Let’s have a look at some links from around the league on this Sunday afternoon:
- After Will Beatty‘s torn pectoral muscle threw the Giants‘ offensive line into a state of confusion, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com has received a number of questions from Giants fans curious about the status of free agent tackle Jake Long. Raanan writes that even though Long tore his ACL two years in a row, there will be a starting job for him somewhere this season if he is healthy. The Giants are still in the mix, but Long appears content to let the market for his services play out.
- The Patriots have lost a number of big names this offseason, but Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com says tight end is one area where the team may have gotten stronger. Newly-acquired Scott Chandler will team with Rob Gronkowski to create a formidable pair of towers at the position, and Reiss predicts New England will deploy a number of two-tight end sets in 2015, just as they did in 2011 with Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
- Cameron Jordan recently signed a new five-year, $55MM deal with the Saints, and despite the similarities between Jordan and Jets defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson, Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com believes Wilkerson will be aiming even higher. Jordan got $33.5MM in total guarantees, and Cimini thinks Wilkerson is seeking at least $40MM in guaranteed money.
- Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com writes that Washington defensive coordinator Joe Barry does not plan on moving any of his cornerbacks to safety in an effort to bolster the team’s long-floundering safety corps.
- Zach Miller has not played a regular season game since 2011, thanks to a bevy of injuries that have derailed his career. But for the second straight season, Miller is performing well in the Bears‘ offseason workouts, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. And if Miller can remain healthy, he could become a valuable weapon for Jay Cutler and take some pressure off Alshon Jeffery, rookie Kevin White, and first-string tight end Martellus Bennett.
- When asked if his client had requested a trade, the agent for new Browns and former 49ers punter Andy Lee did not answer directly, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). The agent simply said it was an amicable parting that worked well for all involved.
- Despite recent comments that created a minor controversy in Seattle, Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin said yesterday, “I would love to be in Seattle. That was the team that gave me a chance when nobody else did.” But as Manouk Akopyan of NFL.com writes, given the pending extensions that the Seahawks will undoubtedly hand out to Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson, and considering the amount of money Seattle has already invested in retaining players like Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman, Irvin will likely find greener pastures elsewhere.
- The Jaguars plan to frequently utilize two- and three-tight end looks this season under new offensive coordinator Greg Olson, writes Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. That scheme will offer plenty of playing time for Marcedes Lewis and Clay Harbor, who now find themselves behind Julius Thomas on the team’s depth chart.
- In the same piece, O’Halloran writes that even though Tyler Shatley earned a place on the Jaguars‘ roster as an undrafted rookie guard last season, his task will be even more difficult this year. The team has shifted him over to center, which Shatley has never played, and Jacksonville appears committed to Stefen Wisniewski or Luke Bowanko at the position.