When the Eagles did not give DeSean Jackson an extension last offseason, heading into the contract year of his 4 year rookie deal, it made him upset and that translated to the field as he had a noticeably down season. The Eagles still franchise tagged him this offseason and shocked a lot of people when they signed Jackson to a 48.5 million dollar deal over 5 years.

The Eagles obviously thought that a new contract would keep him happy and producing on the field. DeSean Jackson’s comments today suggested that could be the case. Jackson said that there has been “100 pounds of stress” removed from his shoulders with the new deal and that he expects to have his best season ever in 2012. One of the league’s most emotional players, Jackson could have a great season once more in 2012, but we’ll have to wait and see.

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For a long time, the tight end was among the Raiders’ leaders in receptions and receiving yards. Zach Miller was once one of the best in the game on a receiving corps generally devoid of talent. Last season was the exact opposite. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore broke out at wide receiver and with Miller signing in Seattle, Kevin Boss really struggled.

Boss was cut this offseason and the Raiders didn’t really have the resources in terms of draft picks and cap room to get a new tight end so they’ll give David Ausberry, their 7^th round pick in 2011, a chance to at least be the receiving tight end, with Brandon Myers being almost solely a blocker. Ausberry has just 2 career catches and is converting from being a college receiver at 6-4 245, but the coaching staff has been very impressed with his pass catching abilities and feels he could be a real matchup problem in the seam for defenses.

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The Dolphins have arguably the most unresolved quarterback situation in the NFL with 3 guys who could easily be out there week 1. Matt Moore is the incumbent who game managed well down the stretch, but he is hardly a proven commodity. David Garrard is a proven veteran who missed all of last season with a back injury. Ryan Tannehill is the 8^th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft and their future at quarterback, but he might not be ready by week 1.

According to Adam Schefter, however, Tannehill will be the guy week 1, going as far as to say that it would be an “upset” if Tannehill wasn’t out there week 1. Schefter mentions that Tannehill already knows the playbook better than the other two quarterbacks as new offensive coordinator Mike Sherman was Tannehill’s Head Coach at Texas A&M and that the Dolphins like Tannehill too much for him not to be out there. Even if he’s not out there week 1, it sounds like it won’t be a long stay on the bench for Tannehill. If he starts week 1, it could easily be the first time 4 rookie quarterbacks start week 1 ever (Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin, Brandon Weeden).

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Titans Head Coach Mike Munchak is insisting that there’s an open competition between Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker to be the Titans starting quarterback, but you can add Adam Schefter to the list of people that thinks Hasselbeck is the favorite right now. That list includes Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt and ESPN AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky.

While it’s definitely possible that either one could win the job, it sounds like a lot of people in the know would be surprised if Hasselbeck wasn’t the week 1 starter. Schefter went as far as to say that Hasselbeck could start the whole season and that Locker would only play in case of injury, which was the case last season. However, that would be a peculiar decision. Locker was the 8^th overall pick in 2011 and outplayed Hasselbeck in limited action when Hasselbeck was hurt last year. Hasselbeck also turns 37 in September.

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Willis McGahee had a bounce back in 2011 at the age of 30, taking advantage of Knowshon Moreno’s injury and rushing for 1199 yards and 4 touchdowns on 249 carries. However, given McGahee’s age and Moreno’s inability to stay healthy, the Broncos used a 3^rd round draft pick on a running back, Ronnie Hillman. It appears that Hillman is already 2^nd on their depth chart behind McGahee and ahead of Moreno, according to the Denver Post.

McGahee will start the season as the lead back, but could struggle in his age 31 season without Tim Tebow forcing opposing front 7s to focus on him running the ball and not McGahee. Hillman could see more and more action as the season progresses, but at barely 200 pounds, there are questions about how much of a lead back he can be. The Broncos may have to address this position once more in the 2013 NFL Draft if McGahee struggles this year. As for Knowshon Moreno and Lance Ball, the report did not say where on the depth chart they were, but there was some talk that the injury prone Moreno could be cut earlier this offseason. If that’s the case, it could be Ball 3^rd and Moreno, a former 1^st round pick of Josh McDaniels, 4^th.

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Prior to the draft, there was a lot of talk and speculation about where Mike Wallace would play next season. Wallace was a restricted free agent of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which meant any team could offer him an offer sheet and if he signed it and the Steelers didn’t match, Wallace could be had for just a mere 1^st round pick. The Steelers were in cap trouble, which is why they didn’t franchise him in the first place, and if another team made an offer big enough, the Steelers wouldn’t be able to match. However, that didn’t happen.

