Brandon Weeden was a 1^st round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2012 NFL Draft, but, as the Browns are doing with all of their rookies, they’re making Weeden earn the starting job from incumbent Colt McCoy. However, Weeden is impressing in OTAs and may not have to wait much longer to be named the starter.

Head Coach Pat Shurmur said today that he’d like to name starters “sooner rather than later” and compared the quarterback competition to the one between Sam Bradford and AJ Feeley in St. Louis in 2010 where Shurmur was the offensive coordinator. Feeley was the veteran and they made Bradford earn his starting job as a rookie, but he was still named the starter before Training Camp over the inferior veteran. We could definitely see the same thing happen in Cleveland this year, especially since the Browns tried to trade Colt McCoy during the draft.

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According to ESPN Cleveland’s Tony Grossi, the Browns were never actually interested in Matt Flynn or Ryan Tannehill and that their interest in Robert Griffin was never serious. This report reeks of the Browns trying to sell to their fan base the fact that they had to “settle” for the oldest 1^st round pick ever, Brandon Weeden. The Browns did a similar thing earlier this offseason, saying that they had no interest in adding any free agents only after they desperately tried and eventually failed to sign Pierre Garcon.

I can buy that the Browns didn’t view Matt Flynn as a starter and weren’t sold on Ryan Tannehill being worth the 4^th overall pick, but reports earlier this offseason said the Browns desperately tried to match the Redskins offer for the Rams pick, to grab Robert Griffin, with no luck. The Browns are now left with Brandon Weeden, who is impressing in OTAs, but he was far from a polished prospect coming out of Oklahoma State and turns 29 this season.

The Browns didn’t even originally plan on drafting Weeden 22^nd overall, instead desiring Kendall Wright, who went two picks earlier. The Browns are counting on Weeden, Trent Richardson, and breakout season from Greg Little to add life to an offense that ranked 30^th in the league with 13.6 points per game, despite nailing 7 50+ yard field goals and turning the ball over a mere 19 times.

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According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, unsigned franchise player Drew Brees is seeking 20.3 million yearly from the Saints in his new contract. This report comes one day after ProFootballTalk reported that the Saints were offering 18-19 million per year. It’s good news that the two sides are closer now than they were earlier in the offseason, but guaranteed money is still a sticking point Brees will still not be attending mandatory minicamp next week. The two sides have until July 16^th to come to an agreement on a deal. I expect them to get a deal done that pays Brees somewhere between 95-100 million over 5 years with about half of that guaranteed. That would make him the highest paid player in the league.

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Kevin Barnes played in the slot for the Redskins last year, but played very poorly. DeAngelo Hall will be lining up on the slot this year, in addition to playing outside as a starter. Cedric Griffin, a free agent acquisition, will also play in 3-cornerback sets with Hall and Josh Wilson. Buried on the depth chart at cornerback behind those 3 and possibly Morgan Trent, Barnes is seeing some reps at safety in OTAs.

Barnes would have a much better chance to establish himself at safety because of who the Redskins currently have at the position. Tanard Jackson, Brandon Meriweather, and Madieu Williams are all mediocre talents at best who were mostly unwanted this offseason, while Reed Doughty struggled mightily last year for the Redskins and DeJon Gomes is inexperienced. Either way, Barnes, a 2009 3^rd round pick, is not guaranteed a roster spot in 2012.

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Derrick Ward was the Texans’ 3^rd string running back behind Arian Foster and Ben Tate last season, but the Texans signed Justin Forsett to play in that role for this season after Ward averaged just 3.4 YPC last year. Ward is still without a job and turns 32 in August. Ward tweeted that he’s going to “take some time off now & c what I want 2 do.” That sounds like code for retirement.

Ward played 6 years in the league, rushing for 2628 yards and 12 touchdowns on 551 carries. His best season was in 2008 when he rushed for 1025 yards and 2 touchdowns on 182 carries for the New York Giants. He turned that into a lucrative contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but was a huge disappointment and they cut him after just 1 season. He spent the last 2 years in Houston as a backup.

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Bobbie Williams has been a long time Bengal and was a starter as recently as last year, starting in 9 games and missing 7 with injury. Williams had ankle surgery in December and says he’s about 85% right now. However, even though Williams played well last year, he turns 36 in September. The Bengals added two new starters at guard this offseason, Travelle Wharton as a free agent and Kevin Zeitler in the 1^st round of the draft, leaving Williams without a starting job. He worked out for the Bengals last week, but they don’t appear to have any interest in signing him. He might not get an offer anywhere and could have to retire after 13 years in the league.

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Sherrod Martin was a starter at safety for the Panthers last year, but he struggled so they added Haruki Nakamura to give him some competition. Martin is still starting at safety for the Panthers in OTAs, but according to the Charlotte Observer, the Panthers could have a platoon at safety with Martin playing on passing downs and Nakamura playing on running downs.

This makes sense since Martin was especially poor against the run last year, ranking 76^th out of 87 safeties on ProFootballFocus against the run, missing 15 tackles and recording only 12 total “stops” and 68 tackles. In coverage, Martin was slightly better, ranking 51^st, allowing 24 completions on 36 attempts for 361 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and 5 deflections. Overall, he ranked 59^th, which is pretty below average. Nakamura has played decent in a backup role in Baltimore over the past few years and should see more playing time this year.

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Once viewed as an elite prospect, Taylor Mays fell to the 2^nd round in 2010, where he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. Many felt the 49ers got a steal with him there, but he turned out to be the exact opposite of a steal for them. Mike Singletary, his biggest backer, was fired after Mays’ rookie year. Jim Harbaugh came in, decided he didn’t like Mays and shipped him to Cincinnati for a pack of peanuts. In his first year in Cincinnati, Mays played just 61 snaps.

Heading into his 3^rd year in the league, Taylor Mays seems to be getting his first chance at a starting job. He’s working out with the 1^st team in OTAs after the Bengals cut long-time starter Chris Crocker this offseason. He will have to hold off two other inexperienced players, Jeromy Miles and Robert Sands, as well as 5^th round rookie George Iloka, for the job. Mays has the inside track right now. He’s a perfect fit for Mike Zimmer’s system, which has had success with similar players like Roy Williams in the past, both in Cincinnati and in Dallas. If he can’t succeed in Cincinnati, he likely won’t succeed anywhere.

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Atari Bigby was a starter at safety for the Packers a few years ago, but injuries have sapped his abilities and turned him into a reserve for the Packers and Seahawks over the past few years, when healthy. Now in San Diego, it appears Bigby will be given another shot to start. Bigby is working out with the 1^st team in OTAs, ahead of 3^rd round rookie Brandon Taylor, but nothing is set in stone. Bigby probably doesn’t have much left as a player and the fact that he’s currently starting shows just how desperate the Chargers are at the position next to Eric Weddle. Unless Bigby has a really strong offseason, I see no reason why the rookie Taylor can’t start week 1.

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Brian Rolle was a starting linebacker for the Eagles last season, but given how poorly the Eagles’ linebackers played as a whole, that’s not necessarily a good thing. In fact, the Eagles have already added two new starters in their linebacking corps this offseason, DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks, and Rolle remains the only incumbent starter, at least for now.

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Rolle’s future might be as a “situational player and a special teams ace,” which makes a lot of sense given his lack of size (5-10 227). That’s not a good sign for Rolle, who is in competition with Jamar Chaney, who was the incumbent starting linebacker on the opposite side last year. The smart money seems to be on Chaney starting at his 3^rd different position in 3 years in the league and playing the weak side for the Eagles this year, over Rolle.

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