Joe Thomas goes down in practice, gives Browns a scare

AP

The Browns got quite a scare in Monday morning’s practice when Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas got rolled up on, screamed and spent several minutes getting his knee examined by trainers.

AP

No part of the Seahawks roster is as synonymous with their success as their secondary.

And even though they drafted an entirely new one, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said they weren’t trying to move past the Legion of Boom era.

The Seahawks drafted four defensive backs, headlined by cornerback Shaquill Griffin and safety Delano Hill in the third round.

Coupled with the fact they listened to trade offers for cornerback Richard Sherman this offseason and have safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor coming off surgeries, it makes it natural to wonder about the future. But during an interview with 710 ESPN, Carroll said they simply wanted to delve into a deep secondary class in this year’s draft.

“This was a very strong draft in the defensive back section so it just kind of happened that we had opportunities to get guys,’’ Carroll said. “We may put together one of the great backup groups you’ve ever seen and that may be what this is for the future. That would be a great thing that happens. We love the guys that we play with. But meanwhile we are going to allow these guys to compete to start and that pushes Earl and pushes Kam and pushes Sherman and that’s how it goes.

“They know that this whole program is built on competition.’’

They also know the clock is ticking.

Thomas turns 28 this weekend and Sherman and Chancellor are 29, putting them closer to the end than the beginning. Thomas is recovering from a broken leg and Chancellor had surgery on both ankles. And considering the open discussion of trading Sherman, it would be irresponsible of them to not have a backup plan in place for all three.

For the moment, that appears to be just what they have, and the competition this year will likely dictate how long Seattle’s headline group stays together.

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When the Patriots acquired wide receiver Michael Floyd late last season, some thought they were hoping he’d sign with another team in the offseason, which would bolster the Patriots’ chances of gaining compensatory draft picks in 2018. But it probably won’t work out that way.

The compensatory pick formula counts only free agent signings made by May 9, and Floyd remains unsigned as of May 5.

Floyd is currently talking to the Vikings and other teams, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. But he’s expecting to have a deal near the end of next week, which wouldn’t help the Patriots in the compensatory pick formula, nor would it hurt his new team in the compensatory pick formula.

The 13th overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, Floyd was a disappointment for four seasons in Arizona, with the Cardinals finally cutting him after a drunk driving arrest in December. The Patriots picked him up at the end of the season and he caught four passes in the last two regular-season games, then caught one pass in the one postseason game he played.

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A look at the new approach the Bills have established this offseason.

Dolphins DE Charles Harris hung out with Sasquatch on draft night.

The Patriots introduced their draft class to Gillette Stadium on Thursday.

The Jets feel S Marcus Maye improved in pass coverage throughout his career at Florida.

Jameel McClain has returned to the Ravens organization in player development.

Former Bengals S Chris Crocker is trying his hand at the memorabilia business.

The Browns are looking for growth from their young wide receivers.

The Steelers showed they value long snappers by drafting one.

Breaking down Texans rookie RB D’Onta Foreman’s running style.

An early crack at setting the Colts’ depth chart.

LB Telvin Smith said that he and other young Jaguars veterans are ready for bigger leadership roles.

Former Titans coach Jeff Fisher has moved back to Nashville.

A look at the Broncos offense in light of their additions in the draft.

The Chiefs made a couple of promotions in their front office.

Raiders rookie RB Elijah Hood is excited about playing with Marshawn Lynch.

The Chargers’ gamble that they could stand pat and draft G Forrest Lamp paid off last week.

What can the Cowboys expect from DE Taco Charlton during his rookie season?

Giants S Landon Collins offered some advice to a pair of Jets rookie safeties.

Predicting the impact that the Eagles’ draft picks will have as rookies.

T Morgan Moses‘ patience paid off in a big new contract with the Redskins.

Bears G Kyle Long told QB Mike Glennon to “get your competitive shoes on and get ready to kick some butt” when the team drafted QB Mitchell Trubisky.

A call for the Lions to go after free agent RB LeGarrette Blount.

Josh Jones is preparing to play a hybrid safety role for the Packers.

DL Datone Jones believes the Vikings will prove to be a better fit for him.

Falcons C Alex Mack will have someone new on his right side this season.

The Panthers are holding their rookie minicamp this weekend.

Injury concerns exist for several members of the Saints’ draft class.

Bucs tryout player Christophe Mulumba Tsimanga is your run-of-the-mill Congolese hockey player who took up football when he was 16.

The Cardinals will honor former QB Jim Hart this season.

The Rams’ depth chart may be starting to come into focus.

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is impressed with how LB Navorro Bowman has recovered from a torn Achilles.

The Seahawks plan to use DL Malik McDowell in a similar way to how they use Michael Bennett.

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The Broncos are going to sign 15 undrafted rookies soon, but they had to make room for them first.

Via Cameron Wolfe of the Denver Post, the Broncos released three players to make room for all the new additions.

Denver waived defensive end Iosia Iosia, wide receiver Mekale McKay and long snapper Jeff Overbaugh.

Iosia spent the last week of last season on their practice squad, and he and the other two signed future contracts in January.

With those moves and the addition of Jamaal Charles, the Broncos would be up to the 90-man roster limit.

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Ben Roethlisberger is glad to have Martavis Bryant back with the team. But it’s going to take some time to know whether the Steelers quarterback can trust the twice-suspended but just-reinstated wide receiver.

According to Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger supported Bryant during his first suspension, but “felt betrayed and even lied to” by the wideout before his second suspension.

Roethlisberger said he wanted to have a private conversation with Bryant, but the onus for getting back in the team’s good graces was on him.

“It’s more than just me. He has to win back everybody’s trust,” Roethlisberger said. “I would hope he comes up to me and we go somewhere to talk in private. After that, he has to show with his work ethic and by staying clean that he cares — really cares — about us. If he does that, it’ll be huge. He can really help us. He can be so great.”

And of course, Roethlisberger cares because he himself has recommitted to the Steelers, after scaring some fans with talk of retirement early this offseason (talk which few took seriously).

But the 35-year-old said he was all-in this year, and will look at things annually from this point forward.

“Just because you think about your future doesn’t mean you have to retire,” he said. “A lot of guys think about their future. Look at James Harrison [who retired briefly in August 2014] …

“I hope the people of Pittsburgh know me well enough to know I love football, I love Pittsburgh and I love the Steelers. My teammates and Steelers fans are going to get 110 percent from me. They don’t need to worry about getting anything less.”

And he’s going to make sure he gets the same thing from his teammates, if they want to come back to the family.

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At some point in the days leading up to the two Browns-Steelers games each year, we get a reminder that the Browns had an opportunity to draft the Ohio-born Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 and chose tight end Kellen Winslow instead.

That might not be such a recurring storyline if the Browns ever drafted and developed a quarterback who became a long-term answer at the position, but they haven’t found that guy yet. They hope that changes with this year’s second-round pick DeShone Kizer, who is a tall quarterback that showed a big arm and ability to keep plays alive with his feet while at Notre Dame.

Those are attributes that call to mind another quarterback and Browns coach Hue Jackson expects people will be comparing him to the longtime Steelers quarterback.

“I don’t know that I’ve coached a guy with this kind of skill set,” Jackson said on WKNR 850 AM, via Cleveland.com. “But he’s a big powerful man, so I know he’s going to get compared to another guy on another team in our division. I’m not going to talk about [Roethlisberger] because he’s that big and he has that kind of arm. He’s very mobile. So again, I don’t like to compare players and I know people will, but he’s got to come in and do what he can do and be the best version of him and that’s what we’re going to allow him to do.”

Roethlisberger didn’t open his rookie season as a starter, but an injury to Tommy Maddox in the second game of the year opened a door that’s yet to close in Pittsburgh. Browns exec Sashi Brown said there’s no pressure for Kizer to play right away and that “ideally” he’d have time as a backup, but Kizer is going compete for the job and Jackson said Thursday that he’s “not going to stop him from being out there” if it’s clear he’s the right choice for the job.

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Former Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will be facing the Vikings on the first Monday night of the season. And Peterson is looking forward to showing the Vikings defense what he can do against them, after years of boasting that “I’ll hit you guys for 150 or 200 yards.”

So how will Peterson do in that game? It’s the PFT Live question of the day.

Pick an outcome below, argue it out in the comments, and then check out Friday’s show, which includes visits from Jets quarterback Josh McCown, Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman, and Hall of Fame receiver Tim Brown.

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With drafted rookie contracts becoming increasingly boilerplate, the pace of signing them continues to speed up.

