With his parents in and out of prison, Jets rookie Lorenzo Mauldin spent much of his adolescence in foster homes. That difficult experience helped mold the Louisville product into the player that he is today, Seth Walder of the Daily News writes.
“Going through the hard times that I’ve been through, I’m proud of myself to be able to say I stuck out and was able to succeed in life,” Mauldin said. “I’m here to say that I’ve persisted. I’m an overcomer.” Here’s more from the AFC East..
- Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News thinks that coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Greg Roman are open-minded about having E.J. Manuel as the Bills‘ starting quarterback, but he also doesn’t see him sticking around if he doesn’t. Carucci envisions Buffalo trading Manuel if Matt Cassel or Tyrod Taylor wind up winning the starting job. Manuel lost the starting job after four games last season and he’s looking to prove himself again this summer.
- If the Bills end up dangling Manuel for a late-round pick in August, keep an eye on the Eagles as a potential trade partner, Chris Wesseling of NFL.com writes. After recruiting Manuel at Oregon, Chip Kelly told NFL Network in the lead-up to the 2013 Draft that the QB was a player he “didn’t get a chance to coach but would like a chance to coach.” Soon after, Manuel said that the Eagles “want me pretty bad.” Meanwhile, Wesseling feels that Taylor has a very real chance to win the starting job given Ryan’s affinity for him. The coach recently said that he tried to trade for Taylor when he was with the Jets.
- Michael Felger of CSNNE.com feels that it would behoove both the Patriots and the NFL to agree on some kind of compromise. However, both sides have dug themselves in to deep and he feels that such a deal is unlikely to happen.