April Fools Day really brings out the creativity in people, huh? Like football agent David Canter, who posted a series of tweets Monday afternoon explaining his client, Chargers safety Eric Weddle, had been traded to the Denver Broncos.

After every single person on Twitter – including several major news outlets –  reported on Canter’s revelation, it was then revealed that the whole thing was nothing more than just an April Fool’s Day prank.

Hahaha. So funny I forgot to laugh, right? Just the kind of thing I know I’ve always hoped my agent would do on Twitter..

Apparently, a few people also forgot that it would be really stupid to trade one of your best players to a division rival, but whatevs. I digress.

(For more on the prank, check this out).

Here’s a brief recap of other (more interesting) news from around the league:

Matt Flynn (Photo c/o Fansided).

Seattle Seahawks Trade Matt Flynn To Oakland Raiders: The dude that got paid A LOT of money to backup 2012 third-round draft pick Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Flynn – was traded to the Oakland Raiders on Monday afternoon, per Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer.

Also according to Glazer, the Raiders are looking to move veteran QB Carson Palmer to Arizona in exchange for a late round draft pick. Palmer – who is expected to earn $13 million this season – will reportedly restructure his contract to accomodate his new team. It was previously reported that Palmer was unwilling to take a pay cut in Oakland, leading many to assume that Palmer wanted OUT.

Also worth noting on the Flynn deal: According to NFL.com’s Albert Breer, Flynn’s contract was restructured to move $1.25 million forward one year while maintaining the two-year value of the contract, earning him $11.5 million over the course of those two years combined.

Aerys Sports’ own The Silver Lining discusses the impact of the Flynn trade in Oakland.

San Francisco Niners Trade for Colt McCoy: With Alex Smith now in Kansas City, Jim Harbaugh was in need of a capable backup for young Colin Kaepernick. Colt McCoy, come on down.

The San Francisco 49ers made the trade with the Cleveland Browns for Colt McCoy on Monday, with the Browns sending the QB  - along with a  2013 sixth round pick  - to the Niners for a 2013  fifth and seventh.

It was widely assumed that McCoy would be moving on from Cleveland after the Browns signed veteran QB Jason Campbell to a deal last week.

Other News:

• Former Raiders wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey has reached an agreement with the Indianapolis Colts. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the deal is for one year and up to $3 million dollars. Colts owner Jim Irsay also tweeted the news, because, ya know, that’s what he does.
• Twitter was up in arms on Monday morning after a scouting report from Pro Football Weekly’s Nolan Nawrocki harshly criticized rookie QB prospect Geno Smith. Nawrocki, who wrote a rather scathing and bizarre assessment of Cam Newton two years ago suggesting he had a “fake smile,” among other things,  called Smith’s worth ethic “marginal.” Nawrocki also offered a host of other criticisms of both Smith’s football skills and off-the field characteristics.
• The Arizona Cardinals released quarterback John Skelton. Skelton has been with the team three years, and started 17 games.
• According to his father, Robert Griffin II., Redskins quarterback RGIII is “ahead of schedule” with his knee rehabilitation and is apparently “just about ready” to start running on the field.

Kristine Reese is the senior NFL editor and New York Jets writer for Aerys Sports. Follow her on Twitter @KristineReese.

The Jacksonville Jaguars aren’t thrilled with the anonymous rip job on quarterback Blaine Gabbert.

For a brief history lesson, Gabbert was referred to as “Blame Gabbert” by an anonymous teammate, and an anonymous former coach said “Nothing’s ever his fault.”

Last week, Maurice Jones-Drew was not happy about about the comments.

“That pisses me off,” Jones-Drew told SI.com. “I guess I was raised differently. You don’t talk bad about someone unless you look him in his eyes and say it to his face. I was taught to be a man and put your name on it. Blaine doesn’t deserve that at all. It’s not all him. He’s a very capable quarterback.”

This week, Gabbert felt the need to stand up for himself.

“It pissed me off quite a bit, just because you learn to trust your coaches because you spend so much time with them,” Gabbert said.

