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Free agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins isn't the only big-name skill-position player on the move. The Minnesota Vikings are expected to release four-time Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook on Friday, per NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero. If a last-minute trade is not worked out, it doesn't mean that Cook will have a hard time finding work -- and he should have several legitimate suitors for his services if he ends up a free agent. After all, the soon-to-be 28-year-old has logged just over 1,500 career touches and should still have some mileage left coming off the first season of his career in which he started every game. So, where might Cook end up? Here are seven teams that make the most sense. Long considered the top contender for Cook, Miami makes the most sense to me. The Dolphins' biggest questions right now lie on the offensive side of the ball, with the potential for upgrades at running back, offensive line and tight end.    Perhaps the latter two are bigge...

Hundreds of people gathered at the corner of Eigleberry and 10th streets in Gilroy Sunday afternoon to kick off a procession to celebrate the Virgin Mary that ended at St. Mary's Church on First Street. The celebration, named by St. Mary's as the Feast of Our Lady, is normally celebrated with flowers and music on Dec. 12 in Mexico and many churches across the United States and Central America. Giroy resident Maria Torres said she and her family went to Eigleberry Street Sunday afternoon to pay their respects. "We are here to give praise to the Virgin Mary," Torres said. "I brought my children out here to show how strong our Catholic community is and how beautiful it can be when a community comes together for a common good." The parishioners started the day with a regular Sunday Mass, then met for the celebratory procession at 10th and Eigleberry streets and ended back at the church for a 2 p.m. Mass. At 6:30 p.m., parishoners gathered for "Noche Guadal...

It didn’t even take three full quarters for some Broncos fans to start chanting for Tim Tebow on Monday night. Unless they wanted Tebow to take over a spot on the offensive line, his presence probably wouldn’t have mattered much anyways. Denver wound up on the short end of a 23-20 tally in its season-opener, a crushing defeat against AFC West rival Oakland, and from the sound of it — “Te-bow! Te-bow! Te-bow!” — the home crowd was ready to pin that loss on Kyle Orton. No, Orton wasn’t at his best Monday, hitting just 18 of his 37 passes, throwing an interception and simply dropping the ball while he set to throw for a second turnover. But everything he did came with the Raiders’ defensive line in his face. Oakland recorded four sacks and forced Denver to commit numerous holding penalties. Even on Denver’s final scoring drive, which pulled the Broncos within three, Orton took hit after hit but managed to get his team into the end zone. Denver and Oakland combined for 25 pen...

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Patriots quarterback Tom Brady found another way to etch his name into the record books. Brady recognized a glitch in the defense when the Pats stepped to the line with a first-and-10 from their own 1-yard line. He made a check to Wes Welker , who ran through single coverage in the left seam, hauled in the pass, broke off a tackle from cornerback Benny Sapp and raced free for a 99-yard touchdown. "That was pretty awesome," Brady said. "When I saw him break away, it was awesome. You never know when it's going to go. It was man to man, and Wes ran a great route. I only threw it 25 yards. It's not like I threw it 99 yards. Wes did all the work. I just had to put it out there for him." It was the 12th 99-yard touchdown pass in NFL history. The first happened in 1939 when Frank Filchock connected with Andy Farkas , and the most recent came in 2008 when Gus Frerotte hit Bernard Berrian . Welker made sure to note that it was reall...

All of those questions about Chad Henne’s potential. All of those wonders about this year’s offense. All of those expectations for this Dolphins defense. Turn all of it around. And some of it upside down. On a night that shredded most every hypothesis about this season — except the one about struggling to cover tight ends — the Dolphins surely managed to spin the heads of a fan base wondering what to take from a 38-24 loss to the Patriots. Was this version of Henne, often decisive and sharp, the version to expect every week? Is this secondary, the one that gave up more than 500 passing yards, really going to provide this many issues moving forward? “We didn’t execute well at all today on our side of the ball,” linebacker Karlos Dansby said. “The offense played outstanding — and we let them down.” This game wasn’t just baffling in many capacities. It was also historical. Never have two teams combined for more net passing yards (906) than Tom Brady and Henne managed Monday. The gam...

