Labor and employment law attorney Andrew Smith has joined the race to become the next Executive Director of the NFLPA, and is officially on the ballot as he has acquired written endorsements from three player reps, reports Rand Getlin of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). As far as Getlin knows, Smith is the first of the candidates to get all three endorsements required (via Twitter).

Here are some other links from around the NFL:

• Agent Rob London will also be joining the field, making him the fifth person to put his name in the hat to run against current Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, writes Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (via Twitter).
• Josh McCown and LaRon Landry are among players who have already been released this offseason, but Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes that there are a number of other veterans that could be on the chopping block before the new league year starts. Volin’s list includes Percy Harvin, Brandon Marshall, Troy Polamalu, and Marques Colston, among others.
• While Volin is busy talking about players who could be released, Jason La Canfora is figuring out what players team’s need to bring in, as he outlines all 32 franchises’ needs this offseason for CBS Sports. La Canfora picks out the top priority for every team.
• Jameis Winston’s trangessions during his time at Florida State could play a big role in his NFL career, as the league’s new player conduct policy would allow for a player’s past incidents to play a role in punishment when dealing with new offenses at the professional level, writes Jane McManus of ESPN.com. Not to assume Winston will be in trouble once he gets drafted, but it could affect his draft status if a team knows he will not get a clean slate after coming into the NFL.