The Bears are considering veterans as they search for a backup to quarterback Jay Cutler, but coach Marc Trestman feels good about what Jordan Palmer showed late in the preseason last year, writes Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “We give Jordan a lot of credit,” Trestman said. “He literally learned the offense on his own because we didn’t have time to work daily with him. He worked. He worked overtime and he learned the offense and came in and played admirably in the preseason. He moved the football team and was very sufficient. He’s got a lot of experience and not a lot of wear and tear. He’s been around a long time. Obviously, we’re going to have another one in there and see how that goes over the next couple of months.” More from around the NFL..
- A source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (on Twitter) that the Ravens have a high opinion of Alex Mack but they’ve believed all along that signing the center would be complicated and expensive to pull off.
- Steelers GM Kevin Colbert says that with the available talent in this draft, trading down is the best strategy. Unfortunately for him, he says he’s far from alone in that thinking. “It makes more sense in this draft than trading up,” Colbert said, writes Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). “I’m sure everyone shares the same thought.”
- Jets owner Woody Johnson definitely has a win-now mindset, tweets Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “I’m not going to use the word ‘patient’ anymore. We want to do it now,” Johnson said.
- Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk writes that Johnson could face a tampering violation for discussing his interest in bringing DeSean Jackson to the Jets.