October is for … football?

Nadia, I can’t leave KC alone without mention of the hottest asset of their team, October Gonzalez. Kelli Croyle has nothing on Gonzo’s “commitment partner”.

Props to HBO’s Hard Knocks show for the screenshot. Also to DHADM for a recap and video.

NFL Cheer (Part 3 of 32)

Been gone, but we’re back. With the Chiefs. These girls need to sue their team photographer. Seriously.
NFL Cheerleader 3 of 32, here she is, Kansas City’s own Catherine.

Homegirl did good in this picture, but Peyton Manning called, and he wants his forehead back.
Still, I can’t hate KC: Brodie Croyle’s wife is there now.

Bryant Johnson signs with the Buffalo Bills.. or does he?

At this point it’s only rumor from Sirius NFL radio, but Bryant Johnson (Cardinals) has been in Buffalo all day, and if the weather hasn’t gotten to him yet, he’s likely to be waiting on his agent and the Bills working out a contract.

The Bills have been known in the past to be stingy with contract negotiations, but Johnson is probably the best value and best fit for the current needs of the Bills.

The Bills have already executed a trade giving them former Jaguars DT Marcus Stroud, while signing Vikings DT Spencer Johnson and Giants LB Kawika Mitchell.

UPDATE: Johnson is leaving town, no contract signed. I knew Ralph Wilson was cheap but daaaaaamn! His next visit is D.C. where Washington needs to bolster a WR corps. My guess is that Johnson’s agent will use Redskins owner Dan Snyder as leverage for more money in Buffalo. The Redskins really can’t spend at all this year, and Randle El and Santana Moss make a capable (if not overachieving) 1-2 combo.

The Cleveland Browns! The Browns? The… Browns???

Donte Stallworth was looking for a contract that would pay him about 5 mil a year with 10 mil guaranteed. He got it with the Cleveland Browns.

Since free agency started less than 48 hours ago, the Cleveland Browns have gone from a team with quarterback questions and a shaky defense, to having one of the strongest defensive lines in the game, a solid starter at quarterback locked up for 3 years, and a WR tandem that rivals the best in the league.

Not bad.

Javon Walker’s Status

The highly productive and widely sought-after receiver turned injury question, was released on Friday by the Broncos. Since then his agent has been contacted by no less than 10 teams, per Michael Smith of ESPN.

No visits have been scheduled, and as of now Walker is in Arizona.

While several teams are interested, the NFC East appears to have the edge. The two leading candidates, according to the source, are the Cowboys and the Eagles, both of whom have connections with Walker. When Walker was released I had previously mentioned he had worked out a deal during the 2005 draft.

Walker’s connection to the Eagles, per Smith, is his friend Donovan McNabb. In one of McNabb’s recent media appearances on an ESPN Weekend radio Insider, he told listeners to “stay tuned” and that the Eagles were “just getting started.”

We’ll see what happens.

Updates

Shaun Rogers to Cleveland, the league office revoked the trade with the Bengals. This means Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers will be on the Browns defensive line. Is that scary or what? The Browns have sent the Lions a third round pick and cornerback Leigh Bodden, who will replace the recently-released Fernando Bryant.

Randy Moss still on the market.

Isaac Bruce signs with San Francisco. Mike Martz pretends it’s 2002 again.

Alan Faneca decision coming Sunday. Jets are the leading candidates.

Lito Sheppard trade rumors continue to swirl. No details except that he’s on the market.

Seattle’s kicker Josh Brown will sign with the Rams. This report came after an earlier one that he would not be re-signing with the Seahawks as expected. Jeff Wilkins, the Rams former kicker, announced his retirement today.

Gibril Wilson, the former NY Giants safety, has inked a 6 year-$39 million deal with the Raiders. I’m a little puzzled to be honest. It seems like a huge overpayment, and the Raiders scheme is greatly different from the Giants’. But I guess that’s what getting the Lombardi does for your stock. Plus I was starting to like the guy after all the rumors of him coming to the Eagles.

