Rashard Mendenhall wasn't the first NFL player to walk away from the game way earlier than expected, and he certainly won't be the last. Now, though, we're starting to believe his decision to retire at the age of 26 could spur a trend that will increase in frequency and popularity in the years to come.  […]

It's looking more and more likely that Michael Vick will be available on the open market come Tuesday. And although the 33-year-old Vick is no longer the player he used to be, this is a quarterback-needy league, so Vick should expect to garner plenty of interest as a free agent.  In fact, there's a decent […]

"Upon further review" is a recurring segment in which This Given Sunday analyzes quirks and fascinating tidbits from the NFL's history books.  The first "real" free agency period took place only 21 years ago this spring.  Hard to believe, isn't it? Before that, players — or at least decent ones — just didn't switch teams.  […]

Jimmy Graham may have been slapped with the franchise tag, but that doesn't guarantee he'll be a member of the New Orleans Saints next season. In order to poach a franchise player with a non-exclusive tag from his original club, a team would have to give Graham a contract that the Saints wouldn't match while […]

If you're expecting us to arrive at a conclusive answer to this question, you're out of luck. The point we're going to attempt to make is that San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is incredibly difficult to — for lack of a better term — appraise.  Kaepernick is undoubtedly one of the game's most dynamic […]

Not a lot can hurt the shield, but I truly think the NFL would risk screwing with the justness of results if it were to move extra points back from the 2-yard line to the 25-yard line, which according to NFL.com's Judy Battista is being discussed,  That's probably a longshot, and at least a long […]

In 2012, 21 of the NFL's 32 teams used the franchise tag in order to prevent one of their key players from hitting free agency. At that point, the tag was as popular as ever, having been applied to 33 players over a two-year span post-2011 lockout.  Since then, the tag total has been chopped […]

The NFL makes a lot of money, guys. Like, we're talking 11 figures a year. Facebook money. WhatsApp money, but on an annual basis.  And per the collective bargaining agreement, the more money the league makes, the more money the players make. Not controversial or anything. But as a result, the salary cap — and […]

We should have gotten the clue when fullbacks starting dying out a decade ago. But we really didn't.  The last time we had a running back taken with the first or second pick of the NFL draft, it was 2006. That year, 23 backs ran for 1,000 yards. In 2013, only 13 backs were able […]

For the second year in a row, I'm beginning to wonder if the NFL draft has zero franchise quarterbacks. Despite the fact they're expected to be taken early, major questions surround Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater. The popular belief is that those guys have had their stock inflated by the fact so many […]

The first major step of the NFL draft process is complete. Here's who "lost" at this year's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. 1. Will Sutton: With fellow big guys tearing it up, Sutton disappointed with a 5.36 40-yard dash. In his defense, he's 303 pounds. But that might be the problem.  2. Cyrus Kouandjio: "Sluggish, […]

The first major step of the NFL draft process is complete. Here's who "won" at this year's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.  1. Teams in need of speed: Not only were the typically fast prospects running extremely fast, but the typically slow, fat dudes were even setting new benchmarks.

Last year at the NFL Scouting Combine, Colorado tight end Nick Kasa was asked during a team interview if he liked girls. That inappropriate question drew scorn from the NFL, which was reportedly planning on clamping down on such antics going forward.  This year, Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles was also asked about his relationship […]