Steelers’ James Harrison won’t be 100 percent at all this season

AP

Steelers linebacker James Harrison missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury, and although Harrison has returned to start the last four games, he says he’s not 100 percent healthy. And not even close to 100 percent healthy.

Harrison told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he has no hope of being completely healthy until next season, and that all he can hope for is that as this season progresses, he can get into good enough shape that he’ll be able to make it through every game.

“I don’t believe you’ll be able to get back to 100 percent, health-wise,” Harrison said. “Conditioning-wise, it’s a possibility. Health-wise, you’re not going to be able to because as soon as you get done with surgery, you start playing, and you know you’re going to continue to deal with that little issue until the end of the season. When you finally get time to rehab it properly, you’ll be able to get to 100 percent.”

Harrison added, however, that he still thinks he can make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, saying, “A guy that’s not 100 percent can still be destructive.”

So far this season Harrison hasn’t been destructive, recording just one sack. The combination of an injury and age have made the 34-year-old Harrison a less imposing player for the Steelers’ defense.

AP

Broncos rookie running back Montee Ball is getting plenty of work with the first-string offense at Organized Team Activities.

That’s because neither of last year’s top two running backs, Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno, are participating. McGahee is the only Bronco who has chosen not to attend the voluntary practices, while Moreno, who suffered a knee injury in the Broncos’ playoff loss to the Ravens, hasn’t been cleared for team drills.

The decision to draft Ball calls into question whether the Broncos plan to bring back both McGahee and Moreno. Denver is fairly deep at running back, with Ronnie Hillman, Lance Ball and Jacob Hester also on the team. But Chafie Fields, McGahee’s agent, told the Denver Post that McGahee’s absence from OTAs doesn’t indicate that he doesn’t plan to be a part of the Broncos when mandatory work begins.

“He’s following the same routine he’s had his whole career,” Fields said. “He’ll be there. He’s ready to compete. No messages.”

McGahee may be ready to compete, but every day he’s not there is a day that Ball gets another opportunity to show the coaching staff that he deserves to be the team’s No. 1 running back.

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There are jobs up for grabs on the linebacker depth chart in Pittsburgh this year and one of the players expected to be in the thick of competition for them has signed his rookie contract.

The Steelers announced Monday that sixth-round pick Vince Williams has agreed to a contract with the team. Williams joins safety Shamarko Thomas as members of the 2013 draft class to agree to deals. There are seven other players, including first-round linebacker Jarvis Jones, still unsigned.

Williams wasn’t invited to the combine despite starting his last two years at Florida State, where he had 13.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. He’ll be part of the mix at inside linebacker behind Lawrence Timmons and Larry Foote and his bid for playing time will get a boost if second-year player Sean Spence’s physical condition ends up being closer to the more negative prognostications floating around this offseason.

Williams is one of the new faces making for a different looking Steelers team at OTAs this month. His work at those sessions will help determine how much we see of that face.

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Yes, the NFL offseason will be changing.  But not the way the NFL had envisioned.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the league and the NFLPA are on the verge of a deal that would move the draft to May, something the league has wanted.  The change would apply to at least the next three years.

It’s unclear when in May the draft would occur, but it’s safe to assume that the draft would fall in the window for the Nielsen’s ratings sweeps.

The quid pro quo apparently will come from the movement of the start of the league year (and in turn the launch of free agency) from after the Scouting Combine to before it.  While at first blush this suggests the new league year will land in February, the more likely outcome is that the Scouting Combine will happen in March.

Regardless of the precise dates for the Scouting Combine, the change means that the Combine no longer would be the league’s annual tampering swap meet.  The market already would be open, and agents would be trying to do deals with teams instead of merely laying the foundation for those deals in a way that violates NFL rules.

The league had wanted to move the Combine to March, to delay the launch of free agency to April, and to nudge the draft to May.  The NFLPA wisely balked, since it would delay the transfer of offseason funds from teams to players.

Instead, free agency (and the “signing day” concept the NFL is developing) would happen in late February or early March (like it used to), the Combine would come after that, and the third significant event in the NFL offseason would happen in May, blending seamlessly into OTAs that extend into June, followed by a six-week quiet period that never really is quiet.

