One of the more surprising, and disappointing, draft busts in recent memory may have reached the end of the line on Monday.
The third time won't be the charm for running back Trent Richardson, who was released by the Oakland Raiders in their first wave of roster cuts, according to ESPN.
Richardson, selected No. 3 overall in the 2012 NFL Draft, failed to impress in his rookie season with the Cleveland Browns before a surprise trade found him sent to the Colts for a first-round pick at the start of the 2013 season. Indianapolis cut him in the offseason and Oakland took a flier on him before a poor showing in their exhibition campaign.
He carried for 42 yards on 18 rushes in three games after starting training camp on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list and had averaged only 3.3 yards per rush attempt in his career.
Only 25 years old, it appears Richardson has played his last down in the NFL. It would seem difficult to imagine another franchise taking a chance on him after the lack of production that followed such tremendous expectations following a sterling career at Alabama.
The Raiders liked enough of what they have seen in starting rusher Latavius Murray and also retain Roy Helu and Taiwan Jones to fill out their backfield behind quarterback Derek Carr.
One couldn't help but notice the presence of a slight smirk on Jay Gruden's face when he made public the decision he and his cohorts have been apparently trying to make for some time.
He had the look of a man who cleared his conscience.
"Yes, we do have news," the Redskins head coach said on Monday morning. "Kirk Cousins will be the starter for 2015 moving forward."
Taking whatever wind out of Robert Griffin's sails the Detroit Lions didn't already take last Thursday when they most likely made Gruden's decision for him. Sacked three times, hit thrice more, and fumbled twice, Griffin lingered off the gridiron for what may have been his last time as the Redskins' starting quarterback.
All those vague hopes, all those pleasant declarations, the reasoned pleas to improvement all seemed to go up in smoke after what appeared to be the culmination of an illusion. No, he hadn't improved his timing. No, he hadn't stepped up in the pocket. No, he hadn't been making his reads properly. And no, he hadn't "made better decisions."
The same couldn't be said for the other two men Gruden said were still in the midst of an open competition. That competition, seemingly, is over, and Cousins won it.
"When it's all said and done, after all the film we've gone through, after all the offseason activity, all the training camp footage, we feel like at this time, Kirk Cousins gives us the best chance to win and that's where we're going," Gruden said.
"It's Kirk's team."
Which, in the past, had only come true after the man previously whose team it's been was injured and couldn't physically take the field. The presumption had always been that whenever Griffin, the former darling of Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, was able to carry himself onto the field and take snaps, he would do so and Cousins would dutifully go back to his clipboard and ball cap.
But Gruden's announcement on Monday raised the curtain on what looks to be a new era in Washington, one that does not presently include Robert Griffin III as its leader. Though Griffin is still in the midst of the NFL's concussion protocol, Gruden made it clear that the position belonged to Cousins, and that it would "remain" so.
Though the coach was also prudent enough to make plan that Griffin was himself still a Redskin, and that no plans existed for his trade or release. This, Gruden said, was entirely down to what he saw in front of him these last three weeks.
Griffin was slated to start Washington's third exhibition game in Baltimore on Saturday, but an independent, second neurologist reversed the decision made by a first, paving the way for Cousins to lead the first team.
Some early mistakes ensued, including an interception, but so did a touchdown drive, and an overall calmer-looking offensive unit. It was enough for the coach to move all three of his pieces around into an order that didn't exist prior to kickoff.
Gruden doesn't think having three options under center is all that bad.
"It's a good problem to have to have three quarterbacks that are competing and working their butts off and I feel like all three of them are capable quarterbacks," he said. "Some people say when you have three, you don't have one and I disagree with that. We have three good quarterbacks that I feel good about. I just feel like Kirk right now gives us the best chance."
After saying for the several last months that Robert Griffin III was his starting quarterback, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden announced on Monday that Kirk Cousins will take that role heading into the regular season.
Gruden added that Cousins will remain the starter, intimating that Griffin could not re-take the position himself in the future.
That, days after saying the same thing about Griffin.
"Kirk Cousins will be the starter for 2015 moving forward," Gruden said. "It's Kirk's team."
Gruden said Griffin lost his job not because of injury, but because of the improvement he says Cousins had in his performance in training camp and the preseason. Griffin was concussed, the team said, in last Thursday's game against Detroit, but until then had shown little improvement in the areas coaches said he had to show.
He added that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has not prevented football people in the organization from moving away from Robert Griffin, as was previously reported, and that starting Cousins is a move that his owner supported.
"Mr. Snyder has been nothing but supportive of this football team," Gruden said. "All Mr. Snyder wants to do is win."
Gruden said that Griffin is not currently being shopped for a trade and is not going to be released, though also said that he is yet to decide if he will be the second- or third-string quarterback, ahead of or behind Colt McCoy.
Kirk Cousins said he doesn't view his new job so much as the ending of some process, but the beginning of another one.
"It doesn't feel like a finish line by any means, it feels like the work is still ahead of us," Cousins said. "I go ou t and try to prove myself every time I'm out there."
It wasn't long ago that cornerback Tim Jennings was in his prime and his stock on the rise as a potential turnover machine.
