Adrian Peterson thinks all will be okay with Harvin

AP

Adrian Peterson’s prediction of being healthy enough play in Week One was met with some skepticism, but it is getting closer and closer to coming true.

However, for the first time this offseason, the status of Peterson’s knee wasn’t the biggest question facing the Vikings offense. Wide receiver Percy Harvin’s trade demand is taking center stage which meant that the running back had to answer questions about more than his ability to cut on the field. After Wednesday’s morning walkthrough (which Harvin attended), Peterson told reporters that learned about the Harvin issue while he was in bed and that he thinks all wind up fine with his hill-running partner.

“You definitely don’t want to lose this guy,” Peterson said. “I’m sure the organization will do what it has to do to keep this guy around. If it was me, I’d make sure we kept him around. But we’ll see. First I’ll have to sit down and see what’s bothering him. We’re grown men, I’m sure he’s going to do what his mind is set. Personally, I think everything will be OK.”

The Harvin news is overshadowing the fact that Peterson continues to make remarkable progress in his return from a torn ACL and MCL. He said he’s “wide open” on the practice field and that cutting hasn’t been a problem for him at all. He conceded there’s still a long way to go until his left leg is strong enough for the season, but his rate of progress makes it easy to believe that he will cover that ground in time to make good on his prediction.

If Harvin isn’t around for that one, the Vikings are going to be desperate for nothing less than the best of Peterson.

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The San Francisco 49ers have now signed all seven of their 2012 draft picks.

A.J. Jenkins, a wide receiver from Illinois selected by the 49ers with the 30th overall pick, has signed the standard four-year deal, the team announced. The maximum value of the deal will be $6,947,529.

San Francisco got its other six draft picks’ deals done more than a month ago.

Last season Jenkins caught 90 passes for 1,276 yards and eight touchdowns and was a big-play threat in an Illinois offense that had few other weapons in the passing game.

Jenkins reportedly showed up out of shape to the team’s offseason conditioning program, and he’s going to have to get a lot better if he wants to get much playing time on a 49ers offense that also has receivers Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham and Randy Moss.

AP

For a pair of franchise-tagged safeties with comparable resumes, Dashon Goldson and Michael Griffin have handled things differently this offseason.

But Griffin’s five-year, $35 million deal with the Titans could provide a useful framework in the 49ers’ talks with Goldson, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

Unlike Goldson, Griffin went ahead and signed his $6.212 million tender, and reported to the offseason program. Goldson has stayed away from all the 49ers workouts as he awaits his payday.

Maiocco notes that a year ago, Goldson was looking for something in the $8 million a year range of San Diego’s Eric Weddle. Since then, Goldson made his first Pro Bowl and changed agents, so it’s hard to imagine those demands have lessened.

However, the two sides apparently continue to talk, prior to the July 16 deadline to reach a long-term deal.

Across the bay, Raiders safety Tyvon Branch has signed his franchise tender and has been participating with his team while his negotiations continue. He doesn’t have the Pro Bowl on his resume, but is an ascending player who will demand a contract in the same neighborhood of Griffin’s as well.

AP

Back in January 2011, there was some speculation that the Steelers would be playing a regular season game in Dublin later that year.

That never came to pass, but the idea of bringing a game to the Emerald Isle never went away. The BBC reports that the NFL came to Croke Park in Dublin this year to assess its viability as a venue for a game and Mark Waller, chief marketing officer of the NFL, came away interested in the possibility of bringing our brand of football to town.

“We need stadiums that have availability in the middle of our season and the soccer season,” Waller said. “We also need them to be large, able to take the levels of hospitality and corporate entertainment that we generate. We looked long and hard before we came to play regular season games at Wembley. Now we’re looking seriously at playing two games internationally and, as we do that, Ireland and this venue in particular are very attractive to us.”

Notre Dame is playing a game in Dublin this fall and it has already sold out. Obviously a team named the Fighting Irish has particular cachet in a country filled with Irish who sometimes fight, but the London experience has definitely shown an interest in the NFL on that side of the pond.

There’s no word in the report about when the NFL would be thinking about adding a second international game, outside of it not being this year. Should the game get the go-ahead, the Steelers are sure to be under heavy consideration to play in it. Dan Rooney has been an advocate for a game since starting his term as U.S. ambassador to Ireland and told the BBC that he’d be interested in having the Steelers, who played a preseason game there in 1997, involved if and when the NFL comes to the land of Guinness and James Joyce.

AP

Minicamp practices are supposed to be non-contact, and when fights break out at non-contact practices, the league office sometimes responds by cracking down on the teams involved.

