Leon Washington is out of the picture in Tennessee, but Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt feels that he can find his next return man in-house between wide receiver Jacoby Ford, running back Antonio Andrews and running back Dexter McCluster. “We’ll look at a lot of different guys,” Whisenhunt said, according to John Glennon of The Tennessean. “We’ll see where Jacoby fits in that mix. Antonio did a nice job for us last year. Dexter has done it before, and we’ll see what other guys (might be in the mix).” Washington, meanwhile, remains a free agent. Here’s more from the AFC..
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles has taken notice of the big money being thrown around for quarterbacks lately and wants a $100MM contract of his own, as Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union writes. Panthers QB Cam Newton inked a five-year, ~$104MM extension lat week and Ryan Tannehill just signed a deal for under $20MM per year. Obviously, Bortles won’t have to think about his next deal for a while but he’s definitely thought about it. “That’s the goal. I try and get better each and every day and why not make a career out of this, not a job? I want to be here long term and do as much as I can to make this team better and have a blast doing it,” Bortles said.
Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler missed the team’s first OTA practice because he a missed flight due to weather issues and he was held out of practice for three weeks as a result, Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald writes. Meanwhile, Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that the NFLPA is looking into the Butler situation since the CBA prohibits teams from punishing players for missing voluntary workouts.
Bills coach Rex Ryan says that he’s not ready to declare a winner or even a leader in the quarterback race between EJ Manuel, Matt Cassel and Tyrod Taylor, as Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News writes. As we heard earlier this offseason, Manuel might not have a spot on the team if he doesn’t come away with the starting gig.
