As to be expected. At this point, there's no reason to unilaterally assume Gronk won't be ready for Week 1 — two and a half months is a long time — but there's still far more reason to believe he won't be ready than will be ready. We're unlikely to get a good read on Gronk's regular season status before mid-August. All we know for now is that he'll start camp on the active/PUP list.

"There are enough people around the league that believe Matt Cassel is good enough to challenge Ponder," stated Schefter, adding that Cassel "could unseat Ponder at some point this season." Although Schefter confirmed Ponder won't lose his job before Week 1, he called it a "situation that bears watching." Ponder endured a brutal nine-game stretch last season (Weeks 7-16) where he completed 140-of-245 passes (57.1 percent) for just 1,267 yards (5.17 YPA), and a 7:8 TD-to-INT ratio with two lost fumbles. Ponder was serviceable to solid (67.2 percent, 7.01 YPA, 11:4) in his other seven starts.

La Canfora expects talks to come down to the July 15 deadline, but believes the Broncos are "edging closer to reality on what the cost will be." Clady is believed to be seeking Joe Thomas or Jason Peters money, which would put him in the neighborhood of $35-$45 million guaranteed. The Broncos would be wise not to upset the man tasked with protecting Peyton Manning's blindside.

We can now safely say that the broken ankle that ruined Brown's 2012 season is water under the bridge. And since the Chargers are installing a more precise offense that de-emphasizes the deep ball, Brown has a realistic shot to beat out Malcom Floyd for the starting Z receiver spot. He's a far superior route-runner. Brown has plenty of sleeper appeal in upcoming fantasy drafts.