But after a poor showing in 2014, the Bears have decided to release him, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Jennings led the NFL with nine interceptions three seasons ago, adding four more the following year, a team-high, and a two-year tally that was second only to Richard Sherman's 19 picks in that span.
Jennings, 31, recorded 50 tackles and also forced a fumble in 16 games last season for Chicago (5-11), having spent the last five years there after a stint with the Colts. But he did not secure one interception.
Tracy Porter and Alan Ball will compete for the vacant position on the starting roster.
"They told me they were going to go younger," he told the Chicago Tribune.
The only thing keeping quarterback Robert Griffin III a member of the Washington Redskins is owner Daniel Snyder, according to reports.
Football people ranging from front office managers to position coaches have apparently reiterated their interest in moving on from Griffin's quarterbacking services due to the lack of progress they think he has made in his three years under center for the club.
But those repeated requests and pleas have fallen on Snyder's deaf ears.
ESPN reported that the Redskins had been fielding trade offers recently, but to no avail. Which is hardly surprising. Griffin has a guaranteed salary of $3.3 million this season and would be owed $16.1 million next season if he were injured, as per the terms of the fifth-year option the team awarded him with this offseason.
Griffin and injury being two frequent companions in the last three seasons, Washington could find themselves on the hook to pay a fortune to a man who, should that case arise once again, couldn't take a single snap.
That number, and the possibility of it having to be paid, is the lynchpin keeping other teams from listening to those reported offers.
Head coach Jay Gruden has said this entire offseason and exhibition campaign that he would side with Griffin as the primary starter going into the season, but his average performance in camp and the below-average effort he has fielded during his limited playing time already in two games, by those close to the situation, have him re-thinking that plan.
He has already had to publicly refute a report that the team has decided to start Kirk Cousins over Griffin in their first regular season game.
Also, first-year general manager Scot McCloughan has no particular loyalty to Griffin, either. As far as those on the football end are concerned, Cousins and Colt McCoy give the team the superior chance to come out of this season with a decent showing.
The only one around the franchise, it seems, who doesn't think that is the man who owns it.
The Packers will already be without their leading wide receiver, Jordy Nelson, for the entire regular season, fallen to what they called a significant right knee injury.
It looked like deja vu on Saturday night when Randall Cobb, Nelson's No. 2, lay on the turf with what he admitted he thought was a broken collarbone.
The team ruled out anything of that severity before the night was over, but scheduled more tests on Sunday to determine the injury, the results of which revealed a "minor" AC joint sprain, according to NFL Media.
Though his availability for the Packers' Week 1 matchup, against the Bears at Soldier Field, is still questionable. There is no word for what kind of time he will miss to rehab from his injury, though it sounds like a day-to-day concern for the man who suddenly finds himself the primary option for Aaron Rodgers.
Davante Adams, Ty Montgomery, and Jeff Janis are the remaining options at the wide receiver position, and tight ends Richard Rodgers and Andrew Quarless remain as viable pass catchers in an offense that last season produced the second-most touchdowns and yards per attempt in the NFL.
If the proceedings on Saturday night in Maryland were any kind of audition for the Redskins starting quarterback job, then Kirk Cousins may have brought the NFL unemployment rate down a little.
He went 20-for-27 for a touchdown and an interception in Washington's eventual 31-13 exhibition victory over the Ravens in place of Robert Griffin III, who either was or was not concussed and who will either start or not start Week 1 of the regular season.
Information coming out of Redskins Park has been vague lately, and when not vague, directly overturned or contradicted. First, Griffin had a concussion. Then, maybe the team said he had one so he didn't open his trap to the press. Then, he was cleared to play on Saturday. Then, he wasn't. Then, a report emerged that Cousins would start the season in his place. Then, Jay Gruden refuted it.
Whatever is actually happening in Daniel Snyder's private mental hospital only God knows, and he's not talking. So it falls to us to figure it out for ourselves.
The Redskins (3-0) coughed up an early 13-0 deficit owing to some poor special teams play and Cousins' ill-fated screen pass that was intercepted by Terrell Suggs. Alfred Morris was stuffed on a 4th-and-1 and Cousins fumbled a center exchange. But it was how he recovered from those errors that impressed his coach.
"To see him have a slowish start, throw the interception and bounce back and get those two drives in the other half was impressive," Gruden said afterwards.
Washington would come away with touchdowns on their next four possessions, the first two supplied by Cousins. A pass meant for Andre Roberts bounced into the mitts of Jamison Crowder for a 10 yard score and Cousins would engineer an 82 yard drive capped off by Chris Thompson's 1 yard gash.
But it was the little things that made the difference. Cousins stood firm in the pocket. He made his reads confidently. He made largely the right decisions. Passes for receivers arrived on time and where they could catch them, a novel concept under Cousins' predecessor. He didn't try to take the game into his own hands.
And, most importantly, he remained on his feet. After a legendarily poor showing last Thursday against Detroit, the Redskins' blockers were par for the course against a sturdy Ravens front and Cousins wasn't sacked. Griffin was brought down three times all told by the Lions rushers and knocked around thrice more.
Now Jay Gruden finds himself with a decision. Does he finally pull the plug on RG3 and go all-in for Cousins or McCoy, who himself led two scoring drives while going 10-for-12 on Saturday? Much of that decision, he says, depends on the health of his presumed starter.
