NFL Training Camps 2015: Updates, Rumors and Analysis for August 5

It's every NFL team's worst fear this time of year.

Every squad enters training camp with two mantras: Get ready for the regular season and avoid injuries.

Well, the Houston Texans are one for two.

As Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com reports, running back Arian Foster will be sidelined indefinitely after injuring his groin in practice earlier this week. Foster will have surgery Friday, per ESPN.com, and it looks like Foster will open the season on injured reserve/designated for return.

Head coach Bill O' Brien indicated that the Texans will look to sign another back, stating, "We want someone that can do a little bit of everything." 

Houston is already on the case in that regard, and it's there we'll begin our Wednesday look around NFL training camps.

Texans Sign Pierre...Wait, Scratch That

Rogelio Solis/Associated Press

Well, at least it looked like Texans general manager Rick Smith was on the case.

As Tuesday turned to Wednesday, numerous reports indicated that veteran tailback Pierre Thomas was headed to Houston for a visit. The belief was that if all went well, the Texans would ink the 30-year-old, who could at least serve as a third-down back with Foster on the shelf.

Or maybe not.

Sure enough, Thomas visited with the Texans, but then he left town without a contract. LaMont Smith, Thomas' agent, tweeted that "Thomas had a great visit and work out with texans, unfortunately we were unable to agree on terms."

The reason? What do you think? Same reason it always is.

Per Mike Garafalo of Fox Sports1, Thomas was "holding out hope for some decent coin."

Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle added the Texans also worked out former New York Jets scat-back Joe McKnight and former Texas A&M standout Ben Malena.

That news was greeted by Texans fans collectively reaching for the liquor cabinet. 

Contract Extension for DeAndre Levy

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

Last year, the Detroit Lions rode one of the NFL's stoutest defenses to a postseason berth.

And after watching defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh depart to sign the richest free-agent contract for a defensive player in NFL history, the Lions took steps Wednesday to ensure the same doesn't happen to their best linebacker.

As Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweeted, the Lions have agreed to terms with DeAndre Levy on a multiyear contract extension. Terms have yet to be disclosed.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew made it clear to Josh Katzenstein of the Detroit News on Tuesday that the team had no intention of letting Levy, 28, slip away.

"

He's a heck of a football player, just a playmaker on our defense. Versus the run and the pass, the guy's an impact player, so we definitely want to keep him on our defense — very important to our football team. His leadership is also excellent, professional in every sense of the word, so he has a lot of value to us. And he's one of our own guys, so we want to definitely keep him around.

"

The Lions had good reason to keep Levy in the fold. After a relatively quiet first four NFL seasons, Levy has piled up 270 total tackles the past two years. His 151 stops a year ago ranked second in the NFL. His six interceptions in 2013 led all linebackers.

And among all 4-3 outside linebackers, only Khalil Mack of the Oakland Raiders and Von Miller of the Denver Broncos received a higher grade than Levy in 2014 from Pro Football Focus.

Jay Ajayi Struggling for Dolphins

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Despite becoming the first player in FBS history to accrue over 1,800 passing yards and 500 rushing yards in a season last year at Boise State, running back Jay Ajayi fell to the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft. Most assumed it was due to his balky knee.

That may not have been the only reason.

Ajayi has consistently been running as the No. 4 tailback in training camp with the Miami Dolphins.

Mike Tannenbaum, vice president of football operations, didn't mince words when talking to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald about Ajayi's chances at a big role as a rookie: "There are things we like about him, but if he can’t pass protect, he will never be active. I don’t care how talented he is between the tackles. If Jay Ajayi can’t pass protect, he won’t be active."

Granted, it's still early. There's ample time for Ajayi, who might be the most talented pure runner on the roster, to climb the Dolphins depth chart.

But it appears the youngster has a lot of ground to make up.

Matt Cassel Tearing It Up

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

I'm not sure if that means tearing—like a piece of paper—or tearing—as in that's what the eyes of Bills fans will be doing when Cassel winds up being Buffalo's starting quarterback.

Probably that second one.

However, according to Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News, that's where things seem headed in the early part of the least inspiring quarterback battle in the NFL this side of Cleveland:

"

After four training-camp practices, Matt Cassel seems to have done just enough to edge his way ahead of EJ Manuel and Tyrod Taylor.

Not far ahead, mind you, but enough to say that if this were Sept. 13 — when the Bills open the regular season against Indianapolis — Cassel would be the likely choice.

Or, to be more precise, the default choice.

"

Per Carucci, Cassel has looked like what he is: a steady, if unspectacular, veteran who has been kicked around the league over a decade.