“… When you have an anonymous source saying something that couldn’t be further from the truth, it pisses me off. Like I always said, ‘Put your name on it.’ If you’re going to say something to the media, say it to me. Say who said it. No need to hide behind a computer screen or an anonymous source name when you’re trying to make a point.”

Dolphins confirm new logo

Miami Dolphins new logo

The Miami Dolphins confirmed that the logo leaked last week (see picture) will in fact be their new logo.

“There’s a lot of history in this in that we went back to colors, the true aqua and the true orange that were part of the first 29 years of the franchise’s history,” said team CEO Mike Dee. “But the logo design itself and some other things you’ll see respect that tradition in the past but also have an eye on the 21st century Dolphins.”

Suh eliminated

I’m sure you all have been keeping tabs on Ndamukong Suh on ABC’s Splash, but if you have not, Suh was eliminated in the second week of competition.

Suh was eliminated after being in a dive-off with former soccer player Brandi Chastain.

Other news

• Osi Umenyiora has found a new home in Atlanta with the Falcons. According to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, the two parties have reached a deal on a two-year contract.
• It doesn’t seem like the Browns and Colt McCoy’s relationship will be lasting much longer if the team gets their way. NFL Network reports that the Browns have no plans to cut McCoy, but they are open to trading him.

And on one final note, enjoy Gronk doing Gronk-like things.

Have a happy Thursday!

Wow. Another great win for the Cleveland Browns! This makes three in a row. The Browns now have five wins on the season.

The game started out a bit rough; the Kansas City Chiefs got a touchdown on the first play from Jamaal Charles.

What bothered me the most about this play? The announcers.

This is football not baseball, but I think the announcers were confused because they said, “They [Chiefs] made a home run on the first pitch.” Later they also said “Jamaal Charles jumped out to the Browns as a home run hitter.”

Ok, back to football. A tale of two former Browns players also happened during the game. First you have Brady Quinn who was starting for the second week in a row for the Chiefs. He was met with apathy, because the Browns traded him, and in my opinion didn’t really give him a chance, but they don’t pay me so my opinion doesn’t matter. Then there was Peyton Hillis. Every time Hillis was on the field and especially when he touched the ball, he was booed by what sounded like everyone from the stadium west to Lakewood and east to University Circle.

In a lot of the games this past week, I saw a lot of missed pass interference calls, and so did the announcers. One friend commented to me, “Maybe they’re giving us a flashback to what the replacement refs were so we continue to appreciate them.” There was also a penalty on a Browns player that didn’t exist. Awkward, especially since they were trying to call it on Greg Little, who’s #15 and they called #46. Those numbers look nothing alike. Also, there were three separate penalties with nine minutes left in the third quarter. They took two touchdowns from Trent Richardson off the board for pass interference calls that the announcers (and me) never saw.

It occurred to me during the forth quarter that the Browns were winning, and by a pretty large margin. Then I made a brilliant observation, especially one that hasn’t happened in a while in Cleveland; the Browns were playing like a real NFL team. Then, as if that wasn’t enough for my Grinch heart to grow three sizes, there was a Colt McCoy sighting.  Brandon Weeden did a pretty good job all day. He was consistent and was 17/30 in passing and threw for 217 yards, but no touchdowns.

Fun random fact: Phil Dawson kicked three field goals during the game. Those field goals entered him into an elite group, the 300 FG Club. He’s made 300 field goals in his career, and now the 25th member to this elite group of kickers. Alright Phil! Also, Trent Richardson has nine rushing touchdowns on the season, tied with Jim Brown for total rushing TDs in one season, and it’s only Week 14. Equally as awesome!

Moral of the story: BROWNS WIN with a score of 30-7 and are now 5-9 on the season. Next up, the Redskins. With Robert Griffin III questionable after injuring his knee at the end of his game on Sunday. This should be interesting for sure.

Wade Davis

Lots of things going on the NFL today. Let’s discuss!

* Wade Davis Comes Out. Davis, who retired from the NFL seven years ago after time with the Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks, came out to OutSports.com earlier this week. Davis waited until after his retirement because he did not want to be known simply as a gay football player.

