Time for a look at the top headlines from around the division:
ATLANTA FALCONS
D. Orlando Ledbetter has his projection of what the depth chart looks like at the moment. He has Lamar Holmes as the starting right tackle. It’s entirely possible Holmes could end up in that spot for the regular season. But Mike Johnson also is a possibility. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Falcons add another tackle in the draft.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Scott Fowler writes that he thinks newly acquired Domenik Hixon will win the third receiver spot. There’s going to be a lot of competition there. But one guy that’s easy to overlook is David Gettis, who has had some injury problems. If Gettis can get back to full strength, he’ll have a shot to be the third receiver.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
Larry Holder throws out some names of free agents the Saints still could pursue. He mentions three candidates (Tyson Clabo, Jared Gaither and Max Starks) for the vacant spot at left tackle. The issue here is money. The Saints have very little cap space. Unless they can get one of those guys at a bargain rate, they’ll have to draft a left tackle.
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS
There’s been a lot of speculation out there about the relationship between coach Greg Schiano and quarterback Josh Freeman. Scott Reynolds sums it up better than I’ve seen anyone else do it as he writes that Schiano “likes’’ but does not “love’’ Freeman. There were moments last season when Freeman looked great and other moments when he didn’t look good at all. Freeman needs to play well consistently if he’s going to gain the “love’’ of his head coach and earn a long-term contract.
