One bad play likely won’t doom Mike Thomas in Detroit

AP

Yes, Lions receiver Mike Thomas is running with the third string in Detroit.  Yes, he had a bad rep on Friday, where he was shut down by cornerback Domonique Johnson so badly that quarterback Matthew Stafford didn’t even throw the ball.

But that doesn’t mean Thomas will be cut.  Per a source with knowledge of his overall performance in camp, he has had plenty of positive plays, too.  More importantly, Thomas has $1 million guaranteed this year, which could make the Lions more likely to keep him on the 53-man roster.

Besides, there are still four weeks to go before the Lions make their final cuts, and four preseason games to be played.  One bad play won’t seal his fate any more than one great play would cement his spot on the roster.

Welcome back to work.  The place where you do most of your non-work Internet perusing while you otherwise should be working.

While you weren’t working, you may have missed some news from the NFL’s weekend of legal tampering, where teams can negotiate but make no offers — and where it’s free to show “interest” in a player, which in turn gives those who were working this weekend something to post on Twitter.

What it means remains to be seen, but it was something to post on Twitter.  So here we go.

The Packers paid CB Sam Shields a lot of money.

Someone will be paying CB Alterraun Verner even more.

Michael and Martellus Bennett could be roommates again.

OL Rodger Saffold was a priority for the Rams, but he’s still leaving.

LB Karlos Dansby could be leaving the Cardinals, again.

LT Jared Veldheer may be leaving the Raiders, for the Cardinals.

DE Jared Allen tells the Vikings he’s leaving, after their contract with DE Everson Griffen made it clear Allen won’t be back.

RB Darren Sproles will be leaving the Saints, one way or the other.

RB Chris Johnson will be leaving the Titans, one way or the other.

And he’ll potentially blame someone else for it.

LB Lance Briggs knows he’ll eventually be leaving the Bears.

CB Antonio Cromartie has left the Jets, but he could be back.

CB Vontae Davis may be staying with the Colts.  (Which would keep him from having to call his grandmother, and which would allow him to continue to prepare really hard for Tom Brady.)

LT Branden Albert could be joining the team that once prompted Vontae to want to call his grandmother.

Red Bryant has joined the team with the helmet that looks like a black and white cookie.

WR Hakeem Nicks makes a pitch to play for the Colts, Panthers, and Chargers.

He also makes it clear there’s nothing wrong with his foot or knee.

But teams are more concerned about the thing perched on his neck.

Teams are intrigued by but concerned about CB Aqib Talib.

Carson Palmer’s kid brother still has a job, in addition to the whole “when should I piss during a movie?” thing.

The Bucs (along with about 25 percent of the league) are interested in DE Michael Johnson.

The Mean Machine has ongoing interest in Ravens players.

Jimmy Graham needs an explanation.

Mark Ingram needs an explanation, too.

Rashard Mendenhall provides an explanation that perhaps no one really needed.

Former Bucs OG Davin Joseph needs a job.

The Texans are interested in QB Ryan Mallett, unless they aren’t.

No one is interested in running backs, even Ben Tate.

QB Mike Vick is no longer interested in the Vikings or the Jaguars.

Pat McAfee is interested in punting and kicking for the Colts.

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett possibly was interested in checking out a potential 2015 employer.

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While the vaguely worded world of legal tampering allows teams to negotiate but not offer, to express interest but not too much, it’s hard to divine what’s real and what’s fake.

But Texans defensive end Antonio Smith apparently has some real, tangible plane tickets lined up.

According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Smith has a pair of visits scheduled this week, among the four teams showing interest.

Players can begin visiting (and agreeing to things) on Tuesday.

Smith’s been a durable and productive player for the Texans, missing just one game the last five years and collecting 27.0 sacks. A solid 3-4 end, he could also project as an interior rusher in a 4-3, which gives him a better chance than some veterans in the open market.

AP

The Vikings signed Jasper Brinkley on Sunday, but that doesn’t appear to have put an end to their search for linebacking help.

Adam Caplan of ESPN reported last week that Jameel McClain, who was released by the Ravens last month, would visit with the Vikings on Monday. Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com reports that the meeting is still expected to take place even though Brinkley has been brought on board.

McClain played mostly on the inside for the Ravens, which would presumably put him in the mix for the middle linebacker job left open with Erin Henderson’s release. Brinkley and Audie Cole would also be part of that mix among players currently on the Vikings’ roster.

