The 2015 season will likely be a redshirt year for rookie cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, Browns head coach Mike Pettine said on Wednesday, per Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. At one point, Ekpre-Olomu, who continues to recover from a serious knee injury, was viewed as a potential first-round pick, but Cleveland snagged him in the seventh round in May following his torn ACL and disclocated knee. The Browns will have to wait until the end of training camp to move the Oregon alum to injured reserve if they want to avoid the risk of losing him on waivers.
Here’s more from around the NFL’s two North divisions:
- “Nothing is going on” between Harrison Smith and the Vikings on the contract front, according to the safety himself, who tells Mark Craig of the Star Tribune that he and the club will likely discuss an extension after the 2015 season. Smith says he’s “not a fan” of the fifth-year option, which allowed Minnesota to lock him up through 2016. However, the 26-year-old tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he fully expects to remain with the Vikings in the long term.
- The Steelers should add Michael Vick to their training camp roster, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who writes that Ben Roethlisberger‘s backups have been “dreadful” in the spring and the early days of camp.
- Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt takes a look at the annual opening of Green Bay’s books, explaining in a piece for TheMMQB.com what the numbers mean for the team and for the NFL.
- Lions defensive ends Corey Wootton, Phillip Hunt, and Kerry Hyder are on the roster bubble as training camp gets underway, writes Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.