Filed under: Jets, NFL Free Agency, NFL Rumors

Here is what the Jets have planned for LaDainian Tomlinson:

-- He arrived from Minnesota here on Thursday night and the Jets welcomed him into his hotel room with a gift basket for his first child, expected this summer.

-- He had breakfast on Friday morning with a group of team executives that included general manager Mike Tannenbaum, head coach Rex Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

-- He was given a tour of the Jets facilities.

-- He met with coaches to talk about the Jets offense and the role he would play.

-- He will take a tour of the Jets' new stadium Friday afternoon, complete with a police escort to the facility.

-- He will have dinner with Jets staff at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.

At each step of the itinerary, the Jets are hoping to convince this future Hall of Fame back that they have the home he seeks, the place where he can finish his NFL career and the spot that gives him a solid chance to win his first Super Bowl ring.

 

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LaDainian Tomlinson is at the New York Jets’ training facility in Florham Park, N.J., meeting with team officials about joining the offense that ranked No. 1 in rushing last season. Tomlinson’s visit Friday comes a day after meeting with the Minnesota Vikings and leaving without a deal. He arrived in the New York area Thursday night.

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The Cleveland Browns filled a gaping offensive hole, signing free agent tight end Ben Watson to a multiyear contract. Watson spent the past six seasons with the New England Patriots, where he previously worked with Browns coach Eric Mangini and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll. The Browns did not release financial terms.

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The New York Jets and safety Brodney Pool, whose career appeared to be threatened by head injuries, agreed in principle to a one-year contract Thursday worth $1.3 million. The deal includes $1.2 million guaranteed, agent Ben Dogra told The Associated Press. Pool wasn’t given a second-round tender by Cleveland last week, making him an unrestricted free agent.

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Filed under: Broncos, NFL Police Blotter

Hopefully, peace comes now to the family and friends of Darrent Williams. His killer, Willie D. Clark, is no longer alleged, but guilty.

Can we now ask all professional athletes to pause and learn from this? To avoid putting yourselves and your money, status, talent and misguided machismo in these can't-win scenarios? You may think you've earned your way into bottle service in the VIP room at the club, behind the velvet rope or inside the darkened hallway, where your young, entitled nights can be enjoyed freely and recklessly.

You are targets. You are not invincible. You may cause trouble or invite it, simply because of who you are, who you are with or what you think you may be.

Please. Stop and think. Look at what can happen.

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Filed under: Jets, NFL Free Agency

The NFL's free safety wheel continues to spin this offseason. Less than a week after dealing Kerry Rhodes to Arizona -- who needed to replace Antrell Rolle -- the Jets found Rhodes' replacement in free agent Brodney Pool.

Pool reached an agreement with New York Thursday night. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Pool's deal will be for one year and $1.3 million.

Cleveland made Pool the 34th-overall pick in the 2005 draft and he developed into a steady starter for the Browns. Pool started all 16 games in 2007, 15 in 2008 and 10 last year. But he missed the final five games of 2009 with a concussion.

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Filed under: Steelers, NFL Quarterbacks

The news just gets worse and worse for Ron Mexico Roethlisberger. That's bad news for all of us who want to take the high road.

Anytime somebody is accused of a crime we invoke "innocent until proven guilty" and giving people the "benefit of the doubt." Then I read where Roethlisberger was in a bathroom last Friday night.

Not just any bathroom, but a women's bathroom.

At a college bar. At 2:30 a.m. With an underage 20-year-old coed.

This raises a few questions: Was the men's room full? Is Big Ben a closet transvestite? Did the girl request a private reenactment of Roethlisberger's 2006 motorcycle crash?

Yeah, that's it. Then she slipped, banged her head, and encountered Roethlisberger's DNA and suddenly got $$$ in her eyes.

 

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The Oakland Raiders released defensive tackle Gerard Warren on Thursday, letting go of yet another veteran this offseason. The decision to release Warren follows moves in the past week to cut ties with running back Justin Fargas, defensive end Greg Ellis and receiver Javon Walker. Those moves help the Raiders save money, as well as open up opportunities for young players to get more significant…

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The Minnesota Vikings wined and dined LaDainian Tomlinson on Wednesday night, then spent much of Thursday meeting with the star running back in hopes of pairing him with Adrian Peterson in what would be a big-name backfield. Tomlinson emerged from Vikings headquarters on Thursday evening with a purple Vikings jersey in hand, but pulled away in a black limousine without a deal in place.

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The Arizona Cardinals have re-signed offensive tackle Jeremy Bridges to a three-year contract and welcomed free agent linebackers Joey Porter and Larry Foote for a visit. Quarterback Derek Anderson, released by the Cleveland Browns this week, is scheduled to be in Tempe to meet with the Cardinals on Friday.

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