Falcons release Asante Samuel

When the Atlanta Falcons acquired cornerback Asante Samuel from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012, they were bringing in a defensive back who had made the Pro Bowl in four of his past five seasons. Pairing him with Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson, the Falcons appeared to have crafted one of the league's premier cornerback trios. At the start of the 2013 season, however, Samuel was the only member of the trio who remained on the roster. As of Wednesday afternoon, the entire trio is out of Atlanta, as the Falcons have released Samuel.

With declining skills at the age of 33, Samuel was relegated to a bench role in 2013 and would have returned to the same role next season. Due a $3.5 million base salary with a $1.675 roster bonus this season, he was simply no longer worth the money. Having allowed a 113.7 passer rating on throws into his coverage this year, Samuel graded out as Pro Football Focus' 57th ranked cornerback among 110 qualifiers.

Dumping Samuel will allow the Falcons to give more valuable reps to their promising young cornerback duo of Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford, who were both rookies in 2013. Trufant was phenomenal, grading out as PFF's No. 7 cornerback in his rookie campaign. Alford struggled quite a bit throughout the season, but the Falcons still feel that he has tremendous upside.

As for Samuel, he'll hit the open market with his best days behind him, but he can still contribute as a role player for an NFL defense, particularly one that employs a zone-heavy scheme. The Chicago Bears could let Charles Tillman walk as a free agent this offseason, so they could be a potential landing spot for Samuel.

Samuel was at his best 2007-10, when he made four consecutive Pro Bowls to go with a first-team All-Pro selection. He has 51 career interceptions and has led the league twice in that category (2006 and 2009).

"It Girl" of the week: Kitty Kennedy

The Just Sports & Just Us "It Girl" of the week is Kitty Kennedy.

Warren Sapp criticizes Nick Fairley's physique

Last month Detroit Lions general manager Martin Mayhew was a bit critical of how Nick Fairley's weight was distributed within his body.

"I wouldn't say his weight is too high," Mayhew said. "He could probably re-position some of that weight."

Mayhew also stated that it's time for Fairley to mature and be more consistent since Fairley is known to disappear for  long stretches.

Hall of Famer Warren Sapp has jumped on board the Fairley physique bashing train. 

Sapp seems to have a dislike for the Detroit Lions defensive duo of Ndamukong Suh and Fairley. He has been critical of Suh since he's been in the league. Now he's made Fairley a target of his vocal rage.

"Little legs," Sapp said when asked about Fairley's game during Super Bowl festivities last week in New York. And he would go on to say "little legs" seven more times in his 12 sentences on the topic.

"You asked me a question and I told you: Little legs. Nick Fairley, little legs," he said, when asked if he thought Fairley was getting better. "I don't even know what he weighs. That would be so those little legs could carry it. He's got little legs. I've never seen a defensive tackle with little legs like that stay that long.

"It's a pounding, and you play the game inside with your legs. That's the only thing I see in him. I just laugh. He's got little legs. There's nothing he can do about it -- he's just genetically built a little different than most defensive tackles. He's just got little legs."

It's true that Sapp was one of the best in the game when he played and I actually have respect for the guy but he should stop trying to be the authority on all defensive lineman. He's had his time now it's time to let someone else shine. Do your job and be an analyst and be objective about it.

I agree that Fairley's weight is an issue just don't turn it into a personal attack.

Charles Tillman thinking of joining Lovie Smith in Tampa

Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman has admitted that a move to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would appeal to him.

The Bears are poised to allow the 32-year-old to test the market, and Tillman has been mooted with a possible link up with his former head coach Lovie Smith at the Buccaneers.

"Obviously, it makes the deal probably a little sweeter just because it's a former head coach," Tillman told the Chicago Sun-Times. "You do know the system, you know the scheme.

"I think it helps it from a standpoint that it's a former coach, a guy that you liked, a guy that you'd been with for 10 years. It's cool. But it's free agency. I'm open to whoever."

Tillman had 41 tackles, three interceptions and three forced fumbles in the 2013 season.

Tillman has stated that he'd like to retire as a Bear, but it's a business and he also said that he has interest in all 32 teams.

