Cooley now using hands for pottery, not Redskins passes

Chris Cooley normally talks about firing off the line to throw a block or catch a pass. But with the NFL lockout nearing one month, he's talking about another type of fire: his passion for pottery.

Yes, the Washington Redskins' two-time Pro Bowl tight end is spending his offseason making kiln-fired vases, bowls and mugs. He even has a shop, The Cooley Gallery, in Leesburg, Va., and planned to hold his first showing Friday night.

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"I love pottery," Cooley told The Washington Post. "I've always loved pottery."

Cooley estimates that he has made 700 pieces since Dec. 3, shortly after he and his wife, Christy, saw an open space in downtown Leesburg and jumped on the opportunity.

"Within a day -- which is pretty normal for how spontaneous I am -- we were like, 'We’re going to have an art gallery,' " Cooley said.

But pottery isn't a passing fancy for Cooley, who was an art major at Utah State. He has a pottery room at his home, too, with a $25,000 wooden kiln outside. He also uses the same pottery wheel his father did while in high school.

So Cooley will concern himself with his pottery pursuits while the league and the players try to settle their differences. He said 30 Redskins players plan to meet at a Northern Virginia high school Wednesday and Thursday for workouts, but otherwise, he'll go on 5-mile runs with Christy and run his shop.

"I don't care; it just doesn't affect me right now," Cooley said of the lockout. "When I'll be pissed off is when the third paycheck doesn't come. I'll give up one and then have to deal with missing two maybe. But after that, I'll be like, 'This is costing me a (expletive)-load of money.' Hey, if they want to tell us, 'You have to miss half of training camp,' great. I'll be ready."

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Report: Chargers would consider using franchise tag on Jackson

Would the San Diego Chargers consider keeping wide receiver Vincent Jackson after spending most of the season in a contract dispute?

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, yes, but most likely only for one more year.

The newspaper reported there remains almost no way the Chargers will sign Jackson to a long-term deal, but they would consider putting a franchise tag (likely worth approximately $10 million for one season) on him if such a designation remains part of the NFL's next collective bargaining agreement. The current labor deal expires March 4.

The team views Jackson, who has sought as much as $50 million for five seasons, as a risk because of his arrests for DUIs and driving with a suspended license. There is the potential for a long suspension from the NFL if he gets in more trouble off the field.

Jackson illustrated his value in this past Thursday night's victory over the San Francisco 49ers, catching three touchdown passes.

Jackson signed his contract tender for this season on Oct. 29 after Week 7. He missed the next three games because of a team-imposed suspension and being placed on the roster exempt list. By being eligible to play for the final six games (he missed one due to injury), he will accrue his sixth season toward free agency.

Jackson and his agent said at one point that the receiver wouldn't play at all this season because of his unhappiness at not getting a long-term deal. Counting the six games and the Chargers' Week 10 bye, Jackson will earn $240,058 rather than the $3,268,000 he would have made had he signed his tender as a restricted free agent before the season.

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Saints RB Thomas using crutches, unsure about injury status

Pierre Thomas hobbled into the New Orleans Saints' locker room on crutches Thursday, keeping weight off his sprained left ankle and sounding perplexed about why his recovery is going so much slower than he'd hoped.

"I really don't know what's the whole problem. Everybody keeps saying it's a sprain or maybe a little tear there," Thomas said. "I don't know for sure if that's true. I'm hearing so many different stories. I don't know what to believe."

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Thomas, the Saints' leading rusher in 2009, accounted for 280 total yards from scrimmage and one rushing touchdown in the first three games of this season. His injury occurred while he was being tackled late in the fourth quarter of a Week 3 overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas returned for the extra period in that game and gained 23 yards on a screen.

Thomas even returned to practice on a limited basis three days before New Orleans' Week 4 loss at Arizona.

At that time, Saints coach Sean Payton sounded optimistic that Thomas was close to returning when he spoke about the possibility of both the running back and safety Roman Harper (then slowed by a hamstring pull) playing in the Cardinals game.

"They were limited, but they got work today, and both of them are progressing quickly," Payton said then, adding that the players would be game-time decisions that week.

Thomas hasn't practiced since, though he seemed to be making progress Wednesday when he was present for the portion of practice open to reporters, participated in the team stretch and did some light jogging.

During the open portion of practice Thursday, however, Thomas was nowhere to be seen.

"All I'm thinking about is just trying to get healthy, just trying to get better," Thomas said. "I was told to stay off my foot. So that's why I'm in the crutches and in the boot. They told me to take a little pressure off, be on crutches for a little while just see how it does."

Thomas said he hasn't been given a timetable on his return, but he doesn't fault the doctors and trainers who have diagnosed and treated the injury.

"I'm not upset with anybody -- no person. I'm upset with my injury," Thomas said. "It's taking too long."

Fellow running back Reggie Bush also didn't practice Thursday as he continues to recover from a broken bone in his lower right leg. It's highly unlikely that Bush will return this week, a league source told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora on Wednesday.

"Both with him and Pierre, there's a little bit of wait and see," Payton said Thursday. "They'd have to do something more than what we've seen these first two days (of practice this week). In Pierre's case, we put him in a walking boot to take some of the pressure off after his workouts leading up to this week, trying to rest it. So it will be unlikely that he gets to practice, and then with Reggie, we'll just monitor him again. We'll list the game status (Friday)."

There were signs of the Saints getting healthier on defense. Starting cornerbacks Jabari Greer (left shoulder) and Tracy Porter (left knee) both practiced Thursday on a limited basis, as did linebacker Scott Shanle.

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Greer was injured during the Saints' Week 6 victory at Tampa Bay. Porter had arthroscopic surgery to repair his left lateral meniscus after injuring himself in Week 4. Shanle has missed two games since pulling his left hamstring.

Porter said he felt "pretty good," but he wasn't yet sure if he'd play Sunday.

"I'd like to," Porter said. "But I want to be smart, just as my coaches and my trainers want to be smart with me as well. If they don't feel it's the right time, they're going to hold me out. But if they tell me I can go, I'm definitely going to be happy and excited about that."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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