Steelers have several other candidates for creating cap room

AP

As pointed out late last night (or possibly early this morning), the Steelers have created $11.7 million in cap space by restructuring the contracts of linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons.  But they reportedly needed to clear more than $25 million.

So where will the other $13 million come from?

Based on a review of base salaries published by the NFLPA, several players could face not just a restructuring (which cost Woodley and Timmons none of their money) but a pay cut or an outright release.

Here’s a list of the large Steelers salaries that could be trimmed down, one way or another:  tackle Willie Colon ($4.5 million); linebacker Larry Foote ($3 million); nose tackle Casey Hampton ($4.89 million); linebacker James Harrison ($5.565 million); guard Chris Kemoeatu ($3.577 million); quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ($11.6 million); offensive lineman Jonathan Scott ($2.2 million); defensive end Aaron Smith ($2.1 million); and receiver Hines Ward ($4 million).

Ward has said he’d be willing to take a pay cut to stay with the team.  He may have to make that decision sooner rather than later.

For any players who are released, the base salary and other 2012 compensation that the Steelers would avoid would have to be compared to any acceleration resulting from past signing bonuses.

Get used to the return of such concerns.  Under the 2006 CBA, most teams stayed far enough under the cap to avoid these concerns.  In 2010, there was no salary cap at all.  Starting in 2012, multiple teams could be playing a salary cap shell game in order to hold teams together now, even if it means having to eventually cut players they want to keep or refrain from signing free agents they covet.

AP

The Bengals have done their best to distance the stripes on their helmet from prison stripes in recent years, but one of their undrafted rookie signings is bringing back the old associations.

Linebacker Brandon Joiner has been sentenced to three years in prison for two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of felony drug possession. The charges stem from an incident in 2007 when Joiner was playing at Texas A&M.

Joiner and another man forced their way into an apartment and assaulted two men before binding them with duct tape. They stole their wallets, keys, cellphones and marijuana. When police searched Joiner’s home they also found hydrocodone and Ectasy.

Joiner finished out his collegiate career at Arkansas State after the arrest forced him off the Texas A&M team. Joiner’s lawyer said that they hope he will be released on parole after six to nine months if Joiner behaves himself behind bars.

“Since this incident, Brandon has conducted himself in an exemplary fashion and I’m sure he will continue to do that,” attorney Jay Granberry said, via the Bryan/College Station Eagle. “There are a lot of people rooting for Brandon and I’m convinced he’s not going to let anyone down.”

The Bengals haven’t made any comment about Joiner’s status at this point.

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The Dolphins have signed another draft pick.

The team announced Friday that they have agreed to terms on a contract with linebacker Josh Kaddu, who they selected in the fifth round last month. As with all players signed after the first round, Kaddu signed a four-year deal.

Kaddu will play outside linebacker for the Dolphins, likely on the strong side of the formation. He doesn’t figure to challenge for a starting spot any time soon, but the Dolphins hope his size and athleticism will come in handy on special teams in the 2012 season. Kaddu had an excellent career at Oregon and his draft status might have been deflated a bit because of a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the combine.

With Kaddu in the fold, the Dolphins have now signed four of their nine draft picks. It also means we’re even closer to having 253 draftees under contract before Memorial Day.

We’re sure you’ve got big plans for Memorial Day weekend, but there’s no better way to kick it off than with Friday’s episode of PFT Live.

Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell will join Mike Florio to talk about life since signing his new contract a couple of weeks ago. We’ll also find out about how things look on the defensive side of the ball in the desert where Campbell will be counted on as leader.

Florio will also speak with Ross Tucker of Sirius XM NFL Radio. Tucker, who is also a game analyst for Sports USA, and Florio will discuss the news that came out of the various Organized Team Activities around the league this week. They’ll also catch up on the juiciest quarterback competitions and talk a bit about the collusion lawsuit that has the NFLPA and NFL back at each other’s throats.

You can watch it all live at noon ET.

It’s still unknown whether NFL Network will keep Warren Sapp beyond the expiration of his contract in August.  But it is known that Showtime won’t be bringing Sapp back for Inside the NFL.

