NFL news items from this weekend:
Tennessee - Yahoo Sports is reporting that RB LenDale White is weighing in at a hefty 260 lbs. Wow! As a comparison, Chiefs RB Larry Johnson, one of the biggest, most powerful runners in the league, is only 230 lbs. With Travis Henry gone the only thing standing between White and the starting RB position is Chris Brown. If that doesn't give White the motivation to stay in shape, what will? This is bad news for all those fantasy players who kept White in keeper leagues or who saw him as an early sleeper candidate. Now it's only April so there's plenty of time for White to drop some weight, get in shape and take over as the Titans number one running back. But this doesn't look promising.
Kansas City - The Kansas City Star is reporting that the Chiefs plan to give QB Brody Croyle a lot of playing time this offseason. Croyle was the Chiefs' third round pick out of Alabama in 2006 and last season he completed five passes, though two of them were to the opposing team. If Croyle were handed the starting job, he would be in the bottom quarter of the quarterback rankings based simply on his inexperience. Assuming Trent Green is leaving the team one way or the other, I don't see why the Chiefs wouldn't go with Damon Huard, who finished with 1,878 pass yds, 11 TD, 1 INT and a 98.0 rating in eight starts last year. Huard would be a better fantasy option than Croyle provided he has the starting job locked down.
San Diego - The Nashville Tennessean is reporting that the Titans and Bills are looking to pry RB Michael Turner away from the Chargers. If LenDale White reads this blog, I hope he's putting down the ribs and heading out to the gym right now. Turner was a machine backing up LaDainian Tomlinson the past few years, with especially eye-popping stats (80 rushes, 502 yards, 6.2 avg, 2 TDs, 7 runs over 20 yds) last season. Now nearly all of Turner's playing time last year came at the end of the game against exhausted defenses so you have to take those numbers with a grain of salt. Still, the Titans have a solid offensive line and Vince Young to keep the defenses honest, so a full season of Micheal Turner should at least match - and likely exceed - the stats that Travis Henry put up last year. This situation has "draft day trade" written all over it. Having Michael Turner in a starting role is very exciting fantasy-wise.