Mike Glennon at Tampa Bay's recent rookie minicamp. (Getty Images)

One year ago, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll went all-in on third-round quarterback Russell Wilson, saying that the former North Carolina State signal-caller (by way of Wisconsin) would get a huge number of reps in the preseason. He certainly did -- Wilson was worked like a mule up to, in, and through, the preseason, and it's safe to say things worked out pretty well ... pretty well, that is, for everyone but seeming incumbent Matt Flynn, who Seattle signed to a lucrative free agent contract before Wilson was drafted.

Now, another team has taken Carroll's "Always Compete" mantra to that same position, applying it to another third-round pick from NC State, and that philosophy may spell trouble for a seeming incumbent and former first-round pick. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano came away from his first year at the helm of the Bucs without a clear picture of quarterback Josh Freeman, and that was reflected in his comments after the season.

Though Freeman became the first player in franchise history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season, and his 27 passing touchdowns also set a team mark, he was as bad as the Bucs were down the stretch. Tampa Bay lost five of its last six games, and Freeman threw nine of his 17 picks in the last three games. Of course, it wasn't Freeman's fault that the Bucs' pass defense was a dumpster fire in 2012, but when Schiano was asked about Freeman's future, he didn't sound convinced.

Chris Kluwe says he's joining the Raiders (USA Today Sports Images)

Ten days after he was released by the Minnesota Vikings, veteran punter Chris Kluwe will reportedly sign a one-year contract with the Oakland Raiders, reports Brendon Ayanbadejo of FOXSports.com.

Kluwe, a native of Southern California, is looking forward to playing in his home state.

"I’m excited to be an Oakland Raider and be playing in California," said Kluwe. "Now, my family can actually come to games."

Kluwe spent eight seasons with the Vikings and was scheduled to earn $1.45 million in base salary and bonuses in the final year of his contract. According to Ayanbadejo, Kluwe's deal with the Raiders is for the veteran minimum, which for Kluwe, is $840,000.

The 31-year-old Kluwe had speculated that his release was due, in part, to his vocal support and advocacy for marriage equality, both nationally and in the state of Minnesota. Vikings GM Rick Spielman, who used a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft on punter Jeff Locke, denied that accusation, which he called "off-base". Kluwe finished the 2012 season with the highest net punting average of his career (39.7 yards), but ranked towards the bottom of the league in placing punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and was one of three regular punters to not have at least one punt of 60 yards.

Kluwe joined first-year player Marquette King and undrafted rookie Bobby Cowan on the Raiders, who lost free agent Shane Lechler to the Houston Texans this offseason. According to Football Outsiders' advanced metrics, the Raiders ranked 31st in special teams DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) last season and their punting unit ranked 31st, as well. Earlier this week, the Raiders took a step towards improving their punt coverage unit by agreeing to terms with Josh Cribbs, a solid return man who had 24 special teams tackles for the Cleveland Browns over the last two seasons.

The Raiders will need to clear a roster spot to officially add Kluwe, which means King, or most likely Cowan, will be released as carrying three punters is not feasible even with a 90-man roster during the offseason.

Doug Whaley (r.) was named GM of the Buffalo Bills (USA Today Sports Images)

Buffalo Bills assistant GM Doug Whaley has been promoted to general manager, the Bills announced on Thursday morning.

Whaley replaces Buddy Nix, who stepped aside from that role on Monday and is now working in a "special assistant" role to the club.

"He did a great job of helping to pick players and scouting," Nix said of Whaley. "He’s a level-headed mature guy and he makes the right decisions. He’s very loyal and will be to the Bills for a long time."

Whaley, 41, joined the Bills as director of pro personnel in 2010 after spending over ten seasons in the scouting department with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whaley was promoted to assistant GM in 2011 and has been viewed as the Bills' "GM-in waiting." Whaley was involved in the team's search for a new head coach in January and received a contract extension in February, though it remained unclear when Whaley would replace Nix as general manager.

(AP)

The Minnesota Vikings may not be entirely sure who their future franchise quarterback is, but they apparently know who it won't be. It was announced on Wednesday that head coach Leslie Frazier has decided to move backup quarterback Joe Webb to receiver on a full-time basis. Webb, who started the Vikings' first playoff game since the end of the 2012 season due to starter Christian Ponder's elbow injury, completed 11 of 30 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in the Vikings' 24-10 wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers. Those passes were the first Webb had thrown since the 2011 season finale against the Chicago Bears.

Webb was a quarterback/receiver combo player at Alabama-Birmingham, and the Vikings selected him in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft more for his impressive athleticism than his positional specificity. Now, with Ponder established as the starter and former New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel signed on as the backup, Webb will add to a receiver corps that was weakened in the offseason by the trade of Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks, but bolstered by the addition of Tennessee receiver Cordarrelle Patterson in the first round of the 2013 draft. It was after the Patterson selection that Frazier informed Webb of his new full-time role.

"Coach brought me in the office and talked to me about the different plans they had and stuff,” Webb told Sid Hartman of the Star-Tribune. “I haven’t played [receiver] since my rookie minicamp, but I think I can adjust to it pretty good. You just have to put in a lot of work. Coach Stew [wide receivers coach George Stewart] will do a lot of that with me, so we’ll see what happens.”

It was thought by some at the time that the Vikings were drafting Webb to be a receiver, but after Brett Favre's injuries in 2010, the team's quarterback situation was nebulous enough for Webb to get some time under center.

Kyle Love is strong in mind, but he'll have to prove that elsewhere. (AP)

In case you had any doubt as to the truism that professional football is a ruthless business, wonder no more. Two weeks after he was diagnosed with diabetes, former New England Patriots defensive tackle Kyle Love was released by the team via a non-football injury designation.

“This comes on the heels of Kyle having been diagnosed within the past two weeks with Type-2 diabetes," Richard Kopelman, Love's agent, told ESPN Boston. "Naturally, we are disappointed that the Patriots decided to part ways with Kyle, especially in light of the fact that a number of elite professional athletes with diabetes – both Type-1, which is known to be far more difficult to manage than Type-2 diabetes – have had very successful careers in professional football, hockey, baseball and basketball.

“Prior to the diagnosis, Kyle recently experienced unexplained weight loss, but since being diagnosed and having altered his diet, Kyle has regained most of the weight he lost, is in good health, and was not limited in any way during offseason workouts in which he was engaged up until being told he would be released."

Love, who had been with the Patriots since 2010, started 25 games over the last two seasons in the Pats' interior defensive line, most often as Vince Wilfork's bookend. Used primarily as a run-stopping expert, the 6-foot-1, 315-pound undrafted Mississippi State alum signed a two-year, $3.09 million contract extension in 2012 to prevent him from hitting the market as a restricted free agent.

Wilfork, whose father died after a long struggle with the disease, and whose foundation is committed to raising awareness about diabetes, can't be happy about this at all.

Love played his last snaps for New England in the Pats' AFC Championship loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. Love suffered a knee injury in the first half, and the Ravens took advantage with several big running plays in the last 30 minutes of the game. According to Pro Football Focus' run defense metrics among defensive tackles, Love was the 22nd most effective player at his position in the league last year.

“Having consulted with leading authorities on the effects of Type-2 diabetes, we have every reason to believe that Kyle will, in the immediate future, be

Remember that infamous Seattle-Green Bay Monday Night Football game last season where the replacement refs completely butchered the outcome? (Sorry, Packers fans.)

Richard Sherman, who was on the winning Seattle team, sure does, and in a bit of devilish humor has hired replacement ref Lance Easley (he's the one making the "touchdown" score there) to umpire at his upcoming charity softball game. Easley ruled that Seattle's Golden Tate snagged a touchdown even though it sure appeared that Green Bay's M.D. Jennings intercepted the pass. (The NFL even admitted the refs' error, and that game was seen as one of the reasons hastening the NFL's settlement with its regular refs.)

"Don't be surprised if a few flags are thrown," reads Sherman's event's Facebook page. The game will take place on July 7 at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Wash., which is a good thing because any closer to Wisconsin, and Cheeseheads would be on the march.

-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-

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David Garrard is calling it a career (USA Today Sports Images)

New York Jets quarterback David Garrard is calling it a career due to a knee injury that ended his comeback bid last season with the Miami Dolphins.

"Having to call it quits. My knee is not holding up," Garrard said in a text message to Adam Schein of Sirius XM radio. "Continuing to swell after practices. Limiting what I can do."

Earlier on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that Garrard had informed a few teammates that he no longer planned to be on the team, who signed the 35-year-old to a one-year, $1.35 million contract on March 12. Garrard's deal with the Jets included a $100,000 signing bonus, a $250,000 roster bonus (which will not be earned when Garrard officially retires) and a non-guaranteed base salary of $1 million for Garrard to compete for a role behind projected starter Mark Sanchez.

Garrard spent his entire on-field career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected the East Carolina product in the fourth-round (No. 108 overall) of the 2002 NFL draft. Garrard took over the Jaguars' starting job on a full-time basis in 2006 and, in 86 games over his nine seasons in Jacksonville, passed for 16,003 yards with 89 touchdowns and 54 interceptions, earning Pro Bowl honors in 2009.

The Jaguars released Garrard a week before the 2011 regular season-opener, opting to go with 2011 first-round pick Blaine Gabbert at quarterback. Garrard would miss the entire 2011 season after undergoing back surgery. The Miami Dolphins signed Garrard last offseason and he opened training camp as the No. 1 quarterback, but injured his knee while playing with his kids away from the field and was released on Sept. 4.

According to Tania Ganguli of the Houston Chronicle, Garrard intends to retire as a member of the Jaguars.

Rolando McClain announced his retirement on Wednesday (USA Today Sports Images)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Rolando McClain has informed the team of his intentions to retire, GM Ozzie Newsome announced in a statement released by the team.

“Rolando let me know that he plans to retire from the NFL," Newsome said. "We have placed him on the Reserve/Retired list."

The Ravens signed the 23-year-old McClain to a one-year, $700,000 contract that included up to $400,000 in playing-time incentives on April 12. McClain was arrested in his hometown of Decatur, Alabama on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest just ten days into his stint with the defending Super Bowl champions.

McClain is due in court on July 9 on those charges.

McClain entered the NFL as the No. 8 overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders, who signed the University of Alabama standout to a five-year, $40.25 million rookie contract. In 41 games in his three NFL seasons with the Raiders, McClain had 246 tackles, 6.5 sacks and recorded one interception. McClain's most impressive season came in 2011 when he posted five sacks and a career-high 14 passes defensed as a 14-game starter, but off-field issues would quickly derail his career.

McClain was arrested in Decatur, Alabama in January of 2011 after allegedly pointing a gun at another man and firing it next to his head. McClain was convicted and sentenced to 180 days in jail, but charges were dropped upon appeal when the victim would not cooperate with the criminal case against McClain. In January of 2013, McClain was again arrested in Decatur, Alabama after giving a false name to police during a traffic stop.

In between those arrests, McClain had a run-in during the 2012 regular season with first-year Raiders head coach Dennis Allen that resulted in a two-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team. McClain was a healthy scratch following his reinstatement and the team granted his agent, Pat Dye, permission to find a trade partner. Even McClain's off-field issues voiding $3.635 million in guaranteed base salary, no team was willing to part with anything of value for McClain, who hit the NFL waiver wire and went unclaimed on April 5.

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