Aaron Russell
Follow Him on Twitter

Andre Johnson revealed Monday that he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in May. Johnson has had trouble with this knee before. Johnson missed the final seven games of 2007 season with a left knee injury that required a scope that kept him out of 2008 OTA’s. Johnson 27 then went on to lead the NFL in receptions (115) & receiving yards (1,575). Now, 31 and coming of hamstring issues in 2011 it will be interesting how Andre’s legs hold up.

The SKINNY: With Andre resting his knee Lestar Jean; (6’3″ 205lbs) will be running with the 1st team offense. Lestar was the 2011 camp and preseason star, and is now being rewarded the first shot at replacing Jacoby Jones as the Texans WR3. This Florida Atlantic star had his 2011 impressive preseason cut short with a left shoulder injury, but head coach Gary Kubiak has not forgotten about this young talent. Kubiak has already singled out Lestar Jean as the receiver to keep an eye on this preseason.

Kellen Winslow Jr. will not be playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers any longer, ending his 4 years with the team. In an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio Winslow said the Bucs have informed him that they are entertaining trades for the veteran Tight End and that he won’t be returning to the team next season.

Tampa Bay has brought in veteran Tight End Dallas Clark recently for a look but as of recent haven’t signed the former the Indianapolis Colt.

As for Winslow, the Bucs reportedly are no longer requiring his services due to the fact that the missed the Voluntary Offseason workouts with the team. It isn’t the first time he missed voluntary workouts, last season he was sidelined with a knee injury but still he appeared in all 16 games while catching 75 passes for 763 yards and two touchdowns.

Traded to the Bucs in 2009 from the Cleveland Browns, the veteran Tight End will now be playing for someone else.

THE SKINNY: Winslow is unique personality and it seems that may be more of the reason for Coach Schiano to move him along than missing workouts. That may be just a cover for the fact the new coach is trying shake up the team up a bit and bring a different mentality to the ball club.

The Tee Shirt maker CubbyTees.com has apparently ruffled the feathers of both Tim Tebow and the NFL and has been ordered by both parties to stop making the tee shirt known as “My Jesus”.

First with Tebow, apparently he was none to happy that the Tee shirt maker used “Mr. Tebow” on their website to promote the Tee shirt and hope to sell more of their product by using Tebow’s name. The company has said that they will not stop the Tee Shirt or take Tebow’s name down due to the fact that the the logo “is positive and innocuous” and the graphic “legally sound” because it doesn’t mention or depict Tebow in any way.

The NFL apparently has also jumped into the fight as the league themselves has ordered a cease and desist letter as well. They feel that the logo has too much a likeness to the New York Jets logo and they do not have permission from the league to depict any of their teams images. The attorneys for the NFL site that their is “apparent infringement of the Jets logo”.

THE SKINNY: It’ll be interesting to see what the CubbyTee.com shirt maker will do with this war over Tee shirt logos and names used. It’s hard to believe that they’ll continue to keep it up now the the League and Tebow have both come after them. Bottom line, you don’t mess with TEBOW!!

Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

Eagles have locked up their young stud RB LeSean McCoy with a five-year, $45 million deal. The contract has $20.765 million guaranteed.

The deal made sense, once they hap the cap space after trading Asante Samuel. Mccoy was deserving of the contract and the Eagles front office obviously agreed. If its something the Eagles do best, that’s locking up young talent to long term deals. Mccoy will be under contract with the Eagles till the year 2017.

The Eagles have had a very productive and efficient offseason. They extended three of their Eagle players in DE Trent Coles, Tackle Todd Herremans and now McCoy. They have also signed DeSean Jackson and Guard Evan Mathis and traded for middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans. The Eagles even found a replacement for injured left tackle Jason Peters in Demetress Bell. Did I mention they also had a strong draft?

The Skinny: At age 24 years McCoy has plenty left in the tank for a good run with the Eagles. A three down back is hard to come by these days, and lets not forget he’s also a threat in the passing game. Eagles front office knew what they had when they let Brian Westbrook walk years ago as McCoy is every bit of what they expected. McCoy has averaged 1,648 scrimmage yards and 14.5 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter. Not to shabby.

The New England Patriots Wide Receiver, Wes Welker, signed his Franchise Tag and it’s believed he has no intentions of holding out. When he signed his tender everyone thought that the contract issues with the team wouldn’t be a distraction and things would move along towards a long-term contract. That may not be the case and perhaps contract talks aren’t getting any better and according to Welker, contract negotiations with the Patriots have actually, “gotten worse”.

According to Welker, the Patriots recent offer was less than the offer that they made him last year, which was reportedly at 2 years and $16 Million.

