[Oakland Raiders] San Ramon Valley High product Sam Keller continued to get extensive work during his tryout, which ends Sunday. He made some good throws but wasn’t as sharp as on Saturday.
He had one pass batted down by defensive lineman Tranell Morant of Arizona.“You either produce or don’t produce,” Keller said. “They either like you, or they say, `get out of town.’ I’m going to enjoy my three days and see what happens.” (Silver & Black Illustrated)
[Cincinnati Bengals] Bengals officially sign Purify*Contrary to the Omaha World Herald's reporting Wednesday that the Bengals had "declined to offer (Purify) a free-agent contract"
[Minors] The minor league Pensacola Pelicans have released LHP Aaron Marsden
[Etc] Jon Kitna said he didn't watch the recent NFL draft. He has stopped watching the two-day affair, in part, because of his disappointment after watching "every minute" of the draft in 1996, when no one selected him out of Central Washington.
"I knew more about Lawrence Phillips than probably Lawrence knew about himself," Kitna said. (Freep.com)Comment: Kitna is only slightly exaggerating. A shortened sampling of ESPN's 1996 draft coverage is available here; though the video only provides a very small portion of the coverage on Phillips (YouTube limits videos to 10 minutes).
[Baltimore Ravens] CB Fabian Washington is projected as the team's nickel cornerback going into the team's training camp. He will compete with CB Samari Rolle for a starting cornerback spot. (SportingNews.com)
[Carolina Panthers] The Panthers like the way guard Toniu Fonoti has worked to get himself back into football shape and there are some who feel like he could be a dynamite free agent pickup.
A member of the San Diego Chargers starting offensive line in 2002 and 2004, Fonoti lost a battle with a weight problem - there were times he approached 400 pounds - and quickly found himself out of the league.
Now he's back to his old college weight (around 330) and looking good.
"He has a very good chance (to make the team)," Fox said. "He's a guy that performed at a very high level. He was a fairly high draft pick that played on a very, very good offensive line. Then his weight got away from him a little bit and I think he realizes that. He's come in in excellent condition." (Gaston Gazette)
[Carolina Panthers] From Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox following the team's final mini-camp practice, On guard Toniu Fonoti:
"He's a guy that performed at a high level. He was a fairly high draft pick that played on a very, very good offensive line (in San Diego). Then his weight got away from him a little bit. I think he's realized that, and he's come in in excellent condition."