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that Sapp is out.  Per Jackson, Showtime has confirmed that James Brown of CBS, Phil Simms of CBS, and Cris Collinsworth of NBC will be returning.

It’s unknown whether Showtime will be replacing Sapp on the cast.  Two years ago, Showtime wanted to hire NBC’s Rodney Harrison to moonlight.  As we heard it at the time, NBC was fine with that arrangement, but CBS (which owns Showtime) didn’t want a second NBC employee on the panel.

After several weeks off the air following an outing of former Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey as the person who blew the whistle on the bounty program, Sapp has recently returned to NFL Network.

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The mystery of Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring lives on.

Despite sharing a past filled with drugs and hookers, Charlie Sheen told Dan Patrick Friday that he was not the man who bought the ring LT received after the Giants beat the Bills in Super Bowl XXV. There was a report from Jay Glazer of FOX that Taylor and his agent were told that Sheen was the buyer of the ring, which sold at auction for $230,401, but the man responsible for the Torpedo of Truth tour said that there was no truth to it.

“As much as I would be honored to own such an important artifact, I had nothing to do with the acquisition,” Sheen said, via Patrick’s producer Paulie Pabst.

And so the search goes on. We now know that it wasn’t Osi Umenyiora, Brandon Jacobs or Sheen who bought the ring. Perhaps it was Ashton Kutcher?

AP

Alex Smith raised some eyebrows this week when he used Cam Newton as an example of how great statistics from a quarterback don’t always translate to wins. Now one of Newton’s teammates is firing back.

It started when Smith got defensive about his stats, saying that he’d rather be judged by his team’s record than his passing yards.

“I could absolutely care less on yards per game,” Smith said. “I think that is a totally overblown stat because if you’re losing games in the second half, guess what, you’re like the Carolina Panthers and you’re going no-huddle the entire second half. Yeah, Cam Newton threw for a lot of 300-yard games. That’s great. You’re not winning, though.”

There’s some validity to what Smith said there: A quarterback’s passing yardage is often dependent on the score of the game, and in most of the 49ers’ games last season they were protecting leads in the second half. That’s part of the reason that Smith ranked 27th in the NFL with 196.5 passing yards a game.

But then Panthers linebacker Jon Beason took to Twitter with a valid point of his own. Beason told Smith to keep quiet about Newton, and he took a shot at Smith over the fact that the 49ers tried to sign Peyton Manning this year before settling on bringing Smith back.

“Alex smith, don’t hate on Cam Bc your stats would’ve gotten u cut if Peyton decided to come 2 San Fran.Truth b told..That’s after a 13-3 yr,” Beason wrote.

Beason is blunt, but he has a point: The 49ers tried to sign Manning, and the Panthers didn’t try to sign Manning, and the reason for that is that the 49ers aren’t as confident that Smith is their long-term answer as the Panthers are that Newton is their long-term answer.

And when Smith says to Newton, “You’re not winning,” he seems to be suggesting that Newton is to blame for the Panthers’ 6-10 record last season, and that Smith himself deserves the credit for the 49ers’ 13-3 record. And that’s nonsense.

The reason the 49ers won more games than the Panthers last season was because the 49ers’ defense and special teams were better than the Panthers’ defense and special teams. It’s ridiculous for Smith to suggest that he did more for his team than Newton did for his team when the Panthers’ offense was better than the 49ers’ offense.

Smith did a fine job last season of playing not to lose by cutting down on his turnovers and avoiding mistakes on a team whose defense and special teams were among the best in the league. But Newton did an amazing job last season of arriving on the worst team in the NFL and instantly making it competitive. Beason is right: Smith shouldn’t compare himself to Newton.

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We knew Dallas Clark would be wearing a uniform other than the Colts one he’s worn since entering his league if he played in 2012, but we didn’t know which one until he signed with the Buccaneers this week.

That wasn’t the only team that expressed interest in Clark’s services, however. The Chiefs and Patriots were also sniffing around the veteran tight end before he decided to walk the plank in Tampa. Clark went on ESPN Radio with Doug Gottlieb, which came to us via JoeBucsFan.com, to explain his decision.