If the new approach maximizes opportunities for fans to follow the NFL and further increases interest, it’s hard for a website that derives its audience and revenue from covering the NFL to complain.  But we’ll probably find a reason to.

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There’s a new Superman movie coming out this summer and Jets owner Woody Johnson appears to be in the spirit.

Johnson, who is at the league meetings in Boston, spoke to reporters on Monday about the arrest of running back Mike Goodson and said that the team was gathering information about the incident. Mike Garafolo of USA Today reports that he also attempted to reassure those worried about the image of the Jets by saying that the team is about “truth, justice and the American way.”

That’s also what the Man of Steel has devoted himself to depending for most of the last century. He’s had a lot more success in his endeavors than the Jets, especially if you leave Superman IV out of the discussion, but some may argue that kryptonite is an easier to overcome than Mark Sanchez.

Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com reports that Goodson was at the team’s facility as they started OTAs Monday but that he did not participate in the workout. There’s no timeline for how long the fact-finding will continue before the Jets might take any action.

Goodson was charged with five drug and gun counts last week after police responded to a 911 call about a car parked in on Route 80 in New Jersey. Goodson was not driving the car, but was charged with possession of under 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a loaded handgun and possession of hollow point ammunition.

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In the new, post-2011 CBA NFL, offseason workouts are supposed to feature less intensity, because they’re supposed to include no contact.

As it was before 2011, it’s sometimes easier said than done.

According to JoeBucsFan.com, a fight broke out at practice on Monday between rookie defensive tackle Akeem Spence and center Jeremy Zuttah.  Spence emerged from the scrum without a jersey.

After practice, Spence said the fight happened because Spence fired off the ball too aggressively on the first snap.

“Hopefully [Zuttah] respects me for that because I want to be a part of the team,” Spence said.  “It’s just me not knowing the speed. . . .  Now I know I need to throttle it down a little bit but at the same time get my work.

“I’m not going to back down from nobody so I mean I had to let that be known here on the first day here.  So, hey, there it is.”

Contact during offseason workouts often occurs via young players trying to prove themselves.  Which makes it more important for the coaching staffs to educate the young players as to the limits of permissible contact during these sessions.

Actually, there’s supposed to be none.  Which means there’s a chance the NFL and/or the NFLPA will be looking into the situation.

Reuters

We mentioned over the weekend that it was probably good for Manti Te’o to play along with the joke when a magazine included his fake dead girlfriend in its hottest women of the year list.

The Chargers aren’t taking the same approach since drafting the Notre Dame linebacker.

According to Michael Gehlken of U-T San Diego, the Chargers have decided to not make Te’o available to the local media until mid-June, calling it an “organizational decision.”

It’s an odd approach for first-year head coach Mike McCoy.

The longer they play keep-away with Te’o, the longer the list of sideshow questions has a chance to grow.

If he rolled by the reporters who cover the Chargers on a daily basis, they would have exhausted all the controversial material already, and would be on to talking to him about whether he can play three downs, or how his adjustment to the NFL was going.

Instead, the organization is making it look like a guy who seemed to be embracing the joke in order to make it go away has now chosen to go back in hiding.

Reuters

One of the Dolphins’ best defensive players was reportedly absent from the team’s workout on Monday.

Safety Reshad Jones was not present for their workout on Monday. Presence is voluntary at these workouts, but Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins didn’t know where Jones was and spent most of the morning trying to track him down after he’d been a regular participant so far this offseason. Neither Jones nor his agent returned phone calls seeking comment about his whereabouts.

Salguero also reports that there has been speculation among some of Jones’ teammates that the safety is unhappy with the slow pace of negotiations regarding a new contract. Jones’ rookie deal expires after the 2013 season and there have reportedly been “intermittent discussions” about a deal that would keep Jones in Miami for the long term.

