Ryan Tannehill finally got to show off for the NFL. (AP)

Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III have already enjoyed excellent Pro Days, but there was enough great game tape of both quarterbacks for their private workouts to merely confirm what everybody already knew -- the Stanford and Baylor quarterbacks were going 1-2 in the 2012 NFL draft. On Thursday, Ryan Tannehill of Texas A&M -- now the consensus third-best quarterback prospect in this year's draft class -- had what will be the most important Pro Day of the year.

Prevented from throwing at the scouting combine because of a foot injury, and with only one full season as a college starting quarterback on tape, Tannehill had to impress to meet his draft projections. Most analysts already had him as a top-10 pick because of the desperate need most NFL teams have for franchise quarterbacks, but Tannehill started to live up to that billing with an outstanding workout at A&M's indoor complex in College Station.

First, Tannehill showed that the right foot wasn't a problem -- from the start, he was rolling left and right, displaying excellent pocket mobility, and proving that there's nothing lost regarding his impressive athleticism. He rolled off 65 completions in 68 scripted throws under the watchful eyes of 22 NFL teams and performance coach Chris Weinke, who has recently tutored Cam Newton, Christian Ponder and Kirk Cousins. Only one could be termed an overthrow -- a 40-yarder to receiver Jeff Fuller. In similar fashion to Luck and Griffin, Tannehill proved that he could make every throw an NFL team could desire.

"I couldn't be more happy with his performance today," Weinke said after the workout. "He processes at a fast pace, very good understanding of offense and had the luxury playing for a former NFL guy in college [Mike Sherman, his coach at A&M]. There is no question in my mind that he's a franchise quarterback."

"Athletically, he passes all the tests," Mike Mayock of the NFL Network said of Tannehill. "More importantly, they moved to the throwing portion. Nine spot throws, then 50 throws in the field, and nine red-zone throws. My take was, it was a high-level workout. It was a franchise-type workout. Three-step drop, five, five with a hitch, seven ... every throw an NFL quarterback has to make -- both statutory and on the move. From an accuracy perspective, here's my take after watching every throw this kid made on tape all year. All the out-breaking routes were beautiful -- the kid can make every throw outside ... but they're the easier throws to make. Single-high safety, one-on-one coverage, you can trust it and rip it. Where he struggles on tape are on the in-breaking throws, and let's face it -- there's a lot more traffic on the inside. I never thought he trusted it, and that's where I thought he got in trouble, staring down receivers."

I agree with Mayock's evaluation, and Tannehill's relative ease with rollout throws compared to his inconsistency in the pocket has me comparing him to Washington's Jake Locker, who went to the Tennessee Titans with the eighth overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft.

The Miami Dolphins, who recently hired Sherman as their offensive coordinator, have the eighth overall pick this year. They were one of at least three NFL teams with multiple evaluators in attendance. Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland and head coach Joe Philbin were there. The Cleveland Browns sent offensive coordinator Brad Childress and quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple. The Seattle Seahawks traveled heavy, with GM John Schneider, head coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on board.

"He should be very proud of his workout today," Carroll said. "He did a nice job."

At the 2012 scouting combine in February, Schneider was more effusive in his praise of the man who set single-season records for the Aggies in passing yards (3,744), attempts (531) and completions (327).

Tim Tebow's possible new digs. (CNBC)

Very soon, Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez may be bonded by more than their team affiliation -- the two New York Jets quarterbacks might be neighbors. According to the New York Post and CNBC, Tebow is interested in a rental property at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.

[CNBC: Tebow Eyes New Jersey Luxury Rental]

It's 30 minutes from the Jets practice complex in Florham Park, and there are some pretty nice accouterments. Sanchez also rents a place tied to the Trump club.

[Related: Hollywood Agencies Fight Over Tim Tebow]

The four-bedroom "cottage" rents for $10,000 per month, and there are only two such residences on the property -- most of the rentals are studios.

