The Facts: Following up on an ongoing story. ... Russell is on site and particpating in the Raiders’ offseason program, the club confirmed without any other comment. Reported by the Oakland Tribune

Diehards Line: The Raiders have no plans to make Russell available to the media, so there won’t be any opportunity to see if the weight loss alluded to be director of player development Willie Brown is obvious to a casual observer. ESPN insider Adam Schefter, however, is comfirming the previously reported weight loss -- and a new throwing motion. ... Stay tuned.

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The Facts: Havner, who scored four touchdowns on only seven catches during the 2009 regular season -- and one touchdown on two catches in a playoff loss at Arizona -- recently was arrested for DUI in California after crashing a motorcycle. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: According to TheUnion.com, Havner lost control of a motorcycle, fracturing a scapula and suffering cuts to the back of his head and left arm. He was not wearing a helmet. ... As for the legal issues, Greg Bedard of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that while Havner was arrested, the prosecutor will have to decide whether to pursue charges. ... More as the story plays out.

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The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... Raiders director of squad development Willie Brown said on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area Monday that Russell has undergone a transformation in the offseason and wasn’t present at the first day of the offseason program tending to personal business. "He’ll be back in town today and ready to go (Tuesday),” Brown said. Reported by the Oakland Tribune

Diehards Line: Brown went on to say the QB has been in Phoenix getting in shape, a long-running rumor neither the Raiders nor Russell’s agents would confirm. “You’ll be surprised when you see him,” Brown said. “It’s quite a bit of weight that he’s lost. ... I don’t want to pin it down and say how much he lost but it will be a significant difference when you see him compared to last year." Stay tuned.

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The Facts: Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted, and PFT has separately confirmed, that Scaife signed his tender, giving him a one-year deal with the team for a guaranteed salary of $4,908,200. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: As a fifth-year player, Scaife is one of the free agents who would have been unrestricted in a normal year but were instead restricted in the uncapped 2010. That allowed the Titans to tender him at 110 percent of his 2009 salary, rather than the franchise level, which would have been $5.9 million. The Titans franchised Scaife last year, and he signed the tender. ... In 2009 Scaife played in 14 games, starting 10, and caught 45 passes for 440 yards.

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The Facts: Favre hasn't announced his intentions about playing in 2010, but we came across what appears to be a gigantic clue that he'll be back. That clue is this: A source familiar with the Vikings situation told Newsday's Bob Glauber that Favre was heavily involved in the recruitment process late last week for RB LaDainian Tomlinson.  Reported by New York Newsday

Diehards Line: According to Glauber, it is believed that Favre spoke to Tomlinson by phone and while recruiting effort ultimately came up short, Profootballtalk.com's Michael David Smith correctly suggests if Favre is actively trying to recruit players for the Vikings' 2010 roster, that's a pretty big clue that Favre himself plans to be on the Vikings' 2010 roster. ... Not that we should expect an announcement or official confirmation any time soon.

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The Facts: Bulger’s future in St. Louis may be tenuous at best, but he remains under contract with the Rams. As such, he was among the Rams’ players on hand Monday for the start of the team’s off-season conditioning program. Reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Diehards Line: Per the Post-Dispatch, the turnout Monday was good. Among the notable absences was running back Steven Jackson, but he was at Rams Park all of last week. ... Getting back to Bulger, all indications are the veteran signal caller will be moving on. But it doesn't look like he's ready to do anything to force management's hand.

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The Facts: Martin, who has a background with Seahawks general manager John Schneider from three seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2006-08, signed a one-year deal with the team. Reported by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Diehards Line: Martin, 27, played eight games for the St. Louis Rams in 2009 and caught six passes for 99 yards, including two for 60 yards against the Seahawks in a 27-17 Seattle win on Nov. 29. The 6-4, 220-pounder has 58 career receptions for 848 yards and six touchdowns in his NFL career. Martin's best season for Green Bay came as a rookie in 2006 when he pulled in 21 passes for 358 yards, including seven catches of 20 or more yards.

