• The Eagles most certainly took notice when WR DeSean Jackson switched representation to agent Drew Rosenhaus. The team has had a bit of a prickly past in dealing with Rosenhaus, and Jackson has looked to cash in ever since falling out of the first round of the draft in 2008. Jackson remains on his rookie contract, which runs out after the 2011 season, so there's no immediate worry about him. But don't be surprised if offseason contract discussions don't turn into a love affair between team and agent.

• The Giants feel that the bye week came at a great time for RB Ahmad Bradshaw, whose rushing average dropped from 6.2 yards a carry before he re-aggravated his foot injury to 2.6 yards in the three games thereafter. They think he has had a good amount of rest for the ankle and expect to see more explosiveness in his running down the stretch.

• Redskins DT Kedric Golston doesn't believe that OLB-DE Brian Orakpo needs to switch to one of those positions full time in order to maximize his tremendous talent. "I see him doing exactly what he's doing — standing up on first and second down and putting his hand in the dirt on third down." Golston told PFW. "The great thing about Brian is he's a rookie, but he never came in and acted like a rookie. He's very mature and comes to work every day, and you appreciate that."

• The Cowboys had wanted to work Doug Free into the lineup even before Marc Colombo's season-ending injury, so his work at right tackle this season could go a long way toward determining whether Free is a future starter — perhaps as OLT Flozell Adams' eventual replacement.

• Vikings WR Sidney Rice told PFW he believes Bernard Berrian, who has been nagged by a hamstring, is very close to being 100 percent and that the potential of the offense when he is fully healthy is immense. "I have said it before," Rice told PFW. "When everyone is healthy and on the field for us, and we play like we are capable of playing, the sky is the limit for this team. We have tremendous weapons. We're real hard to cover. You could try to double (team) a guy, but that means you are leaving another guy in single coverage. We can be as good as we want to be."

• The Lions are quietly freaked about the loss of ORG Stephen Peterman (ankle injury), who was grading out as one of their best linemen this season. The blocking has been poor most of the season, and the Lions have to be concerned about the health of QB Matthew Stafford, who has taken a lot of hits lately.

• After struggling mightily earlier in his career when it came to picking up blitzes, word is Packers RB Brandon Jackson has really made strides in that regard after working hard on improving his technique.

• After initially hearing that it could take Packers C-OG Jason Spitz 6-8 months to fully recover from season-ending back surgery, we hear it now looks like he will heal a lot quicker and could be back to normal in 6-8 weeks.

• Don't be shocked if Bears OLG Josh Beekman's future with the team is at the center position, perhaps as soon as next season. One more whisper on the Bears' O-line front: Bears GM Jerry Angelo recently indicated that he has the nucleus of his future O-line currently on the roster — an assertion that has left some team insiders scratching their heads.

• Sources expect the Buccaneers to make their pursuit of competition for starting DTs Ryan Sims and Chris Hovan a top priority this offseason. While neither player has done well this year, Sims is regarded as one of the larger reasons for the team's poor run defense. Yet he's managed to hang on to his starting job and doesn't appear to be in any danger of losing it. Tampa Bay is hoping rookie DT Roy Miller will develop into a quality player, but he's not ready to supplant Sims.

• We hear the Falcons are convinced SLB Mike Peterson has plenty left in the tank, and with no obvious replacement for him waiting in the wings, sources expect he'll be back to finish out the second year of his two-year deal in 2010.

• The Saints moved S Usama Young from cornerback to free safety in the offseason, but defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said Young has been cross-trained at both positions and could move back to corner in a pinch. We hear the Saints are happy with how Young has taken to playing safety and would much rather he focus on playing that position, however. Williams is a proponent of versatile players who can play a couple of different spots, and he will likely push for acquiring more of those players in the offseason.

• The word out of Seattle is that the non-Hodgkins lymphoma that Seahawks owner Paul Allen was recently diagnosed with is considered very treatable and that it is not expected to significantly curtail his involvement with the team. Even while undergoing chemo treatments, we hear Allen continued to closely monitor the Seahawks, mentioning in an e-mail that he thought his team "looked a lot better" in the Week 10 game at Arizona.

• We hear the Niners anticipate OLT Joe Staley, who has been out with a knee injury, to be ready to return to the starting lineup for the Week 14 Monday-nighter against the division-rival Cardinals. As for CB Nate Clements (shoulder), word is the team hopes to get him back for the last two games.

• We hear the nagging thigh injury that has been bothering Rams CB Ron Bartell much of the season is feeling a lot better. We also hear the team feels better about its situation at safety, with SS James Butler's rapport with FS O.J. Atogwe getting back to the way it had been in training camp. Butler and Atogwe got out of sync after Butler missed three games with a knee injury.

• Look for Cardinals sixth-round rookie OLB Will Davis to continue getting more playing time. Team insiders tell us that Davis has made an excellent impression since the moment he showed up at training camp and has some pass-rushing skills that could come in handy down the stretch. Davis has seen more action lately with Chike Okeafor battling a back injury and has not disappointed.

PFW has launched its brand-new NFL Draft Newsletter series, with the second issue being released later this month. Produced by PFW's player personnel department under the direction of Nolan Nawrocki, the series consists of four information-packed issues. For more info or to subscribe — click here for PDF e-pub or here for print format.