The Cincinnati Bengals will be the next team to be featured on HBO's Hard Knocks, as reported early Saturday. While many teams around the league are wary of the documentary, the Bengals are likely to announce soon their involvement with the show. This would be their second appearance: they were featured in 2009 as well.
NFL news roundup: Bengals on ‘Hard Knocks’, Victor Cruz wants to get paid
The Cincinnati Bengals are likely the next team to be featured on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” and Victor Cruz is after at least $9 million per season in his new contract. That, plus everything else you may have missed from Saturday.
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Cincy Jungle examined why the Bengals might have accepted the opportunity to be on the show a second time:
In accepting NFL Films’ offer for the second time in the last five years, the Bengals appear to be expressing confidence in the ability and focus of their young players.
Here’s what else you might have missed from Saturday:
Green Bay Packers running back Alex Green was put on notice when the team drafted Eddie Lacy and Johnathan Franklin in the 2013 NFL Draft, but Green is being given a chance to show that he really wasn't healthy in 2012. Green started and finished the Packers' minicamp as the starter, and he will likely enter training camp in the same role in late July.
New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz signed his restricted free agent tender on Friday, but only because he wanted to meet a deadline. He still wants a new contract, and it was reported on Saturday that Cruz was looking for no less than an average of $9 million per season. That's an awful lot of money for a slot receiver.
That said, as noted at Big Blue View, the Giants could be risking a disastrous situation next season, one in which both Cruz and No. 1 receiver Hakeem Nicks would hit free agency at the same time:
The Giants currently have slightly more than $3.3 million in salary cap space for 2013, including the Cruz tender. If Cruz and the Giants are unable to come to a deal it looks like they will head into next offseason with both Cruz and Hakeem Nicks eligible to head into free agency.
This year saw one of the best draft classes at safety in some time. D.J. Swearinger was among that class, going at No. 57 overall (second round) to the Houston Texans. Swearinger might have been a first-round pick in a weaker class, and he was considered a future starter in the lead-up to the draft. Now news out of Houston's minicamp is that Swearinger is impressing and could see a lot of playing time early on, especially given Ed Reed's injuries.
The Philadelphia Eagles brought in Chip Kelly as their new head coach, and he plans on running plenty of read option plays with Michael Vick as the quarterback. New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said on Saturday that he isn't worried about the read option, and that his team will have no trouble defending it. He likened it to the wildcat offense, which took the NFL by storm but has since faded away.
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