Posted by Christopher Harris
• Julius Peppers signed his one-year franchise tender offer Wednesday, meaning he's officially a Carolina Panther once again. Peppers held out of all offseason activities this spring in hopes of either landing a major, Albert Haynesworth-esque contract extension or forcing a trade from Carolina to a team that would give him such a windfall. Neither happened. It now appears Peppers, who's coming off a 14.5-sack season, will return to the Panthers' defensive line. Of course, it's not impossible that he still could be dealt; in fact, it was a technical requirement that Peppers sign his tender offer before Carolina could trade him. But considering he now is on the books for $16.7 million this season, it seems relatively unlikely that he'll be going anywhere, which is good news for the Panthers fantasy defense. The pass rush still should be fierce, Jon Beason is nasty in the middle and I think corner Richard Marshall is better than departed starter Ken Lucas. I've got Carolina down as a top-10 fantasy defense for '09.
• The Jaguars have given Dennis Northcutt's agent permission to seek a trade. But that's not likely to happen, considering the gaffe Jacksonville made in giving Northcutt a $4.5 million signing bonus a couple of winters ago and a contract that pays him $2.45 million this year. Northcutt almost assuredly will be released in a matter of days. This implies both that Mike Walker is pretty much entrenched as a starting wideout opposite Torry Holt and that the Jags are likely to go with an unlikely trio of Mike Thomas, Jarett Dillard and Tiquan Underwood, all rookies, on the depth chart after Holt and Walker. Personally, I think Thomas is the best player of this group, although the Jags reportedly have liked what they've seen from Dillard in offseason activities. Underwood is much more of a project -- big with little speed or natural receiving ability.
• Some of the Giants' defensive depth over which I've been raving all spring is looking shakier. Linebacker Michael Boley, signed from the Falcons this winter, needs surgery to repair a torn hip flexor and is expected to miss at least all of training camp. Boley was a beast for Atlanta a couple of seasons ago but got lost in Mike Smith's system this past season and fell off the fantasy radar a bit. However, he's a terrific player when he's got, y'know, more than one healthy hip at a time. He has to be considered somewhat of a long shot to be ready for Week 1, making the Giants' D just the tiniest bit less appealing. I still love that defensive line depth, though.
• The Boston Globe reports the Patriots plan to use Shawn Springs as their "lockdown" corner to face opposing No. 1 receivers. That's a relatively predictable decision, considering Leigh Bodden is set to start at the other corner, while Springs has fared pretty well against Terrell Owens in his career. Of course, the Pats use a lot of zone, and I don't expect to see Springs out there alone on an island all that much. Plus, one wonders how long it'll be before Springs gets hurt; he's played 16 games just once in the past eight seasons.
• The Nashville Tennesseean reports LenDale White currently tips the scales at 229 pounds, after playing "over 260" (make that well over 260) this past season. White appears ready to change leaguewide perceptions of him, especially since it's likely he'll be hitting free agency in 2010. However, will this news make White a less enticing fantasy player? Will he be able to crash the goal line at a lighter weight?
• The battle for the receiver spots after Calvin Johnson in Detroit figures to be a weird one. Bryant Johnson now has sprained an ankle, a couple of days after rookie Derrick Williams came down with a bad hamstring. Neither injury is expected to be serious, but they don't help, especially considering the Lions want to build chemistry between rookie Matthew Stafford and this receiving corps. Ironically, oft-injured Ronald Curry is the only guy who hasn't been banged up yet. But just wait.
• The Tennesseean also reports rookie Kenny Britt (Tiquan Underwood's more heralded collegiate teammate at Rutgers) hasn't done much as a Titan yet because of his own injured hamstring. Britt was the sixth receiver off the board in April and has an intriguing combination of physicality and ball skills; some have compared him to Brandon Marshall. But the fact that he hasn't really practiced yet throws an awful lot of cold water on the idea that he'll make any impact in fantasy as a rookie. Nate Washington reportedly struggled to pick up Mike Heimerdinger's offense early in organized team activities but has been better lately, meaning the expected combo of Washington and Justin Gage seems like the best bet to start in Tennessee.
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