- Commissioner Roger Goodell says he is beginning to focus on evaluating Michael Vick’s future in the NFL. But Goodell said Thursday his decision on the former Atlanta Falcons star quarterback will come “in due time” and not necessarily before the season begins. “I haven’t given a timeline,” on a decision about reinstatement, Goodell told The Associated Press during a telephone interview.
- Talking for the first time since he fired general manager Matt Millen, Detroit Lions owner William Clay Ford admitted that Millen probably didn’t have the experience to be a successful general manager — and also said that former head coach Rod Marinelli probably wasn’t ready either. Millen didn’t have any front office experience before arriving in Detroit and Marinelli was a first-time head coach. “That’s a friend of mine and always will be,” Ford said of Millen. “He has a lot of wonderful qualities, it didn’t work out and we parted ways. It’s history.” On why it didn’t work out, Ford said, “You can answer that probably as well as I can. It just wasn’t going right.”
- The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to trade veteran receiver Dennis Northcutt, the most productive receiver they have left from last year’s team, Northcutt’s agent confirmed. “They have indicated that they intend to trade him and are trying to do so,” agent Jerome Stanley said in an email exchange with ESPN.com. Northcutt joined the Jaguars as a free agent in 2007 and in 29 games caught 88 passes for 1,146 yards and six touchdowns. He also did some work as a return man.
- Josh McDaniels said the Broncos staff targeted RB Correll Buckhalter in free agency because coaches felt he had “multidimensional” skills that would allow him to succeed in the role of a traditional running back and also in the passing game as a blocker or receiver. “His body is young,” McDaniels said. “He just might be, as a matter of fact, I think he is, our fastest back. He’s got a great burst and he’s got great long speed.” – “To add a guy to our offense that is very unselfish and is going to accept whatever role he earns is great, and he’s going to play his butt off.”
- Richard Dent has received a Hall of Fame endorsement from an unlikely source. In the latest issue of ESPN The Magazine, Indianapolis Colts Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney expresses his belief that the Bears‘ all-time sack leader deserves to be enshrined in Canton.
- “I grew up a Giants fan, but Richard Dent made me respect the Bears,” Freeney wrote. “He was a dominant force on one of the most dominant defenses in the history of the NFL. When you think of the 1985 Bears defense, you think of two men: Mike Singletary and Richard Dent. “And his stats speak for themselves. He had 137.5 sacks as a defensive end. The benchmark is 100. That’s like hitting 500 home runs in baseball. And everyone knows it’s not easy to play for a long time in this physical league, but he played for 15 seasons at a very high level.”
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