The Browns have hired Brad Childress as their OC.  He's expected to call the plays after HC Pat Shurmur handled those duties this past season.  Childress was just 39-35 in 5 seasons as Vikings HC, but he was more successful as OC with the Eagles before that.  With strong ties to Shurmur, Cleveland's offensive scheme won't change much going forward.

Cardinals RB Beanie Wells says the knee surgery he underwent earlier this week was minor.  "Just a scope," he told beat writer Kent Somers.  Wells is already rehabbing at the team's facility, and Somers says he should be ready to participate in all offseason activities.  The procedure won't impact Wells' 2012 fantasy stock, but he'll still be a risky pick this summer.  Wells has missed 4 games and been limited in a bunch more through 3 NFL seasons.

According to his father, Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is dealing with a high-ankle sprain.  The news is buried at the end of a story from a radio station in Williamsville (a suburb of Buffalo, Gronk's hometown), so we'd take the report with a grain of salt.  If Gronkowski does have a high-ankle sprain, his status for the Super Bowl would be in doubt.  All signs point to him being ready though.  We'll see what he does in practice this coming week.

Giants TE Jake Ballard put in a full practice on Thursday and says his knee feels “better than it has in a while.” He added that he "should be pretty close to 100 percent by the game."  Ballard missed the final 2 games of the regular season with a sprained PCL.  He's caught just 3 balls for 33 yards in 2 playoff contests.  Ballard could be a key to next Sunday's Super Bowl though.  He hauled in 4 balls for 67 yards and a score against New England earlier this year.

Seahawks WR Sidney Rice reportedly underwent surgery on both shoulders this offseason.  We know he had 1 procedure to repair a torn labrum, but it's unclear what the 2nd was for.  Rice's status for OTAs and training camp is also uncertain.  He'll certainly be a major red-flag injury-risk in 2012 fantasy drafts though.  In addition to the shoulder surgeries, Rice suffered a season-ending concussion this past November, and also underwent hip surgery back in 2010.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says RB DeMarco Murray's power gives him the edge over RB Felix Jones.  “He’s just harder to bring down than Felix,” Jones said of Murray. “Felix has the quickness, the vision and can get outside. But Murray did bring that dimension of power, and there’s probably not five pounds’ worth of difference between the two. But he finishes. He’s just so powerful into the finish."  Jones has