Which is bad news for the Dolphins.

Two offensive line vs. defensive line fights broke out in the Dolphins’ minicamp practice today, with Omar Kelly of the Sun Sentinel identifying Jake Long vs. Olivier Vernon and Richie Incognito vs. Ryan Baker as the two bouts on today’s fight card. (Fortunately for Kelly, he wasn’t fighting Kevin Burnett on the undercard.)

Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said afterward that he wasn’t pleased, not because of any concern that the league office could get involved, but because he wants players who are smart enough to avoid personal foul penalties.

“I wasn’t very happy we lost two players in a drill,” Philbin said, via the Palm Beach Post. “That can be a critical time in a game. You have to be able to keep your poise and play. It’s great to be tough, it’s great to be physical. . . . It’s 15 yards, loss of down, clock, all those things. So yeah, there was good competitiveness, but you’ve got to be smart.”

Philbin said he’s going to view the practice video and address the matter with whoever provoked the altercation.

“We’re going to have to watch the tape to see who provoked the situation that happened today,” Philbin said.

The league office may also watch the tape and, at the very least, remind the Dolphins that these practices are supposed to be non-contact. And HBO will tell them to save it for Hard Knocks.

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Perhaps Wednesday’s 15-minute meeting followed by a press conference featuring Commissioner Roger Goodell and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) won’t be a dog-and-pony show, after all.  Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Senator Durbin will meet on Thursday with two of the lawyers representing former players in the concussion lawsuits, in the hopes of getting information from former players about bounties.

Specifically, Senator Durbin will meet with Michael Hausfeld of Haufeld LLP and Pam Gilbert of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuce LLP at 12:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.  Durbin hopes to eventually speak to former players with knowledge of the league’s “bounty culture,” in order to determine whether the league’s public stance meshes with reality.

Per the source, Hausfeld will be providing Durbin with a list of former players who are willing to speak “confidentially” about bounties.

Hausfeld also plans to discuss the NFL concussion issue, along with complaints about the NFL Players Association.

AP

A former Saints practice squad defensive lineman said he knows who said “pay me my money,” on the sidelines of the 2009 NFC Championship Game, and that it wasn’t Anthony Hargrove.

Hargrove denied the voice on the videotape which the league presented as evidence was his, and former teammate Earl Heyman corroborated that claim to CBS Sports’ Jason LaCanfora .

“I was right there, right there in that closeup [of the defensive huddle] they’re talking about,” said Heyman who is now a boxer after his one year with the Saints. “Every time they came off the field I was standing right there talking to them, and I know who said it, and I can say with 100 percent accuracy who said it, and I know 100 percent it wasn’t Anthony.”

Heyman would not reveal who the voice belonged to, but said he’s willing to give his version to the NFL.

“I don’t want to incriminate anyone,” Heyman said. “I will if I have to, if it goes to court or something like that, I’d testify. But I don’t want to get caught up in this or that or getting more people in trouble.

“That’s not what I’m about, but I am about protecting Anthony because he’s my friend and he’s been done a great injustice and he’s been done wrong.”

Following Hargrove’s denial Tuesday, the NFL released a statement saying it stood by its investigation, without further comment.

AP

Vikings receiver Percy Harvin wants a trade, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be getting one.

G.M. Rick Spielman said Wednesday that the team has “no interest at all” in dealing the 2009 offensive rookie of the year.

“We drafted Percy Harvin here,” Spielman said, via ESPN.com.  ”He’s a key part of our organization.  He’s a key part of our football team.  Any issues that are out there or reported, we always handle those internally and continue to handle those internally.”

But that won’t necessarily be the end of it.  If Harvin wants out, and if he’s willing to become sufficiently disruptive, he may get his way.

The Vikings set the precedent in this regard last year by cutting long-time left tackle Bryant McKinnie loose, after he showed up for training camp overweight and out of shape.

“In Bryant’s case, he’s been a terrific player for the Vikings,” coach Leslie Frazier said last August.  ”I love him as a person.  We’ve gotten a great relationship together.  But at this point, for all parties involved, I just thought it was the right thing to do, and I’m sure he’s going to catch on with a team and he’s going to do well.  He’s a terrific player right now, but for where we are right now and where we’re trying to go to, it just wasn’t the right fit for the direction that we want to go.”

So at what point does Harvin do enough to allow Frazier to reach the same conclusion?

Though there’s no reason to believe Harvin would go T.O. on the Vikings, trying deliberately to get traded by becoming openly insubordinate, Harvin reportedly hasn’t been a model teammate in the past.  He reportedly “chuck[ed] a weight” at former coach Brad Childress in 2010, in the days after Childress cut receiver Randy Moss.  The alleged move capped a “heated argument” that arose after Childress questioned Harvin’s effort in practice.

At Florida, Harvin reportedly grabbed an assistant coach by the neck and threw him to the ground.

So just because the Vikings don’t want to trade Harvin doesn’t mean Harvin will quit trying to get traded.  The question is what else will he do to try to get what he wants?

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Saints interim head coach Joe Vitt hadn’t previously responded to the allegation that he contributed $5,000 to the alleged bounty on Brett Favre because Vitt hadn’t previously been accused of it.  Now that the league has lumped him in with players accused of funding the alleged bounty, Vitt has responded.

Aggressively.

“In the recent information released by the NFL to the NFLPA, and later to the media, there is an allegation made against me that is completely untrue and I cannot let it go unchallenged,” Vitt said in a statement forwarded to PFT by Saints spokesman Greg Bensel.  “I did not pledge any money for any type of incentive program pertaining to the 2010 NFC Championship game.  Furthermore, I have never at any time pledged any money for any type of incentive program, or so-called ‘bounty’ program.”

Vitt is willing to do take extra steps to prove his innocence.

“Today I had a great conversation with the Commissioner and stated I would sign a sworn affidavit to this fact, or make myself available to take a lie detector, to immediately rectify this matter,” Vitt said.  “Also it cannot be emphasized enough, none of our players, particularly those who are facing suspensions, ever crossed the white line with the intent to injure an opponent.  I am proud of our players and stand behind them 100% and will do whatever I can to help restore their good names.

“I maintain my pledge to the Commissioner to be an agent of change in helping to find new ways and practices to make our game safer for all players and I look forward to more constructive conversations with the league on this matter.”

Regardless of whether the charges against the players are true, the handling of the accusations against Vitt are curious, to say the least.  The league admits it never accused him of offering money to a bounty pool for discipline purposes, but now the league is using allegations against Vitt to bolster the evidence against the players.

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When imposing discipline on the coaches involved in the Saints’ alleged bounty program, the NFL didn’t privately accuse assistant head coach Joe Vitt of contributing money to the pay-for-injury effort.  More recently, however, the league publicly has claimed that Vitt pledged $5,000 to the Brett Favre bounty fund, via evidence produced in advance of the player appeal hearings and shown to the media on Monday.

NFL senior V.P. of labor law and policy Adolpho Birch recently confirmed to PFT that Vitt faced no specific claim of offering bounty money. “The short answer is no, we did not consider that as part of what formed the basis of his discipline,” Birch said on Tuesday’s PFT Live.  “As we have stated before, what we did from an investigation standpoint is to look for things that were corroborated, and with respect to that particular point, there was no additional corroboration that would lead us to have the same level of confidence as many of the other things that we found.”

In other words, the league concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to formally accuse Vitt of kicking in money for the Favre bounty for imposing discipline on Vitt, but that there was enough evidence to informally accuse Vitt of kicking in money for the Favre bounty for imposing discipline on others.

But if the handwritten notes created by someone whom the league still refuses to identify aren’t deemed sufficiently credible to show that Vitt was guilty of offering money for a bounty, why are they being used as to anyone?  And what precisely did the league do to try to corroborate the contents of the notes as to Vitt?

The obvious answer to the second question would be “confront Vitt with the notes and demand an explanation.”  But lawyer David Cornwell told PFT earlier this week that Vitt was never suspected or accused of offering money.  This means that the NFL never said to Vitt something like, “We have reliable evidence that suggests you offered a $5,000 bounty on Favre.  What do you have to say for yourself?”

Keep in mind that the league determined as part of the investigation that Vitt lied in 2010, the first time the league looked into the situation.  So Vitt isn’t someone to whom the league would be inclined to cut much slack or give the benefit of the doubt, especially as to evidence that he helped fund the bounty on Brett Favre.

While the handling of Vitt’s discipline has no direct bearing on the handling of player discipline, the disconnect suggests that the notes detailing the contributions made to the Brett Favre bounty — which perhaps constitute the only piece of clear written evidence pointing to the use of a bounty system — are for some reason not as reliable and credible as the NFL would have us all believe.  And the curious failure of the league to take aggressive action against Vitt for conduct that, if it occurred, should have triggered a suspension of at least one year or more illustrates why, regardless of guilt or innocence, real questions need to be asked regarding the key details of this case.

Hopefully at some point by someone other than me.

Reuters

Cardinals linebacker Clark Haggans is taking advantage of the time off until training camp to serve some time.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Haggans is spending a spell as a guest of the Westmoreland County Prison to serve out a sentence for a past traffic offense. The county sheriff told the newspaper that Haggans reported to the prison to begin serving his sentence on Wednesday, but there’s no report about how long Haggans will be locked up or what offense triggered the sentence.

While we don’t know when Haggans is supposed to be out, it seems like a fair guess that we would have heard about this pending incarceration if if was likely to interfere with the season. Since we didn’t, we’ll still assume Haggans will be with the Cardinals when the gather for training camp.

Haggans re-signed with the Cardinals this month and he’s expected to be a reserve linebacker for them this season. It will be his fifth year with the Cardinals after spending the first eight years of his career as a member of the Steelers.

UPDATE: 3:28 p.m.: Haggans agent, Jeff Sperbeck, posted a statement on Twitter about the incident.

In the statement, Haggans explains he was at a concert, and drinking, when he got a call from a “panicked” babysitter saying his 5-year-old daughter was having trouble breathing. After trying unsuccessfully to find his wife/designated driver, he left for home, and was pulled over. Officers accompanied him home, he gave his daughter the medicine she needed, and then he was cited for a pair of moving violations. He’ll spend 48 hours, plus seven additional nights in jail as part of a plea agreement.

“In hindsight, I should have found another way home, and I take full responsibility for my actions,” Haggans’ statement read.

AP

Mike Holmgren might be interested in mending fences with Jim Brown, but don’t expect Trent Richardson to do the same.

The rookie running back told Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com that he had no interest in talking to the man who so often referred to him as “ordinary” before and after the Browns took him with the third overall pick.

“He has his own thoughts. That’s him being him,” Richardson said. “I have no problem with it. I just wish the best of luck for him whatever he’s doing in life.”

Among other criticisms of the current regime, the Hall of Fame running back zeroed in on Richardson, saying he didn’t see “anything outstanding about him.”

“I laugh at the situation,” Richardson said. “You don’t know me from spic to span. But he’s Jim Brown. He’s done a lot here and I haven’t done anything yet. I have a lot to accomplish and big shoes to fill.

“When it comes down to it, I have to work and make sure I make him a believer. I haven’t done anything yet.”

There are times when Brown comes off as a cranky old man, complete with the “get off my lawn,” tendencies.

At the same time, he’s Jim Brown, perhaps the greatest running back of all time. Treating him with a little respect is still in order.

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In the wake of Junior Seau’s suicide, there’s been increasing talk that NFL players need help to adjust to retirement. And it’s become increasingly clear that the problem is less about having help available to retired players than about getting players to accept the help that’s offered to them.

Troy Vincent, who played 15 NFL seasons and is now the league’s vice president of player engagement, said that retired players are informed that mental health counseling is available to them, but the vast majority of players decline.

“We have our player assistance and counsel services is not just available to players, but his family as well,” Vincent said on 550 WGR in Buffalo, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. “Each player has the option of four free clinician services of their choice and where they want it to. It doesn’t get used often. Very seldom does a player or family member reach out to just talk about hey I am not feeling well. Again, it’s a service that’s very underutilized.”

Vincent mentioned that there are little things that deter former players from seeking treatment, such as not being accustomed to the hassles involved: When you’re an active NFL player and you need any type of health care, mental or physical, you have a team medical staff ready to treat you on your schedule. When you’re retired, you have to sit in a waiting room and fill out paperwork. But the larger issue is that football players have been taught not to express feelings of weakness or sadness.

“It’s a concern of ours,” Vincent said. “In the world of professional sports and more in particular, football, you don’t want anyone to know that you are not feeling well. That’s a sign of — that’s a stigma that is related with talking about mental health and mental wellness. That’s a challenge for us. That is something we want to overcome. We want to dispel the myth that football players are not vulnerable. We are. We are human beings, but those are the things. It’s a population that doesn’t view and receive resources, in particular mental health services, well.”

For the NFL, convincing players — current and former — to seek help when they need it is a major priority. And an issue the league needs to continue to focus on, even though it won’t be easy.

AP

Former Redskins running back Clinton Portis never fails to make it interesting.

The eccentric Portis (who used to show up for interviews in characters such as Coach Janky Spanky, Southeast Jerome and Sheriff Gonna Getcha) recently turned up on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., and the conversation was about as far-ranging as you might imagine.

Portis joined Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier (transcript via SportsRadioInterviews.com) to discuss everything from his future plans and current political affiliations.

Asked about a potential comeback, Portis said: “If things happen then cool, if not, that’s cool too.”

Of showing up at a fund-raiser for and supporting Vice President Joe Biden, Portis said: “It took longer than four years to mess the country up, so it’s not gonna be put back together and everybody’s not gonna get a job in four years.”

But his most interesting comments may have been a lengthy defense of Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who has become a lightning rod for his stewardship of a sagging franchise.

“I think so many people got the wrong idea about Mr. Snyder,” Portis said. “I think he’s a guy that is so dedicated to that Redskins organization and wants to badly to bring a championship to town and get the town what they want, and give Redskin Nation what they want, that a lot of people get aggravated with the change.

“I think he’s willing to go out and do anything and everything that needs to be done to make that organization better. And so many people criticize that. There’s a lot of owners that won’t go out and put a dime into the organization, won’t bring players in, won’t pay players … and their fans are upset.

“So I think Mr. Snyder does all that he can and is really just a man that has the desire to win and he wants to win at any cost. I think he’s doing everything he could to make the organization better, and the people within the organization — as far as the players — love him. I think he’s a great guy. … He’s still trying to find the pieces to the puzzle to get it on the positive side, and you have to applaud it.”

That’s one way of looking at it. Perhaps another is that Snyder has tried to do too much, constantly fiddling with the team, and in the process even making a Hall of Famer  such as Joe Gibbs look bad in the process.

AP

It’s clear that receiver Percy Harvin wants out of Minnesota, but it’s not clear why.

Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that it’s not simply about Harvin wanting a new contract.  Per Fowler, a desire to replace a rookie deal that covers the next two seasons is not the “sole driving force” behind Harvin’s request for a new address.

So what’s going on?  I addressed the possibilities during Wednesday’s PFT Live, and what the heck I’ll reduce some of what I said to writing, right here.

The contract is an obvious sticking point.  With the new labor deal taking the windfalls away from first-round draft picks, young players who have outperformed their rookie contracts will want to be rewarded before playing out their rookie contracts and laboring for a season or two under the franchise tag.  For Harvin, the 22nd pick in 2009, he definitely has overshot his slot.  So it makes sense that he’d want more money.

He also may want more opportunities.  Last year, the team faced criticism for not using him enough.  Harvin nevertheless generated 967 yards receiving, 345 yards rushing, and 520 yards on kickoff returns.  That’s 1,823 all-purpose yards, without being utilized to the maximum extent.

Then there’s the fast friendship he struck with Randy Moss during Randy’s brief return to the team in 2010.  Harvin wasn’t happy when former coach Brad Childress fired Moss, and we’ve pointed out a time or two (to the chagrin of Chilly) that Harvin’s migraines left for good once Childress did, too.  The Vikings among other things didn’t like the example Moss was setting for Harvin, and it’s anyone’s guess what Moss may have been saying to Harvin to make Harvin want to play somewhere else.

The only surprise is that coach Leslie Frazier hasn’t been able to fix the situation.  Widely regarded as someone who can get through to Harvin, Frazier on multiple occasions defused disputes between Harvin and Childress.  None of that may matter, however, if Moss already has persuaded Harvin that he needs to be with a team that will use him more, that will pay him more, and that will generally allow him to get maximum recognition for his talents.

If the 49ers weren’t already stocked at every skill position, we’d wonder whether Moss was trying to get Harvin traded to San Francisco.

Knowing Moss, he may be giving it a try anyway.

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Part of the reason the Jets are thinking about using more 4-3 defense this year is because of the ascension of defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson.

And in typical Jets fashion, they’re not afraid of pumping him up a bit.

Jets coaches said he could become every bit as dominant at his position as cornerback Darrelle Revis is at his.

“Looking back on the spring, if I had to rank our guys – outside of Revis – he was the best player on the field,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News. “He was dominant at times … He doesn’t take a day off. He doesn’t take a play off.”

He may not get much of a chance. Pettine told Mehta he expects Wilkerson to play “80-plus percent” of the Jets defensive snaps, a huge burden for a big man, considering he played fewer than 60 percent last year.

“Mo’s only going to come off the field when he needs a break,” Pettine said.

The Revis comparisons in Jets camp extend to their off-field preparation, as coach Rex Ryan hailed Wilkerson’s film study.

“If Rex is telling you that, that just shows you all the confidence he has in me as a player,” Wilkerson said.

It’s enough confidence to change an entire scheme, and adjust the expectations accordingly.