Mandatory minicamp kicks off this week for 25* NFL squads. Here's what the Around The NFL gang is keeping an eye on:
Will Manziel show up?
Johnny Manziel might have his personal life in a better place this spring, but he remains a major question mark as an NFL quarterback. Reviews of his performance during OTAs were not glowing, with one ESPN reporter calling Manziel a "fish out of water" in Cleveland's new offense. "The Browns aren't trying to reinvent Manziel," Tony Grossi wrote. "They are, by all appearances, moving on." Josh McCown is the heavy favorite to start Week 1, which has turned Manziel into the rare first-round underdog. Will we see some fight from The Artist Formerly Known As Johnny Football? -- Dan Hanzus
Buffalo's quarterback quagmire
It's no surprise Bills fans are eating up season tickets at a record pace.
There's true reasons for optimism from the arrivals of coach Rex Ryan and running back LeSean McCoy to a deep defensive front that might be the best league-wide. Still, the depressing competition under center between Matt Cassel, Tyrod Taylor and EJ Manuel tempers optimism. Despite the early glowing reports on Taylor, Ryan got real with reporters last week, saying: "It's safe to say we won't have LeBron at quarterback."
The veteran Cassel looked especially "brutal" during OTAs last week, displaying shaky decision-making and missing open wideouts deep. Minicamp alone won't answer the question, but the Bills need one of these passers to separate from the pack. Until they do, those season-ticket holders are bound to wind up not getting their money's worth. * -- Marc Sessler*
Sam Bradford's health still a concern in Philly?
All eyes at Eagles camp should be glued on Sam Bradford. Philly has brought the signal-caller along slowly in OTAs as he recovers from a second ACL tear. Bradford split first-team work on 7-on-7s with Mark Sanchez earlier this month, indicating a positive step forward. Bradford's mobility at this stage will be one thing to watch, as a beat reporter compared him to a jugs machine during workouts. How much work Bradford gets could be a good indication of how he's progressing towards training camp. The rest of the quarterback rotation could give us a glimpse as to whether Tim Tebow or Matt Barkley has the inside track at making the roster by eventually winning the No. 3 gig later this summer. * -- Kevin Patra*
Closer look at big-name rookies
Because I don't follow college football, I'm looking forward to learning more about the top rookies -- especially the loaded wide receiver class. Minicamps are essentially meaningless for established veterans, offering little more than annual tropes about the injured player in the best shape of his life or the jitterbug scatback running circles around defenders that aren't allowed to hit until August. * -- Chris Wesseling*
Injuries
This is ghoulish and somewhat Sessler-like, but what really matters that is going to happen this week other than injuries? Put 25 teams on the field for multiple practices a day and news is going to happen. Sure, I'm curious whether Joseph Randle is getting first team snaps over Darren McFadden. And it's interesting to see how other depth charts are starting to shake up. But these minicamp sessions are mostly for teaching. August is for evaluation. That's when jobs are won. For this week, teams and players just hope to stay out of the headlines because that usually means something has gone wrong. -- Gregg Rosenthal
*The Seattle Seahawks were docked two minicamp practices for previous instances of excessive contact during non-contact practices. Players and coaches will conduct three days of meetings this week, but will only be on the practice field on Thursday.
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