(CNBC)

[Related video: Nike Sues Reebok Over Tebow NY Apparel]

Tebow has eyed other Trump properties, including one in Manhattan. But as a golfer, he may find this difficult to pass up. Sanchez's property features an Olympic-sized swimming pool, as does the prospective Tebow house. (We're assuming Tebow won't try to walk

The play that threatened Nick Collins' NFL future. (AP)It got lost in all the folderol about Peyton Manning's neck surgeries, but Manning wasn't the only high-profile NFL player whose season -- and career -- was placed in jeopardy by a hit that affected his neck and forced a spinal fusion procedure. Green Bay Packers safety Nick Collins was lost for the 2011 season when he tried to tackle Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart in Green Bay's  30-23 Week 2 win.

Stewart went to the left on a swing pass, and Collins remained on the field after the play was over with a neck injury. Collins had spinal fusion surgery similar to Manning's, and his absence in the Packers' secondary was keenly felt -- without his deep pass coverage as a given, Charles Woodson wasn't as versatile in his slot/safety roles, and Green Bay's defense downturned severely, especially against the pass.

Now, Collins is trying to take the same steps back to the NFL that Manning has taken. He's not switching teams as Manning did, but there's still a lot of uncertainty regarding his return. Recently, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said that "If Nick was my son, I would not let him play."

"That's probably one of the worst parts of your job [as a coach], walking out on the field, looking over a player — especially when it didn't look very serious, and then you get out there …" McCarthy elaborated. "I don't want to be put in that position again. And this is not about me. I'm just talking about, if that was my son, if Nick was my son, I would not let him play."

A sad reality of the NFL. (AP)

At the owners meetings, McCarthy talked a bit more about the process of Collins' recovery, and the responsibility held by the team's medical staff. Collins is incredibly valuable to the team, but as was discussed during the debate over Manning's future and his release from the Indianapolis Colts, there is supposed to be a higher obligation to the player as a person. Had that obligation always been held correctly, there wouldn't be over 1,000 former NFL players ready to be called as plaintiffs in upcoming class-action lawsuits against the league.

McCarthy seems to understand the duality.

"It's a healthy situation," he said on Wednesday. "To have Nick back would be huge just from a player personnel standpoint because anytime someone suffers an injury like that it's not hard to think that he's [not] going to come back. If Nick's able to come back, that's a great boost for us, but the personal side of it is the concern. It's an injury that -- hopefully the surgery has worked and everything's back in place. But once again you're talking about a risk assessment, that makes me a little nervous.

"I think everybody needs to sit down and make sure we move forward together. To have Nick Collins back on the practice field and playing games would be huge, but this is more than football. Nick's a family man, he's a father, that's no fun standing over someone like that. I don't think any coach wants to see one of their players go through that.

"I think that's a starting point," McCarthy said of any positive medical evaluation. "I would think the doctors are going to say, I anticipate that he's going to say it's a very positive report because I know they felt good about the surgery. To me, that's really the first step. Then our doctors have to get involved and we'll all sit down and talk to Nick and see where Nick is, so it will be a process that we'll go through."

Collins returned an interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XLV. (AP)

Would McCarthy be prepared to tell Collins that it's a "no-go" with the Packers, based on future health concerns? "I need the information. It will be based on the information, but he'll be part of that."

I asked SI.com's Will Carroll, the foremost sports injury expert in the country, about the similarities between Manning's and Collins' surgeries, and the outlook for Collins.

