Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1295 of 1503)

The Atlanta Falcons released seven players Friday, including four-time Pro Bowl tight end Alge Crumpler.

The Falcons also cut quarterback Byron Leftwich, defensive tackle Rod Coleman, offensive tackle Wayne Gandy, cornerback Lewis Sanders, wide receiver Jamin Elliott and linebacker Marcus Wilkins.

A team has two options when a new coaching staff and front office is hired. One, they could try and work with what they already have on the roster while slowly blending in new players. Or two, they could blow up the entire roster and start from scratch. Obviously the Falcons and Dolphins have decided to completely start over and after sporting a combined record of 5-27 last season, maybe that’s not a bad thing.

The Falcons could also cut Warrick Dunn, Joey Harrington and Lawyer Milloy before the calendar flips to March, too.

According to ESPN (via a league source) the Carolina Panthers are interested in trading running back DeShaun Foster.

There had been speculation that Foster, 28, could be a salary cap casualty, but it appears the Panthers believe they can get something in return for their leading rusher from last season. Foster is heading into the last season of a three-year, $14.5 million contract extension he signed in 2006 and he’s scheduled to have a whopping $5.8 million salary cap figure in 2008.

At $5.8 million, I’m sure teams will wait to see if Carolina cuts Foster before dealing anything to them for an injury-riddled back.

More NFL offseason news:

– The Cardinals franchise tagged talented linebacker Karlos Dansby.

– The Dolphins cut linebacker Zach Thomas. At 34 and coming off a concussion-riddled season, is Thomas done? What a great player (and story) no matter what he decides to do this offseason.

– Bills cut the one-hit wonder Peerless Price.

– Marvin Harrison could miss the start of training camp after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee last month.

Two weeks ago, a judge ruled that the Atlanta Falcons could not recoup $16.5 million paid in bonuses to jailed quarterback Michael Vick. On Thursday, the NFL rushed to the Falcons’ defense.

The NFL is asking federal court to vacate a judge’s ruling allowing suspended quarterback Michael Vick to keep $16.5 million in bonuses.

The NFL also wants to disqualify U.S. District Judge David Doty, who ruled earlier this month that the Atlanta Falcons would violate the NFL collective bargaining agreement if it tried to recover the roster bonus Vick already received. The league argues that Doty’s public comments show he is biased against them.

It’s nice that the league is attempting to stay by one of their teams, but I have to imagine it’s going to be tough for a federal court to change the ruling. They obviously would have to try and prove that the judge who determined the ruling was in fact biased. And how do you do that?

How can you not love a good draft rumor? It’s a safe bet that there will be 4,559 rumors leading up to the 2008 NFL Draft and probably only 1% of them will wind up being true in the end. Still, they’re fun.

NFL Draft Rumor Alert: The Dolphins are reportedly interested in taking Virginia defensive end Chris Long with the first overall pick.

NFL Network’s Adam Schefter and NBC’s Peter King say they’re “hearing” the Dolphins are interested in Virginia DE Chris Long.

The Patriots are also intrigued with Long, who played in a 3-4 under Bill Parcells disciple Al Groh. Long’s dimensions (6’4/278) aren’t ideal for an NFL 3-4 end, so he’s likely being looked at as an OLB/DE hybrid. His play is so relentless that it’s hard to imagine Long having trouble in any scheme.

Assuming the Fins hangs on to Jason Taylor (couldn’t see why they wouldn’t) they would have a pretty nasty pass-rush with the addition of Long. It’s only February, but may the draft rumors fly!

Update: Apparently one player the Dolphins won’t hang on to his linebacker Zach Thomas.