NFL Player News

The Colts are expected to be "very proactive" in working out long-term extensions for members of the 2012 draft class, CBSSports.com NFL Insider Jason La Canfora repots.

Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is expected to be the first player approached after catching 82 passes for 1,345 yards and seven touchdowns in 2014. Andrew Luck, Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are three more players who figure to be involved in the team's longterm plans.

The Eagles announced the team has released tight end James Casey on Thursday. Casey confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he'd been "fired" by the Eagles.

The move will give the Eagles some salary cap flexibility. Casey was slated to earn $4 million in 2015, and his entire salary is non-guaranteed, meaning it will all count as cap savings. 

Casey played in all 16 games for the Eagles last season, starting two. He had three catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Giants believe the offseason work ethic of tight end Larry Donnell will lead to him making a big leap in 2015 and that they have a "future star" in Donnell, ESPN.com reports.

While the team will likely add to the tight end position this offseason, Donnell is set to play the pass-catching starting role in Ben McAdoo's offense. He'll be looking to build upon a 2014 season in which he caught 63 passes for 623 yards and scored six touchdowns.

Jets tight end Jace Amaro struggled mightily in his rookie year, dropping six of 52 passes thrown his way, the highest drop percentage of any tight end with at least 10 catches, reports ESPN.com. But the website said if offensive coordinator Chan Gailey employs his spread attack, it will benefit Amaro because he played in a similar offense at Texas Tech.

"Unless he struggles with the new system, Amaro should overtake [Jeff] Cumberland as the primary tight end," the report said.

Amaro (6-5, 265) played just 34 percent of the snaps as a rookie, catching 38 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham had his $2.9 million base salary and $5 million roster bonus for the 2015 season become guaranteed Wednesday, CBSSports.com's Joel Corry reports.

Including his signing and workout bonuses, Graham will count $11 million against the cap next season. He caught 85 passes for 889 yards with 10 touchdowns in 2014, marking his fourth straight season with at least 85 receptions.

The Seahawks have signed 11 players to future contracts, the team announced Wednesday.

Running back Demitrius Bronson, wide receiver Douglas McNeil, tight end RaShaun Allen, tackle Justin Renfrow, guards Nate Isles and Drew Nowak, defensive ends Ryan Robinson and Julius Warmsley, defensive tackle Jimmy Staten, linebacker Mike Zimmer and safety Dion Bailey will look to compete for spots on the final 53-man roster in 2015.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham said Friday he will avoid surgery on his shoulder after testing it at the Pro Bowl. 

"I’ve been doing rehab and I’m going to start back on my rehab Monday and really there’s going to be no surgery," Graham told SiriusXM radio. "I’m just going to do rehab, strengthen the area. That’s what’s best — not having to take six months off and try to heal up with a surgery, but now have those six months to work on all things I need to to try and hopefully get to a place like (the Super Bowl) next year."

Graham, who had 85 catches for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2014, fought off the injury for most of the season. He was still unsure about having surgery before the Pro Bowl last week.

"It was something that really needed some rest and unfortunately it wasn’t able to get that during the season," he said. "It happened early and then you have about 10 straight weeks of trying to make it to the game. Now after having about three or four weeks and last week kind of testing it at the Pro Bowl, it feels great."

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham said he's still rehabbing his injured shoulder and has not made a final decision about whether he'll undergo surgery, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He showed no signs of discomfort at the first Pro Bowl practice, the paper said.

After the game, Graham said he'll return to Miami to train and relax.

"I'll be flying quite a bit, twirling in the air a little bit, and doing as much rehab as I can for the next four weeks," he told the paper. "This is a big week for me, just seeing where I'm at. I feel good, which is a positive, trying to stay away from getting surgery."

Surgery is "something we talked about and is something that's still being debated," Graham added. "This is kind of a trial to see where I'm at. I've had three weeks off and I've finally had some time to heal. It feels great, and I'm going to continue to do my rehab and get back to 100 percent."

Graham suffered the injury Week 5 and played through it all season.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham said that "at this point," he doesn't plan on having shoulder surgery, reports the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Graham hurt his shoulder Week 5 and the injury limited his snaps and production, though he didn't miss a game.

Graham would not specify his exact injury. He said his shoulder did not improve all season and that surgery was considered, per the paper. Still, Graham is preparing to play in Sunday's Pro Bowl.

The Colts had no standout receivers during the AFC Championship game against the Patriots.

T.Y. Hilton actually led the team in receiving with just 36 yards. All of his production came on one catch. Hilton tied for the team lead with six targets, but just couldn't convert most of the time. 

Coby Fleener managed to haul in three catches, gaining 30 yards. He was targeted four times, finishing second on the team. 

Dwayne Allen tied with Hilton for targets, but was able to convert more often. He led the team with four receptions, but gained just 30 yards.