Former first round pick Beanie Wells has had an injury prone career, but finally got it all together last year to lead the team with 1047 yards and 10 touchdowns on 245 carries. However, after the season, he had yet another knee surgery, a minor one, but Wells is still not practicing and says he “doesn’t know” when he’ll be ready to practice. Wells was already facing a decrease in carries as 2011 2^nd round pick Ryan Williams returns from injury to steal some carries away and now he has this. It’s clear he probably won’t match the numbers he had in 2011.

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There was a time when Jeff Otah was one of the best right tackles in the game, young, and a former first round pick. However, thanks to knee injuries, Otah has missed all but 4 games over the last 2 seasons. He declared himself 100% earlier this offseason, which should be taken with a grain of salt, especially after he did the same thing last offseason, but Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera says he is going to be guaranteed nothing in terms of a starting job and that he will have to earn his job back from Byron Bell.

Though Rivera praised Bell in the same interview, Bell was one of the worst right tackles in the league last year, surrendering 7 sacks, 24 pressures, committing 12 penalties and grading out as well below average against the run, all this according to ProFootballFocus. Otah shouldn’t have much trouble beating him out for the starting job should he be, in fact, relatively healthy.

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Under Jeff Fisher, the Titans were a run heavy, defense, field position team, but with Fisher gone, it appears they’ve gone in another direction. They spent a 1^st round pick on a wide receiver, Kendall Wright, despite having 2 good under 30 ones, Kenny Britt and Nate Washington, and they also have a very good, young pass catching tight end in Jared Cook. They spent a 1^st round pick on a quarterback last year. They also ranked 30^th in the league in rushing attempts last year.

It appears things won’t be much different this year. In an interview, Nate Washington said he expects offensive coordinator Chris Palmer to install a more wide-open and explosive offense in 2012. They should be a fun and exciting young team to watch, especially if Jake Locker becomes their quarterback, as they compete for a playoff spot once again. In 2011, they were the only 9 win team to miss out on the playoffs.

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When the Cardinals kept Kevin Kolb on the roster, paying him a 7 million dollar bonus to do so, many believed that it was a sign that Kolb would be the starter until further notice. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Today Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt said there would be an even competition between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton.

Kolb was the organization’s big money investment as they gave up a 2^nd round pick for him and gave him a 63 million dollar deal over 6 years, though with minimal guaranteed money. However, Skelton might have actually outplayed him last season. Skelton went 6-2, whereas Kolb went 2-6. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Skelton won the job in camp and even if Kolb does, he could be on a short leash. If Kolb doesn’t lock down the job this season, he won’t be back in 2013. He’s owed 9 million again next season.

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In March, the Dolphins traded Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears for a pair of 3^rd round picks in a deal that was likely fueled mostly, but not entirely by Brandon Marshall’s recent charges in a fight at a night club in which he allegedly slugged a woman. However, after today’s news, the Bears have to be feeling like they got a steal.

According to attorney Harvey Steinberg, the charges were dropped against Marshall as they couldn’t find any evidence against him. Marshall shouldn’t face any discipline from commissioner Roger Goodell and could have one of his best career seasons as Jay Cutler’s #1 option once more. Meanwhile, the Dolphins are left with a receiving corps with no receivers that surpassed 549 yards last season. Marshall is worth a fairly high pick in fantasy drafts and the Bears could be a real sleeper team in 2012. Remember, they were 7-3 last year before Cutler and Forte got hurt.

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It’s arguable that no player is more valuable to his team right now than Drew Brees is to the Saints. Before he signed with them, there was talk that the Saints could leave New Orleans and now any talk of that nature would be ridiculous as Drew Brees has turned the Saints into a perennial contender and a Super Bowl Champion. Given how willing teams have been to resign their quarterbacks over the past few years, it’s ridiculous that Brees still does not have a long term deal.

The Colts gave Peyton Manning 90 million over 5 years last offseason despite a neck surgery and the Broncos gave Manning 96 million over 5 years this offseason despite 4 neck surgeries. The Patriots, notorious for being stingy with resigning their own players, gave Tom Brady 72 million over 4 years last offseason a year before his contract ran up. Michael Vick got 96 million over 6 years last offseason after just one good year. Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger all got similar deals before their contracts expired.

