Truth & Rumors > NFL

04:43 PM ET 06.18 | Mike Tice is taking a break from football. It's not self-imposed. The former Vikings coach was fired as the Bears' offensive coordinator after Marc Trestman became Chicago's head coach during the offseason. Tice is living in Seattle with his wife, Diane, waiting for the next NFL job to come along in time, he hopes, for the 2014 season.

TwinCities.com

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04:39 PM ET 06.18 | The Vikings get the first crack at former Packers linebacker Desmond Bishop. But Bishop is making other plans for his NFL future. Next up on the docket, PFT has confirmed, is a visit with the Chiefs on Thursday. (Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the looming Chiefs visit.) A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that the Jaguars also are in play for Bishop.

Pro Football Talk

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04:35 PM ET 06.18 | Johnny Manziel, better known as "Johnny Football," might be the best player in college football, but that doesn't make him an elite NFL prospect. In fact, I believe the Heisman Trophy winner currently projects more like a marginal pro, based on his unimpressive physical dimensions and unrefined game as a pocket passer.

NFL.com

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04:28 PM ET 06.18 | Jerry Jones is as about as generous as it gets when it comes to taking care of his own players, generally, to a fault. Some thought it was ambitious to franchise Spencer initially, in 2012, but he responded with a true breakthrough season befitting his original draft status. So that left Jones with little recourse but to retain Spencer's rights for 2013, at a 20 percent raise. So Spencer stands to make $10.7 million this season, on top of the $8.9 million guaranteed he pocketed last season. Generally if you give a guy a $20M guaranteed deal you expect to retain his rights beyond a year-to-year basis, which explains why these sides have been exchanging proposals for quite some time, according to sources. It would be silly to let him walk should Spencer maintain his 2012 form, and talks have been cordial and productive, according to sources. While it would be a stretch to say they're close to a deal, there has been enough momentum to conclude this could get resolved by the deadline next month.

CBS Sports

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03:53 PM ET 06.18 | New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz signed his one-year tender earlier in June, but is still eyeing a new deal that would pay him no less than $9 million per season. That deal doesn't look like it's on the way though, as one unnamed, prominent NFL agent told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post that it's the Giants that hold all the leverage in contract talks. "I don't see any scenario where he gets any more money than they have on the table right now,'' the agent said, "unless out of the goodness of their heart they decide to throw him a couple extra million." Cruz, 26, reportedly turned down an offer of just over $7 million per season as he continues to pursue one that would pay him closer to $10 million per year. If the two sides can't come to an agreement, Cruz is now under contract to play the 2013 season for $2.879 million.

New York Post

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