The NFLPA is willing to agree to in-season HGH testing. (Getty Images)

By Will Brinson

The ongoing battle between the NFLPA and NFL over the implementation of HGH testing has fallen to the background as the playoffs have heated up, but both sides are still working on getting a plan in place to begin testing for the growth hormone as soon as possible. (Though as we wrote earlier in the year, 2011 isn't happening, obviously.)

CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported on Sunday's version of The NFL Today that the union's latest proposal to the league contains a heretofore unheard of provision: in-season testing for HGH.

"On Friday the NFLPA sent the NFL a new proposal," Casserly reported Sunday. "The highlight to that proposal? They agreed to having testing in-season. In their previous proposals they only had testing in the offseason and at the beginning of training camp."


Testing in the middle of the season is something that has to happen with HGH testing. Otherwise avoiding being caught for HGH is a simple matter of "not using it until you start playing" which kind of defeats the purpose.

So it's good that the union is willing to budge off that stance.

And it'll be even better if the NFLPA budging off that point can get the NFL and WADA to budge off the idea that it's impossible to give the players their own culture sample for studying the level of HGH in NFL players.

Doing so would likely lead to a quicker resolution of this issue.

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By Will Brinson

This isn't particularly shocking news (to some, anyway), but the Rams won't be shopping for a quarterback in the 2012 NFL Draft and will stick with Sam Bradford as their franchise quarterback.

CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported as much on Sunday on The NFL Today, noting that the Rams are "going to stick with" Bradford (versus drafting, say, Robert Griffin III) and utilize their second pick in April's draft to improve in other areas.

"They're going to stick with Sam Bradford," Casserly told James Brown Sunday. "If Griffin comes out that second pick has value. If he doesn't come out, it doesn't. I would ask for two No. 1 picks and another pick depending on where that team is [sitting]. Unless I can get a second No. 1 I'm taking [Justin] Blackmon and now I've got a target for Bradford."

St. Louis has a pretty good shot at getting the second first-rounder for that No. 2 pick, especially with the Redskins potentially needing to jump the Browns to grab RG3 if they want him.

The problem then becomes whether or not the Browns are interested in Blackmon; the Rams certainly want to accumulate as many picks as possible, and getting maximum trade value for the No. 2 pick is paramount for them this season.

But they're going to lose Brandon Lloyd this offseason, and you have to wonder how long they can go without investing heavily in a top-end wideout to pair with their franchise quarterback.


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Are the Cards a sleeper to make Peyton the next Warner? (Getty Images)

By Will Brinson

The status of Peyton Manning with the Colts is absolutely up in the air, and a lot depends on the March 8 deadline for Indy to pick up his $28 million option.

While there's been some chatter that the Colts and Manning's camp discussed an extension of that deadline recently, CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported on Sunday's The NFL Today that it's not the case. He also reported that the decision on Manning's option will be made by owner Jim Irsay (not the new general manager) and that there's a darkhorse possibility to land Manning if he doesn't end up back with the Colts: the Arizona Cardinals.

"Jim Irsay in interviewing general manager candidates has told them he will make the decision whether Peyton Manning is back," Casserly reported Sunday. "He will not put that on the new general manager. Right now there have been absolutely no discussions according to the Manning camp between Manning and Irsay about extending that deadline. In fact, it would make no sense to me for Manning to agree to that. Why give up the opportunity to talk to other teams?

"One team to watch? The Arizona Cardinals. They can get out of the Kevin Kolb contract and also Ken Whisenhunt's been down this road before. A veteran quarterback coming in at the end of his career? Kurt Warner."


The Cardinals would be a shock to land Manning, if only because they haven't been discussed as a landing spot. But a healthy Manning would be an instant upgrade for Arizona and probably let them leapfrog the 49ers as NFC West favorites in 2012.

As for the extension talks, there's some thought that language in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement wouldn't even allow an extension of the option deadline.

Beside that point, Casserly's spot on: there's really no benefit for Manning to give the Colts a deadline, especially if they're set on selecting Andrew Luck in April's draft anyway.

The long and short of it is this: Manning's situation isn't going to simply go away between now and the deadline for the Colts to make a decision on his future in Indianapolis and even with the playoffs going on, it's going to remain a dominant NFL storyline.

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By Will Brinson

Drew Brees and the Saints decided to put any long-term contract talks on hold until after the 2011 season, but that doesn't mean a new deal for Brees isn't still kicking it as the large, pink elephant in the corner of the room.

On Sunday, CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported that the two sides are still working on a deal, but if they can't reach one before free agency begins, the Saints will place the franchise tag on Brees, and that Brees will probably not report if/when that happens.

"He's a free agent at the end of this year and both sides would like to get a long-term deal done," Casserly reported on The NFL Today. "The Saints told me if one is not done by the start of free agency, they'll franchise him. I estimate that number will be between $14-15 million. The target for Brees? The Peyton Manning contract -- $18 million a year, but more importantly, $23.4 million over the first three years.

