Football

Former Giants safety Kenny Phillips is being allowed to ease his way in with the Eagles after knee issues set him back last year.

Lane Johnson, David King express sadness, shock over devastating tornado that rocked town near University of Oklahoma campus.

In this early going, coach Chip Kelly probably has all of Eagles nation wondering what's going on with this team.

One thing is for certain about this position for the Panthers. They will start a different tandem at safety from last years' duo Charles Godfrey (SS) and Haruki Nakamura (FS). Godfrey will start instead at free safety where he played his first two seasons with the Panthers: Anyway, I recently discussed the state of the secondary with Wilks. He expressed his opinion that Godfrey will thrive at free safety after moving there from strong safety late last season. Candidates abound at the other spot, from late-season starter D.J. Campbell to free agent acquisition Mike Mitchell to Lester. So with that we look at the candidates for what I predict will be four safety roster spots. Last season the Panthers did carry a 5th safety on the roster in the form of Colin Jones but he was a specialist for special teams. I expect the Panthers to carry four safeties into week 1 yet again, with Jones a possible 5th safety yet again. So here are the safeties we currently have listed on the Panthers roster. I'm going to give a probability for making the roster and a probability to start; my personnel, subjective opinion. Charles Godfrey As discussed above the 6th year pro has locked down the free safety spot so no need to discuss any further.. Probability to Start at Free Safety: 100% DJ Campbell As a rookie in 2012 Campbell finished the season starting the last four games at SS and given the secondary played pretty good at that time I'm thinking that's going to count for a lot. Campbell is probably the best athlete of the safeties, plays very aggressive and is a fairly good tackler. I'm thinking the job is his to take but he has some serious competition. Probability to Start at Strong Safety: 85% Probability to Make the Roster: 100% Haruki Nakamura Last year's starter at free safety is now on the outside looking in. The Panthers signed him as a free agent thinking he was ready to make the jump from key back-up to starter but it was a dismal failure. Though he logged 54 tackles, 4 PDs and 2 INTs in 13 games he was unreliable in run support and absolutely horrid at playing the ball in the air when not thrown right at him. Nakamura is at best a back-up going into 2013 who is fighting for a roster spot. The key will be his special teams play that improves his chances of sticking to the 53, but it is far from guaranteed. Probability to Start at Free Safety: 2% Probability to Make the Roster: 60% Mike Mitchell Mitchell is this year's free agent acquisition at safety for the Panthers, signing a one year deal back in March. Mitchell comes to us after four less-than-stellar years in Oakland after being over drafted in 2009 (2nd round). You can read a quick write up we had on him here. In those four years he has only 9 starts and it is not because of injury. So as much as I like the idea of a 5th year vet coming in and solidifying the position I think he has an uphill climb. To dig a little deeper I went over to Silver & Black Pride to see what some Raider fans thought about him. I find it pretty telling: Last of Raiders 2009 draft class now gone - Silver And Black PrideRound 2: Mike Mitchell - The other big story of the early draft because no one knew who he was. It became a big joke that everyone had to look him up and he was hardly even listed in Mel Kiper's draft guide and was considered an undrafted free agent prospect. He was taken early in round 2 by the Raiders and was beaten out in camp by 2008 round 4 pick Tyvon Branch. Mitchell saw his very first start at strong safety last season. The Raiders let him walk as a free agent and he signed a 1-year deal with the Panthers. And we thought our 2009 draft class was bad. The fact he has very little experience at SS does not bode well. To be fair, I did find a post that offered something positive about Mitchell: Updated Grades for Raiders 2013 off-season moves: Secondary - Silver And Black PrideS Mike Mitchell - He showed some flashes at safety in relief of Tyvon Branch. But

New York Jets QBs Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith are expected to compete for the starting quarterback job this offseason, but the quarterback competition could be settled well before the team even heads to training camp in July. Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg wants one of the two QBs to separate himself from the other, and if that happens this week, the team isn't against naming their starter early. 'Common sense tells you that you hope it's quick, but this is going to be a full blown competition. Period,' Mornhinweg said. Sanchez, because of his experience, has the advantage to take control of the early competition. Smith, who spent much of his college days in shotgun, is spending a ton of time taking snaps from under center during OTAs with quarterbacks coach David Lee. Mornhinweg knows that the longer their QB competition lasts, the less time the winner will have to work with the first-team offense. The team also won't just name a starter to name a starter; it want a clear winner in the competition. Huddle Up: If the Jets do name an early starter, it almost certainly will be Sanchez, who has 62 NFL starts in 4 years under his belt. No matter who's the starter, though, it promises to be anything but a season of smooth sailing which, of course, means plenty of fans and media types calling for the backup.

The job description for a Cardinals defensive end in 2013 will be different than it was the previous two seasons. Just how different is a matter of opinion and perspective.

Updating a previous report, Arizona Cardinals TE Jeff King (knee) underwent knee surgery early in the offseason. The coaching staff hopes King can return to practice in early June. Huddle Up: King is projected to be the Cards' starting TE for the third straight season despite finishing with only 17 catches in 2012 -- his lowest total since his rookie year of 2006.

Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte did not participate in OTAs Tuesday, May 21. Forte is taking part in a two-day USO tour and is visiting troops in Germany. Huddle Up: No worries about Forte who could use the time away after recording at least 255 touches in each of his 5 NFL seasons.

Dallas Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware and DT Jay Ratliff did not participate in team drills Tuesday, May 21, during the first day of organized team activities (OTAs). Huddle Up: Ware (elbow) and Ratliff (sports hernia) both are coming off surgeries earlier this offseason and will be brought along slowly.

San Diego Chargers OT Max Starks, who was signed to an undisclosed 1-year deal Tuesday, May 21, is likely to become the team's starting left tackle this year. Starks will likely replace OT King Dunlap at the position, with OT D.J. Fluker, the team's first-round pick, starting at right tackle. Huddle Up: Starks, who spent his first 9 seasons with the Steelers is the new blind-side protector for Philip Rivers, who has sacked 49 times in 2012, the most for any NFL QB aside from Aaron Rodgers (51 sacks last season). Meanwhile, Fluker, the 11th overall pick in the draft, should immediately bolster the other side of the line.