NFL Player News

Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said quarterback Geno Smith will take the first reps at OTAs, ahead of Michael Vick, reports the New York Daily News. Mornhinweg further said that Smith will get a few more reps than Vick.

"We brought Mike in to compete, to push Geno and to make Geno the very best he can make him," Mornhinweg said.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said quarterback Brian Hoyer is "ahead of schedule" in his return from ACL surgery. Hoyer has been cleared for 7-on-7 drills but not 11-on-11s yet, the coach said.

Hoyer, wearing a brace on his right knee, moved well at the team's minicamp Tuesday.

Wearing a brace on his surgically repaired right knee, Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer took reps at the team's minicamp and was moving well and showing great footwork, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He had surgery last October.

Hoyer is penciled in as the Week 1 starter, but the draft could change that.

The Ravens are "keeping an eye on" Texans quarterbacks T.J. Yates and Case Keenum, in case they're released following the draft, reports the Baltimore Sun. Baltimore is not committed to Tyrod Taylor as its backup quarterback.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford began learning the team's new offense this week. While the scheme likely won't be as pass-heavy and will include more short crossing routes, Stafford said Detroit won't sacrifice its aggressiveness, reports the Detroit News.

“We were a pretty aggressive offense last year,” Stafford said. “And I am sure with some of the guys we have on the outside to make plays and in the backfield, whether it’s throwing the ball 50 yards in the air or throwing it 5 yards and letting guys run with it, we’re always about trying to make big plays.

“We are trying to be smart with the ball, too, but big plays in this league lead to points which inevitably lead to wins."

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and free agent acquisition Golden Tate are using this week's voluntary minicamp to get accustomed to each other.

"Any time we miss a ball, I'm going straight to him, 'Hey, did I look back? Turn my head late? Did that feel right? What can I do better?'" Tate told MLive.com. "I think that's where it starts, just talking it out. I can't read his mind, he can't read my mind, so we're just talking it out."

Tate, the team's No. 2 receiver, said he's adjusting to Stafford's powerful arm. But he also praised Stafford's accuracy.  

"He's placed some balls on air and seven-on-sevens and I'm like, 'Wow, that's a great ball,'" Tate said. "For instance, I run a basic route, which is a 10-, 12-yard in, and he's put it right there, on the dot, where I can split the safeties and potentially score."

Newly signed running back Chris Johnson said last week that there will be a competition for the Jets' starting quarterback job between Michael Vick and Geno Smith in training camp this summer. According to Johnson, the battle will begin on even ground. 

"They didn't give me no indication," Johnson said when asked by ESPN Radio who had the inside track. "They said those two will battle it out in camp and may the best man win."

Vick is in his first season with the Jets after bottoming out with the Eagles last year. Smith is entering his second NFL season after starting 16 games for the Jets last year, throwing 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.

Rams coach Jeff Fisher figures quarterback Sam Bradford will at least throw during OTAs this spring, he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Bradford is working his way back from a torn ACL. According to Fisher, saying Bradford is ahead of schedule isn't just lip service. 

"You're not gonna hear a head coach say he has a player on his team that's not ahead of schedule coming off an ACL. Everybody says they're all ahead of schedule. But he is realistically way ahead of schedule. He's working hard," Fisher said. 

Fisher predicts Bradford will be ready to go for the start of the season and even progress to the next step of his career, but the Rams are still sniffing around quarterbacks. The Post-Dispatch says "signs point" to the team drafting a quarterback in May, if only for precautionary reasons since Bradford has two years left on his current deal. 

Now that the Giants have signed Josh Freeman to a contract, does it mean that second-year quarterback Ryan Nassib will be off the roster soon? 

The Newark Star-Ledger believes the Giants should assess Nassib's value going into the draft considering the lack of great quarterback talent available. A team looking for a quarterback-of-the-future could make an offer. 

Nassib had 19 pass attempts during the preseason last August and wasn't active for a single regular-season game. 

The Packers have signed free agent quarterback Matt Flynn, reports ESPN.

Flynn started five games in 2013, including four for the Packers (the other start was in Oakland), and completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,392 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He started in Green Bay when Aaron Rodgers was out with a collarbone injury.

He is expected to be No. 2 on the depth chart behind Rodgers again.