And that, between a pair of neurologists and league protocol, is still up in the air.
"I'm not going to announce anything. There's no controversy," he said. "As far as who's starting at every position, we're going to evaluate that as a staff. I'm not going to make any announcements right now, that's for sure."
It's that lack of announcement that creates the quarterback controversy he wants to avoid. And the seeming incompetence that he denies is native to his organization which first approves of, then denies, the appearance of Robert Griffin in the game plan. Add the fact that after this long an offseason with apparent security at the position, there suddenly is anything but also illustrates that incompetence.
As of Sunday morning, Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback of the Washington Redskins. And after his effort this preseason compared to his alleged superior, that's how it should be.
While Jets center Nick Mangold makes his living protecting quarterbacks on the gridiron, on Sunday morning he may have thrown the decisive block to end a crime spree in his New Jersey neighborhood.
Mangold placed an emergency 911 call at 5:30 a.m. that morning after he heard his car alarm go off and found his garage door opened. Not long after, police stopped two suspects nearby and placed them into custody.
Richard W. Isaacs, 19, of Orange (N.J.), and Leonard Watts, 18, of Newark, face charges including burglary and theft, after being named the prime suspects in a ring of 48 burglaries of unlocked cars in the area of Chatham, a village not far from Florham Park, where the Jets are headquartered.
They, along with three other juveniles, will be charged in what police call a concerted burglary ring.
In a surprising turn of events developing over the past week, the Washington Redskins will start quarterback Kirk Cousins over Robert Griffin III in their regular season opener against the Miami Dolphins, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.
The Redskins were slated to start Griffin in their third exhibition game at Baltimore on Saturday after he was reportedly cleared by a neurologist relating to a concussion the team said he suffered in last Thursday's game against the Lions.
The sudden appearance of a second brain analyst, however, seems to have changed everything.
The team announced on Friday that another neurologist retracted that original decision, requesting that Griffin be held from competition for one to two weeks after a second opinion. Cousins was originally named the starter for the Ravens' game before coaches extended that call to the regular season.
Former Redskins quarterback, and current color commentator, Joe Theismann said this week that Saturday's game would have been the most important of Griffin's life, pertaining to the seeming lack of progress he has made in his game during his three-year career.
Head coach Jay Gruden had named Griffin the season starter before the preseason and was hopeful in seeing what he could provide under center. He has been average in camp, showing some marks of improvement inside the pocket, but his two exhibition outings have not been inspiring, culminating in a three-sack, two-fumble, six-hit contest in what may have been at least his last preseason appearance in a Redskins uniform.
The decision to name Cousins the regular season starter brings to mind one of two immense changes of heart. One, that Griffin's injury is worse than was originally believed. Or, two, that Gruden or the franchise have finally decided they are going in a different direction at the quarterback position, and are using his injury as the excuse to begin the process of separation.
Robert Griffin III practiced this week with the first-teamers and was expected all along to start under center when the Redskins visited the Baltimore Ravens on Aug 29.
All that awaited him was clearance from an independent neurologist to O.K. the effects of what the team called a concussion sustained in Thursday's exhibition game against Detroit.
The news at first confirmed Griffin's eligibility for that game, but on Friday night, Dr. Robert Kurtzke had a change of heart.
"We anticipated yesterday that the patient would be cleared for full participation in game play this weekend," Dr. Kurtzke said in a statement on Friday.
"However, upon further scrutiny today of the neuropsychology data, I agree with the neuropsychologist that he should be held from game play this weekend."
Dr. Kurtzke advised the Redskins to keep Griffin from the field for one to two weeks.
"Trusting in God even when I don't understand why certain things happen," Griffin tweeted after receiving the news.
He tried to avoid questions about his injury when speaking with the press on Friday afternoon, though said he didn't know he was injured when he left the field last Thursday. Head coach Jay Gruden said his quarterback was concussed while in pursuit of his fumble on the fourth series of the game.
Griffin went 2-for-5 for 8 yards in Washington's second preseason contest, fumbled twice, was sacked three times, and hit hard three other times. Now, the Ravens won't have the chance to add to that record on Saturday.
Gruden had been alternating between Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins in relief of Griffin during the summer, starting Cousins in Cleveland, then McCoy against Detroit, so he may start Cousins again in Baltimore. It will give the coach a chance to more adequately judge the backup quarterback competition he still says is wide open.
And which may have gotten much more important.
If not for Geno Smith getting slugged in the jaw, Ryan Fitzpatrick would have been holding a clipboard on the Jets' sideline to start the regular season.
But when fist met face in the locker room that day, the Harvard graduate found himself a starting NFL quarterback once again.
That diploma, and the training that comes with it, he feels, could be is his ace in the hole to keep the job.
"Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt about that," Fitzpatrick said, via the Daily News. "So much of the game for the quarterback is the mental side of it. Everybody always talks about my arm and how horrible it is. I promise, you can put on some tape [and see] that I can make all the throws that you wants me to make or that I need to make.
"I see myself continuing to get better rather than declining."
The speculations that follow every player in the NFL has scarcely been approving of him, but he takes heart in his track record of proving people wrong and starting over again. His age is only one of the hurdles he's repeatedly jumped.
