Injuries have taken a major toll in the Chicago defensive backfield over the past few seasons, leading the team to make that area a high priority this off-season.

They haven’t been successful in luring anyone of significance to the Windy City as of yet, but a fairly high profile player could be on his way as we speak.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Bears are set to entertain veteran CB Ken Lucas later today, and could have a deal in place relatively quick if the meeting goes well.

While it’s likely the Bears will be addressing that issue early on in the draft later this month, bringing Lucas into the fold would give the team a solid option on definite passing downs, as well as a cover corner capable of helping out in the run game if need be.

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Benglas fans are breathing a sigh of relief this morning, as their star QB Carson Palmer publicly announced his return to full health yesterday. Palmer had been recovering from a major injury to his elbow; his second season-ending injury in as many years.

Here’s what Palmer had to say:

“I’m 100 percent. I’ve been cleared. My elbow feels great and I just have to keep going and get the small mechanical things that I normally do this time of year.”

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The New York Giants are likely breathing a small sigh of relief today, as news broke out indicating a possible agreement between their troubled WR Plaxico Burress and the Manhattan district attorney’s office on the potential charges he is facing after his unregistered weapon discharged into his leg in a NYC night club last fall.

According to Sal Paolantonio (ESPN), no plea deal has yet been reached in the case, but sources close to the situation have let it be known that the talks between Burress’ legal team and the prosecutors on the case have progressed significantly in the past few days.

Burress was arraigned Dec. 1st on two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a loaded and unlicensed weapon, a Glock semi-automatic pistol, which is a felony and carries a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 3½ years.

It’s doubtful that simply avoiding jail time will allow Burress to return to the league without any repercussions from the commisioner’s office, as the NFL has been consistent in taking a hard stand against any serious off-the-field infractions since Roger Goodell took over the reins from Paul Tagliabue.

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NFL commisioner Roger Goodell hasn’t closed the door just yet on a possible return to glory for disgraced QB Michael Vick. But in a chat with members of the media yesterday, he made it abundantly clear that Vick will have to show extreme sorrow for his actions before he is allowed back onto the field.

“I’m not going to make a judgment until I know all the facts on Michael Vick. I think it’s clear he’s paid a price, but to a large extent he’s going to have to demonstrate to the larger community — not just to the NFL community and to me — that he has remorse for what he did and that he recognizes mistakes that he made.”

Vick is close to finishing his 23 month prison sentence resulting from his conviction on federal dog fighting charges. He is still facing a mountain of debt and creditors that are eager to recoup money they feel they are owed by the former Falcons star QB.

It is expected that Vick will have the ability to be reinstated by the league shortly before training camps start later this summer. It is not known if Goodell is planning on further punishment for him or how long of a suspension that might entail. Read the rest of this entry »

Chiefs GM Scott Pioli is not known for his close relationship with the media. In fact, it’s a well established fact that he would prefer to never speak to them if he could manage it.

But apparently, the growing discussion around the league of a potential trade involving the Chiefs and their All-Pro tight end was enough to pull Pioli out from his cocoon and answer a few questions on the subject yesterday.

Here’s what he had to say:

“He has not indicated to me that he wants to be traded. I don’t want to get into any other specifics of the conversations because those are conversations that will stay between players and (coach Todd Haley) and players and myself. They were good conversations, positive conversations, healthy conversations.”

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The NFL put forward a major change to its draft structure earlier today, choosing to lock down the first 20 selections prior to the postseason, and then re-seeding the teams remaining as they exit the playoffs.

This would end the policy of teams receiving a draft position based solely on their regular season record, and would force teams with worse records to draft later if they were able to make a long run through the postseason.

Here’s a breakdown of the rule:

• The losers in the wild-card round will be seeded 21st through 24th

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Coming into the off-season, the Jets were intent on completely overhauling their defense and building it back up by adding talent in their secondary and in the LB corps. New York took several steps towards that goal in signing LB Bart Scott and several other key free agents, but apparently they’re not finished yet.

According to John Clayton (ESPN), the Jets have signed CB Donald Strickland to a three year deal. Terms of the contract were not announced.

Strickland should give New York one of the better defensive backfields in the AFC East, something they’re going to need this fall when they match up head to head with two of the better passing offenses in the league in New England and Buffalo.

According to Adam Teicher (Kansas City Star), the Chiefs have signed free agent guard Mike Goff today, giving the team an experienced and versatile blocker up front.

Goff comes to KC from their division rivals in San Diego, where he spent the last five seasons. Prior to his stint with the Chargers, Goff played in Cincinnati for six years.

Terms of the deal have not been announced.

Vic Carucci (NFL.com) posted a fairly interesting tidbit of info out of Detroit this morning, indicating that the Lions are actively looking for a trade partner willing to move all the way to the top of the draft to select #1 overall.

It’s doubtful that Detroit will find many suitors for a deal of that magnitude, given the exhorbitant cost of signing the top pick in the draft along with the compensation a team would have to offer the Lions to get the pick in the first place.

That being said, it’s something that is definitely worth exploring on the Lions end of things, as they have so many holes to fill, and one top pick isn’t going to turn around their team on their own. Getting multiple picks in return for the #1 overall selection could set the franchise up for the long term success they’ve never enjoyed, and excite a fan base that has been waiting for their team to finally play up to their potential.

At any rate, we’ll keep an eye on this one as the days progress…

Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron sounded optimistic Tuesday when pressed by reporters on the issue of a possible contract extension for their Pro Bowl tackle Jason Peters, but stopped short of giving any indication of a deadline for the negotiations.

Here’s what Jauron had to say:

“We’re anxious that he’s present and involved. It doesn’t serve anybody’s purpose when he misses all that time. Last year he didn’t show up. We’ve just got to anticipate that he will and we’ve got to keep working in that direction and keep the lines of communication open and believe he’s going to show up, because that’s all we can do.”

The Bills are working hard to avoid another off-season hold out by Peters, after watching him struggle through most of last season, before he came on strong at the end of the year. That being said, the two sides are far enough apart at this point that a new deal may not happen any time soon.

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Cleveland Browns WR Donte Stallworth received a bit of good news yesterday, as the man he struck with his car two weeks ago was not in the crosswalk, as the preliminary reports seemed to indicate.

Police involved in the case released a report that placed the victim, Mario Reyes, in the far left lane of the six-lane MacArthur Causeway in Miami, FL. Stallworth flashed the lights of his Bentley at Reyes to warn him before the accident occurred, and stopped a short distance away from the scene to help the man, who was pronounced dead on the scene.

Stallworth was traveling at a high rate of speed through the area, exceeding the posted limit by 10 miles per hour or more according to the police report. No charges have yet been filed against Stallworth, however, police are still investigating whether alcohol was a factor.

Apparently, no one asked Tony Gonzalez what his feelings were on sticking around in Kansas City for the long haul, as a source close to him quickly moved to distance the All-Pro tight end from the comments made earlier today by Chiefs owner Clark Hunt.

Here’s what the unnamed source had to say:

“If the right deal can be made, Tony very much wants the Chiefs to trade him. Tony is not demanding a trade. Tony cherishes the time he’s spent with the Chiefs and he loves the way he’s always been treated by the fans there. But he knows of some other teams that would be interested in him and if the right deal can be made, he wants it to be made.”

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