“All three very, very good organizations. I had a feeling that when I was going to make the decision it was just going to be easy and it was going to be clear cut,” Clark said. “But man, when you have these three teams involved and these three organizations, it was extremely hard. You know, it took me a few days, but at the end of the day it just felt right down here in Tampa.”

Not to cast aspersions on Clark’s soul searching or anything, but it doesn’t take transcendental meditation to figure out why it felt right in Tampa. The Buccaneers traded away Kellen Winslow, leaving plenty of snaps for Clark’s taking if he is healthy enough to grab them.

That wouldn’t be the case in New England, where Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have the position locked down. Kansas City has Tony Moeaki and Kevin Boss at tight end, which might not be quite as daunting a duo but would definitely get in the way of ample playing time for Clark.

AP

Three weeks ago, I desperately wanted a break from all the stories about whether kids should play football.  Now, I desperately want a break from all the stories about the back-to-the-future toxic relationship between the NFL and the NFLPA.

And, of course, the respite comes via another story about whether kids should play football.

But this one goes the other way.  It’s not about why kids shouldn’t play football.  It’s about why kids should play football.

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu had this to say on the subject, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:  “Absolutely.  You face so many different adversities.  You deal with so much emotionally, but what makes this sport unique is that you can deal with a lot physically.  You face guys that are bigger, stronger and faster than you.  You can be physically dominated, but you still have to get up and fight.  That’s a type of thing you can’t learn anywhere else, especially not in any other sport.”

Teammate Larry Foote agrees.  “Yes, because they’re just starting to scratch the surface of making the game safer — and they are trying,” Foote said, perhaps not recognizing the irony in his remarks regarding safety, given that his teammates consistently complain about efforts to make the game safer.  “My son isn’t going to be skateboarding or any X-Games type of activities.  The way I feel about that stuff is the way some people feel about football, that it isn’t safe.  But I know how football challenges you every day, how you learn discipline and control.  Once you start learning those things you can apply them to anything, including studying and especially life.”

Of course, the same could be said of skateboarding or X-Games activities, or plenty of other sports or endeavors that entail physical exertion and, in turn, physical risk.

Polamalu acknowledges that everyone may assess those risks differently.  “I don’t know if parents should feel comfortable [letting kids play football], to be honest,” Polamalu said.  “It’s not the responsibility of the game to make anybody feel comfortable.”

The question is how much risk — and in turn discomfort — will be tolerated by a parent, or by the child once the child is old enough to make his or her own decision.  It’s unclear where the line is.  But for most parents it still resides somewhere between playing football and re-enacting scenes from the Jackass movies.

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Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow might be all about competition these days, but Sanchez’s agent doesn’t think it will amount to much.

On a busy day when breathless reports of the 7-on-7 drills at Jets OTAs provided another clue about how all-encompassing coverage of the Jets will be this season, Sanchez’s agent Brian Murphy took to Twitter to pump up his client. Murphy doesn’t take kindly to the media’s attempt to make Sanchez-Tebow into a full-fledged fight for the starting quarterback job.

“No offense media, but of course Sanchez is going to out perform Tim T. Mark is a franchise quarterback and Tim is a great athlete.”

It’s true, Sanchez is a franchise quarterback. It just happens to be for a franchise that saw no problem bringing in a quarterback that they knew would instantly and constantly fan the flames for Sanchez to be replaced as the team’s starter. The fact that Sanchez outperforms Tebow in practice isn’t going to change that one bit.

Like everyone who has criticized Tebow, Murphy quickly realized that it is a sure way to ruffle feathers. He tried to smooth them out a little bit later, again via Twitter.

“Didn’t mean to create a stir nor disrespect TT who has done nothing but excel on football field. This is my opinion and time will tell.”

Not bad for the first full day of the Sanchez-Tebow Jets. Things should only get better (for those of us watching, anyway) from here on out.

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Over the past several weeks, ample discussion and speculation have emerged regarding the teams that will (or, more accurately, won’t) appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks.

Michael Shain of the New York Post (via SportsBusiness Daily) reports that HBO wants to have its team picked by June 1.