"That's been the perception every year," the 33-year-old said. "Somehow I keep sticking around and finding new jobs. So I don't really listen to the perception. I hear it, for sure. I just kind of shrug my shoulders and make sure that I focus on what I can control and focus on getting myself better."
Jets head coach Todd Bowles hinted during training camp that Fitzpatrick could, in theory, take the job from Geno Smith even after he returns from his 6-to-10 week vacation afforded him buy his broken jaw. He sees no reason to take out one quarterback who is performing well to give the job back to another quarterback who has yet to.
In other words, you can lose your job to injury in the NFL.
The Denver Broncos, much like a child on Christmas morning, are so excited with the new toy they got, they're almost afraid to play with it.
They signed veteran left guard Evan Mathis this week to bolster what was before then an offensive line featuring three players who had yet to see an NFL snap. But head coach Gary Kubiak said on Thursday that he would be wrong to start him in their third exhibition game.
"That wouldn't be very smart on my part," he said, via ESPN. "I'm not going to do that. He might suit up, but he's not going to play. I can tell you that."
That absence likely won't affect his game-day shape, the guard admitting to a hectic offseason workout program of his own design, before and after his release from the Eagles in the spring.
"I have been at a facility to keep in shape," Mathis said. "I own my own training facility in Arizona. Since the first week of January, I've been going five days a week there and putting a lot of good work in. I'm excited about where my conditioning and where my strength is right now."
With the Broncos looking to stitch together one last Super Bowl run with the sheriff under center, that's all they ask. The only way Peyton Manning will get this club back where they think they belong is for him to be on his feet. But the workload will be stiff for the 11-year campaigner, nudged between two rookies, left tackle Ty Sambrailo and center Matt Paradis.
The opportunity was such that Mathis was interested in enough to take less money for the job, signing a $4 million deal after saying he turned down the $5.5 million offer he wanted all along from elsewhere.
"Obviously, he's a great player and a great person, too," Kubiak said. "He brings a lot of experience to a group that doesn't have a lot of experience. A 10-, 11-year player walks in the room, obviously all the young guys know him. It's a great addition to our football team, really looking forward to having him. Like I said, we just have to him to that point the right way."
There are times when you wonder if training camp and the preseason are really worth it at all.
Players that exude confidence and efficiency when they wear the red jersey find themselves clobbered and discarded when it counts, and those who looked unsure and confused in practice look invincible on the gridiron.
Seeming to prove the fact that so much more of the game resides in the mind than in the body.
So it was in the cases of Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins, the Redskins' presumed starting and relieving quarterbacks, respectively. The summer of 2014 had many wondering if those roles would be switched when it came time to play.
But when the previously-confident Griffin went down with an ankle injury in Week 2, Cousins, armed with the starting nod, switched personalities. In six games over 204 pass attempts, he was intercepted nine times, including a four-pick Monday night against the Giants in what became a rout.
The time from then to now seems to have revealed an improvement.
"He hasn't thrown many [interceptions] this camp," head coach Jay Gruden said. "He's improved on the turnover issue very much, so through OTAs and training camp and preseason games. We're impressed with the progress that Kirk has made very much. He's done a great job."
Over 26 exhibition pass attempts this year, Cousins yet to throw it to the competition, while passing for a touchdown and rushing for a second. The backup quarterback contest between he and Colt McCoy is still wide open, according to Gruden, and judging by the history of their injury-prone starter, may be the most important postion battle going.
Reggie Wayne has been in the NFL for a decade and a half and has been involved in every kind of passing play coaches can design. But after signing a one-year deal with the Patriots this week, he had to admit he felt a little lost.
"Like a rookie," Wayne said when asked how he felt blending into New England's playbook. "They're throwing a lot at me right now. I'm not getting very much sleep. I feel like a rookie all over again."
Much of the work is mental. The Patriots' play the Erhard-Perkins scheme, a pass game that involves wide receivers using their brains as much as their brawn in a high volume of short gaining plays in multiple formations, asking wide-outs to make improvised decisions in the moment against a particular defensive alignment.
And while Wayne didn't come to Foxboro a lock to make the final roster, some injuries at the position may boost his playing time. Julian Edelman is still questionable for the season opener with a leg injury and Brandon LaFell may be headed for the PUP list with a foot ailment.
Experience is on his side: Wayne has the NFL's 7th-most receptions (1,070), is eighth all-time in receiving yards (14,345), and is 22nd in league history with 82 touchdown catches.
When Robert Griffin III gets under center on Saturday in Baltimore, he has his mind set on one thing and one thing only: score a touchdown.
It isn't a terribly lofty goal. Butchers cut meat. Plumbers unclog drains. Quarterbacks score touchdowns.
"We want to go score points," Griffin said on Thursday. "In the first game, we didn't get a lot of action but we moved the ball. Second game, we didn't move the ball, and that's never a good thing."
The Redskins won both their exhibition contests, but without very much help from their signal caller. Griffin passed for 36 yards in Cleveland and was sacked three times against Detroit before leaving with a concussion.
"We have to go out, execute our plays," he said. "I don't know how long we're going to play. That's up to Coach. From that point on, just every time we get an opportunity, we're trying to score points."
