Ryan For Dollars

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick will squeeze another year from a very improbable NFL career after being selected in the 7th round of the 2005 draft. He signed a one year/ $3 million deal with Tampa Bay and will be the backup to Jameis Winston.

He begins his 13th season with his seventh team after prior stops with the Rams, Bengals, Bills, Titans, Texans and Jets.

The league is starving for quality quarterbacks. In 116 starts, Fitzpatrick has a 46-69-1 record, along with a79.7 QB rating.

He will never make it to Canton, but he has defied the odds for a player coming out of Harvard.

Threat of Fire

Former Giants and 49er's RB Brandon Jacobs claims that he will get University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh fired, based on information he has.

He was very vague during an interview, but it's obvious that he has an axe to grind with the coach he played for one season with the 49er's.

The whole things seems very strange. Jacobs was near the end of his career when he signed with the 49er's as a free agent.

It remains to be seem how much this story stays in the news cycle.

Cruz To Maybe The End

WR Victor Cruz said the Giants purposely limited his role in the offense last season to make it easier to cut him and save money. This is rather hard to believe since he lost most of the two previous seasons to injuries.

The moved cost him millions that he might never recover. He just signed a one year deal with the Bears for a little over the minimum.

If he has a good season, he could cash in with a huge contract. Given his play last year, his main objective should be to make the roster. It's probably a good place to be because the Bears have a very bad offense.

Leave It To Odell

Odell Beckham Jr can't seem to stay out of the news. He decided to skip the OTA's of the Giants and train with Hall of Fame receiver Chris Carter.

These workouts are optional, but most players around the league attend them when scheduled. Beckham is taking a lot of heat from the media, but it doesn't seem to phase him.

Carter said that neither him or  Randy Moss ever attended OTA's. Beckham is on his way to becoming an elite receiver like these guys, but isn't there yet. He is sending a bad message to his team.

Say No To Tank Talk

Fans of the New York Jets really don't have that much to look forward to according to some in the media. Their situation at quarterback is considered one of the worst in the league. They lack offensive weapons.

The worst thing is to hear talk about the team tanking for the season in order to get one of the best quarterbacks in the 2018 draft.

It would be foolish for any team to place their future on either Sam Darnold from USC or Josh Allen from Wyoming.

Fans deserve better from ownership than talk about tanking the season to get one of the top draft picks.

Clayborn Gets The Call

It was great to see former CB Raymond Clayborn get elected to the Pats Hall of Fame. He had been nominated in recent years, but always lost out to players from the Belichick/Parcells era. His competition this year was Mike Vrabel and Richard Seymour.

Clayborn was a first round pick out of Texas in 1977. He played 13 seasons with the Pats from 1977-1989. He shares the team record of 36 career interceptions with Ty Law. He made the Pro Bowl in 1983, 1985 and 1986.

There are a number of outstanding players from the era prior to the Kraft family ownership. It's good to see one of the best finally recognized.

Time To Celebrate

It's about time the NFL stepped back from their micro-managing of player celebrations on the field. They will now allow them to do end zone dances, group celebrations and use the ball as a prop. It must all be in good taste.

Players were foolishly penalized in the past for doing just about anything. The league is trying to lighten up and make the game more fun. They obviously don't want any gang gestures or anything related to violence.

No Rush To Bush

Reggie Bush is one of those players who refuses to believe his career is over at 32. The free agent running back plans to play in 2017, but still needs to find a team that wants him.

He proved he has nothing left last season when he made history by becoming the first player to run the ball at least ten times for negative yardage.

In 13 games, he had 12 carries for -3 yards. Nobody is beating path to his door with those numbers.

Expensive Delays

On a positive note, the $2.6 billion stadium being built in Inglewood, CA for the Rams and Chargers is privately funded. That still hasn't prevented delays in building the place.

Reports indicate that it won't be ready until the summer of 2020 because construction has been effected by the excessive rainy weather the last few months.

Any delay could jeopardize the stadium from hosting Super Bowl LV in 2021.

I have no doubt that the stadium opening will delayed and the project will cost more than $2.6 billion.

