The Broncos are the latest team to bring in free agent guard Richie Incognito for a visit and a workout, and Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report hears that Incognito’s visit to Denver and previous auditions with the Chiefs and Buccaneers went well. One executive even tells Freeman that Incognito looked “excellent” in his tryout. However, considering the former Dolphin is still looking for work, it appears he remains too toxic for any club to seriously consider signing him at this point, writes Freeman. At some point, a team will look past Incognito’s involvement in last year’s bullying scandal in Miami and give him another shot, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that it will happen this season.
As we wait to see whether Denver or another club picks up Incognito in the second half, let’s check in on a few Friday items from around the NFL’s two West divisions….
- The 49ers will see one of their standout linebackers return to the field this weekend, with Aldon Smith having been activated after serving his nine-game suspension. However, there’s a “real possibility” that injured linebacker NaVorro Bowman, who is still recovering from a torn ACL and MCL suffered last season, won’t return to action in 2014, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Wide receiver Golden Tate inked a lucrative five-year deal with the Lions back in March, and while that deal may have raised some eyebrows at the time, it’s turning into a great investment, with Tate in the top five in the NFL in both receptions and receiving yards. Tate discussed his free agent process today, admitting that he thought he’d be a “hot commodity,” but “that wasn’t the case at all” (link via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com). Having previously referred to the Seahawks‘ contract offer as “laughable,” Tate didn’t show much sympathy for his old team today. “Their problem,” Tate said of Seattle. “Now they don’t have me or Percy [Harvin].”
- The Broncos had hoped to keep linebacker Nate Irving in case he could return this season, but the team ultimately decided to place him on season-ending injured reserve yesterday due to his knee injury. Denver head coach John Fox explained the decision today, as Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post details.