Bucs official says Mike Williams won’t play

The story of the arrest of Buccaneers receiver Mike Williams is playing out in real time, and as usual, that means conflicting information is flying.

One Buccaneers official told Adam Schefter of ESPN this morning that Williams will start Sunday against the 49ers. But Schefter reported later this morning that a different Bucs official told him Williams will not play Sunday.

At the moment, it’s not clear whether the Bucs changed their mind, whether they’ve acquired new information about the specifics of the incident, or whether this is just a case of one Bucs official being wrong.

So stay tuned. The full story on Williams, who was pulled over for speeding and brought in on suspicion of DUI, hasn’t yet been told.

AP

The Jaguars got some good news on Thursday, with defensive tackle Terrance Knighton donning a helmet and hitting the practice field for the first time since being hit in the eye with a vodka bottle in April.

Per Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union, Knighton participated in practice on Thursday.

He wasn’t participating in team drills, but it’s a bonus for the Jags, given that they didn’t expect him to be available at all until training camp.

Knighton’s eye reportedly appeared to be “slightly swollen.”

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Members of the New York media got their first look at Tim Tebow on the Jets’ practice field at today’s Organized Team Activities, and the general consensus is that as a quarterback, he’s one heck of a punt protector.

The Tebow obsession might have gotten a little bit out of control when some of the Jets beat writers were offering up live Twitter updates of Tebow’s interceptions during 7-on-7 drills, but those interceptions led to the general consensus that Tebow is having some growing pains in learning the Jets’ offense, and that he didn’t look as good passing the ball as Mark Sanchez.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Tebow said of throwing two interceptions. “But it’s 7-on-7. Those plays . . . were the first time I ran them. So I’ll learn from it. Honestly, it won’t bother me again. When you make the bad play, you got to put it behind you and move on. I felt like I did.”

Tebow also got reps on the punt team, where the Jets plan to use him as the personal protector, and he seems fine there, to the extent that you can tell anything about a guy’s ability to be a personal protector on the punt team when they’re practicing in shorts in May.

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With the NFL and NFLPA suddenly getting along even worse than the Hatfields and the McCoys, it makes sense to think about other ways in which the fight could manifest itself.

The union now claims that the teams engaged in collusion two years ago, establishing a secret $123 million per-team salary cap.  Though that claim wasn’t specifically made before the current CBA was signed, the NFLPA previously claimed that the teams agreed among themselves not to sign each other’s restricted free agents in the uncapped year, when players with four and five years of service fell under the rules of restricted free agency.

Given that the union is now pursuing a collusion claim that arguably was waived by the current CBA, it’s hardly a stretch to wonder whether the NFLPA will turn its attention to restricted free agency in 2012.

Of the 42 restricted free agents, not a single one signed an offer sheet.  The pool included players who could have been had with a first-round pick as compensation (like Steelers receiver Mike Wallace and Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb) and players who could have been had for no compensation (like Steelers offensive lineman Doug Legursky).

There’s currently no publicly-known smoking gun that would prove that the teams have a wink-nod understanding that restricted free agents are off-limits.  But the objective proof suggests that something is happening, just like it did when teams weren’t signing restricted free agents in 2010 — and just like it did when teams treated the uncapped year as anything but uncapped.

The only question at this point is whether the NFLPA will point a finger and fire up the legal engines.

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The Ravens have a lengthy history of making great decisions on draft day(s).  That’s what makes the rare errors even more glaring.

In 2010, they stopped the slide of linebacker Sergio Kindle, a move that at the time was regarded as a potential steal.  Two years later, Kindle has made minimal contributions.  He now faces what could be a critical season with the franchise.

And he knows it.

“Make or break year?” Kindle said Wednesday, via Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times.  “Perhaps, always.  I feel like that every year.  Just because I haven’t proved anything yet.”

He hasn’t proved anything yet in part because he missed all of his rookie season after falling down stairs and fracturing his skull.  (Getting a DUI that year didn’t help, either.)  As a result of the injury, he has permanent hearing loss in his right ear, which makes hand signals necessary to help him pick up the defensive calls.

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Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl XXV ring sold for $230,401 last week, and it may have been purchased by someone whose fame (and drug-fueled personal escapades) exceed L.T.’s.

Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reports that Taylor and his agent, Mark Lepselter, were told last night that the winning bidder for Taylor’s Super Bowl Ring was Charlie Sheen.

To be clear, Glazer isn’t reporting that Sheen was the buyer — and neither the auction house nor Sheen has said anything about it — but that’s what Taylor and Lepselter have been told.

If Sheen did buy the ring, it wouldn’t be out of character for him: Sheen is a sports nut who has spent a lot of money on memorabilia through the years. Sheen once told Dan Patrick that some of the big-ticket items he has purchased in the past include Babe Ruth’s 1927 World Series ring and the contract of Ruth’s sale from the Red Sox to the Yankees. Sheen also once purchased all the bleacher seats to an Angles game to try (unsuccessfully) to catch a Cecil Fielder home run ball.

Spending nearly a quarter of a million dollars on the ring sounds like something someone would do while under the influence of a drug called Charlie Sheen.

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Former Bills and Steelers executive Tom Donahoe is returning to the NFL.

The Eagles announced Thursday that they have hired Donahoe to be the team’s senior football advisor. Donahoe was the director of football operations in Pittsburgh from 1991 to 1999 and he was the General Manager and president of the Bills from 2001 to 2005. Donahoe’s exact responsibilities aren’t clear, but he’ll likely play a role similar to the one that former Browns General Manager Phil Savage filled for the last couple of seasons.

In addition to Savage, the Eagles recently lost two scouts. Ahmad Russell left to join Ryan Grigson, the former Eagles director of player personnel, in Indianapolis after Grigson became the Colts General Manager and Daniel Jeremiah left to take a position with NFL.com.

The Eagles also announced that they have named Ed Marynowitz as assistant director of pro scouting, Jake Hallum as senior scout, John Middlekauff as west coast area scout, Dan Hatman as pro scout, Alec Halaby as special assistant to the general manager, and Jake Rosenberg as manager of football administration.

Most scouting-related jobs have contracts that run out just after the draft, which always makes this the busy time of year for changes in those positions around the NFL.

AP

After a decade and more than 100 sacks as a 4-3 defensive end, Dwight Freeney is moving to outside linebacker in new coach Chuck Pagano’s 3-4 defense. And he says that’s a bigger adjustment than some people might realize.

Freeney said on NFL Total Access that he has become so accustomed to lining up like a sprinter and going straight to the quarterback that he has a lot to learn now that he has more responsibilities at a different position.

“It’s going to be an adjustment for me,” Freeney said. “I’m a guy who is used to, as you know, hand down going one direction – that’s towards the quarterback, towards the running back and whoever is in the backfield. That line of sight is a comfort level for me when I have my hand down. Now I’m playing linebacker, they have some similarities but I’m also going to be dropping in space, running in the opposite direction from the quarterback. I know the coach is going to be yelling at me the first few weeks. Sometimes I’m probably going to fake dropping back and go in for the blitz. It’s going to be an adjustment. I’m excited for the challenge. It’s something new. People won’t be able to just blackboard me saying ‘This is where Dwight is going to line up and this is how we’re going to turn the protection.’ Now I get to move around a little bit so hopefully things work out.”

The Colts are a rebuilding team, and it would have been understandable if they had decided that it wasn’t worth asking a 32-year-old with a base salary of more than $14 million to learn a new position and had either traded or released Freeney. But Freeney said he always expected to remain in Indianapolis and that he’s excited to be contributing to the new-look Colts. This is a big adjustment that Freeney is glad to make.

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Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore and No. 1 receiver Brandon Marshall played well together down the stretch last year, and Miami’s decision to trade Marshall to Chicago this offseason means that Moore could be concerned that he no longer has his go-to guy.

He could be concerned, but he isn’t. Moore said that in the offense last year there was a designated No. 1 receiver, but the new coaching staff doesn’t view the passing game that way, and he likes that.

“There’s always in the past been a go-to target on every play,” Moore told the Palm Beach Post. “But in this offense you can have Hartline lined up as the No. 3 receiver on one play and No. 1 on the next play. And it can be the same play. So you’re not pigeon-holed into anything on any certain play. You can go full-field progressions and there’s no pressure to get the ball to any one specific guy. So you can just go back there and wing it.”

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin liked to spread the ball around when he was the Packers’ offensive coordinator, and that worked out pretty well. The key to that, however, was having a quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who was good enough to make everyone in the offense look like a No. 1 receiver. Moore is going to have a tough time making the Dolphins forget about Marshall while he’s spreading the ball around to Davone Bess, Brian Hartline and Legedu Naanee.

Thursday’s edition of PFT Live will unfold in three stages.

First, Mike Florio will talk about the collusion case that’s been making headlines the last couple of days. Florio’s goal will be to explain the case in terms clear and simple enough to understand what’s being contested and what the NFLPA hopes to gain in the action.

Then Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram will join the program for a chat about the Cowboys. There’s a lot of talk in Dallas about closing championship windows so we’ll find out where Williams stands on that question as well as plenty of other info about what’s ahead in Big D.

