Agent: OT Colon hasn't heard from Steelers about new deal

Willie Colon has spent his entire five-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but his agent doesn't sound hopeful that the offensive tackle will be back with the team this season.

"They haven't called about Willie in three years," Joe Linta told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Thursday. "I'm not expecting them to call because they haven't yet. That's the way they do business, and that's fine. But if they do call, we'll pick up the phone."

Colon, 28, is one of 14 Steelers players who will become unrestricted free agents when the NFL lockout is lifted, according to the Post-Gazette. He was the Steelers' starting right tackle for three seasons before an Achilles injury suffered last summer cost him all of 2010.

A Bronx, N.Y., native, Colon was selected by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Hofstra University. The veteran has made it clear he wants to return to Pittsburgh, but the feeling might not be mutual.

"He loves the team and loves the city," Linta said. "But they have to want him, and they haven't shown that yet."

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Favre enjoying retirement, hasn't decided next move

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Brett Favre says while his playing days are definitely over, he hasn't decided what he's going to do with himself in the coming years.

The three-time NFL Most Valuable Player hosted the "Brett Favre 7 on 7 at The Rock" football camp on the campus of Southern Miss, his alma mater, on Tuesday. He mingled with players and coaches in the nearly 100-degree heat, and occasionally squads would gather around the 41-year-old for a pep talk.

"I'm just one of the guys," Favre said. "And I enjoy it that way. If anything, that's what I want these kids to take away from this."

The 24-team camp for high school players was used to raise money for the quarterback's "Favre 4 Hope Foundation" and his "USM Brett Favre Scholarship" endowment.

Favre says he likes dealing with young players, citing their willingness to learn, but didn't want to be tied down by a full-time coaching commitment. He says he has enjoyed staying around Southern Miss but has "no plans right now and we'll see where that takes me."

Favre has made occasional appearances in his home state during the spring, including throwing out the first pitch before a game during the Conference USA baseball tournament in Pearl.

The quarterback has famously flip-flopped about his playing future in the past, retiring with the Green Bay Packers in 2008 and the New York Jets in 2009 before deciding to play again. This time, it appears he's content to be a bystander.

"It's been a long time since I watched a high school football game, or a college game for that matter," Favre said. "I kind of look forward to it."

Favre played last season with the Minnesota Vikings, but his 20th year in the league was remembered more for injuries and off-the-field turmoil than results on the field. He threw just 11 touchdowns compared to 19 interceptions and his 69.9 quarterback rating was the lowest of his career.

He also was hounded with allegations that he sent lewd photos and messages to a Jets female employee when both worked for the team in 2008, and was fined $50,000 by the NFL for failing to cooperate with the investigation.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Alumni leader feels NFLPA's Smith hasn't communicated well

George Martin was in a celebratory mood this weekend as he attended a 25th anniversary celebration of the New York Giants' 1986 Super Bowl championship team. But the former standout defensive end and current director of the NFL Alumni Association had tough words for NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith.

Martin has been vocal in his displeasure with the lack of communication between the players union and the former players that Martin represents.

"When you don't have a conversation with the recognized leader of the NFL alumni, how can you say you have the best interests of retired players at heart when you won't even sit down and talk to their leadership," Martin told The Star-Ledger (Newark, N.J.) in Sunday's edition. "That to me flies in the face of that rationale."

Martin's frustrations stem from a now more than one-and-a-half year fruitless effort to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Smith. Earlier this year, Martin resorted to outside help to facilitate a sitdown, getting three congressmen -- including former NFL quarterback Heath Shuler -- to send a letter to Smith calling for a meeting with the alumni association.

Martin speculated in March that the NFLPA viewed the alumni association as "a pawn of the league," according to the New York Daily News.

“I’ve never been given the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about some of the similarities or some of our objectives,” Martin said. “I really resent the fact that that opportunity hasn’t been presented to me despite his pledge to do so. You have to be a man of your word. You have to have the integrity. I think that calls into question where Mr. DeMaurice Smith resides.”

The NFLAA continues to have a strong relationship with the league, something Martin isn't afraid to admit. Martin told The Star-Ledger the NFLAA has met with Commissioner Roger Goodell at least 20 times.

“When that’s the only open door to you, when that’s the only receptive door to you, you have a tendency to take full advantage of it,” Martin said. “We’ve done that and we are doing that. It seems instead of DeMaurice Smith following suit and saying let’s do likewise, he has criticized those meetings -- which I think is deplorable.”

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Veteran CB Hobbs hasn't decided on future after neck surgery

Many people believed Ellis Hobbs' NFL career was over seven months ago, after he suffered another neck injury, but the 28-year-old cornerback insisted Saturday that he hasn't made a decision about his future.

"All I'm doing is relaxing," Hobbs told the Boston Herald. "Because of the lockout, it's just giving me extra time to work on other things. But none of the doctors have said I need to shut it down, I need to stop playing. I myself haven't even thought about that, or going that route. I've weighed both sides of it, and I'm pretty comfortable where I am right now."

Hobbs took a hit to the helmet on the second-half kickoff during his Philadelphia Eagles' 27-17 victory over the New York Giants on Nov. 21. He had full movement of all extremities and gave a thumbs up to the crowd as he was carted off the field.

