Pittsburgh Steelers
Guard Alan Faneca – who has publicly complained about his contract virtually the entire offseason – told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday he will not be a Steeler after the 2007 season. Faneca wants a fair contract, but the Steelers don’t want to invest Derrick Dockery-type money (around $49 million over six or seven years) into a player who’ll be 31 at the end of the season. It’s understandable Pittsburgh doesn’t want to sink that much money into an aging guard, but what are veterans to think when captains like Faneca and Joey Porter (released in March) are not shown respect after years of great play? The bottom line is the NFL is a business and the Steelers have to do what’s best for the entire organization, but pissing off veterans along the way is risky.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defensive end Jevon Kearse, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 last year, practiced Saturday and according to head coach Andy Reid, “looked great”. In other Eagle news, rookie linebacker Stewart Bradley will backup Chris Gocong at strong-side linebacker this season according to the Philly.com. Bradley may even push Gocong – who missed his rookie season last year with a neck injury – for the starting job.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jaguars.com is reporting Matt Jones sat out part of a practice Saturday with a quad strain. It’s amazing how Jones can’t seem to stay healthy. He certainly has all the tools in order to be a successful receiver, but just has the nagging injuries that always leave him out or questionable during the season. With Jacksonville’s instability at the receiver position, it would be nice if Jones could put together an entire season.