A task which, against a stout Ravens defensive front, could come at a cost if he's not careful. Things transpired poorly against the Lions' stoppers last Thursday, so Griffin knows what lays ahead of him.
"We know it's not going to be easy," he said. "It's a great defense. They have great players. They have a philosophy, an identity that they stay true to. I respect those guys a lot. We just have to go out, do the best that we can, make sure that we execute our plays and let everything else take care of itself."
Trent Williams will start at left tackle in that game, a turn of events Griffin should be welcome to. Williams sat last Thursday's game in favor of Morgan Moses, who allowed two of the three sacks Griffin fell victim to. His presence may keep Griffin on his feet a second longer to make the right play. Provided, that is, that he will.
The sheer number and volume of voices that seem to be set against Robert Griffin III as a starting NFL quarterback have been steadily rising in recent years.
Many have also asked whether or not his own offensive linemen had something against him.
Those questions arising after television cameras captured his linemen helping him up on only three of his 26 sacks two seasons ago, and after it was revealed that some players didn't take kindly to Griffin's apparent inability, in their view, to take any responsibility for his failings.
Granted, the Redskins' fortunes had taken a serious tumble in 2013, compiling all of three victories after a winning rookie season and a berth in the playoffs. So everyone was in a sour mood.
But things have scarcely improved since then, and the Redskins are 7-25 under Griffin since his rookie campaign.
Speaking with the press on Thursday following practice, Griffin would not deflect any blame onto his front protection for their now-notoriously poor showing in last Thursday's exhibition game. Griffin was sacked three times and fumbled twice on eight dropbacks, eventually helped off the field after he was concussed in pursuit of his unforced fumble.
But neither would he accept any blame for his own performance in the pocket. That, thinks Jason Reid of ESPN, could be why he thinks the locker room is turning against their passer.
Former Redskin great Joe Theismann said this week that Washington's Aug. 29 game at Baltimore is the most important game of Robert Griffin's life. His ability, or lack thereof, to establish himself as a natural leader and playmaker with something besides his legs, could determine his long-term future with the Redskins.
Redskins head coach Jay Gruden was very optimistic when the team signed linebacker Junior Galette to key what they then believed was a vastly improved pass rush this season.
When Galette went down after practice this week clutching his Achilles, Gruden modified that view to "very concerned."
Now, after doctors confirmed a tear and with Galette out of the picture this season, the Redskins are back to square one. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall had said Galette was the best pass rusher he's been around in some time.
"He was practicing excellent out here and we know what type of energy he brought to this football team in the short time that he was here and were all fired up about the pass rush ability that he had," Jay Gruden added.
Galette's absence brings second-year linebacker Trent Murphy back into the picture.
Murphy has performed consistently and well in training camp, but is not the elite pass rusher that Galette is.
If the Redskins' inside rush holds up, as they believe it will with the additions they made to the defensive line, that should open up more opportunties for outside rushers to make plays against end runs, or create lanes to make pressure in the pocket.
While Ryan Kerrigan is the man for the job to the left side, there are some questions remaining for Murphy. He had some issues with strength fighting off blocks to make plays against the pass last season, finishing with only 2.5 sacks, but some work in the weight room and a concerted effort starting in spring OTAs shows he may have improved in that department. He showed more prowess against the rush, collecting 33 tackles off the edge in 2014.
The offensive duel between the Eagles and Packers, provided starting players are indeed started, looks to be one of the better matchups this preseason.
Both teams are trying out some new personnel at important positions. The Eagles, with quarterback Sam Bradford and tailback tandem DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews. The Packers, suddenly, with a new starting receiver after they lost Jordy Nelson for the year to a knee injury.
Though quarterback Aaron Rodgers is still unsure who that man will be. Current candidates include rookie Ty Montgomery and second-year man Jeff Janis. The former took first-team snaps in practice recently and the latter has drawn criticism for inconsistency from his own coaches.
For now, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams are both promoted to first and second, respectively. Tight ends Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers are also in the running for increased use in the passing game, as is tailback Eddie Lacy. But they're not Jordy.
"Jordy's an incredible receiver," he said. "He got a lot of targets, the most targets [for the team] last year. That's because he was open the most."
Nelson was targeted 149 times all told, for a team-best 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns.
The practice Rodgers seems to need with potential replacements doesn't seem to be in the works for Saturday's game at Lambeau Field. Starters rarely endure much, if any, of the third exhibition game, and Rodgers himself called the preseason "meaningless" after the team's second game, in Pittsburgh.
Ahead of Saturday's game, the Packers signal caller likes where he sees the progress of the team regardless of who is out there.
"We're right where we need to be," he said. "We've had some productive drives when we've been out there. I'm happy where we're at. We have some guys banged up right now, so not sure what the playing time will be, but whatever Mike decides, I'm confident we'll be ready when the season starts.
Alternating players in and out of drives is a staple of what Chip Kelly wants to do on offense. His well-known pace of play lends itself to that plan almost by necessity.
The more players there are, so are there more styles of play to defend, and more plays to be called.
And with the Philadelphia Eagles' newfound concentration on the rush game this coming season, that meant procuring more rushers. The team signed DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews, and kept runner/pass-catcher Darren Sproles as the No. 3.