Finally, we’ll be asking for some help from PFT Planet. We’ll be answering your tweets — @ProFootballTalk — and calls – 888-237-5269 — at around 12:25 ET so send them along.

You can watch all three parts live at noon ET.

AP

Last week, Cowboys rookie cornerback Morris Claiborne said that he hoped to be fully recovered from his wrist injury in time to fully participate in the team’s June minicamp.

Claiborne got the cast off his wrist on Tuesday, but will be wearing a removable brace for the next two weeks before starting therapy. That won’t give him much time to get ready for the June 12th start of minicamp, which may be why he downgraded his own timetable for going full speed on the practice field. Claiborne told Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News that he is now aiming to be ready for the start of training camp.

“I don’t like it but I know it’s what’s best for me and in the long run what’s best for the team,” Claiborne said. “I’m not trying to rush it. I’m just going to take my time and do what the trainers have me doing in the mean time.”

The shift in Claiborne’s return date, one that was predicted even as Claiborne was saying he’d be ready to roll in June, shouldn’t do much to hurt his chances of claiming a starting spot this season. The Cowboys knew Claiborne would need some time to heal from the torn wrist ligaments when they drafted him and he’s still doing conditioning with the team while familiarizing himself with the defensive scheme.

It also makes it even clearer why the Cowboys aren’t in any rush to trade Mike Jenkins. Until Claiborne shows that he’s back to 100 percent, there’s little reason for Dallas to make a deal with their 2011 starter.

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A badly sprained ankle helped make for a rough sophomore season for Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and he hasn’t been able to shake it since the end of the season.

Bradford originally hurt his ankle in mid-October and missed the next two games before returning to the lineup. He didn’t look right once he was back on the field and wound up missing four of the final five games after the injury got worse. He finished rehabbing the injury in March, but told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he is still experiencing soreness at the team’s practices.

“It’s getting there,” Bradford said. “It seems to feel better every week. There’s less soreness, more things I can do. I think it’s definitely on the right track.”

Bradford is participating fully in Organized Team Activities, so it’s not like the soreness is major red flag about Bradford’s readiness for the 2012 season. After all the trouble he had shaking the injury last season, though, it is a bit of a concern that he’s still trying to find his way all the way back to health.

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The Lions and defensive end Cliff Avril still have quite a bit of work to do if they’re going to come to terms before the July 16 deadline for franchise players to sign long-term contract extensions.

Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that Avril is asking for about $2 million a year more than the Lions are offering. Avril is looking for a four-year, $42 million deal with most of that money guaranteed, and although the Lions are engaged in talks and have offered several contract proposals, none of the proposals are enough for Avril to be willing to sign.

The good news for both sides is that everyone seems to recognize that there’s no personal acrimony even if they disagree about what a fair contract would constitute.

“I’m fortunate enough to play football for a living, first off,” Avril said. “I’m thankful for that. But I know it’s a business. I knew that from Day 1. I have to do what’s right for my family. I’m a businessman. I can’t be mad. If they lowball you, you can’t be mad, because you ask yourself, if you were them, what would you do initially? So I’m not mad. It’s not personal. I just want to be here long term.”

Avril likes Detroit well enough that he decided to stay in Detroit and work out with a personal trainer in the area during the offseason, while his teammates are working out at the team facility. Eventually, if a long-term deal can’t get worked out, he’ll sign the franchise tender and play the 2012 season at a guaranteed base salary of $10.6 million, knowing that next year he’ll either get franchised again with a pay raise of at least 20 percent, or he’ll work out a long-term deal with the Lions, or he’ll test the market as an unrestricted free agent. None of those are bad options.

So even though the team and the player are $2 million apart, one way or another things are going to work out. Avril sounds content with that.

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Houston opened the door on a new stadium for the Texans in 2002, and Reliant Stadium hosted the Super Bowl held a year later.  It’s part of the loose quid pro quo of the stadium-construction game. 

If you build it, they will come . . . as long as the city has enough hotel rooms via normal building structures or imported cruise ships.

The Texans are now hoping once again to get into the fringes of the rotation by bidding for the Super Bowl to be played in February 2017.  It will be Super Bowl 51 or, in the traditional nomenclature, Super Bowl LI.

Per David Barron of the Houston Chronicle, the powers-that-be in Houston disclosed their plans to make a Super Bowl power play on Wednesday.  “That is something that is coming up.  It’s in the calendar,” Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. chairman Edgar Colon said.  “[That is] the next one that is up for bid and we intend to participate and to participate forcefully and aggressively to bring the Super Bowl to Houston.”

(Forcefully and aggressively?  Will they show up at the selection meeting with weapons?)

