Let the Aaron Rodgers era begin

As reported everywhere this morning, the great Brett Favre has decided to hang up his cleats. This news follows one of his best seasons on record, which was even more impressive given how his skills seemed to diminish the last few years. Favre and the Packers came within one game of the Super Bowl.

The news also comes conspicuously after the Packers failed — again — to employ the services of wide receiver Randy Moss. Favre advocated acquiring Moss last year before he was traded to the Patriots and again this offseason when Moss became a free agent. According to reports, the Philadelphia Eagles came closest to luring Moss away from New England before Moss decided to stay with the Pats.

Collusion in the NFL?

This report just came across RotoWorld:

Kerry Collins, speaking on WFAN, said that the Titans kneeled down at the end of the Colts-Titans game because they knew the Colts wouldn’t call a timeout.

Collins said that the Titans originally called a running play, but he was told over his headset that the Colts wouldn’t call a timeout to potentially force Tennessee to punt with less than 20 seconds left. Pressed further, Collins said the Colts and Titans coaches had “an agreement,” which is sure to raise collusion questions. Clearly it would have been a long shot for the Colts to win, but Browns fans won’t enjoy hearing this one.

I know this does not have much fantasy relevance other than maybe introducing the term collusion to some fantasy owners. But if I was a Browns’ fan, I would be a little upset. Not much, though, because the Browns should have taken care of business in week 16 against the Bengals.

Sean Taylor update

***UPDATE: Police have arrested four men in connection with the murder of Sean Taylor, and apparently one of the men has made some sort of confession.***

Three detained in Sean Taylor’s murder investigation

Police have detained three men who may have been involved in the murder of Washington Redskins’ safety Sean Taylor.According to Local10.com, police removed evidence from Taylor’s house that may link at least two of the detained men to the scene of the crime.

Click here for the ESPN.com story.

Here are some other links regarding the latest information on the death of Sean Taylor:

• Arizona cornerback and Taylor’s life-long friend Antrell Rolle thinks someone was out to get Taylor.
• Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon discuss the death of Sean Taylor.
• The Redskins may honor Taylor on the field this Sunday in a special way.

Larry Johnson inks extension with Chiefs

Larry Johnson owners can breathe a collective sigh of relief: LJ has signed a five-year contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs.

This move means LJ will stay near the top of the first-round in most drafts.

Warning: SportsCenter is going to suck tonight

Michael Vick accepted a plea deal today and will face jail time and potentially serious ramifications from the NFL.

In other news, SportsCenter and NFL Total Access will totally blow tonight because of all the Vick coverage.

Chester Taylor injured in training camp

Minnesota Vikings’ runningback Chester Taylor was carted off the practice field this morning after apparently injuring his arm/shoulder.

Taylor was hit hard after catching a pass and seemed to be in pain after the collision.

The injury bug, which plagued wide receivers in training camp last season, seems to be striking the runningback position this year. In addition to Taylor, Atlanta’s Warrick Dunn (back) and San Francisco’s Frank Gore (hand) both are sidelined at least four weeks due to injury.

UPDATE: Taylor’s injury does not appear to be as serious as first thought.

Fantasy Spin

The extent of the injury is unknown, but this does damage to Taylor’s draft stock. On the flip side, Vikings rookie runningback Adrian Peterson may get to step into the starting role a little sooner than expected.

Rumor: Larry Johnson to the Packers

A former Packers’ executive hinted that the Green Bay Packers may add a big-name offensive talent before training camp starts, which makes us wonder: Is he talking about Larry Johnson?

Johnson is by far the marquee name on the market right now. Neither the Chiefs nor Packers have publicly acknowledged any trade talk, though there has been much speculation.

Johnson said last week he is preparing for a hold-out. After carrying the ball an NFL-record 416 times last season, Johnson is lobbying for a long-term deal. He currently is schedule to make $1.7 million this season. 

If the Chiefs cannot make any headway with Johnson’s contract issues, a trade would not be out of the question.