According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, Dolphins fifth-rounder Isaac Asiata signed his four-year deal Thursday night, making him the first of the team’s picks to sign. He’ll make around $2.6 million on the deal.

The guard from Utah was chosen 164th overall. He’s the cousin of Vikings running back Matt Asiata.

He has a chance to compete for playing time in Miami soon, since the team is relatively thin at his position and he’s known as a good run blocker.

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The fastest player in the NFL is in Cincinnati, now that the Bengals have drafted John Ross, who set the record for the fastest 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. The fastest player in Major League Baseball was already in Cincinnati in Reds centerfielder Billy Hamilton, who leads the league in stolen bases. So which man is faster?

Hamilton says he’s hoping to race Ross to find out.

“It’s something I look forward to. I’m a competitor, if something happens with him, it happens,” Hamilton said, via the Cincinnati Enquirer. “We’ll do it for a charity event. I’m willing to do it.”

Ross’s 4.22 40-yard dash is far faster than Hamilton has ever run, but Hamilton believes he’s quite a bit faster than he was the last time he ran a timed 40, in ninth grade.

“I think we could do 40 and I think it’d be a good race for the city and for me and him to get our names out there,” Hamilton said. “It’s something we could look forward to looking into, our agents [could talk] and see how it goes.”

Ross has not yet responded.

The first coach to ever lead the Denver Broncos to the playoffs will be inducted in the team’s Ring of Fame this fall.

Red Miller took over the team from John Ralston in 1977 and coached the Broncos to a 12-2 record and their first postseason appearance as a franchise. After victories over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders in the playoffs, the Broncos lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII.

“Hearing that great news from [Broncos President & CEO] Joe [Ellis] and the rest of the committee brought back so many memories from those special seasons with the Broncos,” Miller said in a statement released by the team. “Looking back, it was a ragtag operation with where we were at the time. We had to build it up and get it going. All of our players and coaches carried us to a lot of success and brought so much excitement to the fans during those years.

“I’m honored to join the Broncos’ all-time greats in the Ring of Fame, and I look forward to celebrating with the many people who helped make this possible.

Miller went 40-21 in four seasons as Broncos head coach. He becomes the 32nd member and second coach inducted into the Broncos’ Ring of Fame.

AP

The Massachusetts State Police have issued the formal report confirming the prior finding that former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez committed suicide in prison last month. Many of the details previously had been reported.

The report rules out, based on a toxicology study, synthetic marijuana or any other substances; published reports had suggested that Hernandez smoked the substance the evening before the suicide.

In response to the State Police report, lawyer Jose Baez has issued a statement reiterating his vow to investigate the situation on his own.

“Now that the state authorities have completed and closed their investigation into the death of Aaron, we owe it Aaron and his family to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into this tragic death,” Baez said in a statement. “The total lack of professionalism exhibited by government officials and their employees during this entire process is unprecedented.  The majority of information contained in these reports was leaked to the press during the course of the investigation.  The family was never advised during the investigation or before the report was released today as to any of the specifics of the investigation.

“They unfortunately learned through the numerous press reports, citing unnamed government sources or those close to the investigation, of the details of Aaron’s death.  The family members were victims in this matter and deserved better treatment by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

“The unprofessional behavior of those entrusted to impartially and professionally conduct an investigation into Aaron’s death has caused grave concern as to the validity and thoroughness of the investigation. Accordingly, we intend to fully, completely and impartially review all of the evidence in this matter.  We will not speculate as to the conclusions of our investigation.  We can only promise the best investigators and forensic experts available will conduct a thorough analysis.

“Any official who attempts to interfere or inhibit our investigation by refusing to allow access to the evidence surrounding this matter will not be tolerated.  We will use any and all of the legal tools at our disposal to expose and prevent any such interference.”

In the immediate aftermath of the news of Hernandez’s death and the preliminary indication that he had committed suicide, Baez and Hernandez’s agent, Brian Murphy, hinted at foul play. A separate question lingers as to whether the prison authorities took sufficient steps to protect Hernandez from himself, including whether protocols requiring the cell to be checked on a regular basis were followed and whether guards knew or should have known that Hernandez had become suicidal.

AP

The Oakland Raiders made nine additions to their roster through last weekend’s NFL Draft. However, head coach Jack Del Rio still sees one hole looming large on their roster.

In an interview on the NFL Network Thursday, Del Rio pointed to the middle linebacker position as one that is still concerning to the team at this point in the offseason.