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The Facts: The Raiders kicked off offseason voluntary workouts today at team headquarters. No visible sign of Russell, though.Several players who have been at the facility for weeks said they have not seen the former No. 1 overall draft pick. When asked if he'll show today, one starter laughed and said "That's a horror show." Another starter said "don't hold your breath." Reported by the San Francisco Chronicle

Diehards Line: Meanwhile, fellow QBs Charlie Frye showed up, saying he signed his original draft pick tender. Bruce Gradkowski has been there all along, rehabbing his knees and preparing to compete for the starting job. ... For what it's worth, Russell did show up for last year's off-season program a week after it started. And it should also be noted that the workouts are voluntary.

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The Facts: According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, Simms has been released. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: With Brady Quinn now under contract at a base salary of only $700,000, the Broncos were able to part ways with Simms, who was last season's primary backup. Simms was due to earn a base salary of $2.54 million in 2010. Last year, he earned $1.96 million. The move leaves the Broncos with three QBs under contract: Kyle Orton, Quinn, and Tom Brandstater. ... For what it's worth, ESPN insider Adam Schefter suggests that Brandstater might be the best long-term prospect of the group.

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The Facts: The Steelers started offseason workouts today and there is one notable absence. Roethlisberger is not working out with his teammates and is not at the Steelers' practice facility. Reported by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Diehards Line: Roethlisberger has stayed out of sight since getting accused of sexual assault in Milledgeville, Ga. It's not clear if the decision to stay away is exclusively Roethlisberger's. The QB has met with team officials, who are said to be very disappointed with the situations he finds himself in. It would't be terribly surprising to learn all involved are on board with the absence as part of an effort to avoid distraction.

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The Facts: With former first-round pick Brady Quinn now shipped from Cleveland to Denver, there's a question as to whether Quinn or Orton will be the starting quarterback for the Broncos. Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that the new guy won't supplant the holdover; per Klis, Orton will start. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: Though Orton's status could change, PFT's Mike Florio points out the decision makes sense, for a couple of reasons. First, Orton is a restricted free agent, tendered at the first-round level. His base salary is $2.62 million, nearly four times greater than Quinn's $700,000 compensation. Then there's the fact that Quinn will unlock $5.9 million in 2011 escalators if he takes 70 percent or more of the snaps on offense this season. By making him the backup, the Broncos are guaranteed to get two seasons out of him at a total payout of a paltry, relatively speaking, $1.4 million.

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The Facts: The Lions begin their off-season conditioning program next week and HC Jim Schwartz said Stafford, who is coming off December knee surgery, should be ready to go. "There's probably some things that he'll take maybe a little slower, but I don't think he'll have a whole lot of restrictions," Schwartz said.  Reported by the Detroit News

Diehards Line: The Lions will bring Stafford along slowly and build his workload as he goes along. "He's had some rehab time where he hasn't been able to do as much maybe as other players," Schwartz explained. "But there is nothing he can't do, it's just a matter of getting him back up to speed and back into the shape he needs to be in. ..." With Daunte Culpepper an unrestricted free agent, the arrival of QB Shaun Hill, acquired in a trade with San Francisco, will provide the team with another arm to help keep receivers busy as Stafford works his way up to speed.

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The Facts: According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it's official: Tomlinson is a Jet. He reached agreement on a two-year contract. Done. Reported by FootballDiehards.com

Diehards Line: Stay tuned on this one. ... It will be very interesting to see how Tomlinson's contract compares with the one Thomas Jones signed in Kansas City (two years, $5 million). It's widely believed Jones, a very popular figure in New York's locker room, gave the Jets an opportunity to match the Chiefs' offer. It's not clear how the arrival of an aging running back on the decline (LT) will go over given the departure of a more popular -- and still very productive veteran -- might go over. ... Meanwhile, it's safe to say Tomlinson will open the season behind second-year man Shonn Greene. ... Again: More to come.

