Cutting Darrelle Revis wasn’t easy for Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith, as Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com writes. “It was not an easy decision because Darrelle’s a great player. But he’s not the only great player in the league. We just felt like we needed, instead of having one great player we thought we could get three. Instead of having one real good player, we felt like we could get three real good players,” Smith said. More out of the NFC..
- A source tells Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter) that former UNC linebacker Darius Lipford had a good workout for the 49ers today but he was not signed. Lipford was one of four players in this year’s supplemental draft.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap gives his thoughts on the impact of Jimmy Graham‘s contract with the Saints. While the four-year, $40MM is the largest ever given to a tight end, the three-year cash flows indicate that this deal won’t necessarily be a game changer. With a backloaded deal, Graham’s contract isn’t as far ahead of the contracts given to Rob Gronkowski or Vernon Davis.
- Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com wonders if Graham’s new deal will set the baseline for Cowboys star receiver Dez Bryant. Even though Bryant and Graham (officially, now) play different positions, their numbers have been rather similar over the last three years, so a comp would make some sense. There are currently seven wide receivers earning an average annual value of at least $10MM: Brandon Marshall, Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Percy Harvin, Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, and Vincent Jackson.