So, fortunately for the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fanbase, the team is not making the headlines this offseason. There was the Cedric Wilson incident, the James Harrison lapse in judgment, but there have been no contract clashes between players and the front office, no major arrests like the one Marshawn Lynch might be dealing with soon enough, and no talk of our franchise QB talking about how he was close to retiring after his rookie year.
Thank God for that.
That said, here's what's been going on around the league recently worthy perhaps of some discussion on those slow offseason afternoon
* This happened awhile back, but Terrell Owens received a 4-year, $37 million dollar extension that will keep him in Dallas through the 2011 season. When the contract expires, TO will be an astounding 38 years old. Say what you will about the guy, but the fact of the matter remains that he leads the NFL with 28 TD receptions the past two years.
* Former legendary Raiders QB Ken Stabler was arrested on his third DUI charge this past weekend. The list of folks with DUIs is growing increasingly long, and that's ok in my book (provided they're not so intoxicated that they're endangering others), as the reality is many people will drive after having knocked back a few until they get caught for the first time. But three DUIs! That's problematic stuff, any way you look at it.
Somebody help this once proud icon
* On a similar note, Cedric Benson gets busted again. The marraige between Benson and the Windy City should be winding down any day now I'd imagine. Of course, this won't be the last we hear of Benson in the NFL most likely, but it is important to remember that he's coming off a serious offseason rehabiliation stint involving legs and screws. That's not a good combo.
Update: That didn't take long. Benson gets cut by the Bears.
* This may be a reach by me, but these are the types of things that I can see potentially derailing a promising Browns season. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a veteran missing OTAs. Polamalu is doing so. Marvel Smith had to miss time to be with his wife as she delivered their first child. It happens. But, in the wake of Willie McGinest's absence, Jamaal Lewis, Braylan Edwards, and Corey Williams also skipped out, citing 'personal reasons'. We'll just have to wait and see, and for the sake of the Browns' fanbase and the rivalry, I hope the team is competitive and not distracted by egotistical maneuverings, but as I've thought for quite some time, all the ingredients are in place for a total meltdown if the Browns don't get off to the kind of start they are expecting this year.
* This is definitely not hot off the press, but Chad Johnson will be suiting up for the Bengals this coming year.
"Am I coming back? Of course I am," Johnson writes. "I told my coaches I’m going to California to act, but the truth is I may come back to the Bengals as early as June . . . I may be crazy but I’m not stupid."
Johnson's bluff might have worked in a game of
Indian Poker. Not in the high-stakes game that is the NFL
It's funny how this power-play between owners and players tends to work itself out unequivocally. It's time the media stops paying attention to athletes who make ludicrus demands until an actual precedent is set of somebody walking the walk.
* Michael Strahan decides to hang it up with a Super Bowl ring in his back pocket. There were million$ of rea$on$ to come back for one more go-round, but the move makes plenty of sense.
* Matt Ryan has signed. Now Darren McFadden has inked his rookie deal as well. The sensational RB/KR from Arkansas signed a 6-year deal worth up to $60 million dollars, $26 million of which are guaranteed. Ay caramba. The deal is a 40% increase from the deal signed by last year's #4 pick, Gaines Adams. Who says rookie pay isn't a contentious issue that has to be resolved if the league hopes to remain in tact in the long-term.