Murray, the presumed starter and main ball carrier, was asked how often the rushing rotation would take place. Between drives? In the middle of drives?
"I don't think it will be alternating series," Murray said, via CSN Philadelphia. "But [Mathews] is a quality back, great guy, works extremely hard. I'm sure he'll get his fair share of touches. But I don't know how the rotation will be yet, we haven't touched on it."
Both he and Mathews received first-team carries on the Eagles' primary scoring drive against Baltimore last Saturday, and both scored touchdowns on consecutive possessions. That, Murray said, was more to get both backs some early playing time, but their game this weekend at Green Bay may paint a more precise picture of what is to come in the fall.
"I think we're approaching it like a regular game," Murray said. "You can't go out there with a preseason mindset. We're focused, whether it's playing one snap or 40 snaps."
Thus far, it's been closer to one than 40 in the exhibition campaign. And it may be part of the prescription when the regular season begins. Murray rushed the ball 392 times last season, a workload that may have Chip Kelly playing it easier than perhaps either would like in 2015.
The presence of Ryan Mathews will help that cause a great deal, and it seemed to be part of the scheme the whole time.
"Our plan all along was to get another running back with him [Murray]," Kelly said of the pairing. "I wanted to have two running backs, and that's why we got Ryan."
Murray led the NFL not only in yards and touchdowns with Dallas last season, but also in yards after contact. That power, combined with the talent on the left side of the Eagles' offensive line could spell a repeat of that dominance on the ground.
Somebody up there was winking when the Steelers decided to sign quarterback Michael Vick on National Dog Day.
Six years since being released from federal prison for his role in a dog-fighting ring that put a corkscrew in his once-promising NFL career, Vick is looking at a reserve role with his fourth franchise. Not the young starter he once was, he knows this is another man's team.
"I admit that I didn't do it as well as I wanted to, because in my mind the position I was in was supposed to be different," Vick said, via the AP. "But I think you've got to accept it first. I think I've been able to do that and come to grips with it, and my role is clear."
Though he's not pulling the plug on the unique talent he feels he can provide a game plan, and he has reason to believe ithe still has it. He was in many ways the better of the man he stood behind with the Jets, starter Geno Smith.
He did, after all, throw two touchdown passes last season against the Steelers in a winning result.
"I felt like I didn't lose a step, especially with my arm strength and my speed, and I just didn't understand why [I didn't get called]," he said. "But I kept my faith and kept working hard, because I knew that at some point, eventually I would get a shot."
In what precise form that shot will come in with Pittsburgh, only head coach Mike Tomlin knows, and right now, he's keeping his options open.
"His talents are his talents," Tomlin said. "He can throw the football. He can put it anywhere on the field."
Though, since being doused in dollar bills this offseason, quarterback Ben Rothelisberger will be the one putting it anywhere. But with the poor showing No. 2 Landry Jones had starting in the Hall of Fame Game, the Steelers thought a 35-year-old surrounded by game-day protestors and activists would be the better option should the worst case arise.
Robert Griffin III took to the practice field twice this week after not showing any ill-effects from a concussion suffered in the Redskins' second exhibition game last Thursday.
Should things continue on that path, he should start against Baltimore on Aug. 29.
Depending on who you ask, that could be a very important showing. Even the most important.
"It's a preseason game, but this is probably the biggest game that Robert Griffin has ever played in his life," said former Redskins quarterback and current commentator Joe Theismann.
He added that the pressure Baltimore's pass rush will bring should serve the proper test to gauge his ability.
"I think it's important that Robert get the work in," he said. "He has 10 days to get ready. He'll probably have two or three practices, at least, to get ready for what will be a full dress rehearsal against some pretty good pass-rushers. [Terrell Suggs] and [Elvis] Dumervil bring it as well as anybody in football. So, it's going to be a great test for this offensive line, it's going to be a great test for Robert going out. I fully expect him to play, hopefully a full half and then some. And then can sit down and really make an evaluation -- okay, where is he?"
While it's not out of place to say Griffin's coming game appearance is important for his progress as the team's declared starter, it may be a stretch to call it the most important of his life. A test that, he hopes, will go easier when starting left tackle Trent Williams returns to the lineup after sitting out Thursday's game. A quarterback is mostly as good as his offensive line, so their progress is, in many ways, his own progress.
The Redskins took a major hit to what they thought this season would be an banner addition to their pass rush.
They'll will be without linebacker Junior Galette for the entire regular season after he tore his Achilles tendon after their practice on Wednesday, according to Dianna Russini of ESPN.
Head coach Jay Gruden said he was "very concerned" about his prognosis after the injury, adding that Galette went down merely "running around the corner."
Galette joined the Redskins after he was released by the Saints this summer, less than one year after they awarded him with a $41 million extension.
A video, filmed in 2013, had emerged soon before then of a man who looks like Galette allegedly beating a woman in Miami, but Redskins general manager Scot McCloughan said he signed Galette only after "thorough, thorough, thorough" research.
A deal that included a clause for a preseason split salary, carving his original $745,000 down to $413,000 were he injured prior to the regular season, according to FOX Sports.