"If a long-term deal is not done, I would not be surprised if Brees does not show up for offseason and even training camp."


Brees, as we've previously noted, probably would've slotted somewhere between Manning/Tom Brady and Michael Vick when it comes to a long-term deal and the amount he'd make annually. That's if, of course, the Saints were negotiating with Brees before this season.

Instead New Orleans will now be trading numbers with Brees' agent Tom Condon as Brees comes off a season in which he broke Dan Marino's record for most passing yards in a single season (he's just 300-some yards shy).

That stands to make things expensive for the Saints, and if the team goes deep into the postseason this year, things won't get any cheaper. And it won't exactly the public relations nightmare they deal with if Brees holds out any easier either.

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In the wake of James Harrison's hit on Colt McCoy Bill Cowher and Boomer Esiason breakdown proper hitting techniques on quarterbacks as well as receivers under the new rules.

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By Ryan Wilson
 
The NFL's competition committee convenes every offseason to discuss which rules need need to be overhauled, tweaked, or abolished altogether. When the committee gets together after the 2011 season, Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay and committee co-chairman, expects launching and helmet hits to get plenty of attention.

"I think the launch will be discussed more and more and eventually we will see helmet hits modified in the open field," McKay said, according to wire reports.

"When we are trying to deal with an issue like the launch, we are trying to protect the runner and the hitter," McKay continued. "Some hits, a defensive player is leading with his head and not using his arms and really is exposing himself to injury as a flagrant foul is committed."

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Posted by Will Brinson



The Raiders are taking plenty of heat for having Rolando McClain active for Sunday's game, and understandably so -- less than 72 hours ago, the linebacker was arrested on four misdemeanors. 

But according to CBS Sports' Charley Casserly on The NFL Today McClain will be disciplined by Oakland, but not until they find out the full details of what happened. Additionally, Casserly reports McClain didn't fire the gun during the incident in question.

"Multiple sources told me McClain denies shooting the gun," Casserly said. "From the Raiders point of view, they are absolutely going to discipline him, but they want to wait until they find out all of the facts in the case before they decide what the appropriate discipline will be."

"From the league's point of view, they are investigating it and no plans for discipline at this time."


This is a pretty smart move by both the league and the Raiders -- there's simply no reason to punish McClain for something he didn't do. Determining his punishment is simply a matter of determining his culpability. 

There's still a case to be made (as CBS Sports Bill Cowher did on the show) that McClain shouldn't be playing today, though.

It remains to be seen if the Raiders will hold him out of the starting lineup.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Not breaking news for anyone that watched college football last night: Andrew Luck is really, really good. Teams want him, and men want to be him.

Halfway through the early games during Week 8, the Indianapolis Colts are looking like the clear-cut favorite to win the Luck sweepstakes.

And as CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported on Sunday, they're totally OK with that.

"Barring any medical issue with Andrew Luck, if the Colts have a chance to take him next year, they're going to take him," Casserly said on The NFL Today.

Casserly also pointed out Luck, who does have one year of eligibility left at Stanford, is "unlikely" to return to school in 2012. Oh, yes, and he compares somewhat favorably in terms of how teams view him.

"First of all, talking to the Luck camp, it's highly unlikely that he would go back to Stanford," Casserly said. "Talking to general managers around the league, they say Andrew Luck will be the highest-rated quarterback coming out since the 1983 draft, which had John Elway as the first player taken."

That's ridiculously high praise, and probably a bit ironic too, considering the likelihood of Luck replacing the only guy -- Peyton Manning -- who might have left college as more of a sure thing.

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Posted by Will Brinson

The Jim Schwartz-Jim Harbaugh handshake incident after the Lions-49ers game last week caused quite the stir around the NFL, particularly when the league declined to fine either of the coaches.

But going forward, those guys -- and all other NFL coaches -- will get fined for such behavior, as CBS Sports Charley Casserly reported on Sunday's edition of The NFL Today.

The basis of Casserly's report was a memo he obtained that NFL VP Ray Anderson sent to all the general managers and head coaches of NFL teams.



"Last Sunday's post-game incident involving two head ouches was embarrassing to the coaches, their teams and the league," Anderson's memo read. "it could easily have erupted into a dangerous brawl. Simply stated, more is expected of our leaders. Coaches Harbaugh and Schwartz have acknowledged that they were wrong and that this type of inappropriate behavior will not be repeated.

"Although no fines were imposed for this incident, everyone should be mindful of his responsibility to act in a way that brings credit to himself, his club and the NFL."

So that's the logic for not fining the coaches -- there was no such system for actually fining them in place. But going forward, that changes, as the league told Casserly.

"If this incident happened today after this memo, both sides would have been fined," Casserly said. "If this memo had existed before last week, both coaches would have been fined."

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