Still, it doesn’t look like this Mike Wallace restricted free agent thing is fully resolved. Wallace, one of the league’s best young receivers and coming off back-to-back 1000 yard seasons at age 25, feels like he’s be underpaid at the 2.742 million dollar restricted free agent tender level and still wants a long term deal. Earlier this offseason, he said he wanted Larry Fitzgerald money, which is roughly 120 million over 8 years. That desire certainly didn’t go anywhere when Calvin Johnson’s deal actually surpassed Fitzgerald’s deal this offseason. Wallace clearly sees himself as a player on that level, even though he’s probably a tier below.

That being said, the Steelers probably don’t have the cap space to do that even if they wanted to, which I doubt they do because it’s not their style, so Wallace will probably have to accept that he’ll be playing this season under the restricted free agent tender. The Steelers have all the leverage here and they can legally slash the tender to 577K if he doesn’t sign it by June 15^th, if they choose to do so, though they said they wouldn’t. Either way, Wallace will probably have to wait until next offseason to get his big contract and since the Steelers could be in cap hell once again next offseason, he might have to get it elsewhere.

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One noticeable absence from the Raiders’ optional OTAs is middle linebacker Rolando McClain, one of their best defensive players. According to the Contra County Times, this is because of McClain’s assault case. McClain was arrested late during last season for allegedly putting a gun to another man’s head and the trial is set to begin on May 17^th. The result of the trial could determine whether or not he gets jail time and/or league suspension.

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Buccaneers’ 2^nd year player Da’Quan Bowers tore his Achilles earlier this month, the latest in what is seemingly a long line of Achilles injuries since the lockout ended, but the Buccaneers have not given up hope on Bowers returning late this season. GM Mark Dominik says that Bowers will be undergoing rehab with Shannon Merick, who is one of the best in the world at what he does and that maybe Bowers could play late in 2012.

Right now, that seems like a long shot as none of the players who suffered Achilles injuries last offseason played last season, but you never know. Whether or not he comes back late in the season will probably depend on whether or not the Buccaneers are still in it late in the season. If they’re out of contention, there will be no point to bring him back.

Bowers had a solid rookie year in a limited role after being taken in the 2^nd round in 2011, but they were obviously counting on him more in 2012. It looks like they may have to wait for 2013 for him to potentially have a breakout season. Once considered a possibility for the #1 pick, Bowers fell all the way to the middle of the 2^nd round thanks to concerns about his knee. His knee has been fine thus far, but his Achilles isn’t. In his absence, situational player Michael Bennett may have to become more of an every down player opposite Adrian Clayborn.

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The Bengals are moving forward from the Cedric Benson era in Cincinnati and going with a running back tandem of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Bernard Scott. Green-Ellis was their offseason acquisition from New England and Scott has been their backup for the past few years and someone they’ve said they’d like to get more involved in the offense.

Just how involved each back will be and how this timeshare could work out is yet to be determined but according to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Green-Ellis is the favorite to lead the team in carries. This makes some sense as they spent 9 million dollar over 3 years on Green-Ellis coming over from New England and Scott struggled to see the field even when Cedric Benson was struggling. I believe there’s a strong chance he starts the season as the lead back.

However, there’s a good chance BenJarvus Green-Ellis was just the product of the offense around him in New England and that he’ll really struggle on an inferior offense in Cincinnati. In that case, Scott could get more and more carries and eventually end up as the lead back. Whoever leads the team in carries, the Bengals figure to be one of the league’s worst teams on the ground once again. Both BJGE and Scott averaged less than 4 yards per carry last year. It wouldn’t shock me if 6^th round rookie Dan Herron started seeing significant carries down the stretch.

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Well we can cross another team off the list of teams that Cedric Benson could possibly sign with, a list that isn’t very long any more. After the Raiders reportedly said they were not interested last week, the team which Benson has led in carries for the last 3 years, the Cincinnati Bengals seem to be out of the question as well.

The Cincinnati Enquirer is saying that the “ship has sailed” between the two sides. Having gone on no visits this offseason, it’s possible Benson could be done or have to wait for an injury to make a roster. 30 years old in December, Benson has been one of the worst lead backs in the league over the last 3 years and with a history of off the field trouble, he might not be worth the trouble any more.

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