“If they see me out there at OTAs and minicamps and everything else, and I’m still out there winning and doing what I need to do to help the team win, you know what, the ball’s in their court to make something happen,” he told the Boston Herald. “That’s kind of my mindset, to go out and show them I deserve it.”

THE SKINNY: It sounds like things could be getting a bit chippy between the Patriots and Welker, as the Pats never really like it when players go to the press and discuss contract issues. With that said however there still is plenty of time for the sides to work out a deal and we’d have to believe that the Patriots wouldn’t allow him to go anywhere else.

Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

With the Steelers addressing the offensive line during the draft this off season, they have now moved Willie Colon to left guard.
Pittsburgh most likely felt that Colon was better suited to play inside versus outside with his size. Colon is 6’3 and weighs in around 315 pounds.

“I’ve made the transition to left guard,” he confirmed. “I like it. It’s just a matter of learning the verbiage.”

The Skinny: By moving Colon on the inside they will probably utilize his athletism for pulling purposes. Expect to see Colon and Decastro get their “pull” on. The Steelers’ starting O-Line will probably look like this as of now LT Mike Adams, LG Colon, C Maurkice Pouncey, RG David DeCastro, and RT Marcus Gilbert. I believe the Steelers O-line will be a force to be reckoned with if this unit stays healthy.

Aaron Russell
Follow Him on Twitter

After throwing 46 TD’s in 2011, and an NFL record 5476 yards, unsigned franchise QB; Drew Brees is believed to be asking in the range of $21 million per year & the Saints are closer to $19 million per year. It is safe to say the frustration has started, and the pressure is starting to mount with the Saints beginning on-field practice next Tuesday.

“Lack of communication has been the biggest disappointment, Certainly I feel like I’ve fulfilled my end of the bargain, and obviously my intent and my goal this entire time has been to sign a long-term deal with the Saints, and finish my career in New Orleans”

The Skinny: It’s been a tough offseason with all the turmoil surrounding the New Orleans Saints. The one person that can lead this franchise through the “storm” is Drew Brees. The Ultimate deadline for Brees & the Saints to reach a long-term agreement is July 16th. His loyalty in San Diego almost cost him his career after a shoulder injury his last game with the Chargers, so we could see another “seat saved” next to Sean Payton’s until the start of the regular season if the Saints don’t come to their senses and ‘Show Drew the Money’

Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

The returning United States Football League is adding former Pro Bowl Quarterback Jeff Garcia to the league’s board of advisors.

Garcia will serve on the player development branch of the USFL’s advisory board, joining Fred Biletnikoff, Jim Steeg, James Bailey and and Terrell Jones on the board.

The USFL is planning to field eight teams for its inaugural 14-game season in 2013, which will kick off in March and wrap up with a championship game in June.

Gayle Saunders
Follow Him on Twitter

After playing 5 years with the Texans, Jacoby Jones is welcoming change in 2012. Jones sounds like man whose dealt with change in his football career before.

“Change is good in life,” Jones I left one high school, went to another and I was successful. I left one college and went to Lane College and was successful. And now I’m leaving Houston and I will be successful.”

The odd thing with him signing with the Baltimore Ravens, it’s the last team he played against in the AFC divisional game during the playoffs. During that game in January, he muffed a punt return early in that game which lead to a Baltimore score.

As any professional would do, Jones has moved on, and he’s ready to put that game behind him with his new team. That new team now wants him to bring his talents to Baltimore in hopes he can elevate their return game and help their depth at wide receiver.

The Skinny: Last season he had 49 punt returns as well as a 79-yard touchdown for Houston. Currently the Ravens could use a return specialist now that they have Webb focusing on cornerback. David Reed is recovering from an injured ACL, so it’s the perfect match for Jones as he’s still a duel threat at WR and special teams. The Ravens WR corps still consists of Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, Tandon Doss, Laquan Williams and rookie Tommy Streeter. It’s a full house but Jones is versatile playmaker with good open field speed.

Aaron Russell
Follow Him on Twitter

When you first look at 2nd round draft pick Janoris Jenkins (5’10″ 193) and hear about the troubled past (arrested 3 times in 23 months and father of 4 children from 3 women). One can only make the comparison to another troubled CB Jeff Fisher once drafted; former 1st round pick Adam ‘pac-man’ Jones (5’10″ 186).

The Rams, and Fisher are all on board with Jenkins. Fisher believes Jenkins will play early, loves his football intelligence, and the way he carries what he learns in the classroom on to the field.

The Skinny: Jenkins from Pahokee High School in the Everglades of South Florida, is no stranger to violence; Pahokee’s crime rate his senior year was double the rate of the rest of the state. Pahokee High has also sent more than a dozen of players to the NFL such as Anquan Boldin. In 2012, the Rams feel they have landed the steal of round 2, but the question won’t be if Jenkins can win the battles on the field it’s the battles off the field that will make or break him.