(AP)

-- The skirmish we wrote about Wednesday between Nike and Reebok over the manufacture and sale of Tim Tebow Jets jerseys has been resolved, though not yet in a permanent fashion. Nike, which will take over merchandising and outfitting for the NFL on April 1, got a temporary restraining order in U.S. District Court that will force Reebok, whose contract with the NFL ran out before March 1, to recall all Tebow jerseys made after the end of that agreement. We'll soon see a huge supply of Nike Tebow jerseys, of course. Until then, you can always buy something called a "Tim Tebow New York Jets Eligible Receiver T-Shirt," which may wind up being oddly appropriate when the Jets finally unleash their Tebow-led Wildcat brilliance. Or something. [Fox Sports]

-- Also, the Jets should go for two after just about every touchdown, says one writer. We agree wholeheartedly. Say what you want about the guy, but Timmy has been a force in the red zone since his Florida days -- he had as many collegiate rushing touchdowns as Marshall Faulk. [The Big Lead]

-- Several NFL bigwigs are very excited about the $2.15 billion price paid for the Los Angeles Dodgers, which was shelled out by the new ownership group led by Magic Johnson. "I don't know how to get my mind or arms around that [the $2.15 billion price] at all," Jerry Jones told the Dallas Morning News. "It certainly wasn't something I might have had in mind when I got involved with the Cowboys and the team. It's impressive. It's very impressive. I think it raises all boats in sports."

"It kind of raises the bar for all of us," said New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch in a Chicago Tribune story. "When a baseball club sells for over $2 billion, when you fold in the real estate, it makes all of us stand up and say, 'Wow!' With our brands, with our teams, with our assets, we can't mess up. We're involved with something very special with tremendous value."

No word yet on whether Giants co-owner John Mara will try to penalize Magic and his buddies for bidding $600 million more than the team's current value in the name of competitive balance. [NFL.com]

-- St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher isn't tied to the sixth overall pick in this year's draft, which the Washington Redskins traded to his team so that Mike Shanahan could climb up to No. 2 and select either Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III. Asked at the owners meetings whether the Rams might trade further down or try to head up to Cleveland's No. 4 overall pick, Fisher said that "it would probably be more realistic for us to move down than it would up." Of course, the new rookie wage scale makes the trading of draft picks a more friendly process, and this year, there's no lockout to compress the issue. [Stltoday.com]

-- The most important Pro Day in the 2012 pre-draft process happens Thursday, and it will certainly affect who moves up and down in the top 10.

This moment may stick with John Harbaugh ... forever. (AP)

While his brother Jim is one of the more tight-lipped coaches in the NFL, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has managed to find ways to be a bit more freewheeling, especially when talking to reporters. This was never more evident than at Tuesday's AFC media breakfast at the owners meetings in Florida. When it was Harbaugh's turn to talk, he first got a bit existential about one sore subject -- the Ravens' AFC championship game loss to the New England Patriots.

"I think probably forever," he said, when someone asked him how long that loss would stick with him. "It will be there forever. Well, forever is a long time. Until I die, which might be forever, most likely. Unless there's something I'm not aware of. Maybe they'll come up with something in the meantime. Science is really moving things forward."

Indeed, and it's good to see that coach Harbaugh is ready for the cutting edge in medical technology. What about the retirement of running back Ricky Williams, who played for Harbaugh in 2011, gaining 444 yards and scoring two touchdowns on 108 carries? Has the coach spoken to Williams since that Feb. 7 event?

"I have not since a couple days after," Harbaugh said of the 34-year-old yoga-centric running back. "Where is he? Is he in the United States. Ricky, where are you? We're looking for you Ricky Williams.

[Jason Cole: Coaches, executives agree Andrew Luck is the safer bet]

"Ricky was awesome. Ricky was tremendous. I learned a little yoga, a little meditation, some fruits I wasn't familiar with. He's a normal guy; a lot of great conversations, a hard-working guy, knows pass protections inside and out. A ballplayer, a good guy."

Harbaugh getting happy with the media at the owners meetings. (AP)

Well, maybe some of that strange fruit can get Harbaugh a bit closer to the eternal life he seeks.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is not a big talker -- he once upbraided a reporter who asked him how he felt after a loss by insisting that such concerns were too prevalent in touchy-feely California, and he was not interested. The former NFL quarterback and current AP Coach of the Year does things his own way -- very much under the radar -- and it's certainly worked for him. In his first season with the 49ers, Harbaugh guided the team to a 13-3 record, and a near-Super Bowl appearance.

