Tales of Training Camp

By the time late July rolls around, NFL fans everywhere are begging and pleading for just about any form of football to get their eyes on.

The period between the NFL Draft and training camp can best be described as the dark time of the NFL calender, the true “offseason,” if you will. Rookie minicamps and the three days or so of organized team activities (OTAs) at least somewhat quench our thirst but it’s hardly anything to pay any real attention to.

Once these are finished the NFL world and its fans are left to obsess over every little contract dispute and rumor that floats in. There’s no doubt about how taxing of a time this window in the schedule is but then comes training camp in all of its glory. Nothing says “I’ve missed football” more than reading every report from camp and actually getting excited to watch a preseason matchup.

Have no fear though NFL fans, that time has come and the season is nearing! And with that comes our top story lines to keep tabs on as the build up to the regular season continues.

Jay Cutler’s Short Lived Retirement

All is right with the NFL again, Jay Cutler is back on the football field. All jokes aside this has been the biggest news story to come out of camp yet and for a multitude of reasons.

For starters, the reason Cutler was even thought of in the first place means that the Miami Dolphins promising future with young and improving Ryan Tannehill has hit a troubling bump yet again. There are no immediate details about Tannehill’s injury but the fact that Cutler was signed has led many media pundits to conclude it is season ending.

With that though, the move to reunite Cutler with the Gase is the best possible one the Dolphins could hope for. The veteran QB’s best season came with Gase as his offensive coordinator in Chicago and one thing that can’t be disputed is that Cutler always had the arm talent to be an NFL starter. Now we’ll see if he can bring some magic to Miami and save their season.

Rookie Running Backs Flashing

There was plenty of hype surrounding this year’s class of rookie running backs and let’s just say that so far this offseason, they are living up to it.

First rounders Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey are the two most notable standouts thus far. The former has been touted as looking as NFL ready as they come with an expected 20+ carry workload to help shoulder the load for the Jacksonville offense while the latter has put his quickness, speed and hands on display routinely throughout Panthers’ camp, including one burn of one All-Pro linebacker.

Then there are others like Dalvin Cook in Minnesota who has looked the part as Adrian Peterson’s replacement and Joe Mixon who has forced himself into the mix to get some serious playing time out of the Cincinnati backfield.

Throw in some solid showings from later round guys like James Conner (Pittsburgh), Marlon Mack (Indianapolis), Alvin Kamara (New Orleans) and plenty of others, it would be no surprise to see this group not only lives up to the lofty expectations, but surpass them.

Trouble in Contract Paradise

Most of the biggest stories that come from the dark time in the NFL year are that of contract disputes between some of the league’s premier talents and their respective teams and this season was no different.

Some of these issues have even spilled over into training camp. The most notable holdout to this point has been Steelers’ running back Le’Veon Bell. Widely seen as one of, if not the, best back in the league, Bell and Pittsburgh have had trouble hammering out the details of a new contract as the runner believes he should not only be paid like an elite back but also as a number two wide receiver, and he has a point. Bell’s talents should make him the highest paid back and if the Steelers don’t figure it out soon they may find themselves without him very soon.

Other holdouts include the Rams’ star defensive tackle Aaron Donald who is still playing on his rookie contract and will for two more seasons and Raiders’ left tackle Donald Penn who certainly deserves more than the $5.8 million he’s due this year.

One player in line for a new deal that has surprisingly shown up is Odell Beckham. The star wideout believes he not only deserves to be the top paid receiver in the league but also its top paid player. While he certainly deserves some big money in his next deal, Beckham may want to temper expectations as he might not even be the best pass catcher in the league (i.e. Julio Jones, Antonio Brown).

Kaepernick Still On the Outside Looking In

While quarterbacks like Cutler are coming out of retirement to get signed and play, there’s one Colin Kaepernick who remains curiously unsigned.

With so many other players getting signed with far less talent it is certainly plausible to conclude that the former 49er is being “blackballed” as many have come to decide.

Now I don’t necessarily fall in the blackball category on the count of Kaepernick’s severe regression and overall lack of improvement, which I think is starting to be forgotten among NFL media. But to have a young physically gifted player at the quarterback position left with no job prospects given the landscape of QB play in the league has to leave a fishy smell in the air.