The retirement of Jeff Hartings left the Steelers with some uncertainty for next season in the pivot.  The addition of young veteran Sean Mahan adds insurance across the interior line heading into spring workouts. 

Mahan lacks ideal size and power, but is a decent athlete who understands the game well.  He relies a lot on technique and will struggle at times against top competition when his technique is off.   His versatility allows him to play both guard spots and center.  The Tampa Bay staff always like his potential in the pivot, but spent most of his career filling in at guard when injuries hit the Buccaneer offensive line. 

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Cam Cameron is looking for a road grader at the fullback position.  They found a stop-gap with veteran Cory Schlesinger. 

 

Schlesinger is nearing the end of his career and is extremely limited these days as the rigors of a long career are taking a toll on his body.  His blue-collar approach and intensity allows Schlesinger to remain an effective lead blocker, but will struggle making adjustments to moving targets in the run game.

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The Raiders will have a new look in the backfield with the additions of Dominic Rhodes and Justin Griffith. 

Rhodes provides insurance at the running back position with LaMont Jordan coming off a MCL injury.  But Rhodes also faces some uncertainty after his DUI arrest in February and could face a four-game suspension.  Rhodes has been a tease throughout his career.  His quick hitting ability and straight line burst opened eyes with the Colts at times, but lacks the size and power to sustain consistency over 16 games.  Rhodes lacks speed to turn the perimeter and lacks natural vision to the hole.  He also struggles to pick up the blitz when asked to block. 

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Most of the speculation regarding Kevin Carter's place on the defense is that he will play at the under tackle position in place of Ellis Wyms. Carter would definitely be an upgrade at the position, but I'd like to see a new generation of core defensive players start to take shape and be in place for the next tex years. The Bucs need new blood at under tackle, weakside linebacker and strong safety. "New" meaning young, not just players from other teams. Monte Kiffin isn't going to be around for a whole lot longer and I'd like him to be the guy to instill the Bucs' defensive philosophy into a new group of defensive leaders before he retires. Jamie Winborn is fine at WLB, but the Bucs need to draft a DT and SS this year. I'd bet that Eric Weddle will be around at the end of the second round and Marcus Thomas will still be there at the beginning of the third. Both those guys are excellent fits in the Tampa scheme for their positions and could anchor the Buccaneer defense for many years.

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First, let's start with Petitgout. He's now signed for three years, and will likely push Davis for the starting LT job. Davis may be moved to LG in place of Buenning, who may not be ready to play at the start of the season. Davis would make an excellent guard and Petitgout is a solid LT. The Bucs still need to address the Center position, but that might not happen until the draft, now that Newberry has signed with the Raiders. In any case, the Bucs now look to be extremely solid on both sides of the offensive line, and that will help the Bucs tremendously by allowing the Tight Ends to go out on routes much more frequently.

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Looking to shore up their running back situation, the Raiders had a mild interest in both Travis Henry (signed with Denver) and Ahman Green (signed with Houston) and never got either player to visit.

Henry is a risky proposition because he’s in the NFL drug program and his next positive test would warrant a year-long suspension. Henry is a solid runner and he could become the first back ever to rush for over 1,200 yards with three different teams: Buffalo, Tennesee and now Denver.

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The Bears are receiving plenty of positive remarks for their recent four-year extension ($5 million average) and raising head coach Lovie Smith’s salary this season from $1.45 to $3.5 million. For Smith, it is a well-deserved raise.

However, Smith’s new deal probably will pale in comparison to other elite NFL head coaches, especially if someone like Bill Cowher returns to the sidelines in 2008 for $8-10 million a season.

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The Redskins have been searching for middle linebackers ever since I can remember.

They took Jeremiah Trotter away from the Eagles (of course, he’s back in Philly for the past three seasons) and then gave Marvcus Patton a ton of money.

Now it's 32-year-old London Fletcher of the Buffalo Bills.

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Besides signing Adalius Thomas, a huge upgrade at their declining linebacker position, the Patriots basically scared the Dolphins into trading returner/receiver Wes Welker to them for a second and seventh-round pick last night. Welker will become the Patriots’ younger version of Troy Brown (36 vs. 26), plus the Patriots believe he could learn all three receiver positions in their offense. Welker may not be Deion Branch, but Coach Bill Belichick wants to give it a shot.

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This has been yet another interesting day. Kevin Carter signs a deal with the Bucs for reportedly $25 million over 4 years. Obviously, this deal is likely to be one of those standard Bruce style one-year trial deals where the Bucs can either cut him after a year, or eat the hit for as long as they are willing to stick with him. Carter is a stop gap that will bring back some pass rushing ability to the Bucs after last year's lack of any QB pressure. It will allow the Bucs to draft some young DL's and not be forced to start them immediately.

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