The NFL continues to search for ways to improve the in-stadium experience, and that means coming up with innovative ways to give content to fans at the game that you can't get elsewhere.

Chalk the NFL's latest move up in the column of such innovation. According to the Associated Press, the NFL has ordered teams to install locker room cameras that display such things as pre-game speeches to the video boards in the stadium. The teams will be able to control exactly what is shown to fans in the stadium.

In addition, teams will now be required to show exactly what the replay official is reviewing on the video boards, regardless of whether it "helps" the home team or not. In the past, the home team could show only angles that make the crowd believe a play happened in favor of the home team.

Give props to the NFL for looking into new ways they can produce their product and enhance the in-stadium experience for fans. Still, the NFL is having a difficult time competing with free games that are broadcast over the air, often, with a better experience.

On my short list of suggestions for the NFL is making concessions affordable in the stadium. Fans want to eat, drink, and be merry while watching games, and I can't count how many times people have told me they stay at home because they just want snacks while they watch. That, to me, should be on the NFL's short list of improvements to the in-stadium experience.

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As [former?, current?] NFL quarterback JaMarcus Russell continues his comeback attempt, Bleacher Report continues to chronicle his progress in a series of video posts.

In their latest video post, Russell looks far better, physically, than he did at the outset of his comeback effort. There also seems to be a will to succeed in Russell that was lacking in his time with the Oakland Raiders.

Regardless of his physical improvement, there's still little evidence that shows that Russell can transfer his smaller size (still over 275 lbs.) onto the playing field. Russell has more to prove than simply the ability to get into semi-football shape. He has to get into shape, stay in shape, and show that he can make appropriate calls on the football field.

Considering the weak quarterback market that this season brings, it seems likely that Russell will be able to make it into someone's camp. He won't warrant much risk in terms of money, and the payoff could be huge.

From a physical skill set perspective, Russell still has a massive arm, and with good players around him, he could run a very successful, vertical offense. The key there is JaMarcus Russell, however. If he's all in mentally, his physical skills will allow him to perform on the field.

There are still issues to address with Russell outside of simply mental toughness and getting into shape. He had a tendency to miss targets in Oakland, and it often seemed as if he just didn't care. Those things will be figured out down the road. Getting into shape now should be enough for him to warrant some looks by quarterback needy teams, and if he keeps doing what he's doing, he'll likely land somewhere by the end of the summer.

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In his introductory press conference with the San Francisco 49ers, Colt McCoy was given a golden opportunity to throw the Cleveland Browns under the proverbial bus, but the usually classy McCoy passed on a slam dunk burn.

"I’d really rather stay away from that topic," McCoy said, [via the Cleveland Plain Dealer]. "There were some very positive, high moments there and there were also some low times. It was unfortunate kind of the way it all went down and ended, but I have no hard feelings toward those guys. I wish them nothing but the best."

While McCoy did take the high road on the question, no one would have blamed him for laying into the way the Cleveland Browns handled the drafting of Brandon Weeden. McCoy was really only given an opportunity to win the starting job in theory, but the reality of the situation was that from the moment Weeden was drafted, it was his job to lose.

The irony is that soon, whether it be this year or next year, the Browns could be put in a position to draft another quarterback. This time, Brandon Weeden would take on Colt McCoy's role, and someone else may take Weeden's role. With a new regime in place, we would like to think the situation could be handled far better this time around.

For McCoy, San Francisco is a new start. He won't be in competition to win the starting job in San Francisco, but Colin Kaepernick opens himself up to a lot of hits, especially when he's running down field. The possibility of Kaepernick being injured at some point in the season is relatively high, and if that happens, McCoy could get an opportunity to lead a very good football team and show what he can really do in the NFL.

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Starting quarterbacks aren't easy to find anywhere, let alone on the open market, which is why the Arizona Cardinals deserve some praise for at least landing a veteran with plenty of starting experience for nothing but a downgrade late in the draft. But can Carson Palmer help the talented but historically quarterback-deprived Cardinals make a push for the playoffs in 2013? With San Francisco and Seattle expected to be Super Bowl contenders and St. Louis on the rise, it won't be easy. 

While Palmer is still only 33 years old and is coming off a 4,000-yard season in Oakland, the reality is his body is a lot older than that and those numbers are a bit misleading.