A neck injury also ended Hobbs' 2009 season, and a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora in November that the cornerback "very likely" would retire after having his second surgery.

If Hobbs decides to play next season, he would be an unrestricted free agent. He has 225 tackles and 10 interceptions in his six-year NFL career, which he started as a New England Patriot.

If Hobbs does choose retirement, he has a backup plan. He returned to Iowa State University in 2009 to receive his bachelor's degree in art and design, fulfilling a promise to his mother after he left school seven credits short.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Jets owner says his respect for Ryan hasn't diminished

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The finger. The show. The reporter. The knee. The wall. And, now, the feet.

Through it all, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has stood by his coach and team during this, ahem, interesting -- and winning -- year.

Rex Ryan (left) has owner Woody Johnson's support, despite reports of a foot-fetish video linked to the Jets coach.

"I'm very proud of the organization," Johnson said Thursday. "I think the organization responded very responsibly in every case. The culture that I'm looking for is starting to develop and has developed to the point where the people in this building are able to handle it and be resilient and focused on what our real job is, and that's playing football."

Johnson still had to answer plenty of non-football questions during a 10-4 season in which the Jets are a victory away from a second straight playoff berth under Rex Ryan.

His latest defense came a day after the embarrassed coach declined comment about a foot-fetish report posted by the sports website Deadspin.

"I have a lot of respect for Rex and his family," Johnson said. "My respect has not diminished one iota."

The site put up four videos of a woman -- she bears a close resemblance to Ryan's wife, Michelle -- and shows her displaying her toes to an off-screen cameraman who sounds a lot like the coach. Ryan said Wednesday it was a "personal matter." Johnson thinks it is, too.

"My reaction is I don't really want to talk about that," Johnson said. "I'm going to respect Rex and how he wanted to characterize it. It's a personal matter, and that's the way it is."

Johnson said he has spoken with Ryan and offered his support.

"He's still the coach of the New York Jets," the owner said.

Ryan's twin brother, Rob, who is Cleveland's defensive coordinator, refused to get dragged into the Jets' latest drama.

"That's a personal thing with Rex," he said. "Whatever happened happened. I don't think any of us have wings on."

Johnson disagrees with the perception that the Jets have racked up an "inordinate" number of headline-grabbing distractions this season, something some fans and media have attributed to Ryan's brash personality.

"I don't think it's loosey-goosey, and I don't think we lack discipline," Johnson said. "You can't win the number of games we've won, even with a rookie quarterback (last season) with a loosey-goosey anything. We are very disciplined. I think the perception is that he smiles, or whatever, and that gets confused for a lack of whatever. But I don't look at it that way.

"I know the players don't, either. Players want to feel that they are getting better, and they want to feel that the people in command are giving them a formula that they are capable of winning with. I think they feel it. I know they feel it."

The NFL paid the Jets a visit last week about a play Dec. 12, when assistant coach Sal Alosi tripped a Miami player running along the sideline during a game.

"Obviously, tripping somebody outside by a nonplayer is something we don't condone," Johnson said. "You can call it a violation. It's a rules violation. It's not called because it's not done very often."

Alosi, the Jets' strength and conditioning coach, was initially suspended by the team without pay for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, and fined an additional $25,000. The team suspended him indefinitely two days later when it learned Alosi was responsible for ordering inactive players to form a sideline wall.

Johnson, who spoke to Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and apologized, hasn't decided what to do with Alosi.

"Indefinitely is a pretty long time," Johnson said. "We're focused on the season, not really the season, but we're focused on the Chicago Bears at this point. In football, that's about as far as you can go."

Johnson also called New England owner Bob Kraft to apologize after Jets special-teams coordinator Mike Westhoff said the Patriots also use the wall tactic.

"Our job is not to insult another team, particularly from a coach or owner's standpoint," Johnson said. "That's not what we're here to do."

After a series of high-profile moves in the offseason, when the team brought in LaDainian Tomlinson, Jason Taylor and Antonio Cromartie, things really heated up in the summer when the Jets became reality-TV stars on HBO's "Hard Knocks."

Ryan's foul language drew the ire of many, including former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, and all the boasts about being "soon-to-be champs" rubbed other teams the wrong way.

September brought an investigation by the league after reporter Ines Sainz, of TV Azteca, said she felt uncomfortable in the team's locker room. As a result, the NFL developed a workplace-conduct program, underwritten by Johnson.

A few weeks later, wide receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested and charged with drunken driving, a case that is still pending. Prosecutors say Edwards had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit after he was pulled over in Manhattan. He already was on probation after pleading no contest to aggravated disorderly conduct in a dustup outside a Cleveland nightclub. Edwards is due back in court Jan. 11.

Last January, Ryan was fined $50,000 by the team after he was caught on a cell-phone camera flipping his middle finger at a fan during a mixed-martial arts competition in Sunrise, Fla.

Through it all, Johnson insists his team will continue to improve -- on and off the field.

"Once we've made a mistake, I think we are pretty good at trying to make remedies, trying to cure, trying to correct what we're doing, and we try to get better every year," he said. "We're going to work on things like our culture. We're going to work on trying to make ourselves an organization that doesn't have, preferably, any incidents, but we know that we're going to have some."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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