NFL roundup: Players union files suit, accuses owners of collusion (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 16:30:14 PDT)
The NFL Players Association filed a lawsuit on Wednesday that accused NFL owners and the league of collusion during the 2010 NFL season.

Broncos acquire Chris Gronkowski from Colts (The SportsXchange)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:48:42 PDT)
Denver acquired fullback Chris Gronkowski from the Indianapolis Colts for cornerback Cassius Vaughn, the Broncos announced.

Colts swap linebackers as part of defensive change (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:12:35 PDT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts have signed outside linebacker Jerry Browns and waived outside linebacker Brandon Peguese.

Colts acquire Vaughn in exchange for Gronkowski (National Football Post)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 12:06:02 PDT)
Cornerback heads to Indy in exchange for fullback.

Indianapolis Colts Trade FB Chris Gronkowski to Denver Broncos for DB Cassius Vaughn: Fan Reaction (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 11:35:00 PDT)
The Indianapolis Colts have traded fullback Chris Gronkowski to the Denver Broncos in exchange for defensive back Cassius Vaughn. As a longtime fan of the Colts, I really like this move.

Broncos trade for Chris Gronkowski (The Associated Press)
(Wed, 23 May 2012 10:25:27 PDT)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) The Denver Broncos have traded defensive back Cassius Vaughn to the Indianapolis Colts for fullback Chris Gronkowski.

NFL seeks to add excitement, maintain integrity with later trade deadline
(Tue, 22 May 2012 17:29:24 PDT)
Supporters are for contenders making moves as long as it's not at the expense of struggling teams dumping their rosters.

Broncos' restocked secondary gets high marks (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 17:27:45 PDT)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) Peyton Manning and Champ Bailey are giving the Denver Broncos' restocked secondary two thumbs up.

Schiano: Winslow trade not about sending message (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 16:52:03 PDT)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) New Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano insists he wasn't sending a message by trading tight end Kellen Winslow, just improving the football team.

Browns' McCoy hoping for fair fight for job (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 16:44:41 PDT)
BEREA, Ohio (AP) Colt McCoy has been promised a fair fight by the Browns.

Colts sign 5th-round draft pick Josh Chapman (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 14:29:10 PDT)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts have signed fifth-round draft pick Josh Chapman, giving them six draft choices under contract.

Dallas Clark getting used to new surroundings in Tampa (National Football Post)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 10:56:05 PDT)
Tight end hoping to be rejuvenated with Bucs

Seau's suicide prompts worries about post-NFL life (The Associated Press)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 09:42:21 PDT)
Junior Seau's suicide is troubling NFL players.

Seahawks trade for Kellen Winslow; hope to make 2-TE sets more productive (Shutdown Corner)
(Tue, 22 May 2012 05:55:50 PDT)
In 2011, per the game-charting of NFL.com's Brian McIntyre, the Seattle Seahawks put two tight ends on the field 39 percent of the time, one of the highest figures in the NFL. However, they didn't get much production from those tight ends. Former Oakland Raiders tight end Zach Miller, acquired as a free agent before the 2011 season, caught just 25 passes on 44 targets for 233 yards and no touchdowns -- Seattle's injury-weakened offensive line put Miller in a position to block most of the time. Despite that, Miller led the team in all categories at the position. On Monday evening, the Seahawks endeavored to become more productive with the 2-TE sets they prefer by trading for ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers tight end Kellen Winslow. For assuming Winslow's contract, the Seahawks gave up just a seventh-round draft pick in 2013 (conditional sixth if Winslow meets certain performance guidelines). Winslow has three years left in a six-year, $36.1 million contract he signed in 2009, but the $3.3 million he's due this season in base salary is not guaranteed. The eight-year veteran was deemed expendable by new Bucs head coach Greg Schiano after missing a recent round of OTAs, and it was Winslow himself who revealed the news -- last Saturday, Schiano told him that the Bucs were looking to make a deal and get him out of there. In his place, the Bucs signed former Indianapolis Colts TE Dallas Clark to a one-year deal. [ Related: Trading Kellen Winslow could be risky for the Buccaneers ] "It's kind of shocking, but that's what it is," Winslow told Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio on Monday morning. " [Schiano] said he was upset that I wasn't working out with the team in the offseason, and then, the first week of OTAs. But, look -- I've been there the last three years, and I've had a successful career so far, and you just don't get rid of one of your best players because of that. That's just what I was told, but I have nothing bad to say about coach Schiano -- it was just a disagreement on why I'm not there yet. I was training in San Diego, and I was going to start [in OTAs with the team] today, but I got the call on Saturday that they're looking for somebody else." Winslow was especially surprised, given his claim that he has participated in a team event before in this preseason. "There was a previous minicamp -- I went to that. It was a three-day minicamp and then, I came back down to San Diego to train, and I was going to start [back with the team] today."

