Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Sounds like Aaron Maybin might get a second chance to rejuvenate a career that never really ignited.

A couple days after Buffalo released Maybin from the team which drafted him with the No. 9 pick in the 2009 NFL draft (which led us, naturally, to ask why the Bills had drafted him in the first place), a number of New York scribes are reporting that Maybin will sign with the Jets.

According to Rapid Reporter Lisa Zimmerman, Maybin is expected to sign today, pending a passed physical.

Maybin, an undersized LB who recorded zero sacks and 16 tackles in 27 career games, obviously didn’t do well while trying to play in the Bills 3-4 defense last year, but sources tell the New York Daily News that Maybin should do better in the Jets multiple fronts look.

The Jets also apparently aren’t concerned with Maybin’s drastic weight loss (according to the Daily News, he went from 250 pounds to 228 after dealing with pneumonia before training camp), and he’s already back up to 242 pounds.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

The Jets signing of Plaxico Burress hasn’t worked out so well for Rex Ryan’s squad.

It’s been more than a week since Burress twisted his ankle, and he hardly has been heard from since (he practiced once again, only to hurt his ankle once again). For a team which took a major talent loss when it didn’t re-sign Braylon Edwards and opted instead for Burress and Derrick Mason at the WR position, this is not a good sign.

But now a spot of good news as the word coming from Rapid Reporter Lisa Zimmerman is that the MRI taken on Burress’ ankle Friday was negative and that Burress said it simply is a “classic sprain.” It also, he said, is not the same kind of ankle injury he suffered with the Giants, (with that injury, he completely tore his tendon).

Although Burress lobbied Ryan to let him play in Monday’s preseason opener vs. the Texans, Ryan said no. The team is worried that his ankle might swell on its airline flight to Houston.

In fact, Burress won’t return to practice until next Wednesday.

“I probably never handled it the best way," Ryan said, via the New York Daily News. "I think we were all anxious to see him out there. If we had to play a (regular-season) game, he would definitely play... As bad as we all want to see him, we'll just have to wait another week.

"I'm not as concerned right now because he's going through the walk-through stuff; he's doing the mental things. If he was struggling mentally, I would definitely be concerned. I'm not concerned right now. If it goes on and I'll have to answer those questions next week, the week after, whatever... I don't think we're going to have those issues."

As for the treatment Burress must undergo, Burress broke it down for ESPN’s Jane McManus: "We're just going to treat it, treat it, we gonna ice it, treat it, treat it and ice it and treat it."

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

In the first series of the Steelers-Redskins preseason game Friday night, CB Ike Taylor -- who was one of the Pittsburgh’s biggest free agent (re)signings -- broke his thumb and left the game for good.

But according to Rapid Reporter Chuck Finder, the injury isn’t a huge cause for concern. Finder writes that Taylor should be back in time for the Sept. 11 season opener vs. the Ravens.

And Finder gets a nice shot in as well. Writes Finder: “For a cover guy known for dropping balls and missing chances at INTs, it shouldn’t alter his game.”

BOOM!

In other Steelers injury news, QB Ben Roethlisberger had to ice his hand and his hip after suffering minor injuries while playing in Pittsburgh’s first offensive series. Roethlisberger also should be fine.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Aside from the big news that Patriots G Logan Mankins signed a six-year deal with his team, there was other important contract reports emanating out of New England on Wednesday.

Namely, that potentially high-impact (but certainly high-ego) players restructured their contracts in order to help the team save some cap money.

That’s the word from ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss, who writes that DL Albert Haynesworth and WR Chad Ochocinco signed news contract that will pay them less this year and more in 2012 and 2013.

For Haynesworth, he’ll make $1.5 million this season with no guaranteed money, and as Reiss explains, that means the Patriots could cut Haynesworth tomorrow and owe him virtually nothing (this almost assuredly leaves Redskins coach Mike Shanahan gnashing his teeth in frustration). New England will pay him a base salary of $6.7 million (with another $500,000 in bonuses) for 2012.

In Ochocinco’s case, the team will pay him $2.5 million this season (that’s a base salary, plus a roster bonus), and if he sticks around, the Patriots would pay him a combined $9 million for 2012-13. But the $2.5 million is a cheap price to pay for a man who potentially still has elite skill in his legs and hands but also might be getting old.

And as Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole points out, considering Haynesworth was originally supposed to make a base salary of $7 million and that he still can make significant money with incentives, the Patriots have the best of both worlds.

