Elway says Broncos are out of the Kaepernick chase

They met with him twice. There won’t be a third session.
With the Broncos trading up from No. 31 to No. 26 to acquire quarterback Paxton Lynch, they’re out of the running for quarterback Colin Kaepernick. General Manager John Elway has confirmed the fairly obvious reality to Mike Klis of 9News.com in Denver.
The development leaves Kaepernick without a clear destination for 2016, unless the Jets decide to abandon the pursuit of 2015 starter Ryan Fitzpatrick and swing a deal for Kaepernick.  And it means that Kaepernick likely will remain with the 49ers for at least another season.
The question becomes whether Kaepernick wants to be there. At some point, he needs to realize that he has no other options, and that he should focus on being the best player he can be.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
AP Photo by Tony Avelar

Nike moves on from Manziel, too

From the Browns to agent Erik Burkhardt to agent Drew Rosenhaus to the marketing agency owned by LeBron James, plenty of folks have had enough of Johnny (a/k/a Jonathan) Manziel. One of the world’s leading shoe manufacturers has now added its name to the list.
Via Darren Rovell of ESPN.com, Nike has terminated its relationship with Manziel. In January, Nike reportedly was “on the fence” about keeping him.
Coincidentally, Manziel’s trip to Nike’s Oregon campus ended up being one of the only exceptions to his Eddie Haskell-inspired “all about football” phase of early 2014, when Manziel was otherwise creating the impression that he was fully and completely committed to getting ready for life in the NFL.
“We’re not knocking the guy for trying to get paid,” a certain group of Internet hacks observed at the time news broke of Manziel’s break in training to visit Nike.  “We’re pointing out that the notion Johnny Football is currently all about football is more about getting Johnny drafted as high as possible and less about reality.”
It worked. He was drafted as high as possible. Unfortunately, the plan didn’t extend to keeping him in the NFL as long as possible.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo via BusinessInsider.com

Michael Strahan will join Good Morning America on a full-time basis

Once upon a time, Giants running back Tiki Barber was supposed to become a media star, working on NFL football games and morning TV shows while gradually becoming so visible and popular that he’s better known for his work in television than for his exploits on the football field. Things didn’t work out for Tiki.
And his one-time enemy has become exactly what Tiki was expected to be.
Giants defensive end Michael Strahan, who was hired in 2012 to replace Regis Philbin as the co-host of a morning talk show with Kelly Ripa, is leaving the show to become a full-time member of ABC’s Good Morning America. Strahan will continue to serve as a co-host of the FOX NFL pregame show, commuting between New York during the week and L.A. on the weekend during football season.
In 2002, Barber sparked a feud with Strahan by making public comments about Strahan’s contract talks.
”I’m not a selfish person, and to watch somebody do me bad, do me wrong — personally, I can’t forgive you for that,” Strahan said at the time. “Especially if I’ve never done anything to you, and I’ve been good to you, and I respect you. I don’t care to have it amended. I’m not going to sit here and say that I care to be his friend. I have absolutely nothing to say to him.”
The duo would later patch things up, but that period of acrimony would continue to characterize their relationship, and it definitely sets up what is now an apples-to-apples exclamation point in the comparison between Barber’s post-football career and Strahan’s.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
Photo by Rex Shutterstock via Variety-com

Will Nick Foles be a member of the Rams in 2016?

As the Broncos continue to turn over each and every stone in search of a potential quarterback to compete with Mark Sanchez and Trevor Siemian, here’s a name that hasn’t been mentioned: Rams quarterback Nick Foles.
On one hand, Foles already has earned a $6 million roster bonus for 2016, and his $1.75 million base salary for the coming year is fully guaranteed. On the other hand, there’s a sense that Foles has been tabbed as the odd man out, with Case Keenum, Sean Mannion, and whoever the Rams draft filling out the primary three spots on the depth chart for the first year back in L.A.
One source with knowledge of the dynamics already has predicted that Foles likely will be gone by the start of training camp, and that he definitely will not be on the team before Week One.
So why haven’t the Rams already moved on? For starters, the $6 million roster bonus was fully guaranteed as of last year. The only extra obligation arising from keeping Foles into March 2016 came from the base salary. If Foles is traded, the base salary goes with him.
The financial circumstances could make Foles attractive as a trade candidate. At a time, for example, when the Broncos unsuccessfully are squeezing 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take only $7 million this year, the Broncos could get Foles for exactly 25 percent of that amount.
Yes, the deal comes with $4.5 million in incentives. But if Foles does whatever he needs to do to earn those amounts, that’s presumably good news for his new team.
The bigger problem comes from 2017, when Foles’ salary shoots to $10.75 million. So it would be a one-year arrangement under the current deal.
Another problem comes from the fact that Foles simply wasn’t very good last year. Which is likely one of the reasons the Broncos haven’t kicked tires on the possibility of acquiring him.
From the Rams’ perspective, it’s likely that they’ll squat on Foles unless and until they draft a quarterback later this month. Once that happens, with maybe a free-falling Jared Goff or Paxton Lynch becoming the next potential Roman Gabriel, John Hadl, Pat Haden, Vince Ferragamo, or Jim Everett, Foles will be adding a new city to a travel itinerary that has taken him from Philly to St. Louis to L.A. in the last 13 months.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Mike Florio
AP Photo: Tony Gutierrez

Michael Vick feels like he has one more season in his blood

The movements and potential movements of Colin Kaepernick and Robert Griffin III have been well covered this offseason, which is not something that you can say about one of their predecessors as a quarterback whose ability to make plays with his legs.
Michael Vick was last seen on the field in Week Six when he started for the Steelers in place of an injured Ben Roethlisberger and went 3-of-8 for six yards against the Cardinals. Vick also ran five times for 47 yards before leaving the game with a hamstring injury that led to Landry Jones getting a turn under center.
Vick started three games and played in four overall for Pittsburgh and finished the year 40-of-66 for 371 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. That hasn’t led to any action for him in free agency at this stage and Vick realizes an injury or other unexpected development could be the only thing that changes that landscape. If it does, he says he feels able to answer the call.
“I’m 35, about to turn 36,” Vick said, via Newport News Daily Press. “I’ve got one more dedicated season in my blood, if somebody needs me to come in. But I’m kind of happy where I am right now.”
Vick signed with Pittsburgh in late August in the wake of Bruce Gradkowski’s injury, so it’s not out of the question that he’ll find a way to continue a career that’s taken plenty of twists and turns since he went first overall in 2001.

Source: PFT.com
Author: Josh Alper
AP Photo