Understandable. He is a football player. That is exactly what he should be known for by his fans. Who cares who he loves?

According to LATimes.com, Davis, 34, now works for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which serves lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in New York City. ”It’s the first job since football that I wake up excited for work,” Davis said. “For these kids, the question isn’t whether they are shooting a basketball well, it’s whether they have a place to sleep tonight, whether they’ve eaten today.”

Here’s more from the LATimes.com.

* Complaint Combined Stating NFL Knew Of Brain Injury Link. According to NFL.com, a master complaint combining dozens of existing lawsuits that accuse the NFL of not providing information linking football-related head trauma to memory loss, brain damage, and other debilitating long-term health issues was filed in federal court in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Not a big surprise.

According to NFL.com:

The lawsuit names more than 3,000 plaintiffs, according to a legal source with direct knowledge of the situation, with approximately 2,500 players among that total, and the remainder being made up chiefly of players’ wives filing for loss of spousal support.

There were 86 lawsuits filed by more than 2,300 players in the last year, according to a league source, and a judge in Philadelphia was assigned to come up with one complaint.

The master complaint is not a class-action lawsuit, but rather is a standard part of multi-district litigation. Multidistrict litigation allows for the consolidation of lawsuits that have common factual issues, and allows for more efficient handling of pretrial issues, such as discovery requests and pre-trial motions.

Here’s more on the lawsuit. Let us know what you think of this lawsuit. Comment below.

* Trent Richardson likely to start for Browns. No big surprise right? Well, it’s never safe to assume, but Browns head coach Pat Shurmur said that it is safe to assume Richardson will be the starting running back for the Browns.  As for the quarterback issue Shurmur faces with Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy, a decision hasn’t been made as to who the starter will be but the coach would like to see a full body of work before making the decision.

Here’s a little about the Browns. Who do you think will get the starting QB job for the Browns? Weeden, McCoy or someone else. Why?

Miranda Remaklus is lead writer for Aerys Offsides. She’s also a contributor at Aaron Miles’ Fastball in the MLB section. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda. 

Via Wikipedia

It looks like Browns first round quarterback pick Brandon Weeden will be getting an opportunity to get the starting job for Cleveland this season.

Via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plains Dealer, Browns GM Tom Heckert said he expects Weeden to be quarterback right away.

Heckert spoke about it on Pro Football Talk Live, earlier on Wednesday.

While Heckert has all but anointed Weeden as starting QB, Browns President Mike Holmgren has offered different feelings. According to Cabot, Holmgren has said to various media outlets that Weeden will be competing for the job with both Colt McCoy and Seneca Wallace.

Weeden was selected with the 22nd overall draft pick in the NFL Draft, several weeks ago. At 28, Weeden is three years older than McCoy, but three years younger than Wallace.

One person already impressed with Weeden is future teammate and fourth overall pick, RB Trent Richardson. Richardson told NFL.com that he’s never seen a quarterback “sling it” like Weeden.

With rookie mini camps starting this weekend, this could be Weeden’s opportunity to show the Browns organization that he should seriously be considered for the starting quarterback job.

It’s the weekend of the NFL Scouting Combine and there is plenty going on around the league.

So let’s get started!

* Andrew Luck doesn’t know if he will throw at the combine this weekend. But, if the Indianapolis Colts, who are presumed to be the one’s drafting the quarterback with their first pick, have a say … he won’t! The Colt’s apparently told him to wait until Stanford’s Pro-Day on March 22. Will Luck listen? We shall find out! Here’s more on that story!

* Ryan Grigson is in the first months of being the new Colts GM. Chuck Pagano is the new head coach. Not a hard job to step into at all right! Peyton Manning? What to do with that first pick? Andrew Luck? RG3? Reggie Wayne? Robert Mathis? Jeff Saturday? Nooo! Not a big deal at all! Here’s a little more on what Grigson and Pagano have ahead of them.

* Looking for a little something more on Grigson and Manning. Here’s a story from ESPN on just that topic!

* Cleveland Browns coach Pat Shurmur talked with the media again Thursday. Here’s what the coach had to say:

“I wouldn’t say we’re hesitant to do anything,” Shurmur said during Thursday’s NFL Scouting Combine news conference. “We’re excited about the fact that we’re going to make our team better with this draft, and I think that’s the way we approach it. We’re not hesitant at all. …

“I think we’re willing (to move up). With two first-round picks (Nos. 4 and 22), we have flexibility. We can just stand pat and take two really fine players, guys that we hope would be starters for us. And then, obviously with two first-round picks, you have flexibility if you want to do something.”

It’s no confirmation that Cleveland will wheel and deal come draft day, but Shurmur has heard the rumors about chasing after Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, and the coach will not pass up the opportunity to spin the dynamic signal-caller through the car wash at this week’s combine.

Repeating yourself a second day in a row? Pat. We get it! You want RG3 in Cleveland! Now what are you gonna say to Colt McCoy!

* Apparently, it’s not fair to compare Cam Newton and RG3. So stop doing it, y’all! Yeah, OK sure! Here’s more on the comparison!

* The Buffalo Bills are set to meet with representatives for WR Stevie Johnson today to talk about his contract. Here’s more on Johnson and the Bills.

Miranda Remaklus is senior reporter for Aerys Offsides. She’s also a contributor to Aaron Miles’ Fastball. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda. 

This is Stanford's Andrew Luck. He is expected to do well at the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine and get drafted high in the 2012 NFL Draft. Obvious statements are obvious.

If you haven’t heard the NFL Scouting Combine is happening over the course of the next few days! Today – Feb. 28 to be exact!

The event is good for athletes who want to be in the NFL and it often lets those who would otherwise go unnoticed, get a ton of exposure and increase their possibility of getting drafted in a higher position than previously thought.

NFL.com compiled an interesting list of potential prospects that could receive some benefit from doing well in the combine. Here’s the list and I want to know your thoughts! Who do you have hopes for having a successful combine? Whether it’s RG3 or some guy from your college for whom I’ve never heard … Who do you think I should have my eye on?

Speaking of RG3,the Cleveland Browns’ head coach Pat Shurmur believes it is entirely too early to speculate the team will be able to add the quarterback in the draft. That’s nice. I bet current QB Colt McCoy, who sat out the last few games of the season due to a concussion, is relieved. Shurmur did say this of McCoy, “I told him to prepare himself to get as much out of this offseason as possible. I’m expecting him to attack this offseason and get as good as he can get within our system. He really works at things, and that’s going to help him.”

Shurmur said of RG3, “First of all, I’ve never met the man. That’s why this combine is going to be so important for me. He’s obviously very accomplished as a college quarterback, and as we go through it all, we’ll determine whether he’s what everybody says he is.”

What do you think fans … what’s this mean for Colt? Should he be nervous? Are national media type making too much of this situation? Will RG3 go to the Browns or will Colt be what they need next season? Comment!

In other NFL news:

Cincinnati Bengals RB Cedric Benson is looking for a new contract … but used an opportunity on SiriusXM to have an airing of grievances about the Bengals offense not being what it was when Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco were on the team.

Hey Cedric! Guess what, the Bengals were 4-12 in 2010 with Carson and Ocho. They were 9-7 and in the playoffs this season without them.

When you consider this comment and his off-the-field behavior, I doubt Ced will be back with the Bengals. Just my guess though! Thoughts? Share ‘em!

Miranda Remaklus is senior reporter for Aerys Offsides. She’s also a contributor at Aaron Miles’ Fastball in the MLB section. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda.

The Cleveland Browns won’t face any discipline for their handling of Colt McCoy’s injury after being hit by a train… err.. Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison. But you can certainly blame the team for the NFL’s new policy placing trainers at each stadium to monitor players for concussion like symptoms.

Here’s more about the Brown’s, McCoy and the league’s decision.

Next!

Check out this great story about San Francisco’s Braylon Edwards and how he kept his word with several Cleveland high schoolers.