He had recently returned to football work after tearing his pectoral muscle in June and was expected to make his Redskins debut on Aug. 29, against Baltimore in their third exhibition game, where he was to preview the pass rushing combination coaches hoped he would provide alongside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.
When the Eagles take to Lambeau Field to face the Packers in their third exhibition game on Saturday, one couldn't blame them for having a bad case of deja vu.
Mark Sanchez threw two interceptions and LeSean McCoy was held to under 100 yards rushing as Green Bay discarded Philadelphia, 53-20, that day in November.
With replacements under and behind center having been added this offseason in the form of Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray, and Ryan Mathews, a greater focus has been placed on those matchups.
But the biggest test in Eagles head coach Chip Kelly's eyes will be between his rejuvenated secondary against Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers played their harp last year for 341 yards and three scores, but cornerbacks (and victims) Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams were swapped this offseason for Byron Maxwell and Walter Thurmond, both of whom had an interception in Philadelphia's victory over Baltimore last week.
"I hope Aaron plays a lot because I'm really excited to see our guys go up against them," Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis said. "We took a pretty good beating last year down there, and we're excited about the challenge. We love competing against the best, like Aaron is, and they've got some quality receivers that hopefully they can play that first half and we can really get a good test of where we are."
Packers receiver Jordy Nelson brought down a touchdown in their matchup last season on four catches for 109 yards, but will be out this entire season after tearing his ACL in Green Bay's game at Pittsburgh last weekend.
But his deputy remains. Slot receiver Randall Cobb caught 10 passes for 129 yards last November. Who the Eagles line up against Cobb is one of the questions they still face after trading nickel corner Brandon Boykin and losing Earl Wolff to a knee injury.
"We're really looking to see who we want our starting nickel to be," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "It's going to be a good test for them. [Cobb is] one of the best slot receivers in the league right now. Obviously, with the quarterback he has, he's going to get a lot of targets."
There are many things that go into making a winning football team. Talent, chemistry and cohesion, scheme, coaching and leadership, and spirit. It was that last one, Bears tight end Martellus Bennett feels, that his team was lacking the most last season.
"We had lots of mellow guys," he told Chicago Magazine.
"You didn't see a lot of guys running to the pile, helping their teammates up, or having each other's back. We weren't a bad team. A bad team is a team that doesn't have the talent to win. We just sucked. Everybody sucked. Coaches, players, everybody."
It was only a matter of time before Mr. Mellow himself, Jay Cutler, was mentioned.
"Why does everyone always assume the quarterback is the leader?" he said. "Leading the offense and leading the team are two different things. Sometimes I like Cutty, and sometimes I don't. When I think of a leader, I think, 'If he started a company, would guys come to work for him?' There's a lot of guys on our team who, if they started a business, it'd be, 'F- you, I'm gonna go work at McDonald's.'"
Working the 5-11 Bears was the equivalent of working the NFL's McDonald's last season, but if Cutler himself started a business, would Bennett apply for a job?
"There are veterans that people follow and then you've got guys that lead the offense, get everyone lined up, get to your spot, do what you need to do, let's do our plays," he said.
Which one Bennett thought Cutler was or is only he knows, but judging by his dim view of the Bears' roster overall, it might be safe to presume.
Following his decision to sign with the Denver Broncos, guard Evan Mathis pointed to their chances of getting to and winning the Super Bowl as the driving force behind his decision.
"The No. 1 priority in finding a new place to play was playing for a contender," Mathis told 9News (Denver). "The Broncos weren't in the mix early on. They were kind of the darkhorse in the race. They emerged here late and I just couldn't turn down that opportunity."
What he did turn down was an offer that would have paid him more money. NFL Media reported the Broncos offered Mathis a deal that could be worth up to $4 million with playing incentives added in. The 33-year-old confirmed another report that said he was offered $5.5 million by another team that he declined so he could have a chance at the postseason.
"I also turned down an offer equal to what I would have made in Philly," Mathis said. "It was a decision to be on a team I thought had the best chance to make a run. And it's not all about the money. You can't put a price on peace of mind."
Usually, when a player says it's not about the money, it's about the money. Not, apparently, in this case. Much of it, he says, is about the opportunity to serve as a mentor to younger linemen, and in turn, improve himself.
"I think I've learned a lot, I think I have a lot to share with these guys as well as the technical aspects of the game," he said. "And then ultimately leading by doing the right thing. Taking care of my body. Playing as hard as I can play. Making the decisions in life that ultimately make me a better ballplayer."
Better is what the Broncos hope he'll make their front line as soon as possible, inserting him as the starting left guard on a unit that fielded three players in their last preseason game that had yet to play a down in the NFL.
The health of Peyton Manning and the condition of those in front of him were two of the more pressing questions the Broncos were facing this summer, and with the addition of Evan Mathis, they have at least one of them potentially answered.
The long, hot summer of wondering where former Eagles left guard Evan Mathis would end up has come to an end.
He and the Denver Broncos agreed in principle to a one-year deal for the coming season, the team announced on Tuesday.
The deal is worth up to $4 million, taking playing time bonuses into consideration, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN. Mathis was released by the Eagles after he failed to show during the team's voluntary workouts in the spring as the result of an apparent disagreement on contract terms.