No Visitors At The Island

I read an interesting story about the lack of any offers for free agent CB Darelle Revis. It's not looking good for him if he wants to make a lot of money. No matter if he plays or not, the Jets will be paying him $6 million this season.

If he ever hopes to get another big contract, he needs to play this season for whatever money he can get.

Finding The Bargains

In spite of all the hype around the NFL draft, every team looks for the gems among the undrafted free agents.

In 2016, 117 of 590 (19.8%)  of the UFA's made a Week 1 roster or Injured Reserve. Another 125 (21.2%) made a practice squad according to the NFLPA.

The Pats have an exceptional history of finding players like David Andrews, Brandin Bolden and Malcolm Butler.

They already guaranteed BYU linebacker Harvey Langi a base salary of $100,000 and a spot on the practice squad, with a chance to make the opening day roster.

There is no doubt that a UFA will make a major impact with the Pats this season.

Tom's Incident

It seems like Tom Brady's alleged concussion never happened. The NFL is happy with their quick look into it. They don't want any part of concussions with the game's biggest star.

I have no doubt that he probably had a one over the years. They are a bad part of the game.

Inside Tom's Head

The Pats will now be under the microscope again with the revelation by Giselle Brady that husband Tom suffered a concussion last season and other years. Assuming this is true, he never appeared on the team's injury report.

There are only two scenarios. Either he failed to inform the team or he was left off the injury report by them.

I have no doubt that media will stay on this. The league will get involved as they always do with anything related to the team.

This story will gain speed.

Stop At 14

CB Antonio Cromartie might be at the end of the road at 33 and no teams beating a path to his door. What does the future hold for him?

He will certainly have his hands full trying to pay child support for all of his kids. He just announced that he will become a father for the 14th time when his wife gives birth to their 6th child together.

The media makes his story into a big joke, especially since he already had a vasectomy. I think it's sad more than anything. Eight of his children are growing up without their father being a constant in their life.

He has already had child support issues. This is only going to get worse down the road.

Blount Boxed In

LeGarrette Blount probably wished he had taken a deal from another team if offered. At the last minute on Thursday, the Pats extended him a free agent tender. They can either match the offer from another team or let him go and get a compensatory draft pick.

This doesn't sound bad at first, but if Blount isn't signed by training camp, he will only be able to take the deal that the Pats offered.

It was a great move by the Pats to get an extra draft pick, but did nothing to help Blount.

No Curse For Brady

Tom Brady will be on the cover of the Madden 18 video game. There has always been talk about the curse from being on the cover. Some players have not had a great season after appearing.

We saw that last year with Rob Gronkowski who ended up missing most of the season after taking a devastating hit.

Other players have seen their production drop off. Brady refuses to fall for the curse. He has posted videos of himself mocking the issue.

There are fans who probably wished he never went down that road by being on the cover. Nobody knows how this will play out.

Brady turns 40 this year. Not too many players make it that far.

Looking Over Their Shoulder

A writer had an interesting column in the Boston Globe analyzing players on specific teams who might be impacted by the recent draft.

He mentioned LT Nate Solder and WR Julian Edelman for the Pats. Both are free agents after the end of the 2017 season. Edelman is turning 31 next week and Solder just hit 29.

For Solder, it looks very similar to 2011 when the Pats selected him in the first round while having Matt Light in place.

Edelman night be looking at his replacement in the form of undrafted Austin Carr and or in the recent trade for Brandon Cooks.

Wes Welker was 32 when the team decided to move on and go with a younger Edleman and Danny Amendola.

There will be some great battles in training camp for roster spots and later on during the season for playing time.

Twelve Years and Counting

WR Brandon Marshall has a new team with the Giants, but his goal remains the same. With the clock ticking down, he has never made the playoffs is his 12 seasons. He talks about that and winning a Super Bowl championship with the Giants great offense.

This is probably the last contract of his career. He has 12,061 receiving yards and 82 TD's, but is still waiting for his elusive playoff game.

He knows there is a chance that he will join a list of great players who never saw the post-season.

Floyd Gone

When the Pats signed WR Michael Floyd last season, it was done as an insurance policy for the last four regular season games and the playoffs.