Jones started every game for the Dolphins last season and led the team with four interceptions. That helped him hit escalators in his contract that bumped his 2013 salary from $575,000 to $1.323 million, which is likely well below what he’s seeking in a longer deal. As with most players under contract, Jones has limited leverage once mandatory work gets underway so this absence may linger through OTAs if the contract is indeed the reason for Jones’ absence.

With the franchise-tagged defensive tackle Randy Starks also looking for a new deal, Dolphins General Manager Jeff Ireland still has a good bit on their plate after an offseason that’s been a busy one in Miami right from the opening bell.

UPDATE 2:43 p.m. ET: An earlier version of this story indicated Monday was the first day of the OTAs. The Dolphins reached out to PFT to clarify that Jones missed a workout today and that OTAs officially begin on Tuesday, something Salguero has also updated in his original report. The team does not know if Jones will be in attendance Tuesday or whether he was absent.

AP

Last season, after Lions receiver Calvin Johnson suffered a concussion, the Lions said he didn’t.

Today, Johnson reportedly confirmed that he played with three broken fingers in 2012.  And while the team has not yet addressed the contention, a source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that Johnson actually didn’t break any fingers.

He also apparently didn’t say that he broke his fingers, based on the questions asked and answers provided.

A portion of Johnson’s quotes appears in Chris McCosky’s story in the Detroit News.  There’s no specific quote from Johnson acknowledging the fingers were broken.

This doesn’t change the fact that he suffered some sort of injury to the fingers on his left hand that has left them crooked, but the injury report for last year only shows Johnson as having a “thumb” injury twice, in Week 13 and Week 15.

Thus, broken or not, Johnson played with finger injuries last year.  Which can make slightly more difficult the task of using the fingers and the hands to catch footballs.

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I spent last night watching the Penguins blow a 1-0 lead to the Senators on NBC Sports Network, before eventually losing in double overtime.  The game-tying goal came with 28.6 seconds to play.

Over on the parent network, Tim Tebow showed up after the clock expired.

For the season finale of Donald Trump’s The All-Star Celebrity Apprentice on NBC, Tebow arrived at the final task with a check for $100,000, which went to finalist Trace Adkins’ charity.  But Tebow got there after the deadline for gathering funds, so Adkins didn’t get credit for the money.

Adkins still raised more than fellow finalist Penn Gillette, and Adkins ultimately was named The All-Star Celebrity Apprentice, a title that as far as we can tell is meaningless.  Like Vice President of the United States.

It’s unclear when the segment including Tebow’s appearance was taped, and whether the money came from his pocket, his foundation, or elsewhere.

It was clear that Tebow showed up with $100,000 less than expected.  Adkins said multiple times that Tebow was coming with $200,000.

Regardless, it was a generous contribution, which will go to the American Red Cross.  And it possibly gives Tebow an opening to join the show for its next season, since he quite possibly won’t be otherwise occupied.

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If Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano ever gets tired of having to tell people Josh Freeman is his starting quarterback, someone should probably mention to him that it’s kind of his own fault.

Schiano started singing like Tammy Wynette again in relation to Freeman Monday, the day after he was quoted as saying he was “not against” the notion of starting rookie Mike Glennon instead.

“We have a starting quarterback, and it’s Josh Freeman,” Schiano said, via Stephen Holder of the Tampa Bay Times.

According to the report, Schiano said he’s trying to be honest, and doesn’t mean to put pressure on Freeman by saying such things in the national media.

“I guess nationally, they don’t sit here with me every day like you guys [local media] do,” Schiano said. “From the day we arrived, our whole program has [been based on] competition, . . . That’s what we believe in. It’s the most competitive sports league in the world. It’s competition, and I love it.

“But we have our starting quarterback, and it’s Josh Freeman. I’m not looking to find another.”

If he really wanted to clear things up, he could always, you know, stop leaving the door open a crack every time he talks about Glennon.

Or, if he wanted a stronger statement on Freeman and how much he loves him under center, he could give him a new contract to replace the final year of his rookie deal.

But it doesn’t appear at the moment that Schiano intends to do either.

And that’s fine, as long as everyone’s clear about the implication sent by those actions.

He likes Freeman, right up until the point he decides he doesn’t.

