| Angling for Johnson and the top quarterbacks
Lost in attention surrounding the NFL's No. 1 bad boy, Pacman Jones, are the preparations the Oakland Raiders are making at No. 1.
Very quietly, Oakland hosted a visit Wednesday with Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson, whom some around the league think will be the top overall choice.
Asked what the Raiders thought of his client, Calvin Johnson's agent, Bus Cook, said Thursday, "Instead of being a 10, he's an 11."
Though their admiration for Calvin Johnson is undeniable, the Raiders are hardly through looking.
Next week they will host a visit with JaMarcus Russell, the other player many people around the league expect to be the top overall choice. The visit is sure to command more attention than Calvin Johnson's, which got lost in the coverage of this week's meeting between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Pacman Jones.
For all the people that expect Calvin Johnson to be the No. 1 pick, more expect JaMarcus Russell to land with the Raiders. As one NFL insider said Thursday, "Oakland can take Calvin Johnson, but he can't throw himself the ball there, can he?"
More often than not, visits are not worthy of much discussion or speculation. But sometimes, the player and team are so intriguing, it is hard to overlook their get-to-know-you session.
This happens when the Ohio-born quarterback Brady Quinn visits the Ohio-based quarterback-needy Cleveland Browns, as happened over the past 24 hours.
Brady Quinn's visit to Cleveland extended from Wednesday night into Thursday, and included a meeting with Browns owner Randy Lerner, who also attended the quarterback's workout at Notre Dame.
Brady Quinn also is scheduled to visit the Detroit Lions, the Washington Redskins, the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins. Outside of his trip to the Lions, the team that is scheduled to pick No. 2, no visit will create as much intrigue as Brady Quinn's to the Browns.
Some NFL general managers believe there has been a strong push from upper management to draft a quarterback; Lerner has steadfastly denied it, calling such speculation ludicrous and ridiculous.
Yet there is a widespread thought around the league that Cleveland will wind up drafting a quarterback, either Brady Quinn or LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
And Cleveland is doing its due dilligence on both. Before Brady Quinn arrived at the Browns complex, JaMarcus Russell visited first. JaMarcus Russell spent Wednesday meeting with Browns officials, some of whom already knew him plenty well.
Browns general manager Phil Savage has known JaMarcus Russell for years, since the quarterback attended the general manager's summer football camps in Mobile, Ala. But JaMarcus Russell had a chance to get to know other members of the Browns organization.
Cleveland also is taking other steps should it decide to go in a different direction. Earlier this week, the Browns hosted a visit with Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson, who received the same scrutiny that Brady Quinn did.
But nobody gets the attention that quarterbacks do. Brady Quinn gets some now, JaMarcus Russell gets more next week.
DON'T SHOW ME THE MONEY
At a time when many players make decisions on where to play primarily for the money, one player has done just the opposite.
Free-agent cornerback David Macklin, who has started 68 games in his eight NFL seasons in Indianapolis and Arizona, rejected more lucrative offers from the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles to sign a one-year, $760,000 deal with the Washington Redskins on Thursday.
Macklin's reasoning? He grew up in Newport News, Va. -- where he actually guarded Allen Iverson in a high school basketball game -- and was a big Redskins fan. Macklin always admired Redskins coach Joe Gibbs, and always wanted to play for him.
Now he has his chance after saying no to Kansas City head coach Herm Edwards and Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid. Macklin will go home, play for Gibbs and, if he performs well, will have the chance to become a free agent again next year and then try to make some of the money he is now leaving on the table.
A GOODBYE FOR GRANT
Now that the Seahawks have waved goodbye to Grant Wistrom and his 53 career sacks, the defensive end is waving goodbye to football.
The 30-year-old Wistrom, whom the St. Louis Rams drafted with the sixth overall pick in 1998, plans to retire. He always could change his mind this summer, once training camp arrives and he stays home, but those who know him say that Wistrom is finished.
After nine years in the NFL, and another four at Nebraska, Wistrom has played enough football and made enough money to turn his back on the game.
Other teams have contacted him to see if he would be interested in returning to the game, but right now, Wistrom has no desire. Nor does he need to have one. Wistrom signed a hefty six-year contract with the Seahawks in March 2004 and has saved enough not to have to play.
Wistrom was known for playing at such a high energy level that, at this point, he's happy not only to turn it down but to turn it off.
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