NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

The Chargers gave themselves another insurance policy for the future of their defense today by signing their fourth-round draft pick, safety Darrell Stuckey. They also added some depth at the tight end position by signing seventh-rounder Dedrick Epps.

Stuckey, a safety out of Kansas, is seen as the heir apparent to the now-vacated safety position that was previously held by Kevin Ellison, who was recently released. In his 45 games at Kansas, he recorded 295 tackles, eight interceptions and a sack.

"To get that out of the way, it's breathtaking," said Stuckey when asked to comment on his recent contract signing. "I feel like I'm part of the organization and now I get to work without mentally, in the back of my (mind), worrying about if I'm part of the organization yet or not."

His four-year contract has a total base value of $2.29 million, including a signing bonus of about $505,000.

Epps, a former University of Miami Hurricane, will compete for a backup role behind Antonio Gates and Randy McMichael. He also signed a four-year contract with a base value of $1.838 million and a signing bonus of around $48,000. During his career as a Hurricane, he amassed 49 receptions, 634 yards and six touchdowns.

The Chargers have now signed three of their six rookies, including quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who signed with the team on June 3.

According to the Green Bay Press-Gazette, third-year receiver Jordy Nelson has had an exceptional offseason and looks ready to make a bigger contribution to the Packers' offense in 2010.

Passes stuck to his gloves. Defenders couldn't keep up. Any ball in his vicinity seemed catchable.

As quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his bag of offensive toys prepare for what the organization hopes is a lengthy playoff run, Nelson looks ready for a bigger role.

"Jordy has had, by far, his best offseason," receivers coach Jimmy Robinson said. "He's feeling so comfortable out there, that he's making a ton of plays."

Nelson has caught 55 passes for 686 yards and four touchdowns in two seasons with the team. Twenty-two of those receptions came last year when he split time with James Jones as the slot receiver.

The Packers are hoping that either Nelson or Jones can take that next step and join Donald Driver and Greg Jennings in what could be the NFL's most dangerous group of receivers this season.

If Nelson carries his impressive summer over to the regular season, it will make Green Bay's passing attack even more potent. A scary thought for defensive coordinators around the league.

The Lions wrapped up their last day of mandatory minicamp with what has been described as a "offense vs. defense brawl."  While intensity and competition are good things to have in practice, losing your cool to the point that you fight with your teammates isn't.

Head Coach Jim Schwartz was livid with the fight, which occured during the two-minute drills, and laid into the team pretty heavily once things cooled down.  Schwartz was still steamed when he spoke to the media after practice:

"We had that situation come up in OTAs and we sort of laughed that you can't fine the players. But guess what? There are going to be a lot of fines from today. It's not acceptable what happened.  When you have guys entering fights that aren't involved in it, you know, that's unacceptable. They're going to get taxed pretty heavy for that."

The Lions have had a penchant for losing control and getting stupid penalties over the last several years, and that is something that this coaching staff deems unacceptable.  Schwartz demands that his players play smart and under control, while keeping their emotions in check.

With Commissioner Goodell's focus on player behavior on and off the field, a fight like this in a regular season game could cost the team field position and scoring opportunities on the field and suspensions and fines off the field.  Schwartz is determined to put an end to this issue no matter what it takes:

"I was tired of it.  It's been addressed, it's going to be addressed more and, if it happens again, it's going to be addressed in a different way."

The question is, and has been…. do the Redskins need to bring in Brian Westrbook?  Do they need a proven 3rd down back that can pick up protections, block, and catch the ball if need be?  Or do they already have adequate personnel to fill that role in the backfield?   Offensive Coordinator Shanahan suggests the latter in his most recent statements on the state of the Redskins backfield:

"First thing with a third down back is you want a guy who can block. We have the best blocker as a back in Clinton Portis that I've ever been around., So I think we do have a third down back."