After the season was over, and with quarterback Alex Smith mulling over the three-year, $24 million contract he had been offered, Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman went to North Carolina on Tuesday, March 13, to watch Peyton Manning throw at his workout headquarters at Duke University.

[Related: Peyton Manning unimpressed by a surprise visit from Pete Carroll]

That the 49ers were one of the teams interested in Manning's services was not big news, but the way in which Harbaugh and Roman disguised their intentions was very original, and Harbaugh-esque all the way.

From Peter King's excellent dissertation of the Manning audition process:

That night, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman came to see Manning throw on a lighted field at Duke. First they watched from a car by the side of the field, then, to get a better view, they came onto the field, hoodies pulled over their heads so as not to be recognized by some nosy iPhoner. Manning texted his mother, Olivia: "You'll never guess who I just worked out for. He was wearing a hoodie."

"Bill Belichick?" she responded.

Good one! Nope, Jim Harbaugh.

Well, we certainly hope Geraldo Rivera doesn't get wind of this.

This is valuable stuff here. (AP)

Well, Tim Tebow's name is everywhere else in New York ... why shouldn't it be in Nike Inc v. Reebok International, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York No. 12-2275? That's the official name of the complaint filed by sportswear giant Nike against sportswear giant Reebok. Nike, who becomes the official manufacturer of NFL merchandise and player apparel on April 1, claims that Reebok, whose similar deal with the NFL expired before March 1, manufactured replica jerseys with Tebow's name and number in a misappropriation of Nike's rights.

The lawsuit, dated March 27 and made public on Wednesday, claims that Reebok "has no authorization from Mr. Tebow or anyone else to use Mr. Tebow's name or other identification on such Jets product.

[Related: Tim Tebow trails only Oprah, two others, as most marketable]

"Reebok has taken upon itself to illegitimately seize on this unique and short-lived consumer opportunity ... in order to capitalize on the public's short-lived intense consumer appetite for such products, and to prevent Nike from doing so."

Reebok may have to go with the Scotty McKnight defense. (AP)The suit asks for compensatory and punitive damages, as well as the profits from all sales of Tebow-related products manufactured by Reebok after the expiration of Reebok's agreement with the league.

There are two ways a company can legally manufacture merchandise with a player's likeness or other well-known attachments, such as replica jerseys with names and numbers -- either enter into an agreement with the player, or come to terms with NFL Players, Inc. as part of a group of companies licensed to do so.

Nike claims in the lawsuit that Reebok holds no such group arrangement, and that a Tebow representative wrote to Reebok on March to demand that the manufacture of Tebow jerseys be discontinued.

Of course, Reebok could claim that it had an unusual run on Scotty McKnight jerseys, and they just got the name on the back wrong.

Whoops! (Deadspin)

Apparently, unless you're that Tim Tebow guy, there are folks at ESPN who can confuse your identity. Even if you're New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz, who was the subject of the on-screen goof-up pictured above.

Josh Huestis can't believe they blew that one... (AP)No, Worldwide Leader, this is not Stanford power forward Josh Huestis -- this is a guy who scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVI and may be the most dynamic slot receiver in the game. Cruz was attending Tuesday's NIT semifinal at Madison Square Garden, when someone in the truck -- most likely bleary-eyed after helping to assemble several ill-advised hours of Skip Bayless-oriented programming -- put up the unfortunate graphic.

Cruz cracked the Giants roster as an undrafted free agent in 2010, and he was almost cut at one point, and Giants general manager Jerry Reese recently admitted that had Cruz not been playing college ball at UMass -- which was pretty close to the Giants' facilities -- he might not have been on the radar at all. But after putting up one of the best receiving seasons in this history of a storied New York franchise, you'd think the WWL would know his face by now.