News

The AP reports, “Harrison was expected to miss camp due to offseason surgery in January. But coach Tony Dungy announced this week that Harrison was scheduled to practice.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Harrison is ahead of schedule with his recovery and his off the field shooting incident seems to be fading away. His projected value continues to climb, while expectations for Anthony Gonzalez dip a little.

Regarding Devin Hester, the Chicago Sun-Times reports “the wide receiver arrived at training camp happy teammates reported at breakfast this morning, in time for a morning weightlifting session and today’s 3 p.m. practice.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Are you kidding? A two day holdout on the heels of stating he was prepared to sit out the entire season. This can’t do much for his credibility at the negotiating table. Still, we hope he gets something worked out with the team here.

Boldin has been unhappy about not getting a new contract in Arizona. He is now saying that he will play out his final year and then move on to another team next year. The East Valley Tribune quotes him as saying, “I was promised a deal would get done before this season. But the season is here and obviously it hasn’t happened,” Boldin said. “Right now … I don’t want a deal. People may think I’m being funny or just saying that just to say it. But for me, I’m just tired of it. I’ve washed my hands of the whole situation.” Full story here.

Monster Take: A lot is made of players in the final year of their contracts and we agree that it can be a motivator. Boldin seems to have a serious chip on his shoulder. We like his chances of putting up good numbers this year to put himself in good position on the free agent market.

Kellen Winslow looked to be a potential hold out for training camp as he has publicly announced he wants a new contract. However, he is in camp working hard. The AP quotes Winslow regarding his situation. “I’m sure [the media] thought I wasn’t coming, but I’m not that type of guy,” Winslow said. “I don’t want to be a distraction. My job is to just help this team win and come out here and play to the best of my ability.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Winslow’s attitude seems to have improved dramatically. He should be among the elite tight ends this year as long as he can stay on the field.

The Newark Star Ledger quotes Brandon Jacobs regarding his contract negotiations. “I have no idea. I’m done (negotiating) now. I’m finished. It’s camp time, you know?” he said. “I don’t want to be talking about negotiations and talk to my agent back and forth every chance I get. It’s camp time. I’m focused.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Jacobs wanted to get his contract re-done. Since that didn’t happen, he will have plenty of motivation to enhance his free market value by having a big year.

The Boston Globe reports that Wes Welker opened training camp on the PUP list. Full story here.

Monster Take: This one came out of left field and no explanation for his being placed on the PUP list has been given. We’ll watch this one very closely as it affects Welker’s value as well as Jabar Gaffney’s value as he could benefit from Welker’s absence if the injury is serious.

The Dayton Daily News reports, “wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth was held out of the first workout with a hamstring problem.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Further details about the extent of the problem were not available. We’ll keep you updated.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports, “running back Kevin Jones ….. begins training camp on the PUP list. Jones is still recovering from the torn ACL in his right knee suffered Dec. 23.” Full story here.

Monster Take: This was likely the Bears strategy all along. They know where Jones is with his recovery and will be cautious in bringing him along slowly. This give Matt Forte additional time to become comfortable with the offense and entrench himself as the starter. Jones will probably see a complementary role when he is able to return.

ESPN reports, “New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, a seventh-round surprise three summers ago, has made the biggest catch of his career — a three-year contract extension.” Full story here.

Monster Take: Good news here for Colston and the Saints. The Saints saw something that nobody else did and now they’re rewarding Colston for performing at an elite level. Colston should continue to be a primary option in the Saints passing attack.

As reported on the New York Giants site, Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride had this to say about his running back situation. “Depending on how certain defenses are playing us, which guy’s playing better that day, in other words, kind of who has the hot hand, who is playing the best, that is the guy that we would certainly feature that day.” Full story here.

Monster Take: More and more teams are moving to this approach. This doesn’t concern us a whole lot with regard to Brandon Jacobs. We figure he stands to get most of the work as long as he is healthy. Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward should get a little more work and will be waiting for their chance should Jacobs not produce or go down with injury.