Plenty of franchises are out of the running.  Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and Seahawks G.M. John Schneider separately have told PFT Live over the past week or so that their teams aren’t interested.  49ers owner Jed York removed his team from the running in response to a PFT tweet regarding Shanahan’s lack of interest.  Also, the Falcons previously declined an offer to appear on the program.

The Broncos reportedly have passed.  Ditto for the Texans.  Jets G.M. Mike Tannenbaum told PFT Live last week that the Jets haven’t been offered the assignment (which possibly means they’ve made it known in advance that they don’t want to do it).

Per the report, NFL Films president Steve Sabol has been unable to personally recruit teams as he continues to fight brain cancer.  “Without him going out to the teams twisting arms,” an unnamed “insider” told the Post, “it’s been hard.”

Still, HBO privately claims that there will be a team, and thus there will be a show.  (The Jaguars currently are believed to be the only team that actually wants to do it.)

My first choice would be the Jets.  Then the Saints.  Then the Broncos, Colts, and Redskins.  Beyond those five teams, it simply won’t be appointment viewing in 2012.

I’ve got a feeling — just a feeling — it’s going to be the Cowboys.

Feel free to post your preferences and/or guesses in the comments.

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When Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall tore his ACL in the season finale, it created some doubt about whether he’d be able to get back on the field in time to help the team during the 2012 season.

Mendenhall still isn’t sure when he’ll be back, but he’s adamant that he won’t miss the entire season. Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the team is prepared for the possibility that he will have to start the year on the PUP list, but Mendenhall isn’t willing to give up hope that he’ll be on the field for the Sunday night game against the Broncos on September 9th.

“There’s always the possibility,” Mendenhall said. “I’ll be back at some point. It’s just a matter of what point that is.”

Mendenhall said that he has been running and cutting, but that he also still has soreness and swelling in the knee. That makes it difficult to predict what kind of shape Mendenhall will be in when September rolls around. The fact that he’s entering the final year of his contract makes it more likely that Mendenhall will make sure he’s fully ready to play before pushing himself too far too fast.

Isaac Redman will likely take Mendenhall’s place in the starting lineup with Jonathan Dwyer, Baron Batch and rookie Chris Rainey also in the backfield mix.

Reuters

Last month the NFL and the players’ union agreed that before testing of players for human growth hormone would begin, a population study would be conducted at an independent lab to help determine the threshold for what constitutes a positive test for HGH. But now that agreement has hit a snag.

NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith said at his press conference on Thursday that a new lab will have to be found to conduct the study, because the researcher the NFL initially commissioned now says he can’t do the job.

“We just recently found out . . . the league’s choice to run the population study that we had consented to recently withdrew and said that he wasn’t the right person to get this done,” Smith said. “I’m thrilled that the league has made a decision to move forward with the population study. I’m a little frustrated that their selection has now pulled out so that we have to again re-up and try to get this done.”

The league and the union agreed last year that players would get blood tests for HGH. But those tests still haven’t begun because the two sides haven’t been able to agree on all the details of that testing. Smith said Thursday that the population study is not the only outstanding issue.

So even though it was agreed to nearly a year ago, HGH testing may not begin any time soon.

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Bills DT Torell Troup is hoping for a redemptive season.

Will RB Reggie Bush factor on returns for the Dolphins?

RB Joseph Addai is getting used to life as a member of the Patriots.

Jets RB Shonn Greene looked slimmer at Thursday’s practice.

Ravens S Bernard Pollard called his extension with the team a blessing.

Defensive assistant Hue Jackson has been an animated presence at Bengals practices.

CB Sheldon Brown is helping Browns rookies transition to the NFL.

Steelers CB Keenan Lewis is excited about the opportunities in front of him this season.

QB Case Keenum is getting used to taking snaps from center at Texans practice.

Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com outlines dream and nightmare scenarios for the Colts.

Former Jaguars T Richard Collier, paralyzed in a shooting in 2008, spoke to the team on Thursday.

The Titans are building a performance stage at LP Field.

There aren’t too many people missing Tim Tebow around the Broncos.

DT Dontari Poe is seeing more snaps in passing situations during Chiefs practice.

Raiders rookies are feeling a bit more comfortable after two weeks of practice with the team’s veterans.

