Category: NFL (Page 753 of 1282)

      Chad Ocho Cinco likely staying in Cincinnati

      April 13, 2009 /

      According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Chad Ocho Cinco is unlikely to be traded this offseason by the Bengals

      Chad JohnsonThe primary people, agent Drew Rosenhaus and Ocho Cinco, are not saying anything. Last year, both were telling every media outlet within shouting distance that they wanted out of Cincinnati. This year Rosenhaus is staying true to his word by working behind the scenes and staying quiet.

      According to ESPN.com, the Bengals’ salary-cap hit would be $4.87 million. It is a high figure, but not a crippling amount that might preclude a trade from happening.

      Whenever he’s been asked, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has said he expects Ocho Cinco to be here and that he should have a good season. But at the league meetings a couple weeks ago, Lewis also said something that can be construed as a personal challenge to Ocho Cinco:

      “In order to get back to being the Chad Johnson that everybody feared, he was a guy who worked very, very hard at his craft. And if you don’t do that, it falls away very quickly and people forget about you.”

      So will Ocho Cinco be traded? Unlike last year, when there was a zero percent chance, it’s slightly possible. There is only one person who is going to make the final decision, and that is club president Mike Brown.

      Considering Johnson is coming off one of his worst seasons of his career, is already 31 and didn’t show up to voluntary workouts, why would any team give up a high draft pick for him? Anyone who thinks the Bengals will be able to get a first or second round pick for him at this point is dreaming.

      NFL

      Percy Harvin’s draft stock falling?

      April 13, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Palm Beach Post, Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin’s draft stock is falling dramatically.

      First there was the reported score of 12 out of 50 on Harvin’s Wonderlic test in February, which measures quick thinking and basic problem solving. Then NFLDraftBible.com reported 10 days ago that Harvin and three other players tested positive for marijuana at February’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis, though no other outlet has confirmed the report.

      Harvin scored 32 touchdowns in three seasons and was a major factor on two national championship teams. He can play running back or receiver, averaged 11 yards every time he touched the ball in 2008 (110 times), and, playing with a fractured bone in his foot, famously gained 170 yards with a touchdown in the 2009 national title game.

      Still, Pro Football Weekly recently polled NFL executives about the riskiest picks in this coming draft and Harvin was selected as the unanimous winner because of “coachability, a posse of hangers-on, his lack of respect for authority and drug usage.”

      The reports never will be publicly confirmed by the NFL, but fair or not, the rumors are out there. Combine them with Harvin’s frequent run-ins with authorities as a high school star in the Virginia Beach area, which resulted in him being removed from high school sports altogether, and suddenly Harvin has gone from a top-10 pick to maybe slipping to the second round.

      It’s hard to blame teams these days for taking a pass on a prospect that supposedly has off field baggage. The Falcons spent millions of dollars and sunk the hopes of their franchise into Michael Vick, only to watch him wind up in prison for federal dog fighting charges. Teams don’t want to be burned down the road because a player can’t stay out of trouble off the field, or stay away from their troublemaking friends.

      Then again, as the article points out, guys like Dan Marino, Randy Moss and Warren Sapp also sacred off some teams and they obviously turned out to be pretty good. And it’s unfair to assume Harvin is a bad egg based on a couple of these reports, most notably the one by the unreliable NFLDraftBible.com.

      NFL, NFL Draft

      Mel Kiper is losing it

      April 13, 2009 /

      During one of his recent chats on ESPN.com, Mel Kiper answered a reader’s question about the quarterback class of 2010 and listed Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour as the next best signal caller behind Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford.

      Jeff, Mpls: Looking ahead, will next years QB class be a lot better than this years?

      Mel Kiper: Next year’s QB class will have Sam Bradford as the No. 1 guy. After that, you’d be looking at Dan LeFevour out of Central Michigan. Bradford should be the No. 1 overall pick. LeFevour in the top 10-15. Colt McCoy. Then Tim Tebow will factor in. And Pike out of Cincinnati.

