Broncos Release Arrington

The Denver Broncos are less one running back as of Wednesday evening. J.J. Arrington failed a physical and the Broncos released the four year veteran.

The departure of Arrington means even more potential carries for first-round draft pick, Knowshon Moreno who will be competing for touches with veterans LaMont Jordon and Correll Buckhalter. After an injury plagued 2008 season Denver now seems to have a stable full of quality running backs.

26 year old Arrington signed a four-year, $10 million contract in March, but he had knee surgery a month earlier that prevented him from offseason camps. Over Arrington’s NFL career he rushed for 183 times for 654 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 91 receptions for 693 yards and two touchdowns. He was also a strong kick returner.

Rod Smith Honored

Former standout Denver Bronco wide receiver Rod Smith was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday as part of the divisional class of 2009 that includes players and coaches from Division I-AA, II and NAIA.

Smith played football in college for Missouri Southern State from 1990-93 and signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent. In college, he set six school records. He finished his collegiate career with 158 receptions for 3,122 yards and 34 touchdowns, which is currently third all-time in Division II.

He retired last year as the Broncos’ career reception leader. He holds Broncos’ franchise records for career receptions (849), receiving yards (11,389), touchdown catches (68) and overall touchdowns (71). He also leads all undrafted players in NFL history in every major career-receiving category.

Rod Smith is the Bronco’s record holder for career receptions with 849, receiving yards with 11,389, touchdown receptions with 68 and overall touchdowns with 71. He also is the leader for all undrafted players in NFL history for each major career receiving category.

The Super Bowl In London

The Super Bowl In London?

A recent article by Ross Tucker from Inside the NFL of SI.com raised an interesting point. He discusses the idea of having the Super Bowl in London. He raises some excellent points. It could be a real money maker for the NFL by expanding the market. It could also be good for the game of American football by showcasing the NFL’s best on a European stage.

The NFL having a Super Bowl on foreign soil, most likely London, is inevitable and I don’t have any problem with it. That said, I know a lot of you think having the crown jewel of American sporting events outside the country is enough to make your skin crawl. But I think that line of thinking is shortsighted and unrealistic. You have to look at the NFL as a business.

The league is as popular as ever, as evidenced by the 39 million people who watched the draft last month. Yes, that’s right, more people watched the annual selection meeting of college players than they did playoff action or marquee matchups in the other big American professional sports. How much more popular can the NFL get in the United States?

Read the rest of the article here.

Broncos Sign Darius Walker

The Denver Broncos have signed another running back to their full running back stable. The most recent pick up is Darius Walker who signed a two year deal according to Rosenhaus Sports.

Walker played last season for the Huston Texans’. He is a former star running back for Notre Dame who was an undrafted free agent who had limited playing time with the Texans in 2007 when he rushed for 264 yards on 58 carries. In 2008 he split carries in Houston and St. Louis. In a victory over the Broncos on December 13, 2007, Walker ran for 66 yards on 13 carries.

Darius joins the total of eight running backs in Denver. The other running backs currently on the roster are Knowshon Moreno, J.J. Arrington, LaMont Jordan, Correll Buckhalter, Peyton Hillis, Ryan Torain, and rookie undrafted free agent, Kestahn Moore.

Knowshon Moreno Wears Number 27

After wearing the jersey number 24 as a Georgia Bulldog, Knowshon Moreno has picked his jersey number that he will wear as a Denver Bronco. Champ Bailey is currently wearing his former jersey number so he needed to select a new number. Moreno requested and was granted the right to wear jersey number 27.

Choosing and being granted the right to wear that jersey is a big deal. That’s because the last player to wear that number for the Broncos was cornerback Darrent Williams, who was killed in a drive-by shooting January 1^st, 2007, shortly after playing in the Broncos’ last game of the regular season.

Moreno personally called Rosalind Williams, Darrent’s mother, to ask her permission to wear the number. The mother granted permission to wear the jersey and said that she also plans on asking Knowshon if he will donate a few hours of his time each month to the Darrent Williams Teen Center, which opened in a low-income part of Denver last May to honor Williams’ memory.

Larry Foote Wants To Be A Lion

Seldom does a player who is a Superbowl Vet who is considered to be a player in the top tier of their position wish to go to a team with a record as bad as the Detroit Lions.

But that is the case in linebacker Larry Foote. The Steelers released Foote this week to make room in the salary cap and Foote said that he wants to come back to his hometown and help make the Detroit Lions a better football team.

Foote met with the Lions management and coaches on Tuesday and was offered a one-year deal. They just have to iron out the final payment schedule and guaranteed portion of the deal tonight. Foote said, “It’s like 90% done.”

Larry Foote should step in and be the starting middle linebacker for the Lions new 4-3 defense of coach Jim Schwartz. Foote was a middle linebacker for the Steelers 4-3 defense.

“They have an experienced coaching staff,” he said. “(General Manager) Martin Mayhew, me and him hit it off real good. Those guys seem like they’re moving in the right direction. They’re bringing some guys in who want to fight and play. I was impressed. I would love to be here long-term if things move in the right direction. I’m just excited starting off fresh this season. I’ve never been afraid to compete.”

If this goes through the Lions have made a big upgrade in their defense which ranked 31st in total defense.

Knowshon Moreno High School Highlights

Knowshon Moreno was an outstanding prep star at Middletown South high School in Belford, New Jersey. While there, he led his team to three Central Jersey Group III championships. Knowshon ran for 1,629 yards on only 153 carries and scored 28 touchdowns in 11 games his senior season. Moreno finished his high school football career with 6,268 career rushing yards and 128 touchdowns.

Entering college he was ranked the number 10 running back and number 73 prospect according to Rivals.com. He was also ranked the number 9 running back by Scout.com and was a PrepStar 200 pick. EA Sports named Knowshon an All-American.

Check out Knowshon Moreno’s moves for yourself from his high school days.

Denver Broncos Minicamp

The Denver Broncos rookies get their first taste of NFL minicamp less than a week after getting drafted. While there were some highlights, there were also a lot of mistakes.

Coach McDainiels is not loading the team up to heavy, he said, “”We’re not going to run a bad practice because we’re trying to do too much with guys that don’t know what to do yet” He understand that rookies are going to make mistakes, but at the same time he knows that if a rookie is not ready to play, than they are not going to play.

Coach Josh Daniels also said, “But you know, there’s enough to look at out there, and there’s some promise out there. We’ll get better, and I’m sure we’ll make some more mistakes tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon. They’re trying. They’re working hard, but they’ve got a long way to go.”

To help prepare for minicamp, rookie wide receiver Kenny McKinley and running back Knowshon Moreno stayed up late studying the playbook

Friday was the fourth official off-season practice for the veterans. Over the weekend, there will be two more sessions. There will also be a passing camp later in the month and a full team camp that goes from June 12-14.