3-27-12: Arizona Cardinals Bird Droppings - Colledge Restructures

Around the rest of the NFL, they are talking about the massive press conference the Jets had to introduce Tebow. Here, we look at the simple things.

For now, the Cardinals announced a couple of re-signings, Daryn Colledge also redid his real to spare up some extra cap space for this year.

Arizona Cardinals remain relatively quiet in free agency
Through the first two weeks of free agency, the Cardinals have been focused primarily on making sure their equipment managers don't have to change many nameplates in the locker room. They have made few forays into the open market, signing just two free agents from other teams: offensive lineman Adam Snyder (49ers) and cornerback William Gay (Steelers).

Word From the Birds Blog - Colledge restructures contract
After we just talked about the mechanics of restructuring contracts, news comes out today (via plugged-in NFL blogger Brian McIntyre) that Cardinals guard Daryn Colledge has restructured the contract he signed last season to help create cap room. Colledge had been due $3.8 million in salary; he gets $3.1M of that immediately as a signing bonus, lowering his salary to $700,000 and spreading that $3.1M over the final four years of his contract. It lowers his 2012 cap number from $5.5M to $3.175M, although it increases the cap number the last three seasons from $6.5M to $7.275M.

Word From the Birds Blog - LS Leach, LB Walker agree to new contracts
The Cardinals continued to take care of free-agent housekeeping Monday, getting long snapper Mike Leach and linebacker Reggie Walker to agree to new three-year and two-year contracts, respectively. Both have been key players on special teams. Leach becomes the second of the three free agent specialists to return (kicker Jay Feely was back last week) and is a good component both on the field, in the locker room and in the community. Punter Dave Zastudil remains the unsigned specialist.

NFC West can shrug off OT proposal - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The Arizona Cardinals lived dangerously in 2011, improbably posting a 4-0 record in overtime games. Turns out the margins for error in those games wasn't all that small, at least by overtime standards. Postseason rules giving both teams at least one overtime possession in the absence of a touchdown would not have affected outcomes for those games or any other involving an NFC West team last season.

Scout's take: 2012 NFC West QB situations - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Three-fourths of the NFC West wanted a shot at Peyton Manning this offseason. The Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll and John Schneider flew to Denver in a failed attempt to catch Manning before the quarterback departed for Arizona. The Cardinals met with Manning at their facility. The San Francisco 49ers then emerged as a surprise finalist for Manning, with Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh flying to watch Manning work out in North Carolina.

Cardinals bring back Walker, Leach - ArizonaSports.com
The Arizona Cardinals continued to re-sign more of their own free agents, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com.

Flight Plan: Whisenhunt Talks Draft, Offseason
Ken Whisenhunt sits down with Ron Wolfley to talk NFL Draft, the offseason program and more on Cardinals Flight Plan.

Arizona Sports News:

Arizona Diamondbacks unveil starting rotation
It wasn't a matter of which five pitchers the Diamondbacks will use in their starting rotation that was somewhat surprising but rather the order that manager Kirk Gibson announced on Monday morning. After Opening Day starter Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson face the San Francisco Giants in the first two games of the season, Gibson will hand the ball to right-hander Josh Collmenter for the series finale. Collmenter has widely been referred to as the team's No. 5 starter, including by Gibson himself a week and a half ago. Newcomer Trevor Cahill and left-hander Joe Saunders will follow in the rotation, with their first starts coming against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

NFL News:

NFC West spending armed the enemy, too - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Teams receiving four of the 10 best compensatory draft choices this year have NFC West teams to thank.

Can Rams' new receiver shake knee injury? - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Steve Smith caught 107 passes for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns for the New York Giants during the 2009 season. The 26-year-old receiver has only 59 catches for 653 yards and four touchdowns in two subsequent seasons, enduring microfracture knee surgery that has called into question Smith's ability to produce at a high level in the future. Smith landed on injured reserve last season thanks to what was described as a bone bruise in the same knee. Lingering concerns allowed the St. Louis Rams to reach agreement Monday on a one-year deal for Smith, an unrestricted free agent, according to Jim Thomas.

2012 NFL Mock Draft: Where Things Stand With A Month To Go - SBNation.com
The 2012 NFL draft is a month away. Our latest mock draft takes a look at where things stand two weeks into free agency.

NFL Owners Meetings Kick Off In Florida - SBNation.com
The NFL's annual owners meetings will be kicking off in Florida this week where they'll be discussing, among a number of items, potential rule changes.

2012 NFL Draft Compensatory Picks: Complete List - SBNation.com
The NFL has awarded 32 compensatory picks for the 2012 Draft. Here is the full list of teams that received bonus picks and where those picks will slot in.

Jets Introduce Tim Tebow At Press Conference - SBNation.com
The New York Jets officially introduced Tim Tebow at a Monday afternoon press conference. The trade between the Jets and Denver Broncos hit a few snags which lead to Tebow being introduced on Monday, and not last weekend. A few highlights of Tebow's first Jets presser are below:

Bill Parcells, Sean Payton To Meet This Week About Saints Head Coaching Job, According To Report - SBNation.com
The idea of Bill Parcells becoming the New Orleans Saints interim head coach during Sean Payton's one-year suspension apparently has some legs. According to Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com, Payton and Parcells are meeting in Florida this week to discuss the possibility of Parcells becoming the Saints interim head coach in Payton's absence.

Bill Parcells Denies Sean Payton Offered Saints' Interim Coaching Job - SBNation.com
Bill Parcells admits to speaking with Sean Payton about the New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal but denied reports that he's been asked to step in as an interim replacement, the retired coach told Sports Illustrated's Peter King on Monday afternoon.

How Will The Proposed NFL Rule Changes Impact The Game? - SBNation.com
NFL owners are meeting in Florida this week to discuss seven proposed rule changes. Here's a look at each proposal with an example of how it would affect each game.

Colts Say They Haven't Decided Between Andrew Luck And Robert Griffin III - SBNation.com
The Indianapolis Colts have the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. They will likely select either Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III.

The Latest On The Redskins-Cowboys Cap Mess: Grievances, And Owner Civil War - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
It's been a few weeks since the NFL docked $46 million combined off the Redskins and Cowboys salary cap over the next two seasons, but the issue isn't going away. On Friday, Yahoo! Sports cited sources in the NFLPA who alleged that Roger Goodell strongarmed them into "collusion", and this weekend we found out that the Redskins and Cowboys filed a formal grievance with the NFL and NFLPA. Now the owners are at The Breakers in Palm Beach for their annual meetings, where Giants owner John Mara spoke out Sunday:

Jake Plummer returns to Denver, to throw footballs | ProFootballTalk
Let me start this one by saying that there’s no reason to believe former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer is emerging from retirement, more than four years after last playing in an NFL game. But folks in Denver are getting a little skittish right now about their quarterback situation, given that Peyton Manning and his four neck procedures is now the starter, and Caleb Hanie and his four seasons of underwhelming football is the backup. And so the fact that Plummer was back in town throwing passes to draft hopefuls and free agents, per the Denver Post, has made a stir in Colorado.

Bears say their offer to Matt Forte is strong, they want him to sign it | ProFootballTalk
Bears coach Lovie Smith has said he’s confident things will turn out just fine with disgruntled running back Matt Forte, and now Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips is chiming in, saying the Bears have already made Forte a strong offer.

Marshawn Lynch is hitting the silver screen | ProFootballTalk
Marshawn Lynch became a $31 million man earlier this offseason and now he’s going to work with the six million man.

Roger Goodell: Saints continued lying "into the past several weeks" | ProFootballTalk
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is defending his harsh punishments over the Saints bounty scandal, saying that the longer the league investigated, the longer the Saints lied about what was happening.

Jags owners says Tebow didn’t want to come to Jacksonville | ProFootballTalk
So much for the Fourth Commandment. Last week, Tim Tebow said he had no say in his post-Denver destination. On Monday, he admitted that he had input, but that he was fine with going to the Jets or the Jaguars. Jaguars owner Shahid Khan says otherwise.

Tim Tebow: I told the Broncos I would love to be a Jet | ProFootballTalk
Tim Tebow stood before a mass of media members at his introductory press conference with the New York Jets and said that he’s glad to be in the Big Apple — and that the Jets were the team he wanted the Broncos to trade him to.

Terrelle Pryor says he’s staying at quarterback | ProFootballTalk
ESPN’s Mel Kiper has long believed former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s best NFL position would be tight end. But the Raiders selected Pryor in last summer’s supplemental draft as a quarterback, and Pryor plans to stay there under the new regime in Oakland. "That’s not even a question," Pryor told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, adding that he "hasn’t heard" any rumors about a position switch. "I’m still working to become the best quarterback."