Saturday 12/22/07 Player Notes

DEUCE MCALLISTER

From Rotoworld:

Saints coach Sean Payton says the team plans to bring back Deuce McAllister next season.

"Good backs like him are hard to come by," Payton said. He's returning from his second ACL tear and will be due $3.6 million next season, but the Saints' struggles without him show his value. The Saints are optimistic he'll be ready for training camp, and will give him every chance to make the team.

There had been speculation that Deuce would be cut this off-season due to his injury history and unreliability, but his return may help boost a Saints' running game that has struggled all season. I think this relative stability gives McAllister a slight boost in value, but keep in mind that he's going to be staring down the barrel of age 30 going into next season while continuing to split carries with Reggie Bush. In other words, don't go overpaying to get him on your roster just because the Saints have indicated they won't cut him after the season.

LARRY FITZGERALD

From Rotoworld

Larry Fitzgerald's base salary in 2008 is scheduled to be around $16 million after he met certain incentives, including a Pro Bowl berth.

The Cardinals won't be able to pay that amount, so they'll be looking to re-work Fitzgerald's deal this offseason. Fitz says he wants to stay in Arizona long term. The sides should be able to reach a multi-year accord.

Whispers of a Fitzgerald exit from Arizona have made the rounds ever since family friend Denny Green was canned. I wouldn't be shocked to see Fitz traded, but I don't think the odds are very high. Chances are he'll be back in Arizona with a reworked contract and Matt Leinart under center.

BRENT CELEK

From Philadelphia Daily News:

Nobody is going to come right out and say so, but the Eagles are very interested in what rookie tight end Brent Celek does in the remaining two games, as they look to 2008 with L.J. Smith poised to become a free agent.

Celek is scheduled to start Sunday in New Orleans. Smith is sidelined with a knee injury and veteran backup Matt Schobel sustained a concussion in the first series last week at Dallas. Celek played the remainder of that game and caught three passes for 50 yards, including a clutch 29-yard gain on third down that allowed the Eagles to run out the clock.

Celek led Eagles receivers in the preseason, but his regular-season role has been less than what his training-camp performance might have indicated, especially the past few months, after Smith's persistent groin problem got better. Smith suffered a knee injury in the Dec. 9 loss to the New York Giants.

"Brent's the starter, Brent's the man right now, and he was last week, as well," Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said yesterday. "Right when Matt went down, he became the man, right at that point - and that was real early in the game. He's done a nice job. He makes very few mistakes, plays at a pretty high level, and he does that on a consistent basis. He's been impressive, especially this being his first year."

Celek, a fifth-round pick from Cincinnati, has 11 catches for 125 yards. He has played in every game, but he caught only two passes in a six-game stretch from Nov. 4 through the Giants game. If the Eagles are going to move forward without Smith, it's hard to see how they could have seen enough of Celek so far to make them confident he can start in 2008.

"I'm excited, but I still have a job to do," Celek said yesterday, when asked about getting his first start. "I'm not really looking to next year right now. I want to finish up this year. We'll think about next year when the season's over.

"I think I'm getting better every week. I still have a lot of things to work on, these next 2 weeks and in the offseason, but I think I'm progressing positively."

Mornhinweg said the coaches have been very pleased.

"We certainly thought he would develop into a fine football player," Mornhinweg said. "His development has been at a real fast pace. We saw that he was real sharp and smart and had a chance to help us early . . . A lot of things happen at that spot, and they happen fast."

Celek has emerged as a sleeper tight end the same way Jeff King did last off-season. The Eagles look to be going with somewhat of a youth movement at QB and TE with all signs pointing to the Kevin Kolb/A.J. Feeley combo likely to take over under center and Brent Celek/Matt Schoebel lining up at tight end. The writing has been on the wall for some time that free agent L.J. Smith won't be back with the Eagles. I think Celek has more athletic ability than Jeff King, but it's doubtful that he'll approach the reception numbers that King has put up this season. He'll likely have much less value in PPR leagues, but he may have a higher long-term upside than the athletically limited, reception-heavy King. That said, let's see how he fares in these last two games before we go ga-ga over his value.