"You would always love to have that bonus as a coach, have some catching guys, stuff like that. But that's just a bonus. That's not necessarily what you're trying to win games with… But what you've got to have is a guy who can block and pick up protections. And we've got that."

So basically, Westbrook is not needed with the Redskins already securing Larry Johnson and Willie Parker to aid Clinton Portis this season.  Westbrook would undoubtedly be a luxury that supersaturates the RB core and likely pushes out Parker if he is signed, but probably through this lens what Westbrook actually would be is a safety blanket for Donovan McNabb… who is understandably removed from his Philadelphia comfort zone in many ways since he arrived in D.C. and would certainly be open to having that familiar screen to Westbrook as a mainstay option in his new offense.

But when it comes to straight running the ball, Shanahan makes it clear that getting positive yardage through the game plan is what matters most, not identities of players:

"It doesn't matter to me. Any way that you can do it. However we can always get over four yards a carry, whether it's one guy doing it, whether it's five guys doing it, whether it's three. It does not matter to me at all. You just want to call run plays that get positive yards."

I doubt the Redskins are going to fruitlessly spend more many than they already have this season, and it's pretty clear that Shanahan is leaving all his options open with this statement but the reality is that the Skins' backfield is set, just the way it is.

[quotes via The Insider]

Rumors abound about if and where Albert Haynesworth will traded.  Among the teams, the Oakland Raiders of course, because they have to included in every trade about a malcontent or problem child, right?  So is he worth it?

*While the specific effect on the Redskins was minimal (they already had a good D from 2008), his previous team, the Titans, saw a huge dip in their passing D.  Haynesworth takes 2 OL with him, causing 1 on 1 matchups for the remainder of the DL while pressuring the QB to make quicker throws.  Tough to say how that would affect the Raiders, their run D was so bad, that the pass D wasn't tested.  Most likely, their run D would be better, and with LaMarr Houston and Rolando McClain, would make their middle solid.

*The cost would be minimal, the Redskins have already given $32 of the $40 million guaranteed money, so from a salary standpoint, it would be just paying yearly for the best DL in the league with little guaranteed money left.  Favorable in that respect.

*The cost of draft picks would be high.  Redskins should be looking to recoup 2 1's and some 2's in draft picks.  The Raiders can not afford that, they have already given the 2011 pick away for Seymour, and with the continued household cleaning they have done with their free agents and a re-focus onto draft picks, I can't see the Raiders wanting to part with to much unless they feel this is a playoff year.

*They just got rid of JaFumble and that attitude…and a few other similar attitudes in the last few years.  With the young, developing nucleus, I'd be very careful of adding a constant distraction to this team.

So, is he worth it?  If you can wait it out to see if he gets released, then absolutely yes.  Via trade, I couldn't see with the NFL the way it is structured today giving up many draft picks, so absolutely no unless you can get away with only giving up 2's and 3's.

Ravens safety Ed Reed gave the first indication of when he will be ready to return to the field Friday, but it's not good news for Baltimore.

According to The Baltimore Sun, Reed told SIRIUS XM Radio that he's currently 35 percent healthy and doesn't know if he'll be ready to play when the season begins.

The Pro Bowl safety, who had a hip procedure after the draft, said he had reconstructive surgery.

"Well, it's a four-to-six month process to getting yourself back to 100 percent, to get yourself in shape to start working out for a season," Reed said. "It's a year-long process of getting back to 100 percent."

That means if Reed had the surgery in late April he could be healthy enough to play by late August at the earliest. But if it takes six months, and if Reed needs additional time to get in game shape, Reed could miss significant time.

Reed called his rehab a "long, slow process." The year-long process is likely to get in the kind of condition he was in prior to the injury altogether.

"I want to be ready for the first game but I don't know how soon that would happen, how soon I would be back," Reed said. "You know, we're gonna continue to do the things to try and get back and at least play this year for the fans, man, cause they've been hounding me, man."

"They've been asking me, 'Are you gonna play? Are you coming back? I would love to see you play at least one more year.' So hopefully we got at least one more in us."