In order for him to get paid, Haynesworth has to play and play well. As we all know, that simply wasn’t the case in Washington, where he was going to get paid tons of money no matter how much -- or how well -- he played. Not surprisingly, you can say this: advantage Bill Belichick.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

I’m pretty sure it’s too early to call Chargers RB Ryan Mathews a bust. Despite the fact he was a first-round pick in 2010, he didn’t have a great rookie season (though I wouldn’t exactly call it disastrous, either).

He only managed 158 carries for 678 yards -- he missed five games because of a high ankle sprain -- but when he was playing, Mathews looked solid (albeit, he left open the door for Mike Tolbert to impress some people).

This season hasn’t gone well so far either.

Mathews has been hobbled by a slightly strained muscle in his upper thigh, and the San Diego Union Tribune writes that Mathews will miss Thursday’s preseason opener after having not participated in four practices this training camp.

"In the early preseason games, we always err on the side of caution," Norv Turner said.

Turner also expressed confidence that Mathews will be fine. But still, it makes you wonder about Mathews’ durability.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

For anybody who has children -- especially those who have children who were born prematurely and had to spend significant time in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit -- this Associated Press story about Redskins DE Stephen Bowen is heartbreaking and tragic and, at the same time, inspiring.

Bowen, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million free agent contract with Washington this offseason after spending the past five seasons with the Cowboys, is still dealing with the feelings and heartbreak caused by the death of his infant son, Skyler. Now as Bowen attempts to regenerate his football career in a completely new city, he's far away from the rest of his family.

Bowen’s wife, Tiffany, gave birth to twins -- Skyler and Stephen III -- in June, but they arrived about four months early at the 24-week mark of their gestation (this is basically the border of whether a newborn has the chance to be viable). While Stephen III still makes progress in the hospital, Skyler died 10 days after he was born.

Bowen is still trying to come to grips with his son’s death.

“Things are a lot better," Bowen told the AP. "It's still hard. I still think about the son we lost every day. He was just an inspiration for us. While he was here, he was fighting every day to try to be here for us. So the least I can do is just work my butt off and try to be the best football player I can be."

For now, Bowen must wait while Stephen III is released from the hospital -- the family is hoping for next month -- and then, his wife, 21-month-old daughter Trinity and Stephen III will travel to Washington to join Bowen.

Until then, Bowen will continue to wade through training camp, spending his days and nights consumed by football so he doesn’t have to be tortured by the thoughts of what he’s lost.

"I don't think you can know how he feels unless you've been in his shoes," coach Mike Shanahan said. "Words can't express what he and his family are feeling."

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

UPDATED (2:58 p.m. ET): According to the Charlotte Observer's Joe Person, the X-rays on Steve Smith's finger were negative.

UPDATED (3:57 p.m. ET): CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco, embedded Tuesday with the Panthers, writes that Smith said he dislocated his finger and that he'll need stiches. Smith estimated he'd be out of action for 7-10 days.

----------

Reports coming out of Panthers camp, including that of Rapid Reporter Steve Reed, are stating that WR Steve Smith had to be carted out of practice because of an injury, though the Charlotte Observer’s Joe Person reports that Smith is suffering from only a finger injury.

Smith walked off the field under his own power following his apparent injury. But then, he was carted back to the team locker room, presumably for observation, leading to temporary confusion among the press corps.

Person then tweeted that Smith was getting an X-ray on his finger.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

With the new CBA rules stipulating that if holdouts don’t show up by August 9 they would lose a year of accrued free agency, that clause hasn’t stopped Titans RB Chris Johnson from not showing up for practice Tuesday.

Which means that Johnson loses his year. Which also means that it’s pretty clear Johnson doesn’t care about it -- unlike, say, Eagles WR DeSean Jackson, who reported Monday so he wouldn’t lose the season.

But as ESPN.com points out, Johnson probably isn’t worried about his free agent status because, assuming Johnson gets the long-term deal that he wants, the year he’s losing won’t matter at all.

The problem with Johnson’s approach, though, is that the Titans have been pretty clear that they won’t negotiate with Johnson if he’s not in camp. Johnson is set to make a base salary of $800,000 this year and $2.21 million for 2012 (he did get a nice pay raise to convince him to report last season), but since he’s in the absolute prime of his career (for a RB, anyway), Johnson feels like this is the time he needs to get paid.

And he’s probably right about that, though whether it’s a good idea to give a RB the $30 million guaranteed contract Johnson said last year that he feels he deserves isn’t so clear cut. But Johnson is also correct in thinking that Tennessee will get a hell of a deal to pay him only $3 million for the final two years of his contract and that the Titans need to up the ante in order to make happy one of the best runners in the league.

And if the Titans thought they had any kind of leverage over Johnson in the accrued free agency deadline, it looks like that notion was incorrect.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnNFL on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed.