AP

Last year, the New England Patriots retained the rights to offensive lineman Logan Mankins via the highest possible restricted free agency tender.  This year, Mankins will be restricted again.

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald reports that the Patriots will apply the franchise tag to Mankins.

The tag has not yet been applied.  The window for doing so opened today, and it expires in two weeks.

A legal fight looms regarding the question of whether the franchise tag is available in the final year of the current labor contract.  It’s unlikely that a donut hole will be created, but the NFLPA could extract a concession or two from the league if a challenge to the plan to use the tag prevails, forcing the league to negotiate in order to change the status quo.

The good news for Mankins is that he’ll get a much higher one-year payday, since his salary will be determined based on the average of the top five offensive linemen salaries for 2010.

We commence the process of naming the 2010 PFT Heroes with the Alan Page Award.

Here’s some background on Page, as borrowed (i.e., plagiarized) from our past write-ups regarding the award.

Alan Page was an undersized but overachieving defensive tackle in the days of three channels and computers the size of Winnebagos.  I was introduced to him by a book from the NFL’s “Punt Pass and Kick” library, a ’70s-era not-so-subtle attempt at indoctrinating a generation of America’s youth.

And it worked.

On the cover of Gamebreakers of the NFL was a picture of Page with that
old-time spiderweb facemask riding some poor sap from the 49ers to the
ground.  Nearly 40 years later, I’ve still got the thing.

Page dominated during the years just before and just after the merger, anchoring the Purple People Eaters and winning the league’s MVP award in 1971.

He earned a law degree while playing for the Vikings, and Page became a
practicing attorney after his football career ended in 1981.  Eleven
years later, Page was elected to the Minnesota Supreme Court, where he
has served with distinction ever since.

Page remains the best defensive tackle we’ve ever seen, and for his
on-field exploits and post-football success we’ve name the annual award
given to one of the league’s defensive linemen after him.

This year, the award goes to one of the most exciting defensive rookies in years, Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.  A first-team All Pro, a Pro Bowler, Associated Press defensive rookie of the year, Pepsi rookie of the year, and the player who personifies the new vibe in Detroit, where the Lions finished with four wins in a row, clawed their way out of the NFC North basement, and created realistic expectations for a return to the postseason for the first time since 1999.

With 10 sacks in 16 starts, Suh has shown all the signs of becoming a consistently excellent player.  Suh also donated $2.6 million last year to the University of Nebraska, the largest donation ever made to the school by a former Cornhusker athlete.

So by an overwhelming (albeit non-binding) vote of PFT Planet, with more than 37 percent of those who responded picking the No. 2 pick in the 2010 draft, Suh wins the 2010 version of the Alan Page Award.

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Mike Mayock is the NFL Network’s featured draft analyst, but he was not in attendance for Thursday’s Cam Newton “Media Day.” NFLN sent Bucky Brooks instead.

So why wasn’t Mayock in San Diego?

“I really didn’t need to see the workout, nor do I need to hear about the workout. … I’ve watched five of (Newton’s) game tapes,” Mayock explained. “He’s got a classic overhand delivery, he’s got a big arm. You and I in gym shorts at the local high school can throw pretty accurately, so I would guarantee you (Newton) would look great in a pair of gym shorts.

“…But I would also (offer) one cautionary note, and that is the best Pro Day for a quarterback I ever attended was JaMarcus Russell. That same day, even though I admitted it was the best Pro Day I ever saw, I also said I wouldn’t take (Russell) in the first round.”

ESPN’s Trent Dilfer, of course, was at Newton’s Media Day, and came away saying the workout could push the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner’s stock into the top-five picks.

Mayock disagrees.

“To me, there are two issues with this kid,” said Mayock. “Issue number one is he came out of a shotgun (offense), and if you watch the tape it’s basically a very simple offense. … And secondly, most importantly, when you get to a certain skill level in the NFL, which this kid certainly has, at the quarterback position, what kind of kid is he?

“Is he going to be the first guy in the building? Is he a gym rat? Is he football smart?”

All day long, ESPN watchers were showered in Dilfer’s praise of Newton Media Day.