Buccaneers deal TE Winslow to Seattle, sign Clark (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 20:59:24 PDT)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded tight end Kellen Winslow to the Seattle Seahawks for a draft pick on Monday night and signed former Colts star Dallas Clark to replace him.

Bucs acting fast to replace Kellen Winslow with Dallas Clark (National Football Post)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 15:40:12 PDT)
Ex-Colts tight end headed to Tampa

All reports positive after Peyton Manning’s first organized team activity in Denver (Shutdown Corner)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 15:23:54 PDT)
For the most part, the glowing reports seen from early OTAs and minicamps should be taken with less than an actual grain of salt -- especially when you're talking about offensive players in non-contact drills, and quarterbacks throwing against defensive backs with no specific NFL future. That said, the Denver Broncos had to feel pretty good about the practice they set up on Monday, showing as it did the first real glimpses of Peyton Manning throwing in anything approaching game situations. It was the first time the media had seen Manning throw in his new digs. <br /> Because of the restrictive practice schedules put forth by the new collective bargaining agreement, Manning -- who signed a five-year, $96 million contract with the Broncos in March -- had to do a lot of work with his new receivers at high school fields. Finally back at the team's Dove Valley practice facility with the entire cast in tow, Manning looked like ... well, like he looks. He ran the practice, lined up his teammates (receivers, running backs, and even the other quarterbacks), and showed pretty good zip on the ball. It allowed Manning to continue to answer concerns about his ability to come back from a series of neck surgeries that brought his long tenure with the Indianapolis Colts to an end earlier this season. "We've had the opportunity to see him the past few weeks in Phase Two [of the workouts], and he does have great command," head coach John Fox said of Manning's progress. "He understands the game. As much as he's accomplished on the field, the things he does off the field in a leadership role is tremendous. Dealing with the physical part, he's getting better every day. It's something we felt good about, our medical people felt good about. His progress has been outstanding. We're excited about where he is." [ Also: 'Tebowing' to be included in Madden NFL 13 video game ] Manning, who had been rather quiet about the physical aspects of his recovery after sitting out the entire 2011 season, felt that things were definitely headed in the right direction. "It's hard to say," Manning reflected. "I try to get better every day—that's my goal. I really need to use this time. I do think there's a difference when you're on the field in helmets going against the defense. Up until now we haven't been able to go against the defense, so this will be great work for me. Going against [CB] Champ Bailey, [LB] Von Miller, [DE] Elvis [Dumervil], [CB Tracy] Porter, [CB] Drayton Florence, we just signed—we've got three great cover corners to work against. Until now we've been kind of just throwing passes versus air. You can work on your timing with the receivers, but really it's a great test to go against these corners. I'm looking forward to it and I'll try to use all these practices to see where I am and get better each time." But how close is he to normal? That, of course, is the $96 million question.

Manning looks good in Broncos' first OTA workout (The Associated Press)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 15:12:05 PDT)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) His passes were hitting receivers in stride and right between the numbers, not skipping off the ground or whizzing behind their heads like so many of Tim Tebow's.

Manning sharp in first Broncos' practice (National Football Post)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 14:00:14 PDT)
Veteran quarterback working on offense, timing during off-season work.

Deep Posts: Winslow not wanted in Tampa Bay? (Shutdown Corner)
(Mon, 21 May 2012 07:12:11 PDT)
Winslow not wanted in Tampa Bay? Ross Tucker of SIRIUS NFL Radio broke the news on his Twitter account this morning -- while hosting his show and talking to guest Kellen Winslow, Jr., it was revealed that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under new head coach Greg Schiano want to go in a different direction, and are looking to trade the veteran tight end. Winslow said that he got the news Saturday night -- the Bucs will look to trade him to the right team, and if that doesn't work out (which it won't now ... public knowledge tends to kill trade value), he may be released. Winslow had one of his best seasons in 2010 , but declined along with the rest of Tampa Bay's offense in 2011. Schiano may prefer more traditional blocking tight ends in what projects to be a run-heavy offense. He also said that the team was unhappy about his choice to work away from the facility this offseason. Oh, look! It's the curl/flat again... Our buddy Chris Brown over at the indispensable Smart Football site has a brilliant article up today on the relatively simple passing concepts put together by the Indianapolis Colts of the Peyton Manning/Tom Moore era, and why they were so tough to stop despite the fact that the playbook was relatively simple and predictable (especially from a formation concept; the Colts were the ultimate three-WR/one-back team through most of the 2000s). Great read, as is most of Chris' stuff. If you want to get more into the schematic aspects of the game, check out his new book here . The real value of minicamps. Matt Bowen at the National Football Post writes about the true meaning of OTAs -- despite what many think, it's less about finding sleeper prospects and more about getting back in shape and up to speed. For rookies, the real secret to those first "voluntary/mandatory" sessions is the ability to start real playbook install. In my opinion, it will be interesting to see if any second-year players will see ancillary benefits from this, as they were prevented from early install by the 2011 lockout.

Tanier’s Team Reviews: The Kansas City Chiefs, via Todd Haley (Shutdown Corner)
(Sun, 20 May 2012 07:30:30 PDT)
Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why. (For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator). In this segment, former Chiefs coach Todd Haley breaks down the offseason moves of the team that fired him at the end of last season. We have a bad feeling about this. TODD HALEY: Wash your windshield, mister? I don't scrub windshields for the money. I have a coaching job now as offensive coordinator for the Steelers. I carry this slop bucket because I like it. It's comforting to wash windows while the mad clown stares at me with his dead, gray eyes, whispering razor truths mortals dare not speak aloud, truths that pierce flesh and cut an inky scarlet line against the throat of the he-goat … Sorry, my thoughts meander sometimes. The Chiefs had a productive offseason. At the skill positions, they added Peyton Hillis to a running back committee that already includes Dexter McCluster and Jamaal Charles, who is ahead of schedule rehabbing his knee injury. Kevin Boss joins Tony Moeaki, also on schedule to return from a knee injury, to give the Chiefs two tight ends who can block and catch. Two rookie wide receivers, Devon Wylie and Junior Hemingway, will provide extra depth behind Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and last year's top pick Jonathan Baldwin, who started to come on late in the season. Matt Cassel, yet another player who missed much of last season with injuries, won't have to worry about throwing to the likes of Keary Colbert or Anthony Becht. That's right, everyone gets to come back to Kansas City but me, the guy who got blamed for not being able to build an offense around Tyler Palko and Terrance Copper, while the dead-eyed clown stares back at me from the mirror and cackles. "You ever played cornhole with the devil, son?" he asks, his raspy voice a rusty hypodermic needle scraping gutter concrete. "He don't use no beanbags, boy." And that he-goat just brays and brays like he sees the end coming and don't know whether to fight it or welcome it. Moving on to the defense, Dontari Poe was one of the most physically gifted specimens in this year's draft class. The Chiefs have a bad habit of striking out with big defensive tackles, from Ryan Sims to Glenn Dorsey, so my former assistant Romeo Crennel will have to be careful about Poe's development and role if he doesn't want Poe to become an overpriced space-eater the greasepaint smears and the sharpened steel glints in the pickup truck headlights behind the barnyard. The loss of Brandon Carr is going to hurt at cornerback, because Stanford Routt is an adequate No. 2 corner behind Brandon Flowers. But the defense will be better if it is not  on the field as often, and when the muffled brays fade to pitch-black silence, vengeful darkness sated all-too-briefly by the still-quivering sacrifice .