NFL Player News

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford, who is still recovering from a torn ACL sustained last preseason with the Rams, remains hopeful he'll be ready for team drills by the time training camp starts. 

If Bradford is not ready, then that would signal a disaster as far as he's concerned. 

"I think if I'm not ready for 11-on-11 by training camp, then I think something has gone terribly wrong," Bradford said, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. "That's the plan."

Bradford has been unable to operate in team drills during OTAs and minicamp. He has done some 7-on-7 work with reports indicating that Bradford has done fine when throwing the football. 

Bradford last took an NFL snap in 2013 when he tore his left ACL, the same one he tore again last preseason. 

The notion that one of the candidates for the starting quarterback job with the Texans would play himself out of the running this early has turned out to be a little far-fetched.

Both Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett have impressed Bill O'Brien, who is now hedging on his earlier claim that he might name a starter soon. He might be forced to wait beyond the beginning of training camp.

"These two guys are competing really well; they're very bright guys," O'Brien told the team website. "I think they've both had really good springs. ... [The starter] might be named next week. He might be named after the Redskins three days of practice. It might be after the San Francisco preseason game."

Without pads or contact drills, the evaluation process at quarterback is more difficult. O'Brien must rely on other qualities, such as grasping concepts at meetings, practice performance, leadership qualities, picking up the offense and decision-making. So far, it appears to be a dead-heat.

"I don't think there's a situation here where one guy has just been that much better on any given day than the other guy," O'Brien said. "They both practice very well. These guys command at the line of scrimmage. Both these guys know how to run an offensive huddle in pro football. They're leaders, so I think it's helped our team."

While Jets quarterback Geno Smith did not turn the ball over during Thursday's OTA session, coach Todd Bowles said Smith needs more consistency, reports ESPN.com.

"It's been up and down," Bowles said of Smith. "He makes good throws, he makes some bad throws. There has to be more consistency for the quarterbacks overall."

Smith is competing with Ryan Fitzpatrick for the starting quarterback job. 

With Texans quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett competing for the starting role, coach Bill O'Brien said Thursday he may decide on his starting quarterback before training camp begins, reports NFL.com.

"That decision may be made before training camp," O'Brien said. "They're out here competing [in OTAs and at mandatory minicamp] every single day, and it's pretty intense. So, we may pick a guy very soon. And if we don't, and the decision does go into training camp, it'll be made pretty early on. The team needs to know who the guy is, and we need to go forward."

Geno Smith showed why he's still the Jets' starting quarterback with a rebound performance during Wednesday's practice. 

A day after throwing three interceptions, Smith bounced back with a solid outing that included zero turnovers and fine accuracy, according to ESPN New York.  

"(T)he quarterbacks were decent," Jets coach Todd Bowles said. "We just have to be consistent."

Smith took the majority of the reps during team drills and hit a bomb down the field to receiver Walter Powell for 70 yards. A year ago, Smith totaled 2,525 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. 

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr was able to lead the first team in every drill during the first day of mandatory minicamp, according to CSN Bay Area. 

Carr had a finger injury that appeared worrisome earlier this offseason. However, Carr said the injury was mostly a non-issue and that he knew he'd be ready to go this week. 

“It was so minor but it was blown up so much,” Carr said. “…I just had to go through a bit of rehab and stretching. I felt ready to rock a long time ago, and I felt even better today. We’re not going to get too much into it, but I’m 100 percent. If you could be more than 100, that’s where I’d be. I’m fired up to be working and I’m ready for training camp.”

Jets quarterback Geno Smith threw three interceptions during Tuesday's minicamp practice, according to ESPN.com. 

Two of those interceptions came in the red zone, where quarterbacks must capitalize on opportunities to be successful. Despite his mistakes, Jets coach Todd Bowles stayed mostly complimentary of Smith. 

"He's been making some good decisions," said Bowles. "I think his growth is coming along pretty good."

Mark Rodgers, the agent for Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, issued a 16-page letter to the club explaining his position on contract negotiations between Wilson and the Seahawks, as first reported by the NFL Network. 

Wilson is slated to play out the final year of his rookie contract in 2015, making $1.54 million. Rodgers previously started in a radio interview that Wilson is content to wait and see what happens after the season.

"Russell is under contract with the Seahawks," Rodgers said, per ESPN.com. "He absolutely would be fine playing his fourth year under the contract he signed coming out and then moving on from there. I don't feel any particular crunch on time or any real particular deadlines."

Wilson added to the point, saying he isn't necessarily rushing to make a decision on his future past this season. 

"I'm prepared for that 100 percent if that's the case," Wilson said about the final year of his contract. "I want to be here for a long time. I just have to get ready to play. I love the game, and I love being out here with these guys. Ultimately, I just take it one day at a time and see where it takes me."

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford participated in 7-on-7 drills in Monday's OTA practice, but he didn't take part in any full-team drills. 

Bradford is returning from a season-ending knee injury. 

"It's nice to be out there with the guys, getting a feel for this offense and actually running the plays we're going to run," Bradford said, per Philly.com. "I think the past couple of weeks have gone really well. As far as percentage , I'm not sure, but the knee feels really good

The Seahawks have begun negotiations with linebacker Bobby Wagner on a contract extension, NFL.com reported. Wagner is scheduled to make $977,427 this year, the last season of his rookie contract. 

The team is still attempting to extend quarterback Russell Wilson, who will also complete his rookie contract. The two talks are somewhat related, since the team will only be able to tag one of the two players, if extensions aren't reached.