NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

ESPN's Adam Schefter dropped an interesting bit of news last Friday, in his blog on ESPN.com. A reader named "Brendan" from North Carolina asked Schefter about the Redskins quarterback situation going into 2011, and Schefter initially responded with this:

"For now, Brendan, it looks like [John] Beck. But let's clear up some loose ends. Washington never seriously considered a quarterback in Round 1 and never was going to trade up for one in this draft. Ever."

Given the news surrounding the Redskins in the weeks and days leading up to the draft, I find this interesting on two accounts:

1. Mike Shanahan & Bruce Allen truly had every fooled about the Redskins draft plans. The team was linked to nearly every "big name" quarterback in this draft at one point or another, and rumors began to fly about how they were going to trade up to grab one of them (namely, Blaine Gabbert). Yet, when Gabbert was available at #10 overall (when the Redskins were on the clock), not only did the Redskins not take Gabbert, but they traded the pick itself.

2. The front office really seems ready to go with either John Beck (the rumored favorite) or Rex Grossman (the incumbent) as the team's starting quarterback. Late last season, when Donovan McNabb was benched prior to the game versus Dallas, the theory was that Shanahan would use the last three weeks of the season to evaluate what he had in Grossman & Beck; essentially, it seeemed to be an extended job interview for whether they'd even be on the roster in 2011. Now, not only is Beck on the roster, but he's the presumptive favorite for the starting position (Grossman remains a free agent).

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There’s three teams that seem to be in the hunt for unhappy Panthers WR Steve Smith – the Raiders, Jets and Chargers. San Diego could use Smith as a replacement for an unhappy WR of their own – Vincent Jackson, who sat out over half the season due to not getting a new deal.

GM A.J. Smith said in the San Diego Union-Tribune that the team is looking at the Smith situation closely, and seeing exactly what the Panthers are going to want if they don’t flat out release Smith.

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith's oft-cited commitment to the value of character does not rule out the team pursuing wide receiver Steve Smith. The Carolina Panthers star is reportedly unhappy in Carolina — even to the point of cleaning out his locker, putting his house on the market and letting it be known that he would like a trade to the Chargers, Oakland Raiders or Baltimore Ravens.

The Panther are known to want to part ways with the receiver, who has three times been named an All-Pro but was also suspended two games by Carolina for a training camp altercation with a teammate in 2008. The Chargers' interest, according to people with knowledge of the situation, can be characterized as monitoring and wait-and-see. The Chargers landing Smith could be a product of his wanting to play in a good offense, close to his Lynwood, Calif., birthplace coupled with the team's need for a top-flight receiver.

Initially set for May 18th, Ravens outside linebacker Sergio Kindle’s driving under the influence case has been moved up to Tuesday afternoon. The case was moved up on the docket, according to the Carroll County Times.

After missing his entire rookie season with a fractured skull, Kindle is looking forward to putting the case behind him.

“The main thing is I want to get it over with and figure out what they’re going to do,” Kindle told the Times earlier this spring. “I don’t know how the Maryland law works, but I want to get it behind me and not have to worry about it anymore.”

Kindle’s Breathalyzer was recorded at 0.17, according to a police report. That’s twice the Maryland legal limit of 0.08.

Kindle was pulled over by police at 4:09 a.m., and the second-round draft pick was issued citations for driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to obey traffic control devices and speeding. He was pulled over on Route 1 near Route 32 in Savage and was given a ticket for driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone.

“First and foremost, I would apologize,” Kindle told the Times following the incident. “I don't want to put the organization's name in a negative light due to my actions. I made a mistake by driving. I don't know what's going to happen or how they're going to handle that.”

Kindle said he was driving a friend to the airport. When asked how much he had to drink, Kindle replied: “It wasn't much, but I guess it was enough. I guess it was enough for me to fail a Breathalyzer.”

Kindle was arrested for DUI while in college and was suspended for three games. In a separate incident, he crashed his car into an apartment building when he was admittedly texting while driving.

Kindle suffered a hairline fracture of his skull a few days before training camp when he fell down two flights of stairs at a friend’s house while searching for the bathroom in a dark house in the middle of the night. His health has improved, though, and the Ravens aren’t ruling out him out for the future.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo ended his round at the U.S. Open qualifying event at Stonebridge Country Cliub at 9-over for a score of 81 according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News.

He was eliminated from competition.

