Cadillac to catch more passes
In an article about Mike Alstott's future with the Bucs, the Tampa Tribune indicated that the team Cadillac Williams to play an increased role in the passing offense next year.
Cadillac tallied just 20 receptions for 81 receiving yards last year, so "an increased role" doesn't really mean much, but it's encouraging nonetheless. Assuming Cadillac can avoid another (injury-induced?) mid-season slump, he could easily top 1,500 yards from scrimmage in his second year. Plus, if Alstott doesn't return and Michael Pittman is released, Williams may see his goal-line carries increase, as well.
QB change for the Jets?
Newsday reports that the Jets are actively working with Chad Pennington to reduce the oft-injured quarterback's salary-cap figure for 2006, while the New York Daily News suggests that free agent Drew Brees, who's also recovering from a shoulder injury, might be a natural fit to replace Pennington completely.
According to Newsday, Pennington has already collected $22 million for playing in 18 games, and he may need to cut down his base salary to as little as $2 million in 2006 in order to stay with the Jets. The Chargers could still stick Brees with the franchise label but might be interested in being reunited with Brian Schottenheimer, his former QB coach in San Diego who was recently named the Jets' new offensive coordinator.
King of Wishful Thinking
According to the Pioneer-Press, Chris Weinke will seek out an opportunity to start before considering returning to Carolina as a backup next year. Good luck, Chris, but I don't think there's much of a market for 33-year-old quarterbacks with a 60.4 QB rating over 24 career appearances.
Yahoo's NFL Big Board
A colleague pointed me in the direction of Brandon Funston's Football Big Board, which was originally posted last Friday. It's basically a preseason player ranking, with Shaun Alexander coming in at No. 1 followed by LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Edgerrin James and Peyton Manning, respectively.
I know it's not a mock draft per se, but I'm a bit surprised that two players with such uncertain futures -- Alexander and Edge -- cracked the top four. If I was drafting today (crazy, I know), there's no way I'd take Alexander over LT or LJ. But that's just me -- what do you think?