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The Facts: Jay Glazer of Fox Sports is reporting that Quinn was just traded from the Cleveland Browns to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Peyton Hillis and two conditional draft picks. Reported by Profootballtalk.com

Diehards Line: As PFT's Michael David Smith points out, we've known since the Browns acquired QBs Seneca Wallace and Jake Delhomme that Quinn was available. Now he'll battle Kyle Orton for the starting job in Denver. Orton has to be considered the favorite based on experience in HC Josh McDaniels' scheme. But there are those who believe Quinn was never given a fair shake in Cleveland and he's capable of more than we've seen. Either way, the Broncos' QB competition just became more interesting.

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The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... ESPN's John Clayton reports Tomlinson's agent is planning to negotiate with both the Vikings and Jets on Sunday to see if a deal can be finalized. Tomlinson visited the Vikings and Jets this past week. Reported by ESPN.com

Diehards Line: There are two reports that say Tomlinson is poised to sign with the New York Jets. The San Diego Union Tribune and Sports Illustrated say that it will happen. Both reports point out that the deal is not signed. However, Union-Tribune staffer Kevin Acee later reported that Tomlinson said his mind is not made up. ... We'll go ahead and suggest the obvious: LT won't make up his mind until the the bidding plays out. Stay tuned.

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The Facts: The Cardinals and Seahawks have extended contract offers to Whitehurst, the Chargers restricted free-agent QB. according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Reported by NFL.com

Diehards Line: Whitehurst, San Diego’s No. 3 QB behind Philip Rivers and Billy Volek, will make a decision on which offer sheet to sign within the next 48 hours, according to NFL.com's Steve Wyche. Once Whitehurst signs a contract, San Diego has seven days to match the offer. The fact that the Cardinals and the Seahawks have extended offers to the fourth-year veteran who has yet to throw an NFL pass means, at the very least, that they plan to add depth behind Matt Leinart and Matt Hasselbeck, respectively. It is more likely that Whitehurst could get an opportunity to compete with both QBs, who aren’t locks to start for their teams in 2010.

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The Facts: The 49ers have agreed to trade Hill to the Detroit Lions for a seventh-round draft pick in 2011, according to a league source.  Reported by the Sacramento Bee

Diehards Line: Hill, who was 10-6 as the 49ers starter, finished the season behind Alex Smith on the depth chart. The 49ers recently signed a new backup quarterback in David Carr. As Bee staffer Matthew Barrows notes, the Lions OC, Scott Linehan, is familiar with Hill having coached him in Minnesota. Linehan also was the Rams head coach in 2008. Hill and the 49ers swept the Rams that season.

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The Facts: According to three people with knowledge of the process, Tomlinson has decided to become a New York Jet. "It's 100 percent," one source said. "Done deal." Tomlinson is expected to announce the decision today or tomorrow. Reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune

Diehards Line: Union-Tribune staffer Kevin Acee stressed, however, that a decision has not yet been officialy made. Tomlinson also visited the Minnesota Vikings last week, spending two days in Minneapolis before going to New York. He returned to San Diego on Saturday. ... Stay tuned.

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The Facts: According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Cleveland landed its second QB of the week, this time Delhomme.  Reported by FootballDiehards.com

Diehards Line: Per Schefter, the two sides agreed to a two-year deal. The next question is what becomes of Brady Quinn? Browns President Mike Holmgren said on Friday that Quinn's future with the club depended on the acquisition of another QB. Now they have one -- although Delhomme won't be handed the starting job. So the bigger question, it seems, is whether Quinn will be in the mix with Delhomme and fellow newcomer Seneca Wallace. ... No matter the final field, Holmgren said he hoped that a starter would be named some time before training camp. "I'm going to kind of set the table, and then it's really Coach (Eric) Mangini's call," Holmgen said.

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The Facts: Having lost out on former Patriots TE Benjamin Watson on Friday, the Seahawks reached agreement with another former Patriots TE, Baker on Saturday, a league source said. Reported by ESPN.com

Diehards Line: Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Baker will sign a two-year, $4.75 million deal that includes $2.75 million in the first year with the Seahawks, according to the source. Seattle was anxious to upgrade its tight ends behind talented youngster John Carlson. Now that it has, New England doesn't have a proven TE on its roster.

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