Jordan Raanan of NJ.com reported over the weekend that the “door is still open” for McClain with the Giants, who he visited last week, although they’d prefer to bring back Jon Beason. McClain also visited the Bills last week, as did Brinkley before returning for a second stint in Minnesota.

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The influence of new Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is already evident, based on their targets in free agency.

According to NJ.com, the Giants have shown early interest in Packers tight end Andrew Quarless.

Of course, they’re not the only ones, as six other teams are reportedly also in the mix during the legal tampering window — though we don’t know how many or to what degree those teams are interested.

Quarless has caught 56 passes in four years, but he’s been playing behind Jermichael Finley, so McAdoo apparently thinks he is ready to step out on his own now.

We’ll see if that interest turns into something more tangible, like an actual offer, starting tomorrow.

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The looming battle about whether Jimmy Graham should be viewed as a tight end or wide receiver for franchise tag purposes underscores the changing responsibilities of the tight end position in the NFL.

One free agent tight end hopes that things haven’t changed so much that blocking skills have been devalued. Brandon Pettigrew hasn’t put up receiving numbers like Graham or some of the league’s other prolific pass catchers at the position, but he hopes there are teams that appreciate how often he was positioned on the line to help as a blocker when surveying the free agent market.

“I want to be used as a tight end,” Pettigrew said, via USA Today. “I want to be utilized for my run-blocking and my pass-receiving skill set.”

With Graham tagged and Dennis Pitta re-signing with the Ravens, Pettigrew is joined by Jermichael Finley and Garrett Graham at the top of the list of available tight ends. Finley’s 2013 neck injury could be a red flag for teams while Graham has limited experience as the lead guy at the position. That should lead teams to take a long look at Pettigrew and his eventual contract will tell us how much of a price teams will pay for a tight end who leads with skills that have seemed outdated at times in recent years.

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The looming start of free agency gives you plenty of reasons to check PFT early, often, and constantly on Monday and beyond.

Here’s another reason to stop back throughout the day:  Our first mock draft of the year is coming at some point this morning.  Hopefully.

It’s a pre-free agency edition, which makes it even more meaningless than usual.  But we put it out to a vote, and you wanted it.

Well, enough of you wanted it to make us decide to do it even though we didn’t really want to do it.

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Packers G.M. Ted Thompson has a reputation for being stingy with free-agency dollars.  That’s true, as applied to free agents who have been playing for other teams.

When it comes to his own guys, Thompson spends, baby.

Most recently, Thompson spent $39 million over four years on cornreback Sam Shields, a player Peter King dubs as “pedestrian.”  Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel takes a broader look at the players Thompson has paid, from quarterback Aaron Rodgers to linebacker Clay Matthews to linebacker A.J. Hawk to cornerback Tramon Williams to guard Josh Sitton to guard T.J. Lang.

Silverstein points out that some of the in-house players who were paid became mistakes, like linebacker Brandon Chillar and (perhaps) safety Morgan Burnett.  And Thompson perhaps shouldn’t have let defensive end Cullen Jenkins walk.

The only big-name player signed from another team under Thompson was cornerback Charles Woodson.  And that came only after quarterback Brett Favre held a bizarre golf-course press conference as part of his will-I-or-won’t-I-retire campaign and openly lobbied for the team to land an impact player on defense.

“I know when we signed Reggie White, we knew we were going to be better right away,” Favre said in April 2006.  “I think people associated with the Packers said, ‘There’s a signing that will make us better.’  I think that’s what we have to do.  We have to make a statement again.  You have to stay up with the NFL.  Teams are making statements.  Sometimes you hit on them.  Sometimes you don’t.”

Less than three weeks later, Woodson was a Packer.

While Thompson obviously is more comfortable with guys he knows, Thompson welcomes a slew of strangers every year via the draft.  But the financial risk is much lower.

Still, the same kind of scouting principles that apply when draft players surely can be used in free agency, and Thompson could be adding guys who’d come in and make the team, as Favre said nearly eight years ago, “better right away.”  Jared Allen would, for example, make the Packers better right away.  Other players on both sides of the ball (specifically, the offensive line) would make the Packers “better right away.”

They don’t need to be much better.  They know how to get to the playoffs consistently.  They’re just having trouble advancing.  At some point, the formula needs to be revised in order to get the team back to the top.

At some point, they need to welcome strangers to the organization who have shown with other teams that they can play at a high level.

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AP

One of the reasons the Buccaneers have a lot of work to do this offseason is that their roster wasn’t built with the current coaching staff in mind.

That’s the word from Bucs coach Lovie Smith, who told the Tampa Tribune that the roster he inherited doesn’t necessarily match his defense or coordinator Jeff Tedford’s offense.

“We have systems that we want to run and this roster wasn’t set up with our systems in mind,” Smith said. “Not that it’s going to be that different, but we have some changes we have to make.”

The biggest question is whether Mike Glennon, who ended last season as the starting quarterback, is a fit for what Smith and Tedford want. Smith said Glennon hasn’t proven yet that he’s a franchise quarterback, and that means the Bucs are on the lookout for a veteran to sign.

“To say right now that Mike is the answer and he’s our quarterback of the future and we’re going to build around him and give him a 20-year contract, we’re not there,” Smith said. “I like him as one of our quarterbacks right now, but we’re going to have at least four in camp and at least one [veteran] will be in the mix. And then you just let it all play out.”

Smith’s comments suggest that the Bucs will have to be big players when free agency starts tomorrow.

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Eight opinions on what the Bills should do in free agency.

Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald wonders if the Dolphins’ reported interest in S Jairus Byrd makes financial sense.

CB Logan Ryan is waiting like everyone else to see if Aqib Talib returns to the Patriots.

With CB Antonio Cromartie gone, the Jets are likely in the market for cornerback help.

QB Joe Flacco will organize some workouts with Ravens receivers.

What’s the outlook on special teams for the Bengals this offseason?

Free agent receivers and tight ends that could be on the Browns’ radar.

The clock on a new contract for Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger continues ticking.

WR Andre Johnson said he hoped QB Matt Schaub remained with the Texans.

A hot cornerback market could make CB Vontae Davis more expensive for the Colts.

Receiver help is a must for the Jaguars.

The Titans may want to trade RB Chris Johnson, but it won’t be easy.

A vote against the Broncos making LB Von Miller one of their captains.

Priest Holmes and Christian Okoye are among the former players taking part in a Chiefs fantasy camp.

The Raiders are active in the left tackle market.

Could Notre Dame DT Louis Nix III be a fit with the Chargers?

The Cowboys are expected to be bargain shoppers in free agency.

Top free agent cornerbacks could cost more than the Giants can pay.

A look at the pass rush options for the Eagles.

The Redskins are hosting a Q&A with director of player personnel Scott Campbell and director of pro personnel Morocco Brown.

An argument in favor of the Bears making QB Josh McCown’s return a top priority.

Current and former members of the Lions organization remembered late owner William Clay Ford on Sunday.

Re-signing players has been a good value for the Packers over the years.

Said Vikings QB Matt Cassel, “I’m super excited about coming back there and getting the thing going and winning a lot of games.”

On Sunday, the Mount Vernon Baptist Church held its final services in a building that will be torn down to make way for the new Falcons stadium.

Could South Carolina native Sidney Rice be a receiver option for the Panthers?

The Saints continue to look at in-house options with free agency starting Tuesday.

Will ties to coach Lovie Smith land CB Charles Tillman with the Buccaneers?

Darren Urban of the Cardinals website takes a look at the team’s interest in T Jared Veldheer.

Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com expects the Rams to release G Harvey Dahl in the near future.

Some older players for the 49ers to consider in free agency.

Said Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin on getting the second-round tender, “Well, we expected that. That’s just the process of this business side of it. We expected it. There are steps in this process that we have to wait on before we can move forward with it.”

AP

A Bennett family reunion could be heading to Chicago.

A year after the Bears signed tight end Martellus Bennett, the team reportedly is in “strong pursuit” of Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

Two team officials told Briggs that the team expects to sign Bennett once the free agency period opens on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Bennett signed a one-year, $5 million deal in Seattle last year after hitting free agency as a member of the Buccaneers.  The Seahawks wanted to re-sign Bennett; a report from Super Bowl Sunday said they definitely would.

At this point, it looks like they won’t, barring an unexpected development.

It’s also possible that the acquisition of Bennett via a market deal will conclude defensive end Julius Peppers‘ run with the Bears.  Signed on the first day of free agency four years ago, Peppers has an $18.1 million cap number and a $13.9 million salary.  If the Bears keep him at that number, they’ll have more than $40 million in 2014 cap space tied up in two players — Peppers and quarterback Jay Cutler, whose cap number is $22.5 million.