The $1.2 million they paid him was controversial at the time, but it was a good idea in case of injuries to the other receivers.

It was inevitable that Floyd move on, which he did today. He signed a one year deal with the Vikings for $1.5 million. He faces a possible suspension because of his drunk driving arrest last season.

With the way the Pats work, Floyd could be back in 2018.

Money For Nick

Coach Nick Saban has the gig of his life at the University of Alabama. They like him so much that they extended his contract through 2024. He snagged a $4 million signing bonus and will have an average salary of $8.2 million.

We all know how he had a mixed record in the NFL as a head coach. He goes back to the days of  Bill Belichick and the Cleveland Browns as part of the coaching staff.

He has a great system in place that feeds players to the NFL. They are on so many rosters.

First Rounders Gone

Fans hear way too much about the importance of first round picks. Those players continue to get big dollars, but so many of them never pan out. Every team has stories about those who became a bust.

A recent statistic showed that the Houston Texans are the only team that still has all of its first round picks since 2008. This says a lot about the Texans.

The Pats shed first round picks like it's no big deal. They often trade down in the draft to get more value.

A Story for All

It's amazing to watch the NFL coaching changes at all levels. Teams like the Bills released all of their scouts and personnel who planned for the draft. The 49er's are doing their own thing.

There will be guys looking for a job in the NFL or maybe they go back to coaching at the college level.

There are many players wondering right now why they don't have one of the 90 jobs on a team's roster.

Everyone has story.

Money Out The Window

A week after the NFL draft, we can take a look at the winners and losers. Anyone who was drafted ahead of their projected slot made money. A number of players, for various reasons, fell to later rounds. In some cases, it cost them millions.

TE Jake Butt of Michigan was considered to be a first or second round pick before he suffered a torn ACL in the Orange Bowl. He fell to the fifth round before being selected by the Broncos with the 145th overall pick.

Lucky for him, he had taken out a $2 million loss-of-value insurance policy which gave him $543,000 because he was not selected by the top half of the third round.

In the end, after all the numbers were crunched, Butt will end up losing around $2.8 million over the lifetime of his rookie contract.

It's easy to see why some players don't want to play in the post-season. They can lose a lot of money if they get hurt.

Butler Shows

Malcolm Butler finally showed up at the Pats off-season conditioning program. He had avoided it until the draft was over because of the trade talks involving him.

Will Butler be with the team the entire season? Will they sign him to a new contract and avoid him becoming a free agent?

These are two questions that fans will never know the answer to. It remains to be seen what happens with him.

Cruz Not Dancing

Former Giants WR Victor Cruz must be wondering if his career is finished. After being released by them in February. He has been in contact with only Carolina and Jacksonville.

Most players look forward to their first time for being a free agent, but this isn't the case with Cruz. After seven years with the Giants, he is the man without a team.

His injury history and age is working against him. There are many undrafted players out there looking to take his place.

Blount's Landing Spot TBD

The NFL Network crew had an interesting discussion about the free agents still available. They include former Pats WR Michael Floyd and RB LeGarrette Blount.

Teams are probably waiting to see how many games Floyd will be suspended after his drunk driving arrest last year in Arizona.

It's a mystery why nobody wants Blount. Maybe they feel there are cheaper, younger and better running backs who can be signed.

Blount will probably get a job before training camp.

Mixing With Mixon

It only took one team to give controversial RB Joe Mixon a chance to play. The Bengals selected him in the 2nd round as the 48th overall pick.

He comes to Cincinnati with a huge amount of baggage. His video of striking a woman and breaking bones in her face will haunt him the rest of his life.

A local television station is already telling fans to boycott games. There is no doubt that Mixon had a brilliant career at Oklahoma, but this is very hard to overcome.

The team knew what they were getting themselves into. Only time will tell if this was a very bad decision.

Give Them Another Cyrus

It's hard to believe that some fans of the Pats are complaining because the team made so many trades and only selected four players in the recent draft.

I don't understand their logic. The team traded first and second round picks for two proven players. Coach Belichick is taking a different approach this year.

Apparently, fans want another Cyrus Jones like they got in the second round last year.