NFL roundup: WR Allen passes on workouts; woman kicker aims for history

A potential first-round pick will skip the NFL Scouting Combine, while a woman is attempting to earn the scouts' attention.

Wide receiver Keenan Allen will pass on workouts this week in Indianapolis, according to reports. Meanwhile, Lauren Silberman of New York will become the first woman to participate in an NFL regional scouting combine when she tees it up in New Jersey as a kicker early next month.

Allen, projected by NFLDraftScout.com as the No. 1 receiver in the NFL Draft and a potential first-round pick in April, is reported to have experienced swelling in his left knee during his training for the combine, his agent, J.T. Johnson, confirmed to CBSSports.com on Wednesday. The former Cal standout injured the posterior cruciate ligament last season and missed three games.

After the swelling occurred, Allen visited noted orthopedist James Andrews, who diagnosed Allen's injury as a Grade 2 strain but said it should not require surgery, CBSSports.com reported. A follow-up exam with Andrews is set for March 11.

Allen will attend the combine to participate in medical exams but will not work out, ESPN.com reported. Johnson said Allen plans to run routes only at Cal's pro day on March 14 and then hold his own workout for scouts the first week of April to run the 40-yard dash and participate in other physical tests.

Allen is Cal's career receptions leader with 205 catches. In three seasons, he racked up 2,570 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns.

Silberman is a long shot to advance to a super regional in Dallas but a pioneer of sorts in pro football.

The former club soccer player at Wisconsin is the first female registrant in the three years since the regional combines were launched.

"I was actually hoping that the 2012 historical milestone rule, to allow women to play, would prompt more women to attend tryouts this year," Silberman told NFL.com.

Silberman, 28, has not followed the traditional path of most aspiring kickers. She went to graduate school at MIT and wrote a master's thesis on athletes using video games to improve performance. That research led to her starting a consulting company, Double Play, that provides athletes with assistance in using video games for virtual training.

--Former Indianapolis defensive end Dwight Freeney is moving on after 11 seasons with the Colts and his next stop could be with a high-profile former teammate.

The free agent said that Denver quarterback Peyton Manning has urged him to play for the Broncos.

"He sent me a text and he just said, 'Hey, man, don't worry, come play with me in Denver," Freeney told Pro Football Talk Live. "I don't know how serious it was, but, you know, it's good to hear some of your former teammates still follow you, they care and they want to see you succeed."

Freeney doesn't feel that way about the Colts. He said he was snubbed after the season, telling PFT Live that the Colts never made him an offer to stay in Indianapolis. The 33-year-old had five sacks in 14 games last year.

--The New York Jets are in full salary-dump mode having earlier this week released Bart Scott and Calvin Pace among others. And now, according to CBSSports.com, new Jets general manager John Idzik is going to shop Tim Tebow during the NFL combine.

The Jets can't trade Tebow until March 12, but it does not appear there is a market for Tebow who saw limited action last year as quarterback and a member of the Jets' special teams.

If the Jets can't find a trade partner, it is possible that they will release Tebow.

--The San Diego Chargers claimed cornerback Johnny Patrick, who was put on waivers by the New Orleans Saints.

Patrick was a third-round pick out of the University of Louisville for the Saints in 2011, but the 24-year-old struggled, like much of the rest of the New Orleans defense. In two seasons, Patrick totaled 30 tackles and two pass breakups with the Saints.

--New England cornerback Alfonzo Dennard was found guilty of third-degree assault against a police officer and a resisting arrest by a jury in Lincoln, Neb.

Dennard faces up to six years on prison. Third-degree assault of a police officer is a felony. Sentencing is set for April 11.

The jury's verdict ended a weeklong, high-profile trial in a state where Dennard emerged as a standout cornerback for the Cornhuskers.