CAMP CONUNDRUMS
5 looming questions as NFL teams get ready to report
The first NFL season in 18 years that won’t have Peyton Manning on a roster is almost here.
Manning’s retirement after a Hall of Fame career that ended with him quarterbacking the Broncos to a victory in Super Bowl 50 was one of the sport’s biggest story lines this offseason.
With Aaron Rodgers and the Packers’ veterans the first scheduled to report Monday, here are five of the biggest training-camp story lines around the league:
1. HOW WILL THE PATRIOTS HANDLE BRADY?
At least the Patriots have practice when it comes to preparing for a Tom Brady suspension.
Bill Belichick’s team went through the entire preseason last year preparing as if Brady would miss the first four games for his role in Deflategate, onlyy to get a year-yearlong reprieve from aa federal judge just days before the 2015 opener.
There is no uncertainty this year: Brady last week accept-accepted his punishment after being turned down by a federal appeals court and will turn over the reins to Jimmy Garoppolo for four games starting in September.
If last year is any indication, Brady and the Patriots will pro-proceed in training camp as if noth-nothing was amiss. Brady will likely get most — if not all — of the No. 1 repetitions in practice, with morere reps slowly being given to the unproven Garoppolo as the regular season nears.
Belichick also is more expected work to t give hanv normal to rookie quarterback Jacoby Brissett in case of a pre-preseason injury to Garoppolo, and it would be no surprise if New England added a veteran backup in the preseason (Ricky Stanzi has been mentioned most often).
2. CAN RG3 REVIVE HIS CAREER?
A quarterback who once captured the country’s imagination will be trying to turn his career around with the Browns this summer, but his name isn’t Johnny Manziel.
After flaming out spectacularly in Washington, Robert Griffin III hopes to prove his legion of skeptics wrong after being scooped up by Cleveland at the behest of new Browns coach Hue Jackson, who considers himself something of a quarterback whisperer.
There is much for Jackson to overhaul.
Griffin’s rapid fall from 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year to injuryprone Redskins castaway just two seasons later is well-chronicled. The former Baylor star went 5-15 in his final 20 starts, hasn’t played in a game since 2014 andnd is deter-deter- mined to become a pocket passer, which scouts say doesn’t fit Griffin’s skills or grasp of the position at all.
A no-name receiving corps won’t help matters, and Griffin will have plenty of competition to deal with in Josh McCown, Austin Davis and rookie Cody Kessler.
3. WHO WILL QUARTERBACK THE BRONCOS?
With Manning retired and Brock Osweiler a surprise freeagent defection in the offseason, the Broncos’ quarterback situation isn’t pretty.
It also appears to be Mark Sanchez’s job to lose.
Although Denver used a firstround pick on Memphis passer Paxton Lynch, Sanchez seems to have the edge over Lynch and second-second-year
pro Trevor Semien because of the former Jet’s six years of NFL experience.
Denver coach Gary Kubiak played it close to the vest in the offseason, rotating all three quarterbacks in minicamp and OTAs, but Broncos nose tackle Sylvester Williams told SiriusXM this week that Sanchez will start out as the No. 1.
“Going into the camp, I think Coach Kubiak kind of let us know he’s going to go with Mark and give Mark the opportunity to see what he can do and then go on from there,” Williams said.
Sanchez’s hold on the job will be tenuous barring an unexpected turnaround. Sanchez played well at times in 2014 with the Eagles, but was 0-2 as their backup last season, throwing four touchdown passes and four interceptions.
At least Sanchez won’t lack for weapons. The Broncos’ receiving corps of Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Jordan Norwood is formidable, and Denver was able to keep talented running back C.J. Anderson by matching an offer sheet from the Dolphins.
Sanchez won’t have any excuses for flaming out this time.
4. HOW LONG WILL WENTZ SIT?
Sanchez’s most recent former team, the Eagles, insist their depth chart at quarterback is set for their first training camp since Doug Pederson replaced Chip Kelly.
That won’t make the microscope on that position any less intense.
While Sam Bradford is expected to start out getting the No. 1 repetitions in practice ahead of journeyman backup Chase Daniel and top pick Carson Wentz, all eyes are expected to be on Wentz — just like they were in minicamp and OTAs last month.
That’s what happens when you mortgage the future of the franchise to move up to the No. 2 overall pick, which Philadelphia did to land Wentz out of North Dakota State.
Bradford, meanwhile, admits he is on borrowed time with the Eagles, and the undersized Daniel has thrown one regular-season TD pass in his six-year NFL career.
The pressure to get Wentz on the field as the starter will be intense from the outset, especially with the NFC East seemingly up for grabs. The question will soon become how long can the Eagles withstand it.
5. HOW DO THE PANTHERS REPLACE NORMAN?
Not only do the Panthers have a Super Bowl hangover to worry about, but they’re going to have to bounce back without one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in Josh Norman.
Carolina’s decision to remove the franchise tag and let Norman walk to the Redskins in free agency because of a contract dispute was the most surprising personnel move of any team in the offseason.
Losing Norman was compounded this week when the Panthers’ other primary starter at corner last season, Charles Till- man, retired. That leaves journeyman Robert McClain, the littleused Bene Benwikere and three rookies — James Bradberry, Darul Worley and Zack Sanchez — to fight it out for a spot that was one of Carolina’s biggest strengths last season.
Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman better hope those replacements come though. For now, though, it just looks like Gettleman cut off his nose to spite his face.