The Oakland Raiders have agreed to contracts with third-round offensive

Kevin Mawae, the president of the NFL Players Association, told The Associated Press on Sunday that the union is aware of developing tests, one of which is a blood test that could detect HGH for up to 14 days. But he said the union believes the test that is currently available, which has only about a 48-hour window of detection, "is not completely reliable."

TUCKER, Ga. - Michael Vick was a no-show at his celebrity golf tournament Sunday after probation officials restricted travel for the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback this weekend.

Vick spokeswoman, Judy Smith, said that Vick's travel has been at the discretion of his probation officer since he was released from prison in a federal dogfighting case in May 2009.

THIBODAUX, La. - Archie Manning has long wondered what it would be like to experience "the madness" that would envelop New Orleans if the Saints won a Super Bowl.

In some ways, he's still wondering.

DALLAS - Ex-Dallas Cowboys linebacker Eugene Lockhart will continue to remain free on supervised release while he waits for his mortgage fraud trial to begin.

Lockhart lawyer Jay Ethington said Friday that the court tightened restrictions on Lockhart's travel. He must now clear all trips ahead of time with authorities rather than check in from the road.

ROSCOMMON, Mich. - Detroit Lions president Tom Lewand pleaded guilty Friday to driving while impaired, two weeks after he was pulled over in northern lower Michigan for driving erratically near a bar.

Lewand was sentenced to six months of probation with US$870 in fines and costs, according to court administrator Cynthia Esckilsen of the 83rd District Court in Roscommon.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Purple drank has being quietly growing in popularity the last decade. Now it has reached the NFL.

 

As the rebuilding Tampa Bay Buccaneers near the beginning of training camp on July 30th, the performance of second-year quarterback Josh Freeman will be critical to the club's fortunes in 2010. In his rookie season, Freeman had some predictable inconsistencies for a team that suffered through a 3-13 campaign.

 

There is little doubt that Freeman will take some strides this season. However, the lack of some impact receivers and a marginal offensive line will make it difficult for Freeman to become one of the better signal-callers in the conference. Here's a look at how the projected 16 starting quarterbacks in the NFC stack up heading into 2010: