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Per ESPN's Chris Mortensen, San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson and New England Patriots guard Logan Mankins will play in 2010 based on what the NFLPA has advised them to do.

Despite some conflicting provisions in the collective bargaining agreement, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello (via e-mail to Mortensen) confirmed that "a restricted free agent has the right to accept his tender and report to the club any time up until the Tuesday after week 10 (Nov. 16, 4 p.m. ET) of the regular season, whether or not the club requests or agrees to his reporting."

In order to accrue their sixth year towards free agency, however, Jackson will need to report by October 31st.

Jackson has to report earlier than Mankins since the Chargers placed Jackson on the roster-exempt list, which means that Jackson will be forced to sit an additional three games once he reports.

So, Jackson would be eligible to return to the field on November 28th against the Indianapolis Colts if he reports to San Diego on October 31st.

Then Jackson and the Chargers would face the Raiders, Chiefs, 49ers, Bengals and Broncos in the final five weeks of the season.

If he's available in your free-agent pool, it'd be worth a flier to pick him up although I'm a little skeptical of how motivated he'd be to put up fantasy-worthy weeks down the stretch. In other words, he might pull a Moss-esque "I play when I want to" and he may not want to.

Then again, he would be playing for a new contract.

Either way, if (when) he returns, expect him to take several of the targets away from Antonio Gates and Malcom Floyd, who lead the team with 41 and 39, respectively.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you likely know by now, the Jets and cornerback Darrelle Revis have agreed to terms on a four-year, $46 million contract with $32 million guaranteed.

With contract disputes, it's easy for the media, fans or anyone else to take a side (over the other).

Some will say the player should honor his contract. Others will point out that the team will rip up a contract whenever it benefits the team so a player should "go for his."

Either way, there's one thing that both sides can agree on (unless you're Patriots receiver Randy Moss): Revis shuts down the opponent's best receiver on a weekly basis.

If you've listen to our weekly fantasy football podcasts (which you can do here), it's typical for me to label the receiver facing Revis as the "Fantasy Dud of the Week."

To save you some time, here is a list of all the No. 1 receivers that Revis will face in 2010:

Week 1: Anquan Boldin, Baltimore
Week 2: Randy Moss, New England
Week 3: Brandon Marshall, Miami
Week 4: Lee Evans, Buffalo (Then again, who can't shut down Evans?)
Week 5: Percy Harvin, Minnesota
Week 6: Whichever Broncos receiver becomes the team's No. 1
-- Week 7 bye week
Week 8: Greg Jennings, Green Bay
Week 9: Calvin Johnson, Detroit
Week 10: Mohamed Massaquoi, Cleveland
Week 11: Andre Johnson, Houston
Week 12: Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati
Week 13: Randy Moss, New England
Week 14: Brandon Marshall, Miami
Week 15: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh
Week 16: Devin Hester/Johnny Knox, Chicago
Week 17: Lee Evans, Buffalo

FYI: our Week 1 podcast will be on Wednesday (September 8th) at 7 p.m. ET. All other weekly podcasts will be Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET (unless they are not).

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Seattle Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh's days in Seattle are numbered. In fact, that number is likely one.

Saturday is the deadline for teams to reduce their rosters from 75 to 53 players and it appears that the writing is on the (figurative) wall for Houshmandzadeh.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Seahawks will release him if they can't trade him. With other teams knowing they will likely release him, it will make it difficult impossible for the Seahawks to get fair value (or anything) in return.

"I've never been in a situation like this," Houshmandzadeh said last night, per Danny O'Neill of the Seattle Times. "I've never been a guy that wasn't wanted. I was always wanted. So we'll see."

Houshmandzadeh is guaranteed $7 million for 2010 and the Seahawks are on the hook for the difference between that guaranteed amount and whatever the next team pays him.

Former teammate Chad Ochocinco tweeted: "Disturbing news, i cant even fathom the thought of a receiver the caliber of Housh being traded let alone released, i will be lobbying heavy."

