Truth & Rumors > NFL

01:58 PM ET 05.25 | New York Giants defensive back Terrell Thomas is rehabbing from yet another ACL surgery. To help reduce wear and tear on his knee, the Giants may move him to the safety position, according to ESPN New York. Thomas admits that he over exerted himself in last year's training camp, which led to him tearing his right ACL for the third time in his career. "I've controlled myself a little bit more. Last year, I was killing myself. It worked out, when I went back I was in great shape, when I came back I was in great shape. This year, it's just being a little more cautious." Thomas adds that "the knee is feeling great" and he hopes to start doing individual work on the field. Thomas' career has been derailed by his multiple ACL surgeries, and he hasn't played in a regular season game since 2010.

ESPN New York

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01:18 PM ET 05.25 | The Chicago Bears have stated they plan to retire Mike Ditka's legendary No. 89 this December during a Monday night game against the Dallas Cowboys, and this will be the last number to receive that honor, according to the Chicago Tribune. The Bears have decreed there will be no more retired numbers. The timing of the announcement has struck some as odd, considering one of the greatest players ever to wear cleats for Chicago, Brian Urlacher, decided to retire this week. No team has retired more numbers than Chicago, with Ditka's being the 14th. The Bears have a funny history with retired numbers. Dick Butkus' No. 51 wasn't retired until well after he retired, and George Halas' No. 7 was brought out of retirement for quarterback Bob Avellini, a forgettable player from the 1970s. Urlacher will always be remembered in the Windy City as No. 54, but he probably won't be the last one to wear it.

Chicago Tribune

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01:12 PM ET 05.25 | Robert Griffin III is still on the road to recovery and nobody is confident in giving a time frame for his return, though the hope is that he'll be ready in Week 1. The Washington Redskins gave up a lot to get Griffin, but his injury has not dimmed their opinion of him. As noted by NFL.com, head coach Mike Shanahan believes Griffin can be one of the all-time greats when it's all said and done. "If Robert plays like he did (in 2012) the rest of his career, he'll go down as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game," Shanahan said Thursday following one of the team's organized team activity sessions. That's a lot of praise, given that the NFL is essentially defined by the great quarterbacks to play the game. Washington gave up three first-round picks and a second-round pick to move up and select Griffin in the 2012 NFL Draft. He injured his knee in Week 14 last year, and controversy arose when Griffin played on the injured knee in the Redskins' Wildcard matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Whether or not staying in will ultimately hurt his career is anybody's guess.

NFL.com

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12:50 PM ET 05.25 | In the third round of the NFL Draft in April, the Kansas City Chiefs surprised many of their fans by taking Travis Kelce, a tight end out of Cincinnati. Kelce was viewed by many as a luxury pick for a 2-14 team who already have Tony Moeaki and Anthony Fasano at the position, but new head coach Andy Reid took him anyway. Now, Reid says he believes Kelce compares to Jeremy Shockey, according to the Kansas City Star. "He gives you another offensive threat, somebody that the defense will have to honor by speed and athletic ability," Reid said. "They moved him (in college) all around so he doesn't have to play in line. You can move him out as a wide receiver in that position and he's a legitimate receiver from that spot." Kelce was rated by many draft experts as the third-best prospect at his position behind Notre Dame's Tyler Eifert and Stanford's Zach Ertz. The Bearcats star proved to be a very good blocker, by almost all accounts the best blocking tight end in college football last year that was good enough to be drafted.

Kansas City Star

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12:44 PM ET 05.25 | St. Louis Rams tight end Lance Kendricks hasn't participated in OTAs this offseason because of a knee injury that has kept him sidelined. The third-year tight end had a procedure done to clean up his knee a month ago and isn't ready to get back on the field yet, according to the Rams official blog. Kendricks should be ready to return by the start of training camp, but while OTAs continue, Kendricks will be rehabbing the knee. This season, Kendricks is fighting for his starting spot after St. Louis acquired Jared Cook in free agency. Cook previously played under Jeff Fisher with the Tennessee Titans, and has emerged over the last two years as one of the better tight ends in football.

stlouisrams.com

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