However, Brees was not given a long term deal last offseason and still does not have one this offseason and is still franchise tagged. This is ridiculous. The Saints couldn’t have legitimately thought Brees’ value would go down from last offseason to this. If anything, it went up after he broke Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record.

He’s worth almost anything they give him and now, more than ever, they need to resign him because they need some good press and karma after BountyGate. Brees’ situation is obviously very damaging for team chemistry. Brees can’t practice with new players and the other players will see the front office as one that isn’t looking out for them. Brees today said that he is, understandably, “extremely frustrated.”

My money is still on a deal being worked out before the July 16^th deadline for franchise players to be extended, because if he does play out the season under the franchise tag, the Saints would have a choice between paying him even more money under another franchise tag in 2013 and pissing him off more or potentially losing him to another team, but it doesn’t sound imminent and it needed to be done yesterday.

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There was speculation earlier in the offseason that long time Packer Donald Driver could be cut, but now it appears that he will be back on a restructured deal. His player rep today said that he expects his client and the Packers to work out a restructured deal after his client is done on Dancing with the Stars. Driver won’t be any higher on the depth chart than 4^th behind Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, and James Jones and could be 5^th behind 2011 2^nd round pick Randall Cobb.

Driver had a mere 37 catches in 2011, his worst total since 2001. However, Driver is a class act and one the Packers’ all-time greats, with 735 catches for 10060 yards and 59 touchdowns over 13 seasons, greatly exceeding expectations as a 7^th round pick out of Alcorn State. His 10060 yards ranks tied for 35^th all time with Shannon Sharpe.

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Antonio Gates was once one of if not the best tight ends in the league, but injuries have slowed him in the past 2 years, though 114 catches for 1560 yards and 17 touchdowns in 23 less than 100% games is not too shabby. Head Coach Norv Turner said today that Gates is back to his pre-injury form, though that should be taken with a grain of salt. Coaches often talk up their own players, sometimes even in somewhat of a delusional way.

Even if Gates is 100% right now, he is an injury prone player at this point and he turns 32 in June. We may never see the old version of Antonio Gates again, though this version still isn’t that bad. The Chargers lost Vincent Jackson this offseason and don’t have a proven true #1 receiver on the roster so Philip Rivers may rely heavily on Gates again this season as he did in 2010 when Vincent Jackson was holding out, especially in the red zone. He’s my pick to lead the team in receiving and a top 3 fantasy tight end barring a major injury.

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Today was not a good day for NFL players. Not only was Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain sentenced to 6 months in jail, Jets defensive tackle Kenrick Ellis was sentenced to 3 months in jail stemming from assault charges from an incident while Ellis was still at Hampton University. A 3^rd round pick in 2011, Ellis barely played as a rookie, but could still be a potential successor for an aging Sione Pouha at nose tackle.

Ellis should consider himself lucky that he got 3 months, rather than the 20 years or possible deportation that was being discussed for the Jamaican born Ellis. Ellis will also probably get a suspension from Roger Goodell so he might not play much this season, but the Jets weren’t really counting on him much this year because Sione Pouha is still a capable player.

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When Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma was suspended for the entire 2012 season for not only allegedly participating in the BountyGate scandal, but also funding it, he immediately appealed the suspension. Today, he took things one step further, sueing Roger Goodell for defamation of character. Vilma believes Goodell made public statements that were “false” and “injurious” to his professional reputation. Vilma also says that Goodell did not turn over any evidence to the accused.

It’s unclear if this lawsuit will be successful, but it probably won’t help him get on the field in 2012. The Saints are moving forward as if Vilma will not be a member of their team in 2012 and maybe never again. They signed 3 starting caliber linebackers this offseason in Curtis Lofton, Chris Chamberlain, and David Hawthorne and also have 2011 3^rd round pick Martez Wilson in the mix. If Vilma plays again in the NFL, it might be in a different uniform.

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