Ladies, this is Shayne Graham. Please do a Google Image search! You. Are. Welcome.

Next!

After Billy Cundiff went down in Sunday’s contest with San Diego, Baltimore had to sign a new kicker and that lucky guy Shayne Graham. Here’s a little story about the Ravens new man!

Next!

“He throws a good ball.”

That’s what Indy Colts RB Joseph Addai had to say about Peyton Manning’s recent throwing sessions.

Addai added that Manning isn’t throwing anything deep, but his short stuff is good.

No, he said that, I’m not making it up! Promise!

Yup, Joseph, we miss Peyton too!

Next!

Hey! Aaron Rodgers was named the AP’s male athlete of the year. After leading Green Bay on a 19-game win streak, I would say he’s pretty deserving. Check this out!

Next!

Ken Whisenhunt doesn’t know. Or… He’s not telling!

Kevin Kolb or John Skelton? Who will be the starting quarterback. Even Head Coach Whisenhunt won’t tell!

“I don’t have to make a decision right now,” Whisenhunt told reporters simply inquiring!

Sheez!

Miranda Remaklus is senior reporter for Aerys Offsides. She’s also a contributor at Aaron Miles’ Fastball in the MLB section. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda. 

Simply because the State Farm Aaron Rodgers "Touchdown Dance" commercial cracks me up, and he had quite the performance Sunday, I give you Aaron Rodgers! Enjoy!

What a wild week this Week 9 was Football Fans! I will try to break down some of this action in case you missed anything!

Packers 45, Chargers 38

The Packers moved to 8-0 and Philip Rivers continued to have a bad day Sunday as he threw three interceptions.

Rivers didn’t have the worst day ever though as he was 26 of 46 on passing for  385 yards and four touchdowns.

That’s never enough when you are playing the Packers though.

Aaron Rodgers was 21 of 26 passes for 247 yards and ran his NFL-leading total to 24 TD throws. He had scoring passes of 5 yards to Jermichael Finley, 16 to Jordy Nelson, 21 to James Jones and 4 to Greg Jennings.

Falcons 31,  Colts 7

The Colts are 0-9.

They haven’t won a game yet.

Are they even trying anymore?

Atlanta’s Julio Jones had touchdown receptions of 50 and 80 yards to lead the Falcons in their third straight victory. It”s also the Falcons first road victory in a series that dates to 1966.

The Colts lone score came off an interception by Jerraud Powers who ran it back six yards for the score.

Dolphins 31, Chiefs 3

Matt Moore led the Dolphins over the Chiefs in their first victory of the season.

Moore was 17 of 23 passing for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Reggie Bush had 92 yards rushing and another score for the Dolphins.

Matt Cassel really couldn’t get started for the Cheifs despite a performance in which he went 20 of 39 passing for 253 yards.

Texans 30, Browns 12
Matt Schaub was 14 of 23 passing for 119 yards for the Texans and one interception while Arian Foster rushed for 124 yards, Ben Tate ran for 115 and both scored touchdowns.
Colt McCoy was 14 of 22 passing for 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the Browns.

Saints 27, Bucs 16

Drew Brees and his core of running backs led the Saints over the Bucs Sunday.

Brees was 27 of 36 passing for 258 yards, two touchdowns and one interceptions. Saints running backs rushed 195 yards after being held to 56 yards last week.

Josh Freeman was 27 of 37 passing for  281 yards and one touchdown.

49ers 19, Redskins 11

The San Francisco 49ers have a six game winning streak.

Alex Smith was 17 of 24 passing for 200 yards and one touchdown. Frank Gore ran for 107 yards for the Niners.

The Redskins’ John Beck was 30 of 47 passing for  254 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Bengals 24, Titans 17

Cincinnati rookie QB Andy Dalton was an impressive 22 of 39 passing for 217 yards and three touchdowns in a road victory for the Bengals, now 6-2.

The Titans dropped to 4-4 as QB Matt Hasselbeck was 4 of 41 passing for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Titans RB Chris Johnson had 110 yards from the line.