“I’m just trying to make the best decision, and hopefully the Bears do, too,” he said. “If I get to free agency, so be it. If I don’t, so be it. It’s nothing personal. It’s a business. It’s a process.”

"(I hope) that a team picks me up and I still have a job. Any team," he said. "All 32."

Tillman made nearly $8 million last season and knows a big payday isn't coming at the age of 33. He can still help a team out but whether it's in a starting or complementary role remains to be seen.

New Orleans Pelicans reach deal to bring in Luke Babbitt

Former Wolf Pack star Luke Babbitt has signed a two-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, according to CSNNW.com.

Babbitt has been playing in the Russian Professional Basketball League for BC Nizhny Novgorod this year, after spending three seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers after being drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. The two sides reached a buyout yesterday and Babbitt is expected to report to New Orleans on Tuesday.

Babbitt managed 13.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for BC Nizhny Novgorod including a 57 percent rate from the shorter international three-point distance. Babbitt will be expected to play minutes at the stretch four in the absence of Ryan Anderson.

Luol Deng calls the Cleveland Cavaliers a "mess"

The hits keep coming for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just days after it was reported that Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland, the New York Daily News dropped a bombshell today that Luol Deng is not happy that he was traded to a team that he describes as a mess.

Mitch Lawrence , who penned the piece, says that Deng told a friend recently “the stuff going on in practice would never be tolerated by the coaching staff or the front office back in Chicago. It’s a mess.".

It gets worse. Lawrence goes on to write:

He’s seen players get thrown out of practice, take off their uniform tops at halftime and threaten not to play, mouth off to caoch Mike Brown and generally act like spoiled brats. Entering Saturday’s game at Houston, the Cavs had lost seven of their last 11 games since the Deng trade.

There is no accountability, as Dion Waiters found out when he was kicked out of practice last week but still got his usual minutes against the Knicks. Brown isn't getting much help from GM Chris Grant, who is expected to be fired at season's end because of the losing and problems in the locker room.

The report also says that Cavs players partied well into the night the evening before a blowout loss to the Knicks that was aired on national television.

First there was Waiters calling out Irving and Tristan Thompson during a players only meeting. The rumor of Waiters giving Irving a black eye. Former Cav Andrew Bynum was upset that Waiters and Irving weren't passing him the ball and mad about his playing time. Then the out of leftfield rumor that Bynum was sleeping with a coach's wife.

The Cavaliers were thought to be playoff contenders before the start of the season. Now the Cavs look like they're on their way back to selecting in the lottery. If they can get rid of Waiters it could improve the atmosphere in the locker room. If not things will get mighty ugly at the Q (Quicken Loans Arena).

You would hate to think things are actually this bad in Cleveland but you know what they say, where there's smoke there's fire. And there's an awful lot of smoke coming out of Cleveland. If a stand up guy like Deng has bad things to say about the state of the team then something has to ring true.

I wouldn't blame Deng or Irving if they wanted to bolt Cleveland right now.

Kyle Shanahan named as the Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator

It didn't take former Washington redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to land on his feet.

After a stint in Washington where he was often criticized, Shanahan was named the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. 

Shanahan will direct the offense under new head coach Mike Pettine.

In 6 seasons as a coordinator, Shanahan’s offenses have finished in the top 10 in yardage 4 times and top 10 in scoring twice.

As a coordinator, he has had some marginal success working with a variety of quarterbacks including Robert Griffin III, Rex Grossman and Donovan McNabb with the Redskins as well as Matt Schaub with the Houston Texans. In his 4 seasons working in Washington Shanahan reportedly clashed with McNabb and Griffin.

Shanahan wil have his work cut out for him as the Browns' offense was offensive last season as the team finished 27th in points scored and 28th in rushing. The Browns have a major decision at quarterback. They must figure out whether Brian Hoyer is the answer since he was playing well before a knee injury or try to salvage former first round pick Brandon Weeden. Backup Jason Campbell also took first team snaps as well.

Most expect the Browns to select a quarterback with the fourth pick in the NFL Draft. The team has been rumored to high on Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel. Whoever ends up being the signal caller in Cleveland will have Josh Gordon to throw to who had a breakout year.