This is it! The final designation for injured players is on our doorstep for Week 1 of the NFL season. Each week, this blog entry will be dedicated to looking at the players who appear on the official Friday NFL injury report and how their status may have an impact on your fantasy teams. A primer for those new to the game: Injury reports provide clues to a player's status for eager fantasy owners. The NFL requires teams to submit injury reports several times per week, identifying the body part that is involved in the injury. Early in the week, these reports will indicate whether a player who has some level of injury is not practicing, is limited in practice or is a full participant. On Fridays, all players on the injury report are assigned one of the following designations by their teams: probable, questionable, doubtful or out. The explanation for each designation is as follows: Probable (P): This designation indicates that a player has a greater than 50 percent chance ...

Dallas will begin its first full year under the direction of head coach Jason Garrett, taking over control of the team after the mid-year firing of Wade Phillips.  The Cowboys finished with a 5-3 record in his eight games and possesses plenty of offensive weapons that opposing head coach Rex Ryan is aware of.  “Start with tight end Jason Witten, he caught almost 100 balls or something last year,” commented Ryan.  “And then you have Dez Bryant, the young kid from here Miles Austin, they’re loaded.”  Quarterback Tony Romo is also back after missing the final 10 games of the 2010 campaign with a broken left clavicle.  Dallas is 7-3 ATS as an underdog the last two years. The Cowboys entire season may hinge on the offensive line that will possess three new starters and has been challenged early by injuries.  Dallas will be dealing with one of the more ferocious defense units in the entire league and it’s a cause for concern.  Sunday’s meeting will be the ...

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was happy to be back on a football field Thursday evening rather than being in a courtroom. Six weeks removed from the end of the NFL lockout of its players, Goodell was all smiles as the Green Bay Packers kicked off the 2011 season against the New Orleans Saints He worked the sidelines before the game greeting former players, corporate sponsors and signing autographs for fans. He spent several minutes chatting with former Packers Super Bowl MVP quarterback Bart Star in the moments before kickoff. "It is good to be talking about football again, rather than courts and bargaining agreements," Goodell said in an interview with The Business Journal on the field. "This is a great atmosphere and one that I’m glad we are getting to experience." Goodell said he was glad the league was able to secure a 10-year collective bargaining agreement with its players because it gave the NFL the security it needed. "We can now mov...

Jets player, Mark Sanchez was featured on the cover of GQ’s September issue. He spoke candidly about wanting to fight his own coach, shared his recently watched television shows including Justin Beiber’s movie and posed for a spread of sexy photos. The spread didn’t sit well with a fellow NFL quarterback, who dissed his moonlighting as a model. “Look at this,” NFL player, Aaron Rodgers told ESPN of Sanchez’s spread in an interview Wednesday. “That’s embarrassing. Page 94 of the GQ thing here. That’s terrible.” “It’s just not really my style,” Rodgers said. “I like my anonymity. I like my privacy. I like being able to be the quarterback during the week and in the offseason just be able to do what I want to do and not have to be in the public eye.” Since the public diss, Sanchez responded and made light of the situation. “I think he was, obviously, making a joke out of it, and that’s fine, giving me a good ribbing like the guys on our team,” said Sanchez in a statement released by ...

  After failing to hear his name called out during the three-day NFL draft, then waiting anxiously for the lockout to end, Pat Devlin finally got some good news Tuesday on the first day of postlockout business. Devlin, a quarterback who played at Downingtown East High, Penn State and Delaware, agreed to a free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins, according to Carter Chow, his agent. Chow did not disclose the terms of the agreement, but ESPN.com reported that Devlin had said yes to a three-year deal. The Dolphins have starter Chad Henne returning at quarterback and are expected to bring in a veteran to take over the No. 2 spot. Published reports mentioned Kyle Orton, who has been put on the trading block by Denver, and free agent Mark Bulger as possible candidates, with Devlin having a chance to become the No. 3 quarterback. Devlin, who set a Pennsylvania high school record with 8,162 passing yards at Downingtown East, chose Penn State over Miami to play his colle...

