Matt Flynn, and 3^rd round rookie Russell Wilson. He’s been true to his word so far, alternating 1^st string quarterbacks in OTAs on a daily basis. According to Pro Football Weekly, however, Flynn has been “by far” their best quarterback.

That statement would go along with what everyone has believed since Flynn signed a 3 year, 19.5 million dollar deal with 10 million guaranteed, that he will be their week 1 starter. Carroll loves competition and obviously is not going to name a starter at this point and maybe not until after Training Camp or later, but it wouldn’t shock me if they started giving Flynn more reps with the 1^st team in the coming days. It’ll be interesting to see if they do that. I’ve said all along that Flynn will be the starter and Russell Wilson will be the backup, making Jackson and his 4 million dollar salary expendable and leading to his release. Obviously, nothing is set in stone yet.

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Matt Forte was franchised by the Chicago Bears earlier this offseason and he has not been happy about it. Forte is refusing to sign the 7.7 million dollar tender as he’s looking for a deal worth 8.5 million or so per year over 4-5 years with about half guaranteed: a deal essentially on par with what LeSean McCoy, Chris Johnson, and Arian Foster have gotten in the last 2 seasons. He also took serious offense when the Bears signed Michael Bush to a long term deal, even though it was to be his backup.

The Bears are refusing to meet Forte’s demands, as they have been doing for over a year, since the old regime in the front office. According to the Chicago Tribune, the reason behind this is that they’re worried about his knees. This seems to be a bit of a strange belief as Forte hadn’t missed any games due to injury in his NFL career before last season when he went on IR with a sprained MCL. Forte did tear his PCL in college and sprain it again in 2009, a minor injury, but what running back or what NFL player in general has never had a knee injury?

The Bears obviously know better about Forte’s knees than I would, but I do think the story sounds peculiar. Forte’s agent had a different word for it, calling it “absurd,” pointing to the fact that I just brought up, that Forte hadn’t missed a game due to injury in his NFL career before last year. If the Bears are, in fact, worried about Forte’s knees, they won’t give him what he wants and that means this could be a long, drawn out, and messy hold out. It wouldn’t shock me if the Bears traded Forte before the season, as they did give Michael Bush, who has some starting experience, a good chunk of money this offseason. Also Kahlil Bell played decent down the stretch in place of an injured Forte last season.

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