Panthers sign second-round pick Brown

DEs Everette Brown has agreed to a four-year, $4.3 million deal that includes $2.7 million in guaranteed money, according to Scout.com. Brown, Tyler Brayton and Charles Johnson will compete for the starting job opposite Julius Peppers. Brayton started last year for the Panthers and did a pretty decent job after coming over from Oakland. But he's not a dominant pass rusher and the Panthers will rely on Johnson and Brown to handle that duty. Johnson, a former third-round pick, had six sacks last season while the Panthers traded away a first-round pick in 2010 to get Brown in the second round of this year's draft. The big question will be who'll start, although you can expect all three to see action opposite Peppers.

Cassel gets $28 million guaranteed

QB Matt Cassel has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Chiefs, which was first reported by the Kansas City Star. Several websites reported the deal to be for six years and $63 million, with $28 million in guaranteed money. Cassel will make $40.5 million during the first three years of the deal. He had been due to play for the one-year, $14.65 million tender he has signed as the Patriots' franchise player before being dealt to Kansas City.

Favre throws in front of Vikings OC Bevell

QB Brett Favre performed a "rigorous" throwing session that included about 100 passes in front of Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell last week, according to ESPN.com. The report said Bevell, a personal friend of Favre's since Bevell was an offensive assistant for six years in Green Bay, traveled to Hattiesburg, Miss. to watch the quarterback throw. Favre apparently indicated that he wants to play for Minnesota this season, but only if his surgically-repaired right shoulder is 100 percent. That means he might not make a final decision until just before the Vikings open training camp July 29.

Key Rookies at Big Disadvantage

One of the advantages of playing in the Pac-10 or the Big Ten is an increased opportunity at the national title because they don't play conference championship games that knock off contenders last in the season.

On the flip side, however, is that once players from many teams in those conferences reach the NFL, they start off behind the 8-ball. Because many Pac-10 and Big Ten schools are on the quarters system, their graduation dates aren't until June. And because rookies can't return to their teams until May 15 or following their school's spring semester concludes, many are missing out on key Organized Team Activities the next several weeks.

Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis preempted the issue, taking classes last summer to complete his requirements early, so he is on-hand at St. Louis' workouts. But Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is missing critical on-field time because Southern California doesn't finish up classes until next month. In the meantime, Kellen Clemens is taking the majority of the reps in minicamp.

Cincinnati, a member of the Big East, is another school that has classes into June. That's holding back defensive end Connor Barwin. The Texans are excited about his potential, but Barwin is a very raw prospect who needs all the practice time he can get if he wants to contribute in 2009. He won't be back on the field until the Bengals' June 15-17 minicamp.

In Kansas City, new coach Todd Haley has opened up competition across the board, and there are plenty of opportunities for young players to jump on. But when the Chiefs start their OTAs on May 18, fourth-round cornerback Donald Washington (Ohio State) and linebacker Corey Smith (Cincinnati) won't be there.

"That's a disadvantage for them," said Haley. "They'll have to work very hard to catch up."

As Haley looks at it, it's another obstacle for rookies who are already 28 workouts behind the veterans they are competing against.

"Just to give themselves an equal chance to compete they can't waste a day," said Haley. "When they go back to school they have to be working out and once they get here they have to have to put the pedal to the metal. If they don't, they are not going to have an equal chance to compete because they are already behind. It is an important situation to understand."

Hanging Chad

Brett Favre's arrival to New York means Chad Pennington's departure from the Jets. GM Mike Tannenbaum said Pennington will be the odd-man out, so where could the soft-armed and oft-injured veteran land?

He isn't likely to be brought in as anyone's immediate starter, especially not at this point in training camp. But there are several teams who could bring him in at least as quality backup:

Carolina: An insurance policy behind Jake Delhomme certainly wouldn't be a bad idea after the team flopped hard in Delhomme's absence in '07.

Dallas: The Cowboys have been tied to rumors with Tampa Bay's Chris Simms. They're concerned - or should be - with Brad Johnson turning 40 in September.