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AP

One of the top offensive linemen in free agency is reportedly set to change teams.

Alan Herman, the agent for Rams offensive tackle/guard Rodger Saffold, has told the team his client will likely be departing St. Louis, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Sunday.

The Rams’ second-round pick in 2010, the 25-year-old Saffold has started 44 games in four NFL seasons. He has made starts at both tackle spots, and he has also played guard. His ability to play tackle and his relative youth are among his primary assets in free agency.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Herman did not indicate where Saffold could be headed, though the paper reported Oakland and Tampa Bay were speculated to have interest.

Saffold is ranked No. 25 in PFT’s Free Agent Hot 100.

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The Bears continue to sign their own free agents — even though the guys they aren’t signing may be getting more of the attention.

Defensive tackle Nate Collins and quarterback Jordan Palmer have signed one-year contracts to return.  The team announced the moves on Sunday night.

Collins appeared in five games with two starts in 2013 before landing on injured reserve with a knee injury.  He has played two seasons with the Bears and two before that with the Jaguars.

The younger brother of Carson Palmer, Jordan Palmer spent nine weeks on the Chicago roster in the 2013 season.

The moves mean that the Bears have re-signed 12 of their potential free agents.

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It’s been a good year for Karlos Dansby.

Cut by the Dolphins last year after Dannell Ellerbe arrived via free agency, the veteran linebacker returned to Arizona on a one-year, $2.5 million deal.

After a strong season to Arizona, the Cardinals have offered Dansby a two-year deal worth $10 million to $12 million, according to Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.  Dansby, the No. 23 player on the PFT Free Agent Hot 100, hasn’t taken it, opting instead to test the market.

Dansby’s decision suggests that he’s got something else cooking for even more. Not bad for a 32-year-old linebacker who shouldn’t be making that kind of money.

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The NFL enjoys a tenuous relationship with college football.  The league benefits greatly from a farm system that costs the NFL nothing, allowing the many major college programs to develop players and weed out pretenders and allow the 32 franchises to welcome an annual crop of boys who have become men on someone else’s watch.

In return, the NFL has erected (with the consent of the NFLPA) a barrier to the periodic boys who already are men, able to leap to the NFL before expiration of the mandatory three-year waiting period after high school.

Since the passage of the new labor deal, the NFL has developed a problem.  With the lottery prizes at the top of round one eliminated, more and more college players are inclined to leave once their three years have passed, anxious to begin putting in seasons toward a second pro contract limited only by the marketplace.

Responding to the recent trend, Steelers chairman Dan Rooney has penned an op-ed urging players to stay in school.

Published last weekend by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and posted this week by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Rooney blames the dynamic on agents looking for a quick score.  But the quick score has been greatly diminished by the rookie wage scale.  Before 2011, a player pegged to be a second-round pick could make tens of millions by staying in school one more year and vaulting to the top of the first round.  Since 2011, that extra year won’t dramatically increase a player’s potential earnings.

With each human body having a limited number of hits it can take in a lifetime, the sooner those hits are taken for money, the better.

While not every college player should squander his remaining eligibility, those who know that the NFL is ready for them should go as soon as they can, earning real money for the constant physical risks and wear and tear.  College will always be there.  The cartilage and ligaments and tendons may not.

We won’t address each of Rooney’s points.  But if he’s right — if players should stay in school — the solution is simple.  The league and the union should push the waiting period from three years to four.

The NFL will never do that because the league wants the best of the best players.  But for the potential harm opening the floodgates would do to the league’s ability to enjoy the full benefits of a free farm system, the NFL would get rid of the waiting period completely, taking anyone who has the physical skills to make a difference at the pro level, regardless of age.

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AP

Another top-end free agent appears poised to re-sign with his current club.

According to Jason La Canfora of CBS, the Colts and cornerback Vontae Davis are “nearing a deal” that’s anticipated to be completed on Monday.

The 25-year-old Davis is the second-ranked cornerback and the No. 7 overall player on PFT’s Free Agent Hot 100. He started all 16 games for the Colts in 2013, notching 46 tackles, defending 12 passes and recording one interception.

Were the 5-foot-11, 204-pound Davis to hit the market, his age, athleticism and size would work in his favor. However, the Colts, who surrendered a second-round pick to acquire Davis from Miami in 2012, are reportedly on the verge of keeping him in the fold.