Texans owner Bob McNair followed through on his promise last month to have new contracts signed by coach Gary Kubiak and general manager Rick Smith before training camp.
? Both received long-term deals to be announced Thursday.
? Kubiak was handsomely rewarded for guiding the franchise to the AFC South title and first ever playoff appearance in 2011.
? Hired along with Smith in January 2006, Kubiak coached the Texans to only one winning season -- Houston went 9-7 in 2009 -- before taking the division with a 10-6 mark last season. He's 47-49 in the regular season and 1-1 in the playoffs.
? ?I think they've done an outstanding job. I'm pleased with them, and if that wasn't the case, we wouldn't be extending 'em,? McNair said last month.
? ---The Redskins finished nine weeks of offseason work with a final practice on Wednesday and workouts and film sessions on Thursday. The third of three minicamp days on the field was cancelled because so many players were banged up -- although all are expected to be ready for training camp -- and because coach Mike Shanahan was so pleased with how hard his team worked in an accomplished series of workouts.
? Rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, who's being counted on to start and lead a long-awaited renaissance in Washington, is ahead of his schedule in his grasp of the offense. Defensive end Jarvis Jenkins, the 2011 second-round pick who missed his rookie year with a torn ACL, and two-time Pro Bowl tight end Chris Cooley, who was sidelined for most of last season with his own knee injury, both showed no after-effects from those surgeries.
? Santana Moss, deposed last year after six seasons as the Redskins' No. 1 receiver, responded to the challenge presented by the signings of free agent receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan and earned praise from Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
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? --Now that the Bears have accumulated more offensive skill-position talent than they've had in a generation, offensive coordinator Mike Tice has to figure out how best to utilize the different components.
? ?I think he's got probably the hardest job in the building of being able to mesh these offensive players with different schemes,? quarterback Jay Cutler said after Tuesday's minicamp practice at Halas Hall. ?It's always hard as a first-time coordinator installing your offense and getting it up and running for Game One. He's got a tough gig, but he's doing a great job. He's listening to a lot of different guys and taking everyone's opinion into consideration and then trying to find the best solution.?
? The biggest goal is to provide Cutler with the highest level of comfort possible.
? --Team president Mike Holmgren didn't play his cards too close to the vest Thursday when he weighed in on the ongoing competition between quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Brandon Weeden.
? Weeden, the rookie challenger to the incumbent McCoy, has taken the majority of first-team snaps with the offense at minicamp and third-string quarterback Seneca Wallace has been a distant enough third that he wondered aloud if he was going to be in Cleveland this season.
? ?He's as prepared to come in and start as any rookie as any quarterback I've seen in a long time,? Holmgren said Thursday.
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? --Veteran defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch is not taking reps in Lions' minicamp and left end Cliff Avril isn't even in the area code as his contract impasse with management enters a fifth month.
? At age 33 and about 17 months removed from serious neck-fusion surgery, the Lions are letting discretion be the better part of valor with Vanden Bosch, even if it means operating defensive line drills and seven-on-seven work with a pass rush consisting of four defensive tackles spread across the line.
? ?He's been cleared but we just want to take away as many opportunities for wear and tear on his neck as we can,? coach Jim Schwartz said.
? --Phil Dawson, the only full-time kicker the Browns have had since their return in 1999, wants to make 2012 a special season.
? Dawson attended the mandatory minicamp last week after skipping the voluntary OTAs the previous two weeks. He had his reasons for being absent, but they were not out of protest. He can get his kicking in at home in Austin, Tex., and still be with his family. He is not attending OTAs this week with the approval of coach Pat Shurmur.
? --Eagles coach Andy Reid left his 90-man roster with a message he wants top of mind until the team reconvenes at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., at the end of July.
? ?This is going to be a tough training camp for them,? Reid said as minicamp concluded Thursday. ?I've talked to the team about that. It's going to be a demanding training camp, and from now until we get up there, they need to keep themselves in the shape that they're in right now.?
? The Eagles had 80 percent attendance at non-mandatory strength and conditioning sessions with Barry Rubin before entering the nine-week on-field phase.
? --Terrell Suggs discarded his crutches Monday, but he was back on the comeback stump in a press conference at the Ravens' facility Thursday.
? ?Like I said before when I first got injured: I will be in a Baltimore Ravens uniform in 2012,? Suggs said. ?The only question in when.?
? Suggs said he injured his Achilles in May doing a fitness test, again denying ESPN reports and witness accounts that he was playing a pickup basketball game at the time.
. Thursday he said a November return might be optimistic, but he's planning on continuing with that approach.
? --Since Kurt Warner retired two years ago, coach Ken Whisenhunt has had trouble picking a starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals. In fact, he's had five of them.
? Not one of them seized the job. That's why there is ?open? competition now between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton. Those two split the starting job last year, mostly because Kolb missed seven games with injuries.
? --The Rams agreed to a one-year deal with outside linebacker Rocky McIntosh, who participated in the team's minicamp on a tryout basis after six seasons with the Redskins.
? McIntosh, a second-round pick in 2006, was benched last season in favor of Perry Riley and drew little interest as an unrestricted free agent. He took free-agent visits to Miami (April 1) and Minnesota (May 7) before working out for the Rams and coach Jeff Fisher this week.
? The 29-year-old will compete at outside linebacker with newcomers Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Mario Haggan as the Rams makeover the back seven of their defense behind a very talented defensive line.
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