  The Green Bay Packers’ net income more than tripled to $17.1 million in the fiscal year ending March 31, as the National Football League team won a Super Bowl title, club officials said. Mark Murphy, chief executive of the NFL’s only publicly traded franchise, said today in a conference call that investment gains accounted for most of the increase from last year’s $5.2 million, though the championship run increased apparel sales and visits to the Wisconsin team’s Lambeau Field and Hall of Fame. The NFL’s four-month lockout, which ended yesterday, offset some of the gains from the Super Bowl, which were limited because the team played its postseason games on the road, Murphy said. “We think that winning the Super Bowl has had a bigger impact on us in a positive way than the lockout has,” he told reporters. “We saw a pretty big jump in our atrium business, particularly our pro shop, where we saw significant increases in apparel sales.” The Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

  The Chicago Bears made a move to upgrade their defensive line in the second round of the NFL draft. And they added to their defensive secondary in the third round. The Bears traded with the Washington Redskins on Friday night to move up from No. 62 to No. 53 and select defensive tackle Stephen Paea of Oregon State. The Redskins also got the Bears’ fourth-round pick, No. 127 overall. The 6-foot-1, 295-pound Paea was an All-American last season for the Beavers. He had 14 sacks and nine forced fumbles in his career. Chicago is looking for help on the defensive front after releasing former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tommie Harris. Paea said he can play nose guard or tackle. In the third round, the Bears took safety Christopher Conte of California with the 93rd overall pick. Conte had 72 tackles, one interception and blocked a punt that he returned for a touchdown last season. In the first round, with the 29th overall pick on Thursday, the Bears beefed up their off...

By DAVID J. NEAL Shortly after Dolphins first-round pick Mike Pouncey finished meeting with coaches and Dolphins front office personnel and the South Florida media Friday evening, the NFL got its court ordered stay that restored the lockout. Perhaps somebody slipped Pouncey the playbook between the time he met with the media and the time he left the Dolphins Davie offices. The resumption of the lockout means teams and players must again act like they have restraining orders against each other. “I just came in here and really just visited the facility and met everybody,” Pouncey said about an hour before the lockout was restored. “I guess we’ll handle the playbook sometime down the line when it’s time for camp.” When that will be is up in the air. The Dolphins originally planned to have rookie camp next weekend, and several players had been at the Davie facility Friday. The players’ side has filed a brief arguing agai...

  After an awkwardly long wait throughout the first two rounds of the NFL Draft (and into the third), Ryan Mallett ended up getting picked by the New England Patriots with the 73rd overall pick. Despite the general unpleasantness of the moments leading up to his selection, Mallett really wound up in an excellent spot. So much of a person's pro career depends on the good fortune of going to a solid organization, with strong ownership and good coaches, and teams don't come much more solid than the Patriots. In the best case, Mallett works hard, learns from masters like Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and eventually inherits the starting QB position of a championship team (we'll call this the Joe Montana/ Steve Young scenario). If not that, it's still an excellent chance to learn from the best and possibly get traded to another team looking for a starter in a couple of years (we'll call this the Matt Cassell scenario). Either way, it's hard to imagine...

  Nepotism is alive and well - very well, in fact - with the Oakland Raiders. But the fact Stefen Wisniewski's uncle, Steve Wisniewski, was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection for the Raiders and is now their assistant offensive line coach is not the overriding reason why Oakland selected the All-America guard for Penn State with their first pick of the 2011 draft, No. 48 overall, last night. Sentimentality is nice at family reunions, but productivity is always an NFL team's first consideration. Oakland did not have a first-rounder in the draft, which opened Thursday night, having sent it to the New England Patriots last year in exchange for former Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour. "Just because Steve was there didn't necessarily mean it was going to happen," said Eddie Johnson, of Eastern Athletic Services, which represents Wisniewski. "Need dictated the pick more than anything. And, of course, the Raiders had a lot of knowledge about S...

  Pass rusher? Nah, forget that. The Patriots [team stats] coach likes what he has in-house. He likes his young group of linebackers so much that he didn’t feel compelled to make a move. At least, that’s what he claimed after last night’s proceedings. We’ll respectfully disagree. But we’ve been beating that drum for a while. So let’s move onto the pick that makes Belichick one of the shrewdest operators in the business. You want sizzle? You want spice? You want the ultimate roll of the dice? Try Ryan Mallett. While teams were scrambling for quarterbacks all over the board, jumping all over each other for kids who just might not be that good, Belichick merely swooped in during the third round and probably stole the best one of the bunch. Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick were all gobbled up before the Pats locked in and selected the somewhat controversial Arkansas quarterback with the 74th pick. Is this Tom...