Some of the press in Boston is speculating that Laurence Maroney may have a knee injury that is more serious than the team is letting on, but the Globe reported, “Whatever is holding (Laurence) Maroney back isn’t expected to be a long-term situation.” The Pats are notoriously tight-lipped about injuries (anyone remember Deion Branch being questionable for an entire season a couple years ago?), so don’t expect Bill Belichick to shed light on this any time soon…Speaking of Branch, based on a statement released by the team – “No trade has been consummated. Deion Branch remains under contract to the New England Patriots.” – it looks like he’s going to stay with the Pats, at least for the time being…Seattle’s involvement in the Branch situation makes you wonder how confident they are in the knee of Darrell Jackson. He is supposed to practice next week in preparation for Week 1. The team already signed Nate Burleson to a pretty big contract, so throwing Reggie Wayne-type money at Branch (supposedly that’s what he wanted) seems superfluous…If Branch continues his holdout, expect TE Ben Watson to be the big beneficiary. His ADP has moved upward the past few weeks, and now he’s a pretty solid pick in the 8th round…Steve Smith had an operation to remove an in-grown toenail, and has already had the stitches removed. Apparently, this was the bigger problem than the strained hamstring he had during camp…Derrick Blaylock has been named the starter for the Jets, but expect Kevan Barlow to get some carries as well. They didn’t bring him to ride the pine…Jay Cutler has looked great as a backup in Denver, so don’t be surprised if he’s the starter in ’07…Miami RB Sammy Morris will be suspended for the first four games for testing positive for ephedrine. Supposedly, Morris ingested the substance after taking Sudafed (which does contain the chemical). Is the league really going to suspend a player for four games for having the amount of ephedrine present in an over-the-counter cold medicine? Something else is going on here.
5:35 PM ET update: The Rams signed Stephen Davis. It’s quite possible that Davis will be used some around the goal line, so be prepared if you are already a Steven Jackson owner or are planning to draft him.