First, the Raiders trailed so often in 2012 that Palmer threw a lot. Only six NFL quarterbacks attempted more passes per game than he did. And while he finished 10th in the league in the overrated passing yardage field, Palmer ranked 15th among qualifying quarterbacks with a mediocre yards-per-attempt average of 7.1. That total was down significantly from the 8.4 mark he posted in 2011. 

He did post the second-lowest interception percentage of his career, but he just wasn't able make big plays like in his pre-knee surgery Cincinnati days. The 2003 No. 1 overall pick completed just 14 of 60 passes that traveled 20 yards or more, which made him the third least accurate qualifying deep passer in football, according to Pro Football Focus. Only Brandon Weeden and Ryan Fitzpatrick were worse, and both of those guys might have lost starting jobs this offseason. 

Of course, having a better supporting cast could work wonders. Palmer has never had a receiver like Larry Fitzgerald before, and the sky's the limit if those two find a groove. We already know he'll have a better defense in Glendale, so if Michael Floyd can step up in his second season and they can improve the offensive line in the draft, the Cards could give Palmer a chance to get his career back on track in his third NFL home.

And if that happens, a team that at one point won 11 of 13 games in late 2011 and early 2012 could have a chance to do some damage in 2013.

Nnamdi Asomugha spent eight seasons in the Bay Area. Now he's heading back, although this time he'll be on the San Francisco side, playing for a team looking to get back to the Super Bowl after a disappointing loss in February to the Ravens in the big game.

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that Asomugha and the 49ers have agreed to the terms of a contract that will bring one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL to San Francisco.

Asomugha is a physical cornerback that excels in man coverage. He falls flat when he's left in zone coverage too often, and that's the problem he saw in Philadelphia where passers earned an average rating of 120.6 when throwing into his zones in 2012. That's an "ouch" by anyone's standards.

Luckily for Asomugha, he'll likely be allowed to play a more physical style of coverage in San Francisco, and while it's unknown what the specifics of his contract will be, the 49ers will almost certainly be picking up an exceptionally solid cornerback for an exceptionally cheap price tag. In other words, it's a win, win scenario.

After being a free agent bust in Philadelphia, Asomugha will almost certainly play as if he has something to prove, and that's exactly what the 49ers will be hoping for.

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Coming into this offseason, the Cardinals had one of the worst set of quarterbacks in the NFL. That set got a little better today.

According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, the rumored trade that will send Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer to the Cardinal is now official. The report also states that the Cardinals only gave up a seventh round pick, and that pick is only shipped to Oakland if Palmer starts enough games for the Cardinals.

In addition to being traded, Rapoport says that Palmer will be taking a pay cut, but not one that is huge. Palmer can earn up to $20 million over the next two seasons with $10 million guaranteed.

The Cardinals are still likely going to draft a young quarterback in this month's draft, but the addition of Palmer gives the Cardinals flexibility in grooming their quarterback of the future. Ideally, the Cardinals will get some of the high level of performance Palmer exhibited in Cincinnati and not what he showed off in Oakland.

In his nine NFL seasons, Carson Palmer has been an efficient passer. Palmer completed under 60% of his passes in only one season, 2008, but he only played in four games that year. Palmer has also thrown more than two touchdowns for every interception in the NFL. With an efficient passer that can throw the long ball well, the Cardinals hope to get their passing game back on track for the first time since Kurt Warner retired.

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One of the biggest problems that current athletes in all sports have is often their own ability to manage money. It's a problem that the NFL's taken note of, and they're working on helping current and former players make better investments.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Brady Quinn (yes that one) and Jeff Faine are leading a three-day "Investment for Impact" event at Notre Dame University. The event will involve 13 current and 10 former players, and it is intended to help those players make sound investment decision.

While it's a small step, it's also a step in the right direction. The biggest defense that players can build against losing their financial security is simple education. Most players have devoted their lives to football, and education was secondary. With simple camps, players can learn valuable knowledge that they can apply to their investments.

The camp is likely a trial run for a program that could grow. The NFL benefits from their former players making sound investments in terms of positive public relations. Ideally, no NFL player would ever find themselves broke and out of work, and investing is a big part of that financial security.

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We've entered the second wave of free agency and two particularly well-respected veteran defensive players are still seeking jobs. So good, in fact, that both were considered the best defensive player in football at different points in the last five years. 

Yep, 2008 defensive player of the year James Harrison is still sitting around on the open market without a lot of buzz, while 2009 winner Charles Woodson awaits his next opportunity as well. Both were released by their long-time home teams in March and have entered April with their future still in the air.

Sports Illustrated's Peter King said last month that Harrison had the coldest name at the owners meetings in Arizona, and he's only made one free-agent visit thus far. Meanwhile, Woodson has said he feels "shunned" thus far. 

I guess that's the NFL, where treasure can become trash overnight. The two won their respective awards late -- they're a combined 70 years old now -- but it's still amazing how quickly each has fallen out of favor. 

Consider, too, that 2010 DPOY winner Troy Polamalu hasn't been the same since that year and had his 2012 season derailed by injuries and you start to wonder what's next for 2011 winner Terrell Suggs, who also saw his 2012 campaign get at least partially ruined by health problems. Jason Taylor's career fell off after winning the award in 2006 and Bob Sanders entered steep decline after receiving the honor in 2007, so it really looks as though Suggs and 2012 winner J.J. Watt will have to turn over a trend. 

Harrison, Woodson and Polamalu are in their 30s now, though, and so is Suggs. The big difference in regard to Watt is that he's only two years into his NFL career and, at 23, was the youngest player ever to win the award. 

But recent trends still say a lot, especially when you consider that the four men who have won the OPOY award the last six years -- Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson -- are still rocking out. 

According to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, the Raiders have struck a deal with the Seattle Seahawks that will send quarterback Matt Flynn to Oakland for a "late round" pick in 2014 and a conditional pick in 2015. Once again, the Raiders will be trying to start over with a different quarterback.

Reports had been circulating in the past week that Flynn was likely going to end up in Jacksonville, but the Jaguars pulled away from any trade negotiations. Then, reports seemed to indicate that Flynn would likely be with the Raiders. Now that Flynn has a new home and presumably a starting role, we have to consider the implications the deal has on the draft.

The first quarterback needy team in the draft is still the Jaguars. The Jaguars have indicated they will have an open quarterback competition, and the best man will be their starter. That seems to imply that they won't be drafting Geno Smith with the second overall pick. When a team takes a quarterback so high in the draft, it's implied that he'll be the starter in short order.

The next team that may take a shot at Smith could be the Arizona Cardinals with the seventh overall pick. Without any legitimate starting options on their roster, the Cardinals will certainly be picking a quarterback in the draft, and if Smith falls to them, don't be surprised if they snap him up.

Finally, if the Cardinals go a different route, the Bills and the Jets draft in the eighth and ninth draft positions respectively. It's hard to imagine either of those teams passing on Geno Smith.

With so many doubts about Geno Smith as a top passer, it seems very unlikely that he'll slide outside of the top ten in the draft simply because there are so many teams looking for their guy to take snaps.

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Now that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has received an extremely lucrative long-term contract extension and Joe Flacco has been made the highest-paid player in NFL history, the table has been set for a much better quarterback to eclipse them all. 

The six-year, $65 million deal Aaron Rodgers signed with the Green Bay Packers during the 2008 season expires after the 2014 campaign, which means the Packers don't really have to become serious about an extension until next offseason. But why mess around with arguably the best quarterback in the game? Rodgers is only going to make about $10 million in each of the next two years, which is ridiculous when you consider the money guys like Romo, Flacco, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are making. 

That's why this comes as no surprise...

So, how much will Rodgers make? Considering that Manning got $58 million guaranteed at the age of 36 and Romo got $55 million guaranteed at the age of 34, you'd think that a 29-year-old Rodgers -- the highest-rated quarterback in NFL history by a wide margin -- would be in line to receive the first $60 million guarantee in league history. Manning is making just over $19 million annually, while Brees is making $20 million and Flacco is averaging $20.1 million. Again, with that in mind, you'd have to think that Rodgers would demand at least $22 million per season. 

If I had to guess, I'd say we're looking at a six-year, $135 million extension with $62 million guaranteed. 

Of course, Rodgers could pull a Tom Brady and sign a team-friendly deal. We don't know what exactly to expect. But the Packers have the money to spend because they don't participate in free agency anyway. It won't hurt them to pay up and keep their franchise leader happy. 

Two other quarterbacks due to be extended or re-signed soon are Matt Ryan (rookie contract expires after this season) and Jay Cutler (entering the final season of a five-year contract). They're both presumably thanking Flacco and Romo.