That's sort-of an indirect bitch-slap to teammate Terrell Owens (or the receiver Ochocinco calls "Batman"), who was released by the Dallas Cowboys two off-seasons ago, implying that Owens is not a "reciever the caliber of Housh."

Ochocinco may lobby for him, but NFL Network's Jason La Canfora names Oakland, Minnesota and Washington as potential landing spots for Houshmandzadeh.

So, it looks like the Seahawks will start Deion Branch and Mike Williams, the former "bust" from Detroit, and not T.J. Houshmandzadeh at wide receiver. Who had that combo in their office pool?

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Running back Derrick Ward parlayed his 1,000-yard season (2008) as Brandon Jacobs' back-up with the Giants into a fat new contract (four years for $17 million) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last off-season.

Over the past year, however, Ward has disappointed -- 409 rushing yards (3.6 yards per carry) in 2009 and 50 yards (2.6 YPC) this pre-season, which led to his release by the Buccaneers earlier this week.

That said, Ward barely remained unemployed for 72 hours.

Today he visited with the Houston Texans and they didn't let Ward get away (like most defensive players this pre-season).

Ward will join Arian Foster, Steve Slaton and Jeremiah Johnson in the Texans' backfield. Earlier in the off-season, the Texans lost Ben Tate, their second-round draft pick, to a season-ending injury.

Tate's injury vaulted Foster, who was already listed as the No. 1 running back on the team's depth chart, from sleeper to near-stud draft status in fantasy football leagues. At this point, I don't think the signing of Ward significantly impacts Foster's fantasy value.

Foster finished the 2009 season with two strong performances -- 39 carries for 216 yards and three touchdowns -- and he became the first Texans running back to eclipse the 100-yard mark in a pre-season game.

Slaton, on the other hand, has been an interesting guy to me from a fantasy football perspective.

Based on average draft positions (ADPs) from Mock Draft Central, Foster and Slaton are the 24th and 47th running backs being drafted, respectively.

Two years ago, Slaton finished sixth in the NFL in rushing (1,282 yards) as a rookie. Although Chicago's Matt Forte and Tennessee's Chris Johnson also eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark as fellow rookies, it was Slaton that led the trio in rushing that year.

But Slaton's tenuous grip on the starting job last year was as tenuous as his grip on the football. In 11 games last year, Slaton fumbled seven times (five lost).

Slaton, the team's third-round pick in 2008, has shown that he can carry the load as evidenced by his rookie numbers and he asserts that his fumbling issues were, at least partially, related to the nerve issue in his neck, on which he had off-season surgery.

So, in other words, with Gary Kubiak running the show, it's hard for me to ever envision any Texans running back having too firm of a grip on the role as feature back. And although I expect a strong season from Foster as being the most likely outcome, I wouldn't be surprised to see Kubiak yank the carpet from under all fantasy owners in a split second.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, agents for Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson deny that the disgruntled receiver is seeking a five-year contract worth $50 million that includes $30 million of guaranteed money.

Naturally, those numbers would make clubs hesitant to pursue the receiver.

"There's no truth to the report that we asked for $50 million over five years and $30 million guaranteed," [agent Neil] Schwartz told Florio. "We only talked concepts with the Seahawks... No numbers were mentioned."

As it stands, Jackson will miss the first three games of the 2010 regular season due to a suspension. If he does not sign his tender as a restricted free agent by 6 p.m. ET on September 4th, he would be required to sit an additional three weeks.

Of course, if he's not traded, there's a good chance that he misses at least ten games since a player only needs to be on an NFL roster for six weeks to accrue a year of service toward free agency.

And appearing on NFL Network yesterday, Jackson said, "We're prepared for that," referring to the possibility of sitting out the entire 2010 season. "The union comes and talks to us about the lockout possibly next year and I've been financially smart."