Romo reached the sectional qualifying stage for the event last year, but he withdrew once a weather delay threatened his Cowboys workout schedule.

Sports Gab Network Editor Matt Loede goes one on one with the Barrel Roll in Scottsdale, AZ as part of the “Cuervo Games,” put on by Jose Cuervo. The awesome event included the Maxim Hometown Hotties, competition between teams of four, and great food and drinks. Be there as Cuervo Games hits a town near you this summer!

Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk is keeping busy during the NFL labor dispute. His wrist, which required surgery to repair ligament damage that included inserting pins and wearing a cast for a few months, is “perfectly fine for training camp,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The surgery took place right after Super Bowl XLV, and he now wears a brace while working out six days a week.

“I played the whole year with it, so it’s fine; it will be all right,” he said. The defending Super Bowl champions might hold players-only practices, but are working out independently for now, Hawk said. “The most the defense can do when we get together is seven-on-seven,” he said. “I can understand quarterbacks throwing to receivers and stuff like that. I think it’s more of a camaraderie thing.”

The Philadelphia Daily News reports the NFL lockout has delayed what presumably would have been a contract extension for Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, although Jackson said he will let agent Drew Rosenhaus handle all that when it is allowed.

"I know Drew has a plan and that's the biggest thing, because we really don't know when the lockout is going to end," he said. "Drew has been keeping me patient and motivating me and trying not to have me focus on my contract. That's' why I have him, so he can do his job and do what he needs to do, so me, as a player can feel confident and know he will do the best thing possible for me. I just really pray and hope that he works it out. I believe in him and know he can work it out for me. That's why he's Drew Rosenhaus. He gets paid to do what he needs to do. And that's' why in my eyes he's one of the best."

Asked whether the deal was simply a formality at this point, Jackson stressed that Rosenhaus "will work it out … I know he's been keeping in good contact with the Eagles. So far, everything’s been positive. I feel he has a pretty good relationship with the front office."

Saints quarterback Drew Brees says he has been in touch with Reggie Bush and hopes the running back will see that he can still play a key role with the Saints even though the club made a trade to acquire Alabama running back Mark Ingram in the first round of last week’s NFL draft.

Brees said he saw a Twitter post in which Bush wrote, “It’s been fun New Orleans,” shortly after Ingram was drafted.

Brees said he texted words of encouragement to Bush soon after.

“I think that’s just frustration a little bit, just because they draft a guy at your position,” Brees said. “But I think the message that was sent to him was, ‘By no means look at that as … you’re getting shown the door, that we don’t want you,’ or anything like that.”

Brees said he saw a parallel between the drafting of Ingram and the Saints’ decision to draft Bush in 2006, when running back Deuce McAllister was one of the club’s featured players.

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The Philadelphia Eagles selected Dion Lewis the, hard nosed rusher from Pittsburgh in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, and the Eagles now have a total of five running backs on the roster, which means that someone will end up being cut.

The current roster has five running backs, LeSean McCoy, Dion Lewis, Jerome Harrison, Eldra Buckley, and Stanley Havili. It's clear that Philadelphia doesn't have room for five different runners, but they all posses different skill sets that could help the Eagles in the long-term. Depending on how the Eagles offensive playbook looks once the season starts, Philadelphia could look into more specific situation rushers.

There are really two running backs that are indefinetly safe, McCoy and Lewis. McCoy is clearly the best rusher on the team and easily one of the most promising young running backs in the NFL, and there is no way he is going anywhere. On the other hand, the latter Pittsburgh rusher was taken in the draft to reunite old teammates and create that wicked two-punch combo of speed and then power.

This is a nearly perfect situation for McCoy and Lewis, as they have both played together in the past, and will fit perfectly into the Eagles offensive scheme. These two rushers will likely fill the one and two spots on the roster, leaving one more back to fill in as a late-game runner. Of the players left on the roster, Buckley, Harrison, and Havili, the most likely bet seems to be Harrison coming off of the bench.

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The NFL is constructing a set of free-agency rules that would differ from the rules of 2010, according to Daniel Kaplan of the SportsBusiness Journal.

According to Kaplan, the league has formed a group to establish a new set of rules that would give the NFL options in deciding how to run the league when the lockout is lifted.

Kaplan tweeted that the new set of rules would be “very different” and “might not alter onfield game.” Many had believed the NFL would resort to last year’s free-agency rules if a new labor agreement was not reached before the lockout was lifted.