      I love Dan LeFevour. I’m a CMU grad and credit him for making the Chips relevant again in the MAC. He’s fun to watch and I’ll root for him no matter where he winds up. But I want some of whatever Kiper is smoking because there’s no way LeFevour is the second best quarterback behind Bradford in the 2010 draft class.

      First and foremost, LeFevour rarely takes a snap from under center and he plays in the spread offense. He’s mobile, tough and he has decent size at 6’3″, 229 pounds. But he doesn’t have great arm strength or accuracy, doesn’t play against top competition in college and one has to believe that he would struggle trying to grasp a pro style offense. Kiper is nuts if he sees LeFevour as a top 15 pick.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      Are the Browns getting close to trading Quinn and Edwards?

      April 12, 2009 /

      According to a report by the National Football Post, the Browns have received offers for quarterback Brady Quinn and wideout Braylon Edwards and are likely to eventually move both players.

      The Cleveland Browns have been engaging in talks to trade quarterback Brady Quinn and wide receiver Braylon Edwards, according to our own Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post.
      Lombardi reports he is hearing from multiple league sources that the Browns have a first round pick on the table for Quinn, but may be looking for more. Two teams are currently interested in Quinn’s services.

      In addition, Lombardi is hearing that the Browns have a first round pick on the table for wide receiver Braylon Edwards and will most likely trade him before the start of next season.

      One other note: Lombardi is hearing the Browns are very interested in Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree.

      What’s interesting about the speculation surrounding Cleveland trading Quinn and Edwards is that it isn’t dying down. Even though these are still only rumors, at this point you have to kind of buy into the notion that new head coach Eric Mangini and GM George Kokinis want to blow up the roster and start fresh. They want their own players and that means guys like Quinn, Edwards and Kellen Winslow (who was already dealt this offseason to the Bucs) will eventually be sold to the highest bidder. The Browns are going to be one of the most interesting teams to follow leading up to the draft.

      For what it’s worth, I had the Browns taking Crabtree with their first round pick in my second mock, assuming that Edwards would be dealt on or around draft day. But they could also be looking at USC quarterback Mark Sanchez at No. 5 so he could groom under Derek Anderson for a year or two.

      NFL, NFL Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft: Sanchez goes no. 13 to the Skins

      April 11, 2009 /

      Mark SanchezMel Kiper dropped his latest mock draft this week on ESPN.com (first 16 picks free, next three and a half rounds Insider only).

      It’s similar in most ways to what he’s been saying over the past few months, with Matthew Stafford going no. 1 overall to the Lions and Jason Smith and Aaron Curry going 2-3 to the Rams and Chiefs, respectively.

      A couple of wrinkles made it in, however. For one, he has the Bills taking DE Robert Ayers of Tennessee with the 11th pick. How this guy is shooting up so many draft charts is beyond me – he played average for a crummy team last year and had sub-par workouts. He certainly doesn’t seem to be in the same class as Aaron Maybin, Brian Orakpo, Everette Brown and Tyson Jackson.

      Mel also has Mark Sanchez sliding all the way to the Washington Redskins at no. 13. Three teams that could use a quarterback (the Jaguars at no. 8, the 49ers at no. 10, and the Broncos at no. 12) pick before then. Kiper has said repeatedly, and with good reason, that none of this year’s quarterbacks are ready to start right away, but Sanchez is more than worth a flier for a team lacking long-term stability at QB. The USC man has a chance to be a franchise saver in the mold of Matt Ryan, perhaps even more so than Stafford.

      Lastly, what is the reason for the sudden drop by Percy Harvin? Kiper himself calls the Florida Gator a Reggie Bush-type player, with running and pass-catching abilities. Bush went no. 2 overall, and while injury-prone throughout his short career, has certified himself as one of the league’s best playmakers. If Harvin is the same type of guy, I don’t see how Harvin would last past the first 15 picks.

      College Football, NFL, NFL Draft

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