Currently, Jackson is the 34th receiver (90th player) drafted in fantasy football drafts based on average draft positions (ADPs) from Mock Draft Central.

Jackson, who was the Chargers' second-round pick in 2005, posted career-highs in receptions (68), receiving yards (1,167) and touchdowns (nine) in 2009.

Based on talent, he's a top ten receiver. Therefore, he provides fantasy owners with the ultimate high-risk, high-reward proposition.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson, who was placed on the team's roster-exempt list, was suspended by the NFL for the first three regular-season games for the violating the league's personal-conduct policy.

So, in other words, the earliest that Jackson could be in uniform is Week 4.

Depending on what happens between now and September 4th at 6 p.m. ET, Jackson may be forced to sit out an additional three games even if he's traded or (much less likely) wants to play for the Chargers.

Per NFL Network's Jason La Canfora, the league's collective bargaining agreement states that "once a club has notified a player of its intention to place him on the roster exempt list, the player must remain on that list for three games following the date on which he actually reports to his club."

If he doesn't sign his tender by September 4th, Jackson won't be able to report until after their Week 3 matchup against the Seahawks. Then he would be required to sit out the games versus the Cardinals, Raiders and Rams if he's still a Charger.

There is the possiblity (or likelihood) that if Jackson isn't traded that he sits out for at least the first ten games.

In order to qualify for a year of accrued service toward free agency, a player needs to be on an active roster for a minimum of six games.

So, if he isn't traded, the three-game or six-game suspension is a moot point since I expect him to miss ten games and play the bare minimum to accrue a year of service.

If the Chargers trade Jackson, however, he will be able to play in Week 4 if he signs his tender before September 4th. Otherwise, he'll have to wait an additional three weeks.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you've likely heard by now, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre has flown from Mississippi to Minnesota with teammates Jared Allen, Steve Hutchinson and Ryan Longwell.

Coach Brad Childress will address the media tomorrow following the team's morning practice.

Not that back-up (again) quarterback Tarvaris Jackson cares.

"I really don't care," said Jackson (about his teammates lobbying for a Favre return), per Brian Murphy of the Pioneer Press. I felt like if my number's called, I'll be ready and I'll continue to work hard and get better. My teammates, that's their prerogative. I can't really control that so I'm just going to do my part."

Before the drama surrounding the (alleged) text messages that Favre sent to teammates in early-August, I had Favre ranked as my seventh-best fantasy quarterback for 2010.

This morning (before news of his trio of teammates flying to Mississippi), I released my updated rankings in which Favre was the 14th-ranked quarterback. A main reason for the drop was the uncertainty surrounding his return (to some extent, anyways, since I expected him to return for another season).

But the more I think about, I'm not going to bump Favre back up at this point.

With receivers Sidney Rice (hip) and Percy Harvin (migraines) not 100 percent in addition to Favre (ankle) himself, there are the injury concerns. In his 19 seasons, Favre has thrown for 4,000+ yards in back-to-back seasons only once (1998 and 1999).

It almost seems like Tennessee's Chris Johnson has a greater chance of repeating his 2,000-yard season as Favre does of putting up 4,000 yards again, especially as a 40-turning-41-year-old quarterback.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 09:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In two consecutive off-seasons, the Bengals have given free-agent wide receivers four-year contracts worth $28 million.

Last year, it was Laveranues Coles. This year, it was Antonio Bryant.

The Bengals and Coles parted ways earlier this off-season. The same may happen with Bryant.

Bryant, who hasn't practiced since the first day of training camp, is dealing with a knee injury and may reach an injury settlement with the Bengals, according to NFL Network's Jason La Canfora.

So far, however, Bryant has already received $7.85 million from the Bengals in bonuses, per Pro Football Talk.

“I’m feeling better, but I really don’t have much to say,” Bryant said last week, per the team's website. “I’m just trying to be forgotten. It’s hard to forget $7 million. It will be worth it. As soon as I put my feet on the ground, it will be more than worth it.”

Not quite, Antonio.

So, which free-agent receiver will the Bengals sign to a four-year, $28 million contract next year? Will Javon Walker still be available?

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We know, for certain, that Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson won't be on the field for the team's first three games as he serves his suspension for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy.

In addition, it has seemed more likely than not that Jackson would skip an additional seven games due to his contract dispute with the team.

When he didn't sign his restricted free agent (RFA) tender by the June 15th deadline, the Chargers reduced their offer at their first eligible opportunity from over $3 million to under $600,000. It's safe to assume that move increased his level of frustration about not getting a long-term deal.

Yet in order to accrue an additional year of service toward free agency, Jackson needs to be on the roster for at least six games.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Pro Football Talk) wrote in a mailbag column that "Vincent Jackson is not a part of the plan. I don't see them using the franchise [tag] on Jackson either. Not now. This has gotten ugly."

So, unless he's traded, which is unlikely based on general manager A.J. Smith's hardline stance, the most likely outcome is for Jackson to hold out for exactly ten games and then show up and go through the motions for six games.

Yet Acee wrote that "there is verrrrry little chance" that either Jackson or left tackle Marcus McNeil, who hasn't signed his RFA tender either, are "back this season."

When I updated my fantasy rankings, Jackson's spot on the list was based on him missing ten games with a smaller possibility of missing fewer games.

With the next update (coming soon), his ranking will be based on him missing ten games with the smaller possibility of missing the entire season.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Unless, of course, he was already a rich man. If so, he's now a much richer man.

The Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with Ndamukong Suh, the second-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, according to Tom Kowalski of MLive.com.

Kowalski reports that the five-year deal includes $40 million of guaranteed money and has a maximum value of $68 million.

Although the guaranteed amount is less than the $41.7 million guaranteed money given to Matthew Stafford, who was selected by the Lions last year with the top overall pick, it is more on a per annum basis since Stafford signed a six-year deal.

With Suh reaching a deal with the Lions, there are now only two unsigned first-rounders remaining: Seattle's Russell Okung and Buffalo's C.J. Spiller.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As you already know, today's sports talk and headlines were dominated by the news of a player that won't be on the football field in week one.

That's right, folks.

The Falcons will be without defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux, who was suspended for one game for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Instead of Babineaux, of course, it was another player. But if bad news for Babineaux could surface on any day, today was the perfect day for him.

The announcement of Babineaux's suspension comes on the same day that multiple reports claim that Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre has told teammates that he won't be back for the 2010 NFL season due to his ankle healing slower than expected.

Another guy that's happy to hear the Favre news is Washington's Albert Haynesworth, but ESPN's Jeff MacGregor was able to work in a Favre-related dig on (less) Fat Albert via Twitter: "Pacing back and forth as he decides retirement, Brett Favre accidentally completes Redskins conditioning test."

First of all, the news isn't coming directly from Favre. Secondly, if it did, I wouldn't believe him until I saw it with my own eyes. And I'm not talking week one. If he's not in the mix in November, then I'll believe it. And I'm certainly not the only one to take that stance.

For argument's sake, however, let's assume it's true and take a quick look at the impact of a Minnesota offense with Tarvaris Jackson (or Sage Rosenfels and not Brett Favre) under center.

Although Favre was the seventh-ranked quarterback in my fantasy rankings, Jackson is a low QB2, at best. In fact, the last time Jackson was a starting quarterback (December 2008), he played well. He had a QB rating of 115.4, threw for 185 yards per game, eight touchdowns and only one interception during a four-game span. But there are easily 15 quarterbacks that I'd trust more than Jackson, who has been largely inconsistent throughout the opportunities he's had.

The value of Adrian Peterson shouldn't change too much.