Detroit: Drew Stanton or Dan Orlovsky aren't enticing options should Jon Kitna go down.

Kansas City: Coach Herm Edwards had Pennington in New York, and Brodie Croyle could use a better push than Damon Huard can provide.

Miami: One of the few places Pennington could compete for the starting job. Veteran Josh McCown, second-year man John Beck and rookie Chad Henne haven't blown anyone's socks off.

Or, if we really want to throw another grenade on the drama, let's envision him swapping spots with Favre in Green Bay and looking over Aaron Rodgers' shoulder.

Lions & Giants NFC's paper tigers

A couple of NFC "contenders" got handed a heavy dose of reality Sunday.

The Lions and Giants, who entered Week 10 with 6-2 records, still have beaten a combined two teams that currently have winning records -- Detroit taking down Tampa Bay (5-4) and New York handling Washington (5-4).

Neither team's resume is particularly impressive, especially after Detroit was routed in Arizona and the Giants succumbed to Dallas for the second time this season. However, as the Cowboys and Packers continue to assert themselves as the only real class of the conference, the Lions and Giants exit the week still holding wild card spots.

The next litmus test comes when the Giants travel to Detroit next Sunday. But as two of only six NFC teams with winning records, even the loser at Ford Field has plenty of time to regroup for a playoff run.

"We know how good Detroit is," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, "and we know that as the season gets shorter, all the games are tough. We have no excuses. We had our chances, our opportunities, and we just didn't play well enough to win. Not tonight. We were ineffective with the ball in the second half, we didn't get the quarterback pressure we wanted and it was a big game in our stadium and we couldn't control it."

There are a few quarterback situations worth keeping an eye on this week.

• Rex Grossman took over for injured Brian Griese and threw a game-winning touchdown for Chicago. Even if Griese's shoulder injury isn't serious, it will be interesting to see if coach Lovie Smith stick with Grossman.
• As the Ravens' season has unraveled, so has the play of Steve McNair. Coach Brian Billick declined to give him a strong vote of confidence, as he has in recent weeks. There's a good chance the Ravens make the switch to Kyle Boller this week.
• Getting knocked out of Sunday's lost to Denver was the only thing that kept the Chiefs' Damon Huard from being bench. Coach Herm Edwards is mulling starting Brodie Croyle in an attempt to spark his passing game averaging just 207.9 yards per game while throwing nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Chiefs' slim playoff hopes rest on L.J.'s foot

Thanks to the Jekyll and Hyde routine San Diego pulled during the first half of the season, Kansas City is inexplicably tied for the AFC West division lead.

While running back Larry Johnson's status for the stretch run remains cloudy due to a foot injury, there is no arguing the Chiefs' chances of pulling a playoff spot out of the proverbial hat are remote at best with each game L.J. misses.

Take Sunday, for example. Facing the league's worst run defense, Johnson would have been primed to control the game against Denver. K.C. could have played the field position game, avoided attacking cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Dre' Bly and eventually worn the Broncos down. Now the Chiefs are relying on 34-year-old Priest Holmes and rookie Kolby Smith to take pressure off their moribund passing game.

Johnson is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, a full yard below his career average. But that speaks far more about how much the Chiefs' offensive line has deteriorated than to any drop-off in Johnson's talent.

The Chiefs certainly still have a good shot of sneaking past free-falling Denver. But the offense is built around the running game, if for no other reason than opponents have almost zero fear of quarterback Damon Huard.

Down the stretch, Kansas City has games against Indianapolis, Tennessee and Detroit, all with run defenses ranked in the top half of the league. Granted, the Chiefs also play the Broncos twice and the Jets and Raiders, ranked 29th and 30th against the run, but how well can they exploit those weakness without L.J.? With no real passing game, they can't afford not to be successful on the ground. The bottom line is the Chiefs have a solid defense and a very one-dimensional offense. If they want to take advantage of the window the Chargers have left ajar, they need Johnson back in the lineup sooner than later.