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Denver Broncos TE Julius Thomas has received some reps with the first-team offense during offseason workouts.
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Huddle Up: The Broncos already have two dependable TEs in Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen, but the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Thomas, a former college hoops player, would provide more athleticism down the seam after missing most of the 2012 season with an ankle injury that required offseason surgery.
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Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said he expects the team to use a receiver-by-committee approach while WR Justin Blackmon serves his four-game suspension. Caldwell mentioned WRs Ace Sanders, Mike X. Brown and Mohamed Massaquoi as possible members of the committee.
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Huddle Up: Cecil Shorts steps into Jacksonville's WR1 role sans Blackmon, while the rookie Sanders has the most upside of those battling for the secondary role--especially in leagues where his return skills bring added fantasy value.
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Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Dave Caldwell said the plan is for RB Maurice Jones-Drew to fully participate in practice once training camp begins. Caldwell said he is not concerned that Jones-Drew will be rusty if he comes to camp in shape.
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Huddle Up: Jones-Drew is a pro so he can be expected to be ready. However, on a bad foot there's only so much he can do and Jacksonville does have a new coach and offense--just a couple reasons why it's difficult to simply insert MJD back among the top tier of fantasy backs.
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Randall Cobb - WR - Green Bay Packers
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Posted 6/16/13 12:39am et   |
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Green Bay Packers WR James Jones said he believes he, WR Randall Cobb and WR Jordy Nelson could all post 1,000-yard seasons in 2013. "I've been on record as saying that I believe we have three 1,000-yard receivers in this room. I believe me, Randall and Jordy, if we all stay healthy, we can all reach over 1,000," Jones said.
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Huddle Up: The Packers certainly throw enough--and their wide receiving corps is talented enough--to produce three 1,000-yard receivers. But Jermichael Finley will take a bite, and if Green Bay plans to run more with Eddie Lacy that too will take a slice of the pie. Bottom line there's plenty of talent among Green Bay's wideouts, but there's bound to be at least one frustrated fantasy owner each week based on how the catches, yards, and TDs are distributed.
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Heath Miller - TE - Pittsburgh Steelers
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Posted 6/16/13 12:39am et |
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Pittsburgh Steelers TE Matt Spaeth could be the team's starting tight end early in the season if TE Heath Miller is not able to play.
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Huddle Up: Miller is working his way back from an ACL injury and his availability for the start of the season is uncertain. Spaeth would be an adequate fill-in, but he wouldn't have nearly the fantasy upside of a healthy Heath.
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Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffery has been limited during offseason workouts, but the team is pleased with how he has worked to get himself in better physical condition. He even added strength, working with teammate WR Brandon Marshall in Miami. "He's had a really good spring. Mentally he's been locked in since we got started," receivers coach Mike Groh said Friday, June 14. "He's made good improvement on the field with things (we) wanted to work on, and in terms of grasp of offense, he's where he should be."
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Huddle Up: A hamstring issue has kept Jeffery from participating fully in offseason workouts, but it sounds as if he's picking up the new offense and has put in some work to give the Bears a legitimate option opposite Brandon Marshall. Physically he's a good fit for Marc Trestman's system, and with Marshall on the other side Jeffery should benefit from mostly single coverage, so there are plenty of reasons to expect big things in 2013.
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New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is scheduled to undergo back surgery Tuesday, June 18, in Los Angeles, according to sources.
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Huddle Up: We'll have to wait for the official timetable, but this is certainly not good news for Gronk and his prospective fantasy owners. Keep in mind that Gronkowski missed his final collegiate season due to back surgery.
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Indianapolis Colts RB Ahmad Bradshaw is expected to start once he is recovered from foot surgery he had this offseason. Bradshaw could begin training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
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Huddle Up: Of course the Colts would love Bradshaw to be healthy and start, but if he'd been able to stay healthy consistently he'd still be a Giant. Bradshaw's presence hurts Vick Ballard's fantasy value, but history suggests Ballard will still have a role in Indy because Bradshaw won't be on the field for all 16 games.
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Tandon Doss - WR - Baltimore Ravens
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Posted 6/14/13 10:38pm et |
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Baltimore Ravens WR Tandon Doss looked quicker during minicamp than he was last season and appears to be playing with more confidence. He could compete for a starting job if he continues to make plays during training camp.
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Huddle Up: The Ravens lost Anquan Boldin in the offseason so there's definitely a need for one of the secondary targets to step up. A quicker, more confident Doss could push Jacoby Jones for the starting gig opposite Torrey Smith.
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The New York Jets have signed free-agent TE Kellen Winslow to a one-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. Winslow is expected to be a candidate for the starting tight end job during training camp because of his past success.
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Huddle Up: Winslow hasn't had much left in the tank in his most recent NFL stops, and it's unlikely the combination of Geno Smith and Mark Sanchez is what he needs for one last season in the sun.
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Jay Cutler - QB - Chicago Bears
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Posted 6/14/13 10:38pm et |
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Chicago Bears quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh said the team wants QB Jay Cutler to throw the ball quicker in order to avoid some sacks. "We've stressed that we want the ball out. There's a rhythm to what we do. He appreciates that, and he knows if he's getting the ball out he's not getting hit. We're all involved in it and everybody is responsible for it. Since we said Day 1 that's our No. 1 goal, we've got to live up to it and make sure we are not holding onto the ball forever," Cavanaugh said.
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Huddle Up: Getting rid of the ball quicker will help Cutler avoid the copious sacks he's been prone to behind the Bears' shaky offensive line. Bears coach Marc Trestman has had plenty of success getting previous quarterbacks to function within his system; it's perhaps the biggest reason the Bears hired him. The benefit of fewer sacks, coupled with Chicago's bevy of quality WCO targets, should help Cutler surpass the ordinary stats he's put up as a Bear and perhaps even approach the big numbers he was accumulating in Denver.
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Victor Cruz - WR - New York Giants
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Posted 6/14/13 4:13pm et |
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New York Giants restricted free-agent WR Victor Cruz has signed his one-year tender offer and will make $2.879 million this season. Cruz said the two sides will continue to discuss a long-term deal. Cruz could still hold out training camp, but he would be subject to a fine of $30,000 per day if he does not report. He could have lost $2.289 million if the Giants had retracted the tender offer on Monday, June 17, and replaced it with an offer of $590,000. At that rate for fines, Cruz could afford 76 days of them before he'd reach the $2.289 million for which he's signing his tender. A source said there were no indications that the team was going to rescind the offer, but Cruz didn't want to take the chance.
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Huddle Up: So Cruz is inked, but there's still the possibility of a holdout. Not much has changed, and there's still nothing to worry about here unless and until we hit August and the Giants and Cruz have yet to agree on a new deal.
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Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith said TE Tony Gonzalez has been excused from participating in the team's mandatory minicamp next week.
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Huddle Up: You can bet the official okey-dokey for Gonzo to skip minicamp was in the contract he signed when he agreed to stave off retirement for at least one more season.
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Andre Brown - RB - New York Giants
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Posted 6/14/13 4:13pm et |
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New York Giants RB David Wilson's number of kickoff returns will be affected by his workload at running back, hinted special teams coordinator Tom Quinn. "We'll see how that all plays out," Quinn began. "Obviously, he would like to do it. He's done it very well, but we'll have to see how it all comes down with where he is on the depth chart and what he's doing on offense. It might be maybe for one or two or you don't need him for one or two, but we've got other guys that we feel good about. They feel good about the scheme and the system that's in place."
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Huddle Up: No surprise here; usually when special teams standouts start to see more playing time with the regular offense they relinquish some or all of their return duties. If you're in a fantasy league where you get points for return yards and scores view whatever work Wilson does in that area as a bonus rather than a core part of his value.
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Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians told reporters that when he was with the Indianapolis Colts as offensive coordinator and eventually interim head coach last season, WR Reggie Wayne started to embrace the idea of lining up at different spots along the line of scrimmage. Arians said WR Larry Fitzgerald has welcomed the idea, as well, as he's being tried in the 'X,' 'Z' and 'F' positions.
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Huddle Up: Moving around in the Indy offense led to Wayne seeing 195 targets last year, second-most among NFL wideouts. Despite three 100-catch seasons, two more with 90 grabs, and six 1,000-yard campaigns Fitz has never seen more than 173 targets. Imagine the damage he can do with a legitimate quarterback and a 10% increase in targets.
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Detroit Lions WR Ryan Broyles expects to avoid the Physically Unable to Perform list and was a full participant in all three days of minicamp this week.
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Huddle Up: Good news for the man the Lions hope will line up opposite Calvin Johnson. With Matthew Stafford throwing 1,390 passes over the past two seasons, there's plenty of opportunity for Megatron's wingman to produce helpful fantasy numbers.
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Arizona Cardinals RB Rashard Mendenhall has clearly been the top
option in the backfield. He's looked good hitting holes, stable in
pass protection and catching out of the backfield.
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Huddle Up: Mendenhall tore his ACL in the Steelers' 2011 regular-season finale
and all he did last season in playing only 6 games is prove he
wasn't Adrian Peterson. It's now 7 months later and he has a new
team, so don't be surprised if Mendenhall has a fantasy rebound.
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Tony Romo - QB - Dallas Cowboys
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Posted 6/14/13 1:20am et |
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Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo (back) was throwing a little bit to WR Miles Austin from about 10 yards Thursday, June 13. He looked healthy.
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Huddle Up: It's been quite an offseason so far for Romo, who signed a 6-year, $108 million deal in March and then underwent back surgery in April to remove a cyst. At this time, there's no reason to expect, though, that Romo won't be ready for training camp in a little over a month.
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Carolina Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart (ankles) may not be ready for the start of training camp.
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Huddle Up: It may be June, but it's not too early to move Stewart down a peg or two on your preseason draft board. The ankle issues limited Stewart to 9 games and career-low 336 rushing yards and only 2 rushing/receiving TDs in 2013, and if it's still a problem 6 months into 2013, there's no way you can project having a healthy Stewart come Week 1.
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The Seattle Seahawks signed QB Tarvaris Jackson to a one-year deal
Thursday, June 13 after he passed his physical.
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Huddle Up: The season before Russell Wilson's arrival, Jackson made 14 starts
for the 'Hawks, throwing for 3,091 yards and 14 TDs. The No. 2 job
is now up for grabs, and Jackson would figure to be better suited to
replace Wilson in the Seattle offense than fellow free-agent signee
Brady Quinn.
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