Mayock, meanwhile, is sticking by his guns. Just as he did on January 25, Mayock has Newton ranked third among draft-eligible quarterbacks in his latest rankings, which were updated Thursday afternoon.

AP

The franchise originally known as the Titans won’t allow the franchise currently known as the Titans to interview one of its assistant coaches.

John Clayton of ESPN.com reports that the Jets have refused to give the Titans permission to interview offensive line coach Bill Callahan for the vacant offensive coordinator job in Tennessee.

Callahan reportedly is interested in becoming an offensive coordinator again, since it could help him become a head coach again.  But since he’s under contract with the Jets, the Jets can prevent him from taking another job with another team other than the job of head coach, even if it constitutes a promotion.

Some would say it isn’t fair.  Others would say that coaches who want flexibility should sacrifice the security that comes from multi-year deals and ink one-year contracts instead.

AP

With all the buyouts that the Browns have been funding over the past few years, they’ve finally found a way to save some money.

They won’t be hiring a new offensive coordinator.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that new coach Pat Shurmur will serve as his own offensive coordinator, calling the plays and otherwise drawing up the O’s in a way aimed to outsmart the X’s.

The move means that Shurmur could be relying even more heavily on team president Mike Holmgren, who dropped strong hints about returning to coaching in 2011 and who seems to be willing to roll up his sleeves and help out.  It also could mean that new defensive coordinator Dick Jauron will have more autonomy.

Mark Whipple, the former offensive coordinator at the University of Miami, has been hired as quarterbacks coach in Cleveland.

The discrepancy between the league’s and the union’s view of the size of the slice of the pie that the players collectively receive isn’t the only issue on which the NFL and the NFLPA disagree.  The two sides also disagree on the rookie wage scale.

Or, as the union now calls it, the “veteran wage scale.”

Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal reported earlier today that NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith explained in a memo to certain players that the rookie wage scale proposed by management would affect players with three to five years of experience, or as Smith put it “the core of our membership.”

The league proposed a system including five-year deals for first-round picks and four-year contracts for players drafted in all other rounds; the union wants maximum deals of four years in rounds one through three and three years in rounds four through seven.

“This wage scale would have a very dramatic effect on league salaries when you consider the number of players that would be subject to its terms,” Smith explained in a memo to the members of the Executive Committee and the various player representatives, claiming that 60 percent of the league would fall under the terms of the league’s proposal.

But here’s the reality.  Roughly 60 percent of the league already falls under an unofficial rookie wage scale, which after round one pays players reasonable amounts about which the NFL rarely complains — especially when a mid-round pick becomes a star.  The issue here is the amount of money paid at the top of the draft, and that’s where the focus should be.

It’s not just about eliminating the windfall for unproven rookies, but also about redirecting that money to rookies who outperform their salaries and finding ways to funnel money that is wasted on busts like JaMarcus Russell to the retired players who made the game what it is.

There can be no doubt that it’s in the best interests of the league, the teams, and the current members of the union to ensure that unproven players don’t continue to get inflated contracts, the growth of which continues to outpace the increase in pay for veteran players.  The union, in our view, is resisting much-needed change simply in the hopes of scoring a concessions from the league, and possibly because powerful agencies that pocket three percent of the first-round rookie contracts don’t want to lose their cut of the windfall.

Employed at one of those firms as an agent is the son of NFLPA chief outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler.  (Just sayin’.)

This should be the easiest problem for the two sides to fix.  In a cap-driven system, a rookie wage scale does not undermine in any way the total money available to players.  Indeed, every dollar taken away from unproven rookies is one more dollar available to proven players.  By ensuring that tens of millions won’t go to players who never contribute to the betterment of the game and by also ensuring that rookies who achieve greatness immediately get compensated for their efforts now, the pie can be carved up fairly for everyone.

But first the union has to ignore any and all self-interests clouding the process and commit to taking actions aimed for the good of the game, and for the good of the current members of the union.

AP

Broncos 2010 first-round pick Demaryius Thomas looked very explosive as a rookie when he was healthy.   The problem is that he rarely stayed healthy for long after entering the league with a foo injury.