So Schiano’s apparently going to have to keep clarifying all the things that he keeps saying, whether to the national or local media.

A little more than a month after signing him, the Bears announced the release of defensive tackle Andre Fluellen on Monday.

The 28-year-old Fluellen has appeared in 56 games in five NFL seasons, notching 52 tackles and 2.5 sacks. He had stints with Miami and Detroit in 2012. The Lions drafted him in the third round in 2008 out of Florida State.

The 6-foot-2, 302-pound Fluellen has primarily been a backup interior lineman on teams employing 4-3 schemes, and it’s possible he could appeal to clubs using four-player defensive lines.

AP

In 2012, Packers linebacker Desmond Bishop never saw the field after suffering a hamstring injury in the preseason. In 2013, Bishop thinks he’s going to be the best defensive player in the NFL.

Bishop told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he keeps a notebook with everything he plans to do for the whole season, and at the top of the list is “2013 Defensive MVP. Why not?“

Some might say the answer to “Why not?” is simple: Bishop is nowhere near good enough to be the defensive player of the year. But Bishop doesn’t see it that way.

“Seriously,” Bishop says, “why not? I know I’m capable.”

The Packers may not believe Bishop is capable, which is why they were considering trading him last month. Bishop says that trade talk motivates him.

“Oh yeah,” Bishop said, “definitely. I get so much motivation from so much different stuff. I’m ready to go.”

From all indications, Bishop will be ready to go in 2013 after missing all of 2012. But ready to be the defensive player of the year? Don’t bet on it.

AP

Darrell Green had a Hall of Fame career with the Redskins, but no one will be happier to cheer for the Cowboys this season.

That’s because his son, wide receiver Jared Green, is on the Cowboys roster after spending last year on the Panthers practice squad.

So as natural as it would have been for the son to idolize an Art Monk or a Gary Clark growing up, it was a Michael Irvin poster on his wall instead.

“Every kid, I don’t care what anybody says, any kid in the ’90s saw that star and wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy,” Jared said, via Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com. “I don’t care who you are or where you’re from, you wanted to be a Dallas Cowboy. . . .

“My dad was a player at that place, and we appreciated everything he did and what the organization allowed him to do, but after that it’s just a job Dad worked for 20 years. I’m a grown man, and my dad is supporting what I do and we’re all-in for the Dallas Cowboys.”

The younger Green apparently stood out in rookie minicamps, though the competition will increase when the veterans arrive for OTAs.

And if he can crack the roster, he’ll have a chance to see up close the uniform his father starred in.

But if his father shows up wearing a star, he said not to be surprised.

“Daddy doesn’t care what the color of the jersey is as long as my son’s name is on the back,” Darrell said.

Jared’s far from a lock to even win a roster spot, though he does have a good measure of his father’s speed. And if he can make that last, he has a chance to make for some interesting choices of jerseys at family reunions.

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Running back Montell Owens is visiting the Bills on Monday, the club said, tweeting a picture of the former Jaguar for good measure.

Owens (5-10, 225) could appeal to Buffalo on numerous levels. He is a two-time Pro Bowler on special teams, and he’s capable of playing both fullback and running back.

The 29-year-old Owens has primarily made his name on special teams, but when injuries forced him into the lineup at tailback for Jacksonville a season ago, he acquitted himself well. Overall, Owens rushed for 209 yards and a touchdown on 42 carries in 2012 for the Jaguars, who released him last week.

AP

PFT Live was on vacation last week, but it’s a new week and that means we’ll be back at it on Monday.

We’ll get the ball rolling again by checking in with Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune about what’s going on with the Chargers. The big news is on the defensive side of the ball, where theyy didn’t waste any time signing longtime Colts pass rusher Dwight Freeney after losing linebacker Melvin Ingram to a knee injury. We’ll hear more about how the Chargers will use Freeney and see if there’s going to be a veteran left tackle like Max Starks joining him in the locker room.

Former Chiefs General Manager Scott Pioli will also be on hand to talk about the other big stories around the league as most of the 32 teams gear up for a week of OTAs.

You can watch it all live at noon ET.