Marcus Stroud to the Bills for a 3rd and a 5th?

Today the Bills released Larry Triplett. Also today Marcus Stroud was given permission to seek a trade.

And again today there were two high profile DT’s traded for a 3rd round and 5th round pick. Both teams had high draft positions, similar to the Bills. Both teams had needs at DT, similar to the Bills.

The SBnation Buffalo blog, Buffalo Rumblings, has the story on the front page, and it could be a very likely scenario.

My prediction is it’ll happen in the next couple days. The Bills need at DT is far too great for them to be releasing a recently-signed DT for no reason.

Javon Walker Released by Broncos

ESPNews broke the story, here’s a link to a post at Yardbarker.

Javon Walker would not only transition well to Philly’s system, he already had figures for a deal worked out in 2005 prior to his trade to Denver.

The question around the league has been the health of his knee. He recently had it scoped after having the ACL repaired.

Before releasing him, the Broncos tried to trade him. Health issues were the main concern of teams, especially after the Broncos aggressively shopped Al Wilson for trade last year only to find out when he got to the Giants facilities that he didn’t pass a physical.

Linebacker Ian Gold was also released.

Bengals grab Shaun Rogers for a 3rd and a 5th

On the same day that the Panthers got 3rd and 5th round picks from the Jets for Kris Jenkins, the Lions have received similar picks from the Bengals for Shaun Rogers.

Michael Smith and John Clayton at ESPN.com have the story, and this seems to be the going rate for DT’s. Look for the Jags to get similar action (maybe from the Bills?) for Marcus Stroud.

The move comes a day before a $1mil roster bonus was due to Shaun Rogers, no word on if the contract will be re-done or not.

Other Bengals priorities include re-signing Dhani Jones (Eagles fans everywhere laugh).

John Henderson Pre-Game Warmup

Among the many rumors flying are that the Jags are seeking to acquire Shaun Rogers and dish out Marcus Stroud. It seems like Buffalo is a suitor of Stroud, while the Lions have many interested parties in Rogers. But in checking out youtube for a Marcus Stroud clip I came across this.

I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before, this shit is crazy.

Jags trade 6th round pick and pair of eyeglasses, Acquire Troy Williamson

On a day that has already seen former Jaguars wide receiver Ernest Wilford sign with the Miami Dolphins and former Raider Jerry Porter sign with Jacksonville, the Jags have acquired a piece of junk that Mike Tice left in Minnesota.

Troy Williamson can’t catch.

He can’t see.

And now apparently he’s still worth a 6th round pick. For folks wondering, that’s what Takeo Spikes went for last year.

Asante Samuel is an Eagle

Free agency has been kicked off hard in Philly. And I think it’s time to celebrate.

It started as a rumor from a friend of the front office with a blog that people outside of Philly barely knew. Then it snowballed into bigger sites, and now it’s on SportingNews, with figures for the deal.

5 years and $47.2mil. The Eagles usually sign players for longer and then worry about cutting them later on in the deal. These numbers are so realistic, though, that it seems Samuel will be an Eagle until 2013.

Samuel is 27, and had 6 picks (one for a TD against the Eagles) in 2007, following his league leading 10 in 2006. The move is expected to free up Sheldon Brown to move to safety, thus strengthening two positions at once.

Expect this to be officially announced at the 4:30pm press conference. The news conference will likely be available via the Philadelphia Eagles’ website shortly thereafter.

For anyone who thinks he got short-changed in comparison to Clements consider two things:
1) Clements isn’t playing for a contender.
2) The 8th year of Clements deal is fake, making the real deal 7 years, $64mil. Which is a lower per-year average than Samuel’s.

Junior Seau has Old-Ass-Man Surgery

Per Bernie Wilson of the Sun Sentinel:

Seau had arthroscopic surgery on his left rotator cuff not long after his New England Patriots were upset by the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, leaving the linebacker to ponder whether to try to play a 19th NFL season or retire — again.

