NFL Player News

Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said he's impressed with quarterback Matthew Stafford's ability to learn a new system, reports the Detroit Free Press.

"He’s really remarkably bright," Lombardi said. "I’ve heard that he was a smart player, but the speed and ease with which he picks things up he has even surprised me — and I had high expectations coming in. So I think he’s doing really well."

Under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill is learning a new system for the first time in his three-year NFL career. Miami's former offensive coordinator, Mike Sherman, was the head coach at Texas A&M when Tannehill played there.

Lazor's system features multiple formations, an up-tempo style and quick-hitting plays, according to ESPN.com.

"There’s still a learning curve. It’s not going to come overnight," Tannehill told the website. "It’s going to take some time, not just for me but for all of our guys. The receivers are running routes that they haven’t run before doing adjustments that we haven’t done before, so there’s going to be a learning curve, but that’s what this time is for."

Four quarterbacks have a chance to start the Texans' season opener, reports the Houston Chronicle. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Case Keenum, T.J. Yates and rookie Tom Savage are all in the running and the job is "wide open," coach Bill O'Brien said after the first day of OTAs.

"These guys are good guys, they’ve been fun to coach," O’Brien said. "(Quarterbacks coach) George Godsey’s done a great job with them. And I think they’ve enjoyed learning this offense and they’re competing. It looks like there’s good chemistry in the room, which is important in the quarterback room. I’ve been impressed with these guys, the way they work at it."

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer, who's coming back from a torn ACL, sat out 11-on-11 drills at OTAs, reports the Akron Beacon Journal. Hoyer's absence enabled rookie Johnny Manziel to get first-team snaps.

Quarterback Geno Smith took the first snaps when the Jets opened OTAs, reports the Associated Press. Then Smith and Michael Vick shared reps with the first team.

Michael Vick said Thursday that the Jets don't have an "open competition" at quarterback and that Geno Smith is expected to begin the year as the starter. 

"Going through the competition (in Philadelphia last year), we knew both of us coming in that it was open competition and the best guy was going to win the job," Vick told the New York Daily News. "Pretty much cut and dry. This situation is different. It's kind of unique. Even though it's not an open competition, we're both competing every day."

Vick believes that if he and Smith both have good preseasons then Smith would be the starter.

"It's still tough right now ... I won't lie," Vick added. "Because deep down you always want to be a starter. Hopefully that opportunity will come again one day and I've just got to keep working for it."

Receivers Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones both complimented Andy Dalton's improved arm strength and velocity, the Bengals official team website reported Wednesday. Dalton has spent part of the offseason with passing expert Dr. Tom House in Los Angeles.  

"Best I've seen him," Sanu said. "He's put a lot of work in the offseason, just seeing how he approaches it ... it's on you fast. You turn around and you're like, 'whoa.'"

"He's got a lot of zing, a lot of velocity to him," Jones said. "Especially when it matches the intensity with the way we run our routes. We run our plays in different periods and it just brings everybody up, him included. He's spinning the ball real nice."

Dalton had the best year of his career in 2013, getting 4,296 passing yards and 33 touchdowns along with 20 interceptions.

The Raiders signed quarterback Derek Carr, the No. 36 overall pick, to a four-year deal worth about $5.3 million, reports NFL Network. Carr threw for 5,082 yards and 50 touchdowns with eight interceptions last season for Fresno State.

He's expected to back up Matt Schaub in Oakland.

The Raiders are "firmly committed" to Matt Schaub as their starting quarterback this season, and it would take something "catastrophic" for second-round pick Derek Carr to start, reports ESPN's Jim Trotter. Schaub, who turns 33 in June, threw 10 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with the Texans last season.

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer took the first reps at OTAs, followed by Tyler Thigpen and rookie Johnny Manziel, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The battle for the starting job is between Hoyer and Manziel.

Browns general manager Ray Farmer told The Bull and Fox Show on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland that Hoyer is ahead of Manziel by "a substantial margin." 

"Who's the best quarterback right now? Brian Hoyer," Farmer said. " ... Here's a guy that's a five- or six-year veteran that has been in the league, that knows the defenses, that reads it quicker. It's like he's got an advanced calculus degree, and Johnny's good at math, but I don't know if he's in the advanced calculus stages yet."