Thomas’ injury-plagued start to his career got a lot worse on Thursday, when he tore his Achilles Tendon while working out, according to multiple reports.   The Broncos have since confirmed the injury and say Thomas will take 6-8 months to recover.

Thomas joins Eddie Royal as a young rehabbing Broncos receiver; Royal underwent hip surgery last week.  Royal is expected to be ready in May, but Thomas’ injury could jeopardize his start to the 2011 season.

(We’re contractually obligated to say “if there is a 2011 season” at this point.)

The Broncos see Thomas a future No. 1 receiver, but this injury is a huge setback.  The optimistic view here is that Denver is deeper at wideout than nearly any other position with Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, and second year pro Eric Decker also in the mix.

Richard Seymour came to the Raiders begrudgingly when he was acquired from the Patriots, taking his time to show up in Oakland.

Now he wants to stay for good.  (And we don’t blame him, considering his never-ending franchise tag.)

“I see myself retiring as a Raider,” Seymour said late in the 2010 season.

It looks like the Raiders will find a way to keep him.  The San Francisco Chronicle reports the team is expected to place the franchise tag on Seymour in the next two weeks.  That will cost them $14.9 million on a one-year contract.

The report runs in direct conflict with an NFL Network report that believes Zach Miller will get the tag.  We think Seymour will stay put regardless of whether he gets the tag.

The Raiders value Seymour enough to repeatedly give him a 20% raise on his eight figure salary.  It’s hard to believe he’d get a better deal elsewhere.

AP

Last week, Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson and two teammates, Jamaal Jackson and Todd Herremans, made a surprise visit to The View, where 13-year-old Nadin Khoury was telling his story of being viciously bullied by other kids at his school.

If you haven’t seen it, you need to see it.

And then you need to see Jackson’s first visit to PFT Live, during which he talked about the experience.  He said that he remains in touch with Khoury, and that Jackson plans to start a foundation aimed at addressing the problem of youth bullying.

It’s a great story, and it’s a great step for Jackson as he enters the prime of a very promising NFL career.

The NFL released a statement Thursday afternoon on the state of labor negotiations that tried to have the best of both worlds.

It tried to take the high road.   Essentially the purpose for the statement was to say the NFL won’t negotiate in public.   But the league couldn’t resist calling the reports coming out of Wednesday’s session with the NFLPA “inaccurate.”   That’s basically negotiating in public.

Here’s the full statement:

“Despite the inaccurate characterizations of yesterday’s meeting, out of respect to the collective bargaining process and our negotiating partner, we are going to continue to conduct negotiations with the union in private and not engage in a point-counterpoint on the specifics of either side’s proposals or the meeting process.

“Instead, we will work as hard as possible to reach a fair agreement by March 4. We are fully focused on that goal.”

The statement recognizes that the guts of the negotiation should be kept private.   In the age of Twitter, 24-hour sports coverage, and PFT (sorry), that’s going to be more difficult than ever before.

As the NFL continues to deal with the temporary seating fiasco that affected Super Bowl XLV, the league announced today that 2,000 fans in temporary seating sections will be offered either a refund of the face-value price of their tickets or a free ticket to a future Super Bowl.

The NFL said that the 2,000 fans getting the offer “were significantly delayed in gaining pre-game access to their seats due to the problems with the installation of some of the temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium.”

Fans who were affected are urged to go to NFL.com/sb45reseating and enter their information to get their refund or ticket to a future Super Bowl.

The deal for these 2,000 fans is separate from the offer made to the 400 fans who were denied a seat. Those 400 got a worse deal on Super Bowl Sunday but are getting a better offer for compensation: A choice between $2,400 cash plus a free ticket to next year’s Super Bowl or a free ticket to any future Super Bowl plus round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.

The NFL and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wanted to set a new Super Bowl attendance record at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday, and the league sold more tickets for more temporary seating than could be finished by game day. We hope that they’re sure they have space for the 2,400 fans who have been promised free seats at the 2012 Super Bowl, if those fans want those seats.