Houston has submitted three prior bids, each of which failed.  Most recently, Houston tried to land Super Bowl XLVII, which was played in Indianapolis under the same loose quid pro quo that brought Super Bowl XXXVIII to Reliant Stadium.

The next three Super Bowls are set to occur in New Orleans, New Jersey, and Arizona, respectively.  Super Bowl L will be awarded next May.  It’s expected that Dallas will bid on that game; if Dallas gets it, the NFL could be reluctant to return to Texas in back-to-back years.

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Cardinals cornerback and punt returner Patrick Peterson came in at No. 55 in NFL Network’s unveiling of the Top 100 players in the league, as voted on by their peers, and he says that’s a great place to be as a rookie. But he also says he wants to be in the Top 10 some day, and to do that he needs to be viewed primarily as a shutdown cornerback who returns punts on the side.

Peterson’s rookie season was one of the best seasons any punt returner has ever had, with 44 returns for 699 yards and four return touchdowns, including a 99-yarder in overtime that was one of the most spectacular plays of the NFL season. Peterson knows that’s the primary reason he made the Top 100, but he also knows the reason the Cardinals took him with the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft is that they want him to be an elite starting cornerback.

“I feel pretty good for my first season being at No. 55 but hopefully as my career progresses I’ll be looking to be in that Top 10 category somewhere,” Peterson said. “I definitely believe I made it through the record I set — tying the NFL record [for punt return touchdowns in a season]. I believe that’s primarily what got me in the Top 100. But this year I’ve been working more on my coverage skills and trying to be more of a shutdown cornerback versus that elite punt returner.”

Peterson started all 16 games at cornerback last season, but he struggled to adjust to the pro passing game. He acknowledges that he needs to improve in pass coverage.

“I expect to be a whole lot better,” Peterson said. “I can’t wait to get out there for the first game and showcase what I’ve been working for this offseason, finally put it to work and show the world what I can do.”

Peterson has already shown the world (or at least the portion of the world that watches the NFL) what he can do as a punt returner. If he can make the same kind of impact as a cornerback this year, he’ll be a whole lot higher than No. 55 on the Top 100 list next year.

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As the dust continues to settle on Wednesday’s surprising move by the NFLPA to allege that the NFL engaged in collusion during the uncapped year of 2010, one point is becoming more and more clear.

Someone failed to slam the door, or failed to keep the door open, on the possibility of a belated claim that the NFL teams secretly agreed to an unwritten salary cap during a season in which there wasn’t supposed to be one.

It’s a point that sports lawyer David Cornwell, head of the NFL Coaches Association and documented critic of the current NFLPA leadership, raised with PFT this morning.  Either the NFL and its lawyers failed when drawing up the relevant paperwork in August 2011 and March 2012 to ensure that the NFLPA wouldn’t be able to make a future claim for pre-2011 collusion, or the NFLPA and its lawyers failed when drawing up the relevant paperwork to leave the door open for a collusion case if/when evidence arose that the teams had secretly agreed to a salary cap in the uncapped year.

Without question, this will be the first battle in the new collusion war.  Did the NFLPA fail to preserve the collusion claim, either when agreeing to the new CBA last year or when agreeing to penalize the Redskins and Cowboys this year?  In turn, did the NFL fail to take all steps necessary to defuse the collusion claim, either in the CBA paperwork or in the 2012 amendment to the labor deal that penalized the Redskins and Cowboys for, essentially, refusing to engage in collusion?

The outcome will either kill the collusion case, or make it so strong that the NFL will be squeezed into paying a bunch of money to the players — or making a bunch of concessions that weren’t made during the CBA process, such as shifting all appeals away from Commissioner Roger Goodell or ensuring that the regular season never will expand from 16 to 18 games, and that the preseason never will shrink from four games to two.

The broader question is whether the party that loses this key opening skirmish will then hold accountable the folks who failed either to preserve the collusion claim or to defeat it.  As Cornwell explains it, the “collusion case boils down to either [NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith or NFLPA outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler] committed malpractice by including collusion in the release or [NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or NFL general counsel Jeff Pash] did by not including it.”

The bigger risk, in our view, falls on Goodell and Pash.  When lawsuits are resolved, the presumption is that all past claims, asserted or not, will be extinguished forever and the parties will move forward with a clean slate.  But the paperwork, which routinely is prepared by the party that was sued, needs to contain the right language to make all claims, asserted or not, go away.

From the NFLPA’s perspective, there’s nothing to lose, other than the goodwill of the league office.  If, however, it turns out that the NFL failed to ensure that the slate was indeed clean, the NFL owners will demand a full and complete explanation.

And they will be flabbergasted.