Mathis, 33, was then interested in a raise that would pay him north of $5.5 million, so he appeared willing to bring his price down for a chance to get back into the league for his 10th professional campaign and play for a contender.
The Broncos needed some veteran guidance up front after starting three linemen in their exhibition game on Saturday who until then had not started an NFL contest, and the two-time Pro Bowl selection and All-Pro was still on the market despite a visit this week to Seattle.
Denver is set to field what may be in contention for the best two guards in the league with the move. Mathis and right guard Louis Vasquez were listed as All-Pros as recently as 2013.
Mathis was the league's highest rated guard by Pro Football Focus for three straight seasons starting in 2011. He was ranked second-best last season despite missing seven games because of a sprained MCL.
After Jordy Nelson went down in Sunday's exhibition game with what the Packers are calling a "significant right knee injury," and what everyone else presumes is a torn ACL, head coach Mike McCarthy went about filling that hole.
As many have predicted, rookie Ty Montgomery is the primary candidate for the job.
The Packers's first snap at practice on Tuesday involved he and Davante Adams at the wide out positions, with Randall Cobb lined up in the slot, according to ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky.
Montgomery currently holds the lead over talented wide-out Jeff Janis, a 6-foot-3 target in his second season that many see as a longer-term project.
Janis could theoretically overtake Montgomery in the Packers' final two preseason games, but has been called inconsistent by coaches during this summer's training camp after making a few more catches with his body than with his hands. Dropped passes are another area of concern, according to wide receivers coach Alex Van Pelt.
Montgomery's work ethic, on the other hand, caught Jordy Nelson's attention this summer.
"Taking away the athletic part of it, just his approach to understanding our playbook, asking questions, trying to be detailed as much as possible in a short amount of time," he said then.
An amount of time that just got shorter with Nelson's sudden departure, two weeks, to be exact, in the preseason before the Packers visit Soldier Field on Sept. 13.
Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has looked around his team's practice for too long now and not seen wide receiver Victor Cruz out there with the others.
Cruz sat out practice on Tuesday as the aches and pains related to a calf injury still play themselves out. He said he would be back in the coming days after missing two practices last week, but his absence has worn on his coach.
"Concerned? Yeah," Coughlin said when asked if he was worried about how long it has taken for Cruz to come back from his injury. "Because obviously there were a couple of slotted opportunities. Yeah, yeah I am."
Prior to the calf problem, Cruz had been recovering nicely from the torn patellar tendon he suffered in a Sunday night game last season in Philadelphia. The calf issue is not related to the original knee concern, however, but it is another reason for him to not be involved with the progress of the team.
Coughlin added that Cruz is day-to-day with the calf, but if he fails to show at practice this week, he would sit out the Giants' next exhibition tilt against the Jets.
"I would like to see him get out there and be able to stay out there," Coughlin said. "As soon as that can be done, that's possible, then that's what would happen."
Should Cruz miss what would be the team's third game this summer, Coughlin didn't rule out the possibility of playing him in their fourth, against New England, if need be. Teams usually sit their starters in the preseason finale, but with the time Cruz has been away overall, any action, he feels, is worth getting him back into the rhythm of things.
Judging by their preseason effort thus far, they could use him.
The number of voices in opposition to the idea that Robert Griffin III is anything like a starting quarterback in the NFL are mounting.
Add former Redskins passer Joe Theismann to that list.
Watching Griffin get mugged repeatedly from the team's radio booth during Thursday's exhibition game, he failed to see any of the basic fundamentals that make a quarterback, particularly after Griffin lost an unforced fumble.
"The thing that disappointed me the other night is one of the things that is stressed very, very diligently by the coaches is protect the football in the pocket," Theismann said, via the Washington Post.
"Protect the football when you're trying to escape the pocket. The ball just fell out of Robert's hands when he wound up getting hurt. That's a concern for me. That has nothing to do with the offensive line, absolutely nothing to do with the protection. That has to do with the fundamentals of the position, and those are the things that Robert, he can't be a continuing work in progress."
Theismann did acknowledge the condition of the Redskins' offensive line that night. Morgan Moses was a poor reserve for Trent Williams at the left tackle spot and rookie Brandon Scherff had some struggles at right guard. Moses allowed two sacks and Scherff the third.
But it would be unwise to place all the blame there; this has been a long-term issue.
Last season, Griffin only attempted 214 passes after being sidelined with a dislocated ankle, but he was sacked 33 times. Not since Hugh Millen of the 1992 Patriots had a signal caller been brought down with that frequency. In comparison, Colt McCoy, the man who spearheaded two of the team's four victories, was sacked on 17 of the 128 times he dropped back. Kirk Cousins, a name synonymous with interceptions, was only sacked eight times out of 208 pass attempts.
The reason for those disparities? McCoy and Cousins were trained to be pocket passers who could run some if need be. Griffin is a runner who can throw passes if need be.
Something that, in Theismann's view, needs to be corrected before too long.
"You've got about two weeks for the works in progress to be up to speed to be able to play at a high NFL level," he said. "Time's running out. You need to see something. The fans need to see something to get excited, or at least get comfortable with where the Redskins are as far as their position at quarterback goes."