And we hope there is a 2012 Super Bowl. In an ominous sign that a work stoppage could become an even bigger black eye for the league than the current seating mess, today’s NFL announcement on the matter said, “In the event of a work stoppage that impacts next year’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis, the fan would have a choice of one free ticket to the next Super Bowl.”

Late last month, we noted the polarizing effect of Washington quarterback Jake Locker on draft analysts. Adam Caplan of FOX Sports and Russ Lande of Sporting News were thoroughly unimpressed with Locker’s Senior Bowl performance, while NFL Network’s Mike Mayock pinpointed Locker’s struggles as a pocket passer.

ESPN’s Todd McShay seemed to be Locker’s only steadfast backer left, alleging that the fifth-year senior’s “accuracy improved … each and every day” in Mobile. McShay claimed, at the time, that Locker helped his draft stock at the Senior Bowl.

Something changed since late January.

Appearing on SportsCenter Thursday, McShay was asked about risers and fallers at this point in draft season. After running through his list of risers (e.g. Alabama running back Mark Ingram and Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller), the first name McShay gave for his fallers was Washington quarterback Jake Locker.

McShay explained that Locker’s “fall” is attributable to poor accuracy, essentially the exact same criticism offered by Caplan and Lande, and alluded to by Mayock.

Perhaps McShay has been speaking to NFL scouts since the Senior Bowl. Those scouts were unimpressed with Locker’s practices, so McShay adjusted his evaluation accordingly.

Either that, or McShay is swiping other draft analysts’ ideas without assigning proper credit.

With the Florida Tuskers disbanding and the carcass becoming the Virginia Destroyers, the UFL currently has only five franchises.

The league announced today that the number will remain at five for 2011.

“We are retaining the five-team model that we know worked in 2010 and provides entertainment for our fans,” UFL Commissioner Michael Huyghue said Thursday.  “At this point in time, making a financial commitment to fielding a sixth team would be irresponsible.  It is more important that we safeguard the future of the UFL as we continue to seek expansion for future seasons.”

The UFL will launch the 2011 season in August, with the title game played in October.

“Our intent remains to begin play before the National Football League season begins, and to start incorporating Sundays into our football schedule,” Huyghue said.  “I have said before that from a fan’s standpoint, you are going to see a more competitive football game on Sundays in our regular season games, than you would in National Football League preseason games.”

Maybe the new marketing slogan will be, “The UFL:  Not as crappy as the NFL preseason.”

It gets complicated trying to keep track of all of the off-field issues Titans wide receiver Kenny Britt has encountered during his short career.

The latest one — a charge of theft-by-deception — was downgraded to  a misdemeanor on Thursday, according to John Glennon of the Tennessean.

None of Britt’s issues have been worthy of a suspension from the league on their own, but it’s possible the league will look into disciplining the young receiver because of his pattern of behavior.

The Minnesota Vikings said in a statement today that they support the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission’s decision to replace the Metrodome’s damaged roof. And then they proceeded to reiterate that what they really want isn’t a new roof. It’s a new stadium.

“We appreciate the MSFC’s efforts to ensure a safe environment for all year-round users of the publicly-owned stadium, and we are pleased the Vikings will be able to play in front of our fans at Mall of America Field during the final season of the team’s lease agreement,” the Vikings said in a statement, which was released shortly after the Commission said it would replace the snow-damaged Metrodome roof.

But the Vikings won’t be satisfied until the taxpayers build them a new stadium, and they also used the statement as an opportunity to make clear that they think a new stadium is the best thing for the Vikings and for Minnesota.

“The Vikings also want to be clear that the MSFC’s decision to replace the roof is not a long-term stadium solution and does not change the urgency to build a new multi-purpose stadium for the State and the Vikings,” the team said in its statement. “The Metrodome still ranks at the bottom of the NFL in terms of revenue and fan experience. It is our intent to pursue the final passage of legislation during this year’s legislative session to finance and construct a new stadium, and we are encouraged by the progress on that front.”

Left unsaid by the Vikings is that if they don’t get a new stadium from the state legislature in Minnesota, what they’ll look for next is a new home somewhere else.