Without Favre, Peterson had 1,885 yards from scrimmage in 2008. Last year, Peterson had 1,819 yards from scrimmage with Favre. Even though Peterson's carries dropped from 363 to 314 with Favre, he was more involved in the passing game (21 to 43 receptions). Peterson was second on our fantasy running back rankings and that is exactly where he will remain with or without Favre.

The biggest (negative) impact is to Sidney Rice, who is battling a hip injury that led to plenty of concern before the Favre news. But Rice burst onto the scene last year in part due to the chemistry that he and Favre had. With health and quarterback concerns, Rice is someone that I will move down in the next fantasy rankings update.

In addition, I will knock Percy Harvin down a notch, but not as much as Rice. Harvin is a versatile player that had 135 rushing yards in addition to his 60 receptions. It wouldn't surprise me to see Harvin get a few more rushing attempts with Jackson as quarterback to help offset a few less targets.

Either way, I have the feeling we will be hearing more about a quarterback that wears No. 4? Or doesn't ... any more.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The San Diego Chargers have signed running back Ryan Mathews, their first-round pick, to a five-year deal worth $25.65 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The guaranteed portion of the contract is $15.08 million.

"We are excited to have Ryan here and ready to go," Chargers president Dean Spanos said, per the USA Today. "Aside from his outstanding talents on the field, he's a class young man and the kind of player we're proud to add to our team."

That said, it's unknown whether Mathews will participate in this afternoon's practice, which will be the team's first in full pads, since Mathews still has to take a physical, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Earlier this off-season, head coach Norv Turner had said that he expects Mathews to get around 250 carries. In a league that has transitioned away from workhorse running backs, 250 carries would have ranked tenth in the NFL in 2009.

In our fantasy football rankings, Mathews is the 12th-ranked running back on our list.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The initial rumors were that Ndamukong Suh, the second-overall pick by the Detroit Lions, wanted more than the record-setting guaranteed money ($50 million) given to Sam Bradford, the first-overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Eugene Parker, the agent for Suh, has told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that "Suh's deal will come in less" than Bradford's.

Even so, there is a reasonable chance that Suh will receive more guaranteed money than what Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford received from the team last year ($41.7 million) as the top overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, as pointed out by MLive.com's Tom Kowalski.

Last year, Suh had 12 sacks at Nebraska including four in the Big 12 Championship game against Texas.

In addition, he won numerous college football awards, such as the Bronko Nagurski Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, Outland Trophy and Vince Lombardi Award.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 02:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The NFL's best cornerback has made it known that he wants to be the highest-paid cornerback in the league, even if it's only by "50 cents."

With the New York Jets opening training camp today, cornerback Darrelle Revis was a no-show for the team's conditioning test this morning, per Jenny Vrentas of the Newark Star-Ledger.

Meanwhile, the Jets say that Revis isn't technically a holdout until (or unless) he misses the team's 5:30 p.m. meeting, according to Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News.

A couple of weeks ago, Cincinnati's Chad Ochocinco made the following plea to Revis (via Twitter): "@revis24 dude, im stupid excited for the season, don't hold out, you can have some of my fine fund money i set aside, let's have fun!"

Maybe Ochocinco needs to get Terrell Owens, his new partner-in-crime, to make the same offer at the 11th hour.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 01:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Oakland Raiders have signed linebacker Rolando McClain, their first-round pick and the eighth overall selection of the 2010 NFL Draft.

By signing McClain, the Raiders will open training camp in Napa (CA) with all of their rookies under contract.

Last year, McClain won the Butkus Award, which is given to college football's top linebacker, and helped to lead the Alabama Crimson Tide to a BCS Championship.

After the draft, R.J. White of NFL FanHouse gave the Raiders an "A" for their selection of McClain in the first round over the workout warriors they typically draft.

Many mock drafts had projected the Raiders selecting offensive tackle Bruce Campbell at that spot. Instead the Raiders waited and selected Campbell in the fourth round.

McClain becomes the third first-rounder to signed. The first two were Dez Bryant of Dallas and Devin McCourty of New England.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)