“I don’t know that we’ve adequately addressed our middle linebacker position, to be honest,” Del Rio said, via NBC Bay Area. “I think we have some work to do there. The rest of our roster is pretty well situated, but we’ll be looking for a linebacker and we’ll continue to look, whether it’s the waiver wire, trades or available guys out there, veterans on the street. We’ll continue to look.

“The guys that are here, we’re going to develop and grow and hope we can take them to a higher level.”

With teams across the league filling out their rosters with undrafted free agents and making room by cutting veterans, the Raiders could find potential solutions throughout the offseason. Perry Riley, who started 11 games at middle linebacker for the Raiders last season, remains a free agent as well.

AP

One week ago, running back Christian McCaffrey doesn’t have a team. Now, he has a contract.

The eighth overall pick in the draft, McCaffrey has agreed to terms with the Panthers. Carolina also signed second-round tackle Taylor Moton and sixth-round fullback Alex Armah.

The speed of the negotiations reconfirms that every team should be signing every player before that player reports for offseason workouts. Chances are McCaffrey, who skipped Stanford’s bowl game and declined to participate in private workouts, made it clear to the Panthers that he wouldn’t be working without a contract for employment.

Last year’s eighth overall pick, Titans tackle Jack Conklin, signed a four-year, $15.89 million deal. Typically in the top 10, most if not all of the deal is fully guaranteed. The primary negotiating points relate to cash flow and offsets for guaranteed money.

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When the NFL released its 2017 regular-season schedule, the Monday night opener didn’t have much steak, or much sizzle. It now has both.

The ho-hum matchup of the 7-9 Saints and 8-8 Vikings took on a new dynamic when Adrian Peterson surprisingly opted to accept a reduced salary and a reduced role in New Orleans. He’s now eyeballing an expanded performance when he returns to U.S. Bank Stadium in September.

“It’s going to be fun to go against those guys so I can let them know [when] I was doing that talking, telling them, ‘Hey, I’ll hit you guys for 150 or 200 yards,’ that I wasn’t just talking,” Peterson told the Saints’ official website, via ESPN.com. “They’ll see.”

The threshold question is how much anyone will see Peterson on the field during that game. Mark Ingram is the starter; while Peterson perhaps quietly adds “for now” to that title, it’s not his call as to which guy sits atop the depth chart. Peterson also could be pinched from below by rookie third-rounder Alvin Kamara.

For now, Peterson isn’t focused on those details. He’s simply focused on Week One.

“It’s going to be exciting,” Peterson said, joking that “revenge” is part of his motivation. “You know, it’s just ironic. When the schedule came out and I saw that, I was like, ‘Wow, this is meant to be.’ So many great memories down there in Minnesota. Great fan base. They supported me through everything, throughout my career, so just to embrace the love once I get there will be exciting.”

It won’t be exciting if he’s standing on the sidelines more than he’s lining up behind Drew Brees. And if Peterson emerges from that game miffed that he didn’t get enough chances to show the world what he could do against his former team, he may not feel like his marriage with the Saints was meant to be, after all.

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Tommy Armstrong played quarterback at Nebraska. To make it at the next level, he’ll have to change positions.

Armstrong gets his first chance to do that on a tryout basis with the Vikings at a rookie minicamp that starts on Friday.

“We can make plays,” Armstrong said, via Chad Graff of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “That’s the key to making the transition. If you’re able to transition from quarterback to running back or receiver, you need to be able to make plays and help your team. That’s one thing I’m going to have to do this weekend.”

Armstrong, who hopes to make plays as a wide receiver, running back, or safety for the Vikings, ran pass routes from time to time during summer workouts with the Cornhuskers. But that’s a far cry from playing NFL wide receiver.

But Armstrong at least has the confidence.

“I think I’m just a natural athlete,” Armstrong said. “I’ve heard it all my life, that if I wasn’t playing quarterback, I could play running back or receiver or safety. Making that change I think will be tough, but I think I’m able to do it. My coaches from my college career think I can do it, so I’ve just got to prove to the Vikings’ coaching staff and prove to the head coach that I’m able to make that switch and be able to help the team.”

The odds are stacked against him. And maybe he’ll beat the odds. For now, that means persuading the Vikings to give him a spot on the 90-man roster. After that, he’ll have to find a way onto the 53-man roster.