Training camp got underway proper on Wednesday, but a slew of new teams joined the fray on Thursday (with more to come in the following days). There's plenty of news to pay attention to, including the Minnesota Vikings battle for the starting quarterback job, the Robert Griffin III-to-Desean Jackson connection and Alex Boone's holdout in San Francisco. Let's get right into it:
RG3, DeSean Jackson work out kinks as Washington opens camp
Matt Cassel is the No. 1 guy for the Vikings heading into camp, Robert Griffin III and DeSean Jackson aren’t quite on the same page just yet, and Ryan Clark is weird.
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
RGIII, Jackson not yet on the same page
Robert Griffin III to DeSean Jackson might just be a potent combination in the making, but the duo is still working out kinks in training camp. Griffin missed Jackson twice on deep balls -- Jackson's strength -- when one was broken up (it was under-thrown) and the other was dropped, according to Brian McNally of 106.7 The Fan. Griffin said the pairing is a "work in progress."
Jackson has been a very effective receiver since entering the league in 2008, and is coming off his best season yet. He had 1,332 yards and nine touchdowns off of 82 receptions last season, and smart money is on him and Griffin getting on the same page sooner rather than later.
Ryan Clark says things, does stuff
Also, there was some Ryan Clark silliness on the day. While Griffin and Jackson were working on the connection, Clark was ... doing the things below. Here he is going on strike:
And here he is as a cheerleader, because they typically around around at training camp:
Ryan Clark just nabbed a foam finger from a fan to cheer on his defensive teammates. I don't know. #Redskins pic.twitter.com/tAq5eLjC1N
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) July 24, 2014 Cassel begins camp as starter
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed on Thursday that his starting quarterback is Matt Cassel, according to Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Cassel is the No. 1 going into training camp and will take his share of the first-team snaps, but smart money is on all three of the competing quarterbacks spending some time with the starting receivers and starting offensive line.
Cassel is battling Christian Ponder, who lost his job last season and rookie Teddy Bridgewater. Cassel has shown a lot more than Ponder has over the course of their careers, and Bridgewater is obviously still learning the playbook. Still, many believe Bridgewater will end up being the starter at some point during the regular season. The battle throughout camp and the preseason should be very interesting.
Alex Boone officially holding out
While San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis reported to camp on Wednesday, right guard Alex Boone did not. Boone is holding out for a better deal, and for good reason: he's underpaid for what he brings to the table. The 49ers aren't known for rewarding holdouts, however, so which way this goes will be interesting. San Francisco placed him on the reserve/did not report list Wednesday and camp was underway without him on Thursday.
Houston reports to camp
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston isn’t happy with his contract, but he reported to camp on Thursday all the same. Houston carries a base salary of just $1.431 million for 2014, and is significantly underpaid for what he’s able to do on the field. He’s one of the top pass rushers in the league and is expecting a huge payday in 2015, given that he’s on the final year of his rookie deal.
It was previously reported that Houston planned to attend camp, but there were many holding their breath until confirmation actually came. If you need some proof that he was there in the flesh, here you go:
Ross the first major injury for Baltimore
Baltimore Ravens cornerback Aaron Ross sustained a significant injury on Wednesday. He tore his Achilles while running the conditioning test, making him the first major injury of camp for the Ravens, the team announced on Thursday. Unfortunately, an Achilles injury essentially guarantees Ross is headed for injured reserve and will miss the entirety of this season. He signed a one-year contract with the Ravens this offseason, so he'll likely be looking for a new team in 2015.
Baltimore needs depth at cornerback after Corey Graham left via free agency and joined the Buffalo Bills. Dominique Franks and Chykie Brown are now competing for the nickel spot, which Ross was also competing for and definitely could have won if not for this injury.
Brady throws a bomb
Training camp is a 100 percent accurate representation of how a team will look in the regular season. Don't let anyone ever tell you that what you see is not what you get when the season gets underway. Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and he's generally pretty impressive at training camp. We said "generally" for a reason:
Brady will get to where he needs to be, obviously. But let’s go ahead and refer to that throw as “not in midseason form.”
Evan Mathis won't hold out
Philadelphia Eagles left guard Evan Mathis will likely report to training camp on Friday. Mathis, an All-Pro at his position, wants a new contract and was mulling a potential holdout, but the news came out Thursday that he planned to attend camp when it got underway.
It’s unclear if the Eagles are discussing a new deal for Mathis or not. When talk of his potential holdout initially surfaced, there was also talk about the Eagles potentially listening to trade offers for him. Mathis did end up participating in voluntary offseason workouts, which likely went a long way to earn him some goodwill.
Patterson rocking Google Glass
Cordarelle Patterson would probably be asked to remove his eyewear in a movie theater. That’s because he showed up to Vikings camp today sporting Google Glass. We know Google is trying to get celebrities to wear them but we haven’t seen them on many NFL players, so it’s certainly possible that Patterson bought them himself. Here he is sporting them with a fan:
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