Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Patriots and starting quarterback Brady are near end of contract talks

The New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady will not give any consideration on the idea of putting on the New Orleans Saints jersey, and the recent progress in contract extension talks just made him even more determined to stay with the team, which has been the star quarterback’s only team since he was drafted as a six-round pick in 2000.

According to reports, Brady and the Patriots have made enough progress in contract extension talks that it’s possible a long-term deal to keep him in New England beyond 2010 could be completed this summer. That could be why Brady was seen on the first day of Patriots’ training camp along with the squad’s rookies. As an eleven years veteran, it’s unlikely for Brady to follow the quarterback in No.4 Brett Favre jersey to betray his long-term fans and join another team. Whatever the result of contract talks will be, Brady will continue be the Patriots starting quarterback.

However, the uncertainty surrounding the NFL’s next collective bargaining agreement decides that the new contract would be done in near future. It’s just good for Patriots fans to know that their favorite quarterback will stay with them for at least the 2010 season.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Former Titans LB Bulluck is now with the Giants

After spending all of his first 10 NFL seasons with the same team Tennessee Titans, unrestricted free agent Keith Bulluck seriously wants to join a new team, which finally turned out to be the New York Giants. The Giants signed Bulluck to a one-year contract on Friday, ruling out the possibility of Bulluck putting on Minnesota Vikings jersey for his 11th NFL season.

Although suffering a major knee injury in last December, Bulluck managed to pass a Giants physical before a workout with the team Monday. And after taking off his Brett Favre jersey, no swelling was seen on his knee the day after his workout, convincing the Giants that the knee wouldn't pose a problem.

At age 33, Bulluck would be satisfied to earn $2.5 million with incentives in 2010 season. Compared to his former team Titans, who never showed any intension to re-sign Bulluck, the Giants seem to be more generous and have shown enough respects to the veteran. After all, Bulluck had started 130 of the 157 games he appeared during the past 10 seasons and compiled as many as 1,038 tackles, 18 sacks and 19 interceptions. He could just improve the Giants’ defense a lot with his experience.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Titans RB Johnson expects contract to be done before training camp

The Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is still waiting for a result of the contract negotiation between his agent and the team. But it seems that the talks have not been going on well as Johnson told reporters that he still had no idea of what he could get in the new season, but he expected that everything would be finalized by the time of training camp.

“I’m letting my agent and the team handle that. Right now we’re at a standstill, and hopefully when camp starts we’ll have an outcome,” Johnson said when attending an ESPY event on Wednesday night to receive the award of Best Breakthrough Athlete. Rushing for 2,006 yards last season, Johnson thought he deserved a new long-term contract that would pay him at least $30 million in guaranteed money. But the Titans did not managed to enter the post season although they improved a lot in the second half of the 2009 season, so it’s unlikely for them to give players a significant salary raise before they lead the team further into the playoffs.

During the ESPN event, Johnson also denied the reports of his plan to put on New Orleans Saints jersey if no deal was going to be done by the time of training camp. He said that he would always be with his teammates when the team does something.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Steelers veteran CB Townsend hopes to play more football

Having played for the same team Pittsburgh Steelers for 12 years, veteran cornerback Deshea Townsend still believes that he would be able to play for a few more years with the team before he retires as a Steeler. At age 34, he is at least much younger than Brett Favre, who is still likely to put on Vikings jersey as a starting quarterback.

"I did kind of expect to be back, just to add some depth at the position," Townsend told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "They know there's a player out there they don't really have to teach the system, that can come in and play. .. Pittsburgh is home. You always want to be where you started."

As an unrestricted free agent, Townsend is still waiting for a call from the Steelers to ask him back. He continues training and plans to report for the training camp. Does he have a plan B? Surely he has. Townsend used to tell reporters that he wanted to be next Kevin Colbert and work as a scout one day.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Jets CB Revis will lose big money if he holds out

The New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was reported last week to have plan of sitting out the team’s training camp if the Jets do not reach a decision on his contract extension. However, if he really insists on doing that, he is going to lose about $20 million on bonus money, which was scheduled to be paid in 2011 and 2012 if he stays with the team all the time.

The Jets training camp is planned to open on Aug. 10, and Revis has been making effort to receive a new contract extending his current rookie contract. Other reports pointed out that Revis will have the right to ask for a considerable contract extension after the fourth season of his current deal. By then, the Jets will have to buy back the final two years at base salaries of $5 million in 2011 and $15 million in 2012.

Being drafted by the Jets in 2007 as a first-round pick, Revis is just entering his fourth career season, and he may have to end his vacation early to prepare for the upcoming season. I guess he will finally take off his favorite Brett Favre jersey and report for the training camp on August, 10. After all, who would like to turn down $20 million?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Veteran guard Vincent received contract from Bucs

Wearing his favorite Brett Favre jersey to meet the team officials of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, unrestricted free agent offensive guard Keydrick Vincent happily received his fifth contract in his NFL career. According to reports, the Buccaneers have signed the tenth-year veteran to a two-year contact after releasing another unrestricted free agent Sergio Render.

At age 32, Vincent had previously split his first nine NFL seasons with four different teams: the Carolina Panthers, the Arizona Cardinals, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. Being the starting right guard with the Panthers for the last two seasons, Vincent led the team’s ground attack to rank the third in the league. With his help, the Panthers running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Steward were both able to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season.

Now in his 10th NFL season, Vincent impressed the Buccaneers with a great resume, which includes starting 79 of 97 played games with four different games. That could be why the Buccaneers valued him more than Render and finally decided to sign him but cut Render.