Packers’ Head Coach Mike McCarthy singled out one running back for praise today and it’s not who you would think. James Starks and Alex Green are probably bigger names, but Brandon Saine was the one that Mike McCarthy called the most consistent of the bunch today. Saine was an undrafted free agent in 2011, but not for lack of athleticism. He ran a 4.40 at 5-11 220 at Ohio State’s Pro Day in 2011, but only surpassed 70 carries in one of his 4 collegiate seasons, maxing out at 145 in 2009. He was decent last season, rushing for 69 yards on 18 carries and catching 10 passes.

Saine is currently 2^nd on the depth chart with Alex Green still not practicing after tearing his ACL last season. Green, 2011 3^rd round pick, managed just 3 carries last season before getting hurt. Even if he opens the season 3^rd on the depth chart, he won’t be behind any proven or durable backs. James Starks is injury prone dating back to his college days and still has just 162 career carries, while Green is still noncommittal about his availability for Training Camp. Saine has some fantasy upside as a deep sleeper. I wouldn’t draft him, but he’s a name to know as he could end up with a good amount of carries this season. He’s the reason the Packers let Ryan Grant go and didn’t draft another running back this offseason.

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There has been speculation this offseason that Darrelle Revis would hold out yet again for a new deal, fueled by the fact that his original new deal was heavily front loaded and only pays him 13.5 million over the next two seasons, as well as by Revis’ comments that he was noncommittal for Training Camp. One person in the know, ESPN New York’s Rich Cimini, believes that Revis will not hold out, though he admits that’s based off “gut feeling.”

Revis has been paid like the top cornerback in the league he is over the past 2 seasons, making 32.5 million, but is owed just 13.5 million over the next 2 seasons and probably wants to be paid that 16.25 million dollar rate into the future. In fact, I’m guessing Revis’ understanding when he signed the heavily frontloaded deal was that the Jets would pay him as the top cornerback in the league for 2 years and if he continued to be the best cornerback in the league over those 2 years, they’d give him a long term deal in the 2012 NFL offseason. It’s now the 2012 offseason and Revis held up his end of the deal.

At the very least, he’ll want more than the 60 million over 5 years that Nnamdi Asomugha got from the Eagles last offseason when he was almost 4 years older. We’ll know more about how serious he is if he skips the Jets’ mandatory minicamp this week. The Jets can fine him if he does that, but the fine amount will be a drop in the ocean compared to the kind of raise he’s looking for. At the same time, there’s also a good possibility that Revis gets his new deal without holding out.

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The Jets have not had any progress in their extension talks with former 1^st round pick Dustin Keller, who is heading into a contract year. Keller told ESPN New York today that he’s “frustrated” with the situation. Keller’s frustration is undoubtedly fueled by the fact that division rival Rob Gronkowski, who has 2 years less experience than him, just got 54 million over 6 years.

Keller is obviously not on the same level as Gronkowski, but he did have 65 catches for 815 yards and 5 touchdowns on a generally stagnant passing offense last year and probably ranks among the top-5 at his position, though the Jets would probably be wise to make Keller prove it again as he was a pretty marginal tight end in his 1^st three years in the league from 2008-2010. He’ll make just over 3 million in the final year of his 5 year rookie deal in 2012 and the Jets will have the option to franchise him pretty inexpensively next offseason. The franchise tag value for tight ends this offseason was 5.446 million. He could easily go into next season without a long term deal.

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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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