Miranda Remaklus is lead reporter for Aerys Offsides. She’s also a contributor to Aaron Miles’ Fastball in the MLB section and The Pulse. Follow her on Twitter, @missmiranda.

It's Tebow TIme!

NFL Fans everyone are going gaga over the announcement that Tim Tebow has been named the Week 7 starter for the Denver Broncos. Whether you love him or hate him, Tebow’s start on Sunday is shaping up to be one the more highly anticipated NFL debuts in quite some time.

I happen to like the guy and I think this is the right decision for Denver. But I’m not really here to talk about that, specifically. I am here to tell you that regardless of how you feel about Tebow as a real life quarterback, it’s time to start believing that he could be the answer for your Fantasy team.

If you missed out on the opportunity to pick up Tebow last week and for some bizarre reason he is still available in your league then run, do not talk, to your free agent pool and pick him up. Don’t be a silly. Even if you have Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers you can still use Tebow as a bye week replacement or as trade bait. Oh and by the way, Brady is on a bye this week so you will need someone anyway.

The obvious value is in Tebow’s mobility. The increasing value of “mobile” quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger immediately comes to mind when we make this argument. I won’t compare Tebow to any of these other players in “real life” but I will use them as examples of how high the ceiling can be from QBs that use both their arm and legs to score points.

The exact value of Tebow as a fantasy football starter still remains to be seen but we do have several 2010 games and 1/2 of a 2011 game at our deposal to evaluate how he will likely perform for you in week 7 against the 0-5 Miami Dolphins.

Tebow is averaging 0.45 fantasy points per snap played. Tom Brady, the best QB in Fantasy Football, is averaging 0.44 fantasy points per snap this year. In one half against the San Diego Chargers, Tebow scored 18 Fantasy points (standard scoring). Hard to argue against that.

For those of you who want to take a wait and see approach to Timmy, keep in mind that the Broncos head to Miami this week to face the winless Dolphins. Simulations have him scoring somewhere in the 16-21 point range (Throwing 215 yards and 1TD, Rushing for 16 yards. I would argue you could add a rushing TD to this). These projections seem somewhat conservative against a Dolphins team that has allowed 42, 21, 18, 19 and 20 points to opposing QBs. The next time he has a nice match-up this great is December 4th vs. the Minnesota Vikings.

The loss of Brandon Lloyd is raising a lot of questions about the lack of a deep threat in Denver. It is a legitimate concern for Tebow as a fantasy and real life QB but I still think he gets it done because, well, that is what Tebow does. Of course, I am not the owner of your Fantasy Football team and that is your decision to make. I just wouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to use him in this juicy of a match-up.

In other QB news, former Bengals QB Carson Palmer has been traded to the Oakland Raiders and has presented fantasy owners with another new free agent pick-up opportunity.

Palmer is a consistent total throwing yardage guy with a 1.6 TD per-game average in 2010. He could be a nice add, depending on your roster. I would definitely pick up Palmer if you have the room and wait and see how things pan out.

The latest work on Palmer is that he is unlikely to start this week as he is “not ready.” (Give him a break; he probably only had 3 practices with the team). Palmer will probably start Week 9 against the Broncos, would could be an excellent match-up for him.

So in summary, Tebow and Palmer are obvious pick-ups for obvious reasons: Potentially high-upside guys that could really help your team. More than that, it hasn’t exactly been easy going with some other QBs that you drafted to be consistent week-to-week starts : Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub and Josh Freeman are the biggest culprits. Fantasy owners have little time and patience to wait and see if these guys get back to their 2010 form.

2 other guys you might want to consider for spot starts:

• Jets QB Mark Sanchez, who is usually considered a low-end option but he’s actually averaging 17 points a week. He has 21.17, 30, -4, 18. 20 points respectively. (Baltimore game being the ugly game). This week is not a great match-up but he could be a good match-up play in the 2nd half.
• Browns QB Colt McCoy. McCoy has 16 fantasy points in his last 4 of 5 starts. Also, the Browns are throwing the ball 60% of the time and and have a very nice schedule in the 2nd half.