Chargers LB Shaun Phillips likes the new additions to the defense.

QB Stephen McGee could lose his spot on the Cowboys roster.

The Giants signed CB Dante Hughes to replace Brian Witherspoon on the roster.

Said Eagles coach Andy Reid of QB Nick Foles, “Lots of little things. He’s completing balls and his completion percentage is way up there. He’s doing a good job with that and knowing the limited amount that he knows right now. He’s a smart kid and we’re throwing a ton at him right now. We really like his attitude.”

Redskins WR Santana Moss wants to regain the form that eluded him last season.

Bears RB Michael Bush knows that he’s going to play a similar role to the one he played in Oakland.

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News thinks Lions WR Titus Young deserves the benefit of the doubt after the incident with S Louis Delmas.

The Packers have an over/under of 12 wins in Vegas.

A roundup of what’s been going on at Vikings OTAs.

Curtis Lofton hopes to prove the Falcons wrong in their assessment of his abilities.

Panthers WR David Gettis said he’s on schedule for his return from a torn ACL.

Said Saints QB Chase Daniel, “I’d say I’m number 1-B right now. I obviously know what my role is on this team. And right now it’s to prepare like the starter and to take the No. 1 snaps. This is Drew’s team. I’m just here to fill in and get ready and prepare like the starter, you know, like I have from 2009, when I started here.”

T Donald Penn wants to see more running from the Buccaneers offense this season.

Rookie T Bobbie Massie is working as a backup, but the Cardinals want him to compete for the starting right tackle job.

RB Steven Jackson likes the way the Rams offense looks right now.

The 49ers won’t move T Anthony Davis to guard this offseason.

Seahawks T James Carpenter ran for the first time since ACL surgery.

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With the labor agreement between the NFL and its game officials expiring in less than a week, pro football will be heading back to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington, in the hopes of working out a new deal before a lockout or a strike.

Via Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the FMCS announced on Thursday that the league and the officials’ union have accepted an offer to submit their labor dispute to mediation, an informal process where the mediator has no power over the parties, other than possibly the power of persuasion.

The NFL’s labor dispute with players went to the FMCS before the lockout began.  Once a federal antitrust lawsuit was filed against the league, it made more sense to conduct mediation within the confines of the litigation, for a variety of reasons (including the reality that mediation conducted under the umbrella of a lawsuit generally helps keep the parties in line, since the mediator has a pipeline to the judge).

The NFL already has commenced the process of lining up replacements, something the NFL did 11 years ago.  Today, however, with unprecedented focus on player safety (and increased burdens on officials to spot possible concussions), an effort to replace the officials could be extremely controversial, especially in light of the current relationship between the NFL and NFLPA.

Especially if the officials strike — and if the players are inclined to respect their picket line.

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When he kicks for the Lions this year, Jason Hanson will break the NFL record of 20 consecutive seasons with one team, which he currently shares with Jackie Slater and Darrell Green. And he doesn’t think he’s much different as a kicker now than he was when the Lions took him in the second round of the 1992 NFL draft.

“I never thought I’d play this long,” Hanson told the Detroit Free Press. “I just know this: I know that when I’m kicking, I can kick as well as I ever have. And it’s just enough to make it each year.”

Hanson, who went 5-for-7 on field goal attempts of 50 yards or longer last season, becoming the first player in NFL history to have 50 field goals of 50 yards or longer in his career, is virtually assured of being the Lions’ kicker again this season. But he says the presence of undrafted rookie kicker Derek Dimke on the offseason roster means he views himself as competing for his job.

“You always have to perform,” Hanson said. “Always. There’s a few guys who are young and at the top of their game where they’re the guys. But everyone else, ‘Hey, Hanson, let’s see what you got?’ And once you reprove it and they’re like, ‘He’s ready,’ great. But as soon as you show up and your kickoffs are a little shorter and your hang times are down or you’ve missed a few more than you usually do, you bring young guys in who are good and they’re fired up.”

Hanson sounds fired up for at least one year. Maybe this will be the year the Lions do something that they haven’t done in his 20 seasons: Win a playoff game.