How long until he asks for Rodney Harrison’s HGH dealer?

In all seriousness, this guy somehow just keeps on ticking, and since he spent all last season looking like a 55 year-old man, maybe he can start acting like it and hang up the spikes.

With the Pats releasing Roosevelt Colvin and Tedy Bruschi pondering calling it quits (though the latest news is that he’s returning), the Pats are going to be in the market for some LB’s in either free agency or the draft.

Jerry Porter signs with the Jaguars, so does Miss Cleo

Adam Schefter basically has every scoop, right? I’m hating Cablevision right now.

The oft-disgruntled Raiders wide receiver now has a new home. Even though he will be 30 by the time the season starts, he’s going to be a huge contributor. Considering he basically took 2006 off, and hasn’t had to work exceptionally hard with Randy Moss and Ronald Curry on the other side, he’s definitely still got gas left in the tank. Not only has he had solid years with bad quarterbacks in Oakland, but with the Jaguars running game, he’ll get single-coverage on the outside.

When Dennis Northcutt, Reggie Williams, and Ernest Wilford can carry you deep into the playoffs, Jerry Porter is going to get you further.

The word on the deal is six years and $30 million.

Additional Jaguars news is that earlier today they signed former Dolphins QB, Cleo Lemon to backup David Garrard.

The AFC is on notice.

Kawika Mitchell to the Bills

According to John Clayton of ESPN.com, the Buffalo Bills have signed unrestricted free-agent LB Kawika Mitchell (Giants).

The figures aren’t yet released, but this deepens the Bills LBs. With Posluzny coming back from injury, and possible Marcus Stroud, Shaun Rogers rumors, the Bills could be looking at a huge defensive turnaround.

With the ‘Phins, Bills, and Jets all making swift FA moves, and Moss not yet re-signed by the Pats, watch out for the AFC East!

Jenkins to Jets for a 3rd and a 5th

Really? Kris Jenkins is worth all that?

Sounds like the Jets are the alcoholics.

For the Jets it gives them a big body in the middle of their 3-4 scheme. At least give them credit for committing to it, and the picks can be somewhat replaced by the Vilma to Saints deal, but those picks are in 2009. I just don’t think it’s a great move for them.

Still, for Panthers fans it’s a boon. Jenkins wasn’t what he used to be, and the picks can be gold. I’m sure most Carolina fans are aware Steve Smith was a 3rd round pick.

Brady Quinn gets screwed… again.

Things are not happy at the YMCA.

As reported by Adam Schefter on NFLN, Derek Anderson has signed a 3-year contract with the Browns for $14 million guaranteed.

Quinn’s day in the sun will have to wait. But that’s ok, we think he likes the closet.

Smiley to Phins.

Justin Smiley formerly of the 49ers has moved to the Dolphins.

The first of many, no doubt. Smart move by Parcells to go after linemen, which the Phins sorely need.

Will also be nice to see this franchise in a couple years start to challenge the Pats in that division.

Samuel to Philly done deal

Well, a deal has been worked out according to G Cobb, whose website got pwned by posting that story.

Come on Gary don’t be so cheap!

Anyway, I don’t like it. I know Philly fans want nothing more than star playmakers, but Samuel costs too much and there are too many good CB’s to be had in the draft. Sheppard isn’t finished and I just don’t see the Birds spending like this.

The source who gave G Cobb his info has to remember that Samuel probably has contracts agreed upon verbally with 2 or 3 other teams as well. I don’t think this will happen.

Still, if it does I’ll have to learn how to not hate him.

Packers trade Corey Williams to Cleveland

Only rumor at this point, but Jason La Canfora has the scoop.

Apparently the deal is set to go off at midnight:01, and Corey Williams will go to Cleveland along with another unnamed player.

It’s unknown what the Pack will get.

UPDATE: Packers will get a 2nd round pick. Cleveland will have no first-day picks unless Derek Anderson signs with someone else and the Browns get a 1st and a 3rd in compensation. Props to PFT on the tip.