Jones Out

Can things get much worse for the Detroit Lions. The Lions are mired at the very bottom of the NFL standings and are on the verge of ending up with the first pick at the 2007 draft. Now comes word that emerging RB Kevin Jones faces a long rehabilitation after he undergoes surgery for a serious foot injury. Not only is Jones out for the rest of the year after being placed on IR, but Detroit fears that he could also miss all or part of the 2007 season. Jones was diagnosed with a Lisfranc-fracture dislocation, although he is going to get a second opinion from a foot specialist before taking any action. The loss of Jones likely won’t affect what the Lions do with their first pick at the upcoming draft, but it could them in the market for another body at RB with a later first-day pick this spring.....


With just three weeks to go in the 2006 regular schedule, Detroit hangs on to the #1 pick in the hypothetical 'if the draft were held today' selection order for the 1st round of the 2007 draft. However, because the Lions combined opponents had a pretty good week this past week, the gap those combined opponents W-L percentages of the Lions and Oakland, the other team with just two wins to date, closed significantly. Indeed, the Raiders combined opponents have now won just two more games than those of the Lions, down from a gap of 6 last week. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has moved up to the 3rd overall pick, while Arizona slips a spot to 4th after upsetting Seattle on Sunday. And Houston and Washington are currently tied for the 5-6 spots.....


If Southern California head coach Pete Carroll ever needed a reason to spurn any offers to return to the NFL coaching wars he may have gotten in the past few days when all but one Trojan juniors thinking about entering the 2007 draft indicated that they would be back at school next fall. All-American OT Sam Baker, for example, reportedly told the LA Times on Saturday that he would be returning to school for his senior year next fall, while DE Lawrence Jackson reportedly told Trojans’ head coach Pete Carroll of his decision to stay late last week. Both were considered to be potential mid-to-late first round prospects for the upcoming draft if they did opt to turn pro this winter. Fellow juniors OLB Keith Rivers, DT Sedrick Ellis and RB Chauncey Washington had earlier all also indicated they would be returning for their respective senior campaigns. That leaves only star WR Dwayne Jarrett as the Trojans' only draft-eligible junior who might turn pro. Jarrett, who could go as high as a top 10 pick this coming April, has said he won’t make his decision until after the Rose Bowl game. Underclassmen have until January 15th to file paperwork with the NFL in order to become eligible for the upcoming draft. Meanwhile, Michigan, the Trojans’ Rose Bowl opponents also got some good news with top juniors QB Chad Henne and RB Mike Hart indicating that they would be back in maize next fall. The Wolverines, though, are waiting for official word from juniors OT Jake Long and DT Alan Branch on their immediate plans. Branch, who could very well be the first defensive player off the board were he to leave school, while Long is a top 10-15 candidate.....

Jon Gruden said Monday he is confident he will be the Bucs coach 'for the long haul.' To prove his point, Gruden will start rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski on Sunday at Chicago, though he acknowledged veteran Tim Rattay might give the Bucs a better chance to beat the Bears.....

Only three games remain this season, and Shell didn't sound too optimistic about Moss making a swift comeback. Therefore, this brings about the possibility that Moss has played his final game as a Raider... Moss still has two years left on a contract that calls for him to earn $9.75 million in base salary next season and $11.25 million in '08. The Raiders' options are to get Moss in the proper frame of mind, trade him or release him without any compensation.....

Troy Vincent is 35, and hamstring injuries have limited him to just four games this season. However, Washington's strong safety plans to return to the Redskins next season.....

The Falcons have rookie tailback Taurean Henderson on the practice squad, but they also could sign a veteran free agent as insurance in case Dunn, Atlanta's leading rusher, or Norwood (550 yards) can't play. Some of the available running backs include Lee Suggs, Duce Staley, Jonathan Wells and Quentin Griffin.....

With Clemens jumping him in the hierarchy and Pennington playing healthy and due a $2-million roster bonus, it's unlikely Ramsey will be with the Jets beyond this season.....








NFL FIRST ROUND DRAFT ORDER 12-13-06
1 Detroit
2 Oakland
3 Tampa Bay
4 Arizona
5 Houston
6(1)Washington
7 Cleveland
8 St. Louis
9 San Francisco
10 Green Bay
11 Minnesota
12 Carolina
13 Miami
14 Pittsburgh
15 Buffalo
16 Tennessee
17 Atlanta
18 New York Jets
19 Philadelphia
20 Kansas City
21 (1)Denver
22 New York Giants
23 New England (from Seattle)
24 Dallas
25 Jacksonville
26 Cincinnati
27 New Orleans
28 New England
29 Baltimore
30 Indianapolis
31 Chicago
32 San Diego

(1) Denver and Washington could flip-flop picks depending on how far they are apart to complete multi-player deal with Atlanta.