NFL Player News

ESPN reports that the Jets might be forced to start Mark Sanchez at quarterback to open the season because "Geno Smith hasn't blown anybody away" during offseason practices. The report says "it's still early and things could change, but the way this is headed, it'll be Sanchez vs. the Bucs in Week 1. Unless Smith is lights-out in the preseason, the Jets should open with Sanchez."

Things are changing for Rams quarterback Sam Bradford this season. He has new targets in Jared Cook, Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, and workhorse running back Steven Jackson is gone. That means adjustments, and Bradford is open to the changes. On the new receivers, Bradford said, “A lot of it is just timing. Everyone has different steps, different speeds. They see things and anticipate things differently. I think the biggest thing is just getting on the same page – how they see the route and how they want to run the route. Then also myself having some input on how I believe it should be run and where the ball should be caught. It’s just getting all that timing and steps down.” And on the changes in offense, he said, "I think if you look at the speed we have now compared to the speed we’ve had in past years, we have significantly more speed this year. Obviously with Steven gone, we don’t have a big, physical running back. I don’t know if it means if we’re going to throw the ball more. I’d be fine with that. I would definitely think we’d probably move more to the one back world, spread people out. I think that’s probably the direction we’re going.”

Neither Mark Sanchez nor rookie Geno Smith have done enough to distinguish themselves in the Jets' starting quarterback race, and that's fine with head coach Rex Ryan. ESPN reports Ryan says the team isn't anywhere near ready to name a starter after both quarterbacks along with their backups have been too inconsistent in workouts thus far. "It's way too early," Ryan said. "Some days this guy looks good, some days that guy looks good. ... Obviously, we don't have to make that move right now. Until we feel 100 percent comfortable with that decision, we'll leave it to competition."

ESPN was at Dolphins OTA workouts Monday and noticed that quarterback Ryan Tannehill looked sharper than a week prior. He also showed some patience on the field and wasn't afraid to throw the ball away when a play broke down. It seems as if Tannehill is focused on cutting down on his turnovers, the report suggests.

ESPN was at Dolphins OTA workouts Monday and noticed that quarterback Ryan Tannehill looked sharper than a week prior. He also showed some patience on the field and wasn't afraid to throw the ball away when a play broke down. It seems as if Tannehill is focused on cutting down on his turnovers, the report suggests.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that in 2011 Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers accounted for 69 percent of the offense. Last year, it was 71 percent. Rodgers hopes a better running game in 2013 can lead to more balance on offense -- even if that comes with less reliance on his right arm. "I just think it's better when we have balance for everybody," Rodgers said. "It helps with the passing game. It slows down the rush. It gives us opportunities to have some more one-on-ones outside. But I have high expectations for myself regardless of the coverage, the opponent, the score and I know my teammates do as well. So I enjoy the opportunity to carry whatever load is put on me and I expect to play well."

The Lions have claimed quarterback Thad Lewis off waivers from the Browns.

Rams quarterback Sam Bradford might be enjoying this offseason more than any other. For the first time in his career, Bradford will finally have the same offensive coordinator and same offensive scheme under Brian Schottenheimer, which makes things easier. "Amazing. Like I said, it just feels so much better knowing the details of this offense and actually having the ability to go over and coach our young guys," Bradford said Thursday during OTA workouts. "When you’re trying to learn an offense for the first time, it’s really hard to go over and coach some of the young guys because you’re still trying to figure everything out, too. You don’t know the exact details. You watch it on film from how someone else runs it, so you think you have an idea how you want it run, but until you actually get out there and rep it multiple times, you really don’t have that feel. Now obviously we had the opportunity to go back and watch all our cutups from last year, all the concepts that we had success with, all the concepts that we struggled with. We talked about the areas that we need to be improved, the things that we need to do, and I can take all those points from those meetings."

The Browns signed ex-Packers receiver Tori Gurley and waived quarterback Thaddeus Lewis.

The Cincinnati Enquirer noticed two highlight passes from Andy Dalton in OTA practice Tuesday, connecting on a bomb to A.J. Green on the first throw of the session and another to Marvin Jones, who beat double coverage. "I think it’s quickening up the drop or throwing the ball a little higher on different throws and things like that," Dalton said of what's changed on throwing deep. "With the time that we've had with the phase before this one getting into OTAs we've put in some work and I definitely see an improvement."