NFL Player News

Twelve Cowboys suffered hamstring injuries of varying severity in 2013, reports ESPN.com. The list consisted of Miles Austin, Morris Claiborne, Sean Lee, Justin Durant, Dwayne Harris, Bruce Carter, Danny McCray, Barry Church, Dez Bryant, Lance Dunbar, Gavin Escobar and Terrance Williams.

Coach Jason Garrett is looking at other teams' approaches to find a solution. He might cut back the time players spend on the field early in the offseason, the report said. 

“It is valuable to do the football stuff. We don’t feel like there’s a lot of football stuff right now,” Garrett told the website. “We want to be careful about how much we take away from that. But there’s a couple weeks prior to all that stuff starting. We’ve talked about tweaking the daily schedule and what we’re doing those first couple weeks as we start to lay the foundation for the offseason.”

The NFL announced that the Saints' Jimmy Graham was classified as a tight end, not a wide receiver, for the purposes of the franchise tag. A tight end will make $7.035 million in 2014 under the tag, while a receiver will make $12.312 million, a difference of $5.277 million.

Graham is expected to file a grievance, arguing that he lines up more often as a receiver. The case then would go to a neutral arbitrator.

The Texans are working on a contract extension for impending free agent tight end Garrett Graham, reports the NFL Network. But if Graham becomes a free agent, according to the report, the Packers are expected to express interest.

Graham, who played in college at Wisconsin, just finished his fourth season with the Texans. He had 49 catches for 545 yards and five touchdowns in 2013, all career highs.

The Lions and free-agent-to-be tight end Brandon Pettigrew could be heading for a split. The odds are against the two sides reaching an agreement on a new contract, the Detroit Free Press reports, and with that being the case the team is fine letting Pettigrew see what he can get from another club. 

Pettigrew caught 41 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns, his lowest output since his rookie year of 2009. 

The four players who got franchised -- the Saints' Jimmy Graham, the Panthers' Greg Hardy, the Jets' Nick Folk and the Redskins' Brian Orakpo -- all received non-exclusive tags. That means they can sign offer sheets with any team.

However, the signing teams would have to give up two first-round draft picks if the tagging team decided not to match. It's highly unlikely any team would give up that much, even for superstars like Graham or Hardy.

Eight players received the franchise tag in 2013. This year, four players got franchised and two drew the transition tag, which had not been used since 2011.

Getting the franchise tag were Saints tight end Jimmy Graham, Jets kicker Nick Folk, Panthers defensive end Greg Hardy and Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo. Browns center Alex Mack and Steelers outside linebacker Jason Worilds were designated as transition players. 

The deadline for tagging players passed at 4 p.m. ET.

With the 4 p.m. ET deadline approaching, only four teams have applied the franchise tag for 2014. The Saints tagged tight end Jimmy Graham, the Jets tagged kicker Nick Folk, the Panthers tagged defensive end Greg Hardy and the Redskins tagged outside linebacker Brian Orakpo.

Eight players received the franchise tag last year.

The Lions are not expected to use the franchise tag, reports the Detroit Free Press. The team continues to negotiate with the three starters headed for unrestricted free agency: tight end Brandon Pettigrew, defensive end Willie Young and cornerback Rashean Mathis.

When the Saints tagged quarterback Drew Brees in 2012, the sides managed to strike a long-term deal just ahead of the July 15 deadline. Expect a similar scenario with Jimmy Graham, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

"It's in everyone's best interests for Graham to sign a long-term contract," the paper said. "But that was the case with Brees, too, and look how long that negotiation took. Expect a similar process with Graham.

"Deadlines spur action in the NFL and the real deadline to secure a long-term deal for Graham isn't until July 15."

In the meantime, the sides are expected to battle over whether Graham should be considered a tight end or receiver. The receiver tag would cost New Orleans nearly $5 million more.

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles won't lack for targets in 2014. Receivers Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin are under contract, joining receiver DeSean Jackson, tight ends Zach Ertz and Brent Celek and of course running back LeSean McCoy.

Askef if there will be enough passes to go around, general manager Howie Roseman told Birds 24/7 that he's trying to follow Denver's model.

"When you look at how many offensive plays that you have over the course of the season, there’s a lot of opportunities to spread the ball around, get people involved," Roseman said. "I don’t think you have to look further than when you look at the Denver Broncos and how many options they have in their passing game and how big of an advantage that is when you have guys all around the field and you can get different personnel groups and that’s what we’re looking to do. We're looking to be an explosive, dynamic offense and when you talk about the skills that he has, Jeremy, certainly he adds to that group."

Maclin was the latest to sign when he inked a one-year deal Saturday.