Category: NFL (Page 728 of 1282)

Bears, Eagles made trade offers to Cardinals for Boldin on draft day

According to the Arizona Republic, the Eagles offered the Cardinals cornerback Sheldon Brown and a third round pick in exchange for receiver Anquan Boldin on draft day, but Arizona quickly rejected it. Bears’ GM Jerry Angelo also admitted that he offered the 49th overall pick in exchange for Boldin, but obviously was turned down himself.

Earlier this week, Eagles coach Andy Reid told a Philadelphia radio audience that the price for Boldin was too high, both in terms of trade compensation and a new contract. As a baseline, Reid threw out trade terms of first, third and fifth-round picks, in addition to a new contract worth $10 million or so a year.

Maybe Reid was trying to spin the situation to satisfy Eagles fans, some of whom have long clamored to trade for Boldin. In the radio interview, Reid went on to say that he didn’t think the Cardinals ever really wanted to trade Boldin. Of course, it would be hard to determine that when the best offer is Brown and a third rounder.

Maybe the Eagles figured they would take a stab at stealing Boldin for a pittance. No harm in that.
The Eagles never offered more than the third round pick and Brown, a seven-year veteran who is unhappy with his current contract. The Cardinals didn’t have a need for a starting cornerback after signing Bryant McFadden in free agency.

Sheldon and a third round pick for Boldin? I thought I heard laughter off in the distance on draft day – turns out it was Cardinals’ GM Rod Graves after talking with the Eagles.

Hey, it was worth a shot for the Eagles. If nothing came out of it, so be it. But if the Cards were at all desperate to relieve themselves from the Boldin situation, maybe they would have pulled the trigger on Philly’s offer. (And then would have been rightfully lambasted by their fans and media in the process.)

I wonder if Graves would have done a deal with Angelo for a second and a third, although the third would have had to been for 2010 because Chicago had already traded that pick to Denver for Jay Cutler. Still, if Angelo was able to pull a deal off for Boldin, then the Bears would have went from perennial NFC North favorites to legit Super Bowl contenders.

Report: Favre consulted well-known doctor about biceps injury

According to a report by ESPN.com, Brett Favre consulted Dr. James Andrews, a highly respected doctor among athletes, on what kind of exercises would help strengthen his biceps injury so he wouldn’t have to go under the knife.

The development further indicates Favre’s willingness to consider coming out of retirement to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, particularly if there is a non-surgical solution to his damaged shoulder.

The source said Andrews and Favre experimented with one of several exercises that could accelerate the process of the tendon releasing on its own. During an interview with ESPN in February, Favre mentioned that he had a partially torn biceps tendon in his left shoulder during his Green Bay Packers career and that the pain subsided once it completely tore naturally.

If that fails to produce the desired results, it remains uncertain whether Favre would endure even arthroscopic surgery to prolong his career to a 19th season. A source close to Favre described that as an option but a projected 3-6 week rehabilitation is unappealing to the quarterback, who will apparently require no therapy if the tendon can be forced to tear through the exercise regimen.

This report doesn’t necessarily mean that Favre intends on playing again next season, but it sure as hell looks like he’s trying to do everything in his power in order to come back. (And I do mean everything seeing as how he has been working out with a high school team to stay in shape.)

Bengals next up for “Hard Knocks” series

HBO chose to film the dysfunctional Bengals for its next installment of “Hard Knocks.”

The cable channel and NFL Films chose one of the league’s least-successful teams of the last 18 years for its next “Hard Knocks” training camp series. Last year, the Dallas Cowboys were the ones followed through training camp.

HBO started the program in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis was the defensive coordinator in Baltimore then, so he’s familiar with how it works. Still, television executives had to do some arm-twisting to get the team to go along.

The Bengals have only one winning record since 1991, when owner Mike Brown took over. One intriguing subplot will be how Brown, who shies away from cameras, comes across in the episodes. Brown didn’t attend a news conference about the show.

If there’s a better fit for “Hard Knocks”, I’m hard pressed to think of it. Having the opportunity to be filmed on a daily basis should make Chad Ocho Cinco’s day and maybe get him to stop crying (literally) about wanting to get traded.

Dungy: ‘Vick wants second chance’

After recently meeting with the troubled suspended player in prison, former head coach Tony Dungy said that Michael Vick is seeking a second chance.

He enjoys helping troubled young men, and Vick, in Dungy’s eyes, is simply one of them. Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy. Dungy wouldn’t offer details about his meeting with Vick, but compared the quarterback’s situation to many of the ex-offenders at the resource fair Wednesday.

“I think Michael is just like so many other guys that I have seen, so many other people who are nameless, faceless in that environment,” Dungy said. “It’s a young man that made a mistake and is looking for a chance to recover and move forward. That’s where he is and that’s where so many of the men who are here today are.”

Dungy is doing a lot of good in this world and I for one hope that he can help Vick get his life back on track. But in the end, everything is in Vick’s hands. He must surround himself with positive influences that will help him stay on the straight and narrow and keep him out of trouble. It appears that the wrong people heavily influenced Vick when he set up the dog-fighting ring, so it would be beneficial for him to only surround himself with folks that make sound decisions.

Andy Reid’s son sent to prison

Garrett Reid, the son of Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid, has been sent to prison again after flunking a drug test.

Reid, eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid, was sent to Graterford Prison yesterday after he failed a drug test at a Hunting Park halfway house, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

The 26-year-old tested positive for narcotics when he returned to the Luzerne Treatment Center, on Luzerne Street near G, where he was serving part of a three-year probation sentence.

“He had been on a pass away from the facility for a brief period of time,” Ferman said. Reports that Reid had been involved in a physical altercation at the center were unconfirmed, she added.
Reid’s troubles began on Jan. 30, 2007, when his SUV rammed another car in Montgomery County, injuring the other driver. Police said Reid was high on heroin at the time.

While serving time for the car crash, Reid smuggled 89 pills into prison in his rectum. He was sentenced last summer to a drug-treatment program for nonviolent offenders. Reid served five months in state prison and was then moved to the halfway house, where he’s subject to frequent drug tests, Ferman said.

There’s no better place to hide drugs than in your rectum. Sometimes I put my wallet up there whenever I’m forced to go down a dark alley in the middle of the night. Trust me, crooks never think to search your rectum when they’re mugging you.

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