The 33-year-old told Carucci as much as anything it's simply been a matter of becoming comfortable in a new system: "I feel further along than I was when I went through the minicamps and the offseason program. And so I just have to continue to build on what I’m doing as a player and hopefully continue to grow and get the chance to be a starter."

At least Texans fans won't be drinking alone.

All Aboard the Zach Ertz Breakout Bandwagon...or Not

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

If you want to know who football fans have tabbed for a breakout season, you need look no farther than fantasy football, where tabbing such breakouts before they happen can be the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

In that regard, Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz has been a trendy pick in a year when there just isn't a lot of top-end talent at the position.

The only problem? Someone forgot to tell Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly.

This, despite a number of glowing training camp reports from Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"

The Zach Ertz Catch of the Day had been a part of the last note in my observations after the previous two practices, but it deserves to go straight to the top after the tight end’s performance on Tuesday. Ertz had several standout moments, but his best grab came late in the session. QB Mark Sanchez threw a pass just slightly behind Ertz on a seam route, but with great body control he went up for the ball over LB Mychal Kendricks and came down with the catch. Ertz was slow to get up, but walked it off and returned. But that wasn’t all. During one series, he caught all three passes from Sanchez — a comebacker, a toss over the middle with LB Jordan Hicks on his back, and on a crosser. Ertz continues to work with the second team offense behind Brent Celek.

"

It's that last part that resonates. No one is debating that Ertz is much more athletic and a much better receiver than Celek.

However, no one is debating that Celek, who ranked second at his position in run blocking last year per Pro Football Focus, is much more adept in that regard, either.

And it's that second argument that appears to matter most with King Chip the First.

TCB in Tennessee

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

When the Tennessee Titans made Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft, much was made of how Mariota would transition from Oregon's Quack Attack spread to a more conventional offense.

Turns out that may have been much ado about nothing.

After watching Mariota work out with the team, Robert Klemko of The MMQB came away impressed. "It can't be overstated how sharp Mariota looks in practice," Klemko tweeted, "and that's before you get into a comparison with Mettenberger. Not even close."

A unnamed teammate has been similarly taken aback with how quickly Mariota picked up the Titans' scheme, according to Klemko: "He can really spin it. Been looking guys off since Day 1. We got the right one."

However, David Climer of the Tennessean wrote that the Mariota-hype train might be barreling along just a bit too fast:

"

Marcus Mariota missed an open receiver in practice the other day. He botched a handoff in another practice.

I swear. I saw both with my own two eyes.

I raise these points because somebody needs to tap the brakes on the runaway Mariota bandwagon. The guy’s human. He hasn’t single-handedly rescued the Titans franchise just yet. Can we wait a couple of weeks before naming him MVP of Super Bowl 50?

"

Is Mariota going to take the NFL by storm in 2015? Probably not. Rookie signal-callers rarely do.

Still, after a two-win season, fans of the Titans would settle for a few showers and a thunderclap or two.

Palmer Pushing to Practice

Matt York/Associated Press

The Arizona Cardinals were one of the NFL's best teams for a time last year. After 11 games, the Redbirds were 9-2 -- best record in the league.

Of course, that time was when they had a capable quarterback. When Carson Palmer tore his ACL for the second time, the wheels starting wobbling. They fell completely off after Drew Stanton went down too.

To date, the reports surrounding Palmer's rehab have been universally positive. So much so, in fact, that Palmer complained to Darren Urban of the team's website about missing one day of practice.

"

It was something I argued with for probably six weeks and then just gave up because I realized I was getting nowhere with it. I understand it, I get it, I’m not going to like it, but it is what it is. I won’t admit that to them, but I understand what their thinking is. You have to stay in your lane, leave medical decisions to the experts we have.

"

Yes, Carson Palmer complained about getting a day off from work.

It's still early, and quick recovery or no we'll still talking about an aging an immobile quarterback playing on a twice-torn ACL.

But so long as Palmer's healthy, the Cardinals remain the NFL's least-talked about legitimate Super Bowl contender.

Yeah, I said it.

Floyd Flubs Fingers

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

It wasn't all sunshine and puppies in the desert Wednesday, though.

As Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweeted, "Michael Floyd will miss roughly six weeks I'm told with three broken fingers on left hand. Big, big part of the AZ offense. Injured today."

Ouch, both literally and figuratively.

Yes, Floyd was coming off a relatively down year, with his receiving yardage dropping from 1,041 in a breakout 2013 to 841 last year and his receptions free-falling from 65 to only 47.

However, most of Floyd's struggles a year ago were late in the season, when the Cardinals didn't have a quarterback capable of taking advantage of his speed.

Carson Palmer can do that.

But he won't be doing it for a while.

It may not be as long as originally feared though. Late Wednesday evening Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic reported that Floyd had only dislocated the fingers and would be out a month.

It still hurts. Just not as much.