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In a move that will likely be seen by many Jets fans as a move towards taking the AFC East division title, the New York Jets traded for Browns wide receiver Braylon Edwards this morning.

At first glance, the move would appear to make sense for the Jets–they’ve lacked a big name wide receiver this season, who can stretch the field and take some pressure off of the running game.  Led by a defense that is ranked 3rd in points allowed and 4th in yardage allowed in the NFL and the effective (if not spectacular, for a rookie) play of QB Mark Sanchez, the team started 3-0.

But the Jets passing game is also ranked 27th in the NFL after four games, and Sanchez looked more like a rookie QB last week against the Saints, a team that, while improved defensively, has not had a reputation for having a stout defense in recent years.  And while the running game is currently ranked 9th in the NFL by yardage, that can’t be expected to continue if the team can’t effectively move the ball through the air, as teams will start to put 8-9 guys in the box regularly to stop Thomas Jones and Leon Washington.

Edwards brings to the Jets a rare combination of size and speed, and the pedigree of being a #3 overall pick, in the  2005 draft.  But to be honest, that’s about all the positivity that he brings to the table for the Jets.

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Drew Rosenhaus (@RosenhausSports) has quickly become a big fan of Twitter, updating his 23,000+ followers of the status of several of his numerous NFL clients, like announcing his firm’s signing of Bryant McKinnie or that Mike McKenzie is healthy, has worked out for the Seahawks, and expects to sign somewhere soon.

I wonder, though, how teams will start reacting to his updates, when they may impact their attempts to improve their team.  For instance, this morning, Rosenhaus tweeted:

“The Vikings have informed me that they will be waiving receiver Aundrae Allison by 5pm today if he isn’t traded first.”

As far as I can see, this tweet effectively eliminates whatever little leverage the Vikings may have had in a trade situation–after all, why would a team that’s short on WR and kick return talent give up a late round draft pick for a guy who’s going to hit the waiver wire in a little more than 7 hours?

It makes sense from Rosenhaus’ perspective–if his client is traded, he has no control over the team he lands with, and there is no new contract signed, meaning Rosenhaus doesn’t get another commission.

But if you’re the Vikings, would you put up with Rosenhaus announcing their intentions to the world?  They may have informed Allison/Rosenhause merely in good faith, so it was clear why he wouldn’t be on the practice field today, since they wouldn’t want him getting hurt after the roster decision had been made.

Now, if I were the Vikings, I would consider not waiving him until the end of camp, merely to spite Rosenhaus.

Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Monday awarded more than 2,000 former professional football players a $28.1 million verdict against the NFL Players Association and its licensing and marketing division, after determining that the union and its subsidiary, Players Inc., failed to market retired players’ marketing rights under a group licensing authorization contract.

The contract was supposed to cover licensing of electronic games, collectables, and other merchandise. The jury award included more than $7 million in actual damages and $21 million in punitive damages for the claim, which was originally filed by Herb Adderley.

Adderley wept following the announcement and told the Associated Press “I won three Super Bowls and this feels better than all of them combined.” NFLPA Acting Executive Director Richard Berthelsen told the AP the union planned to ask U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup to toss out the verdict. If that fails, the union intends to appeal.

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On Sunday after the Cleveland Browns lost to Washington Kellen Winslow Jr. went public with details of the medical issue – a staph infection – that kept him out of the team’s game a week earlier.

He said he was upset with the team because it wanted to keep the infection quiet and blamed him for not wanting it revealed, and saved particular venom for general manager Phil Savage for not calling on him while he was hospitalized.

“I heard from [head coach] Romeo Crennel and I heard from my position coach [Alfredo Roberts] when I was in the Clinic. I heard from my teammates. But I never heard from the main man – Phil Savage – and that really disappoints me. Sometimes I don’t even feel a part of this team,” according to an Associated Press story posted at www.nfl.com (and linked to above).

On Tuesday the Browns issued a statement announcing that they have suspended Winslow without pay for one game.

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With Ladell Betts out for a couple weeks the Washington Redskins might sign Shaun Alexander.

The former Seahawk running back is scheduled to meet with the team on Tuesday and will sign if everything goes according to plan, according to the NFL Network and ESPN.com.

Betts’ injury is not considered serious, but ya’ gotta have someone in case Clinton Portis goes down. The former league MVP hasn’t been good since 2005 when he rushed for almost 1900 yards and scored 28 touchdowns.

The guy won me a couple of fantasy football championships over the years but paid a heavy toll on his body. The guess here is that he pops around the league trying out for any team that loses a back for a season or two before hanging it up for good. He’d garnered interest previously from Cincinnati and New Orleans but neither team chose to offer him a deal.