At least Reed says he wants to be ready, which is also the first time since the 2009 season ended that he has spoken out about wanting to come back for 2010 instead of retiring.

Ed Reed will play in 2010. How much is still up in the air though I have a strong feeling he won't be ready to tackle Rexy's Jets.

His first public comments about wanting to return were very encouraging though. He's been very close to the vest about stating publicly what his status is for the coming season and he has at least said he wants to be back.

I've said before that Reed is a special player but Baltimore appears at the very least covered in case he can't go recently signing former Pro Bowler, Ken Hamlin. They also have Tom Zbikowski, who filled in admirably in Reed's absence in 2009 and a hopefully recovered Haruki Nakamura. Non of these players is Ed Reed but the again who is.

Clark Judge recently listed ten assistants who he thinks will play the biggest roles in their respective teams success this year.

Jets special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff made the cut:

Mike Westhoff, special teams coordinator, N.Y. Jets: I'll tell you why I have one of the game's most respected special teams coaches in here: Because the Jets' season could hinge on their kickers. I'm serious. When I stopped by the team's Florham Park headquarters in late May and early June the field-goal accuracy was so dreadful that coach Rex Ryan joked that his specialists were seeing how successful they could be with their non-kicking legs. Only this is no laughing matter. The Jets believe they have the ammunition to push New England for supremacy in the AFC East, and they might … if they have someone who can make a clutch field goal. A year ago they lost four games by four or fewer points each, and that was with a kicker (Jay Feely) who was so reliable he nailed 30 of 36 field-goal attempts. Now they go from Feely to Nick Folk, who was so inaccurate in 2009 Dallas exchanged him for Shaun Suisham, and, yeah, the Jets' turning to Folk is a risk — and I'm being kind. He has a strong leg; just not an accurate one. For the sake of the Jets, that better change. He was 6 of 14 on kicks from 40 yards and beyond, including 5 of 12 from the 40 to the 49, and he tied with Jacksonville's Josh Scobee for the lowest field-goal percentage by any of the league's top 29 kickers. I didn't like what I saw earlier this month, and the Jets couldn't have, either. But there's time to straighten this thing out, and I guarantee that if Folk doesn't change by late August, Westhoff will make the change for him — finding someone he can trust. The Jets' future could depend on it.

He raises a good point and one that every Jets fan is worried about. The Jets play a lot of close games, and inevitably some of those games will come down to a kick and as of now I'm not fully confident with Nick Folk taking those kicks.

If Westhoff can get Folk back to his 2008 form, well that might be the greatest, of his many accomplishments.

We'll  use this thread to update the latest on the condition of Chad Jones. For more on what happened, read here

12:42 EST: The Times-Picayune says Jones is in guarded condition.

12:45 EST: Pro Football Talk is reporting that doctors are trying to save Jones' leg. It had been reported that Jones' leg was broken, and arteries and nerves were exposed.

12:46 EST: This is not for the faint of heart. Here's a picture of the car that Jones was in. Please, if you are faint of heart, do not click on it.

2:42 EST: WAFB in Baton Rouge is reporting, via LSU director of baseball operations Ross Brevosky, that Jones is out of surgery, and doctors think he'll keep both legs.

2:44 EST: The Daily News is reporting that the New Orleans Police Department charged Jones with "careless operation of a vehicle"

3:04 EST: Some conflicting reports now. PFT is reporting that Jones is alert after accident, but still in surgery. WDSU says the most severe injuries are to his left ankle and leg. They cite a source calling the injuries "dire", and that amputation is still a possibility. Juan Kincaid of WWL-TV ( a CBS affiliate in New Orleans) reports that Jones has a shattered tibia and fibula, and has a severe laceration to his thigh. Kincaid also says he's still in surgery.

3:12 EST: Tom Rock of Newsday is reporting that Jones is still in surgery and will be for a few more hours.