The final stretch run of NFL's offseason is upon us. Within the matter of a month, teams will start training camp. Shortly after that, preseason games will start.
Before you know it, the 2013 regular season will be here. While players take their final vacations and other sports continue to grab the headlines, there are still a few things happening around the league.
The Aaron Hernandez situation is getting both sadder and more disturbing by the minute. New England's versatile young tight end was initially linked to a murder that took place in North Attleborough, MA earlier in the week. At first, he wasn't even considered a person of interest.
Things really haven't shaped up that way. Odin Lloyd, a 23-year old semi-pro football player, was found dead on Monday. He was last seen in a car that Hernandez was driving, leaving a bar the day before.
Recent reports suggest that Hernandez, who will likely be charged with obstruction of justice, ruined his cell phone and home security system prior to the authorities searching his house on Tuesday. Apparently, Hernandez also hired a cleaning service the day prior to the cops arriving.
Not looking too good for him.
In news that's of less serious nature, by this I mean the NFL (a game), there are a couple things going on.
Hernandez's teammate Rob Gronkowski had back surgery earlier in the week. It was the fifth time he has gone under the knife since last November. His recovery time is expected to take him up to the start of the regular season. For now it appears that Jake Ballard would be the Patriots' Week 1 starting tight end.
Including Hernandez, over 65 percent of New England's receptions from a season ago are not slated to be on the field come training camp. That's some serious missing parts right there for Tom Brady.
Hall of Fame defensive end Deacon Jones, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 74, will forever be in the conversation of the football world from here on out. The NFL announced that they have named an award after the former "Fearsome Foursome" member. Starting in 2013, the defensive player who records the most sacks will be handed the Deacon Jones Award. While sacks were an unofficial statistic during Jones' playing days, many outlets have him ranked third on the all-time list with 194.5.
Former Green Bay Packers' linebacker Desmond Bishop is apparently choosing between the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs. Bishop was recently released by Green Bay and missed the entire 2012 season with an injury. Prior to missing last season, Bishop was considered one of the best young inside linebackers in the NFL. Considering that a lot of teams have shown interest, there is a feeling that league executives believe Bishop is ready to go.
The San Francisco 49ers, who saved over $4 million by signing Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Smith to a contract extension last week, now have the room to add a veteran or two to what has to be considered one of the best rosters in the NFL. Former Indianapolis wide receiver Austin Collie had a workout with San Francisco earlier in June. It seems that the two sides will likely rehash the situation immediately prior to the start of training camp.
Other options at "need" positions includes the aforementioned Bishop is a primary inside linebacker backup to NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis. Bishop did go on record saying that San Francisco had called him, but didn't sound too excited about the prospect of backing up two of the best defensive players in the league. He'll likely find a starting job elsewhere.
Brandon Lloyd, Laurent Robinson, Brandon Stokley and Steve Breaston are all free-agent wide receivers who San Francisco could also show interest in. The 49ers can also use that extra money to lock up one of their veterans to a long-term deal. After signing Anthony Davis to an extension earlier in the offseason, guard Mike Iupati could be next in line.
The Seattle Seahawks aren't making many friends with the aforementioned 49ers. A week after cornerback Brandon Browner indicated that he wanted "to put my (Browner's) hands around his (Jim Harbaugh's) neck," wide receiver Golden Tate now wants to give Harbaugh the "Sean Lee treatment." For those of you who do not know what that means, Tate is referring to the dirty hit he put on Cowboys' linebacker Sean Lee last season. This incident cost him $21,000.
If I were Tate, I'd likely hold back on the rhetoric. After all, he does have to go up against San Francisco's hard-hitting defense twice this upcoming season. You think Donte Whitner and Eric Reid took exception to that comment? If so, Tate could very well have a big X on his back against the 49ers this season.. As it is, these comments are in response to Harbaugh himself claiming, and I am paraphrasing here, that winning while cheating means you are actually losing. Those comments were made in context to a reporter asking him questions about Seattle's issues with PED's.
Yes, that's going to be one of the best rivalries in the NFL for the foreseeable future.
All the buzz around Jacksonville Jaguars' camp this summer has been around the play of Cecil Shorts last season and selection of former Michigan quartreback Denard Robinson to play multiple roles on offense. One thing that might be lost in all that is the performance of fellow rookie Ace Sanders from South Carolina. Sanders, a fourth-round pick in April, might not have filled the stat line too much in college, but that doesn't matter a whole lot. Sanders caught everything thrown to him this past season. By everything I mean he did not drop a single pass all year long. It's that type of sure-handed receiving threat that either Blaine Gabbert or Chad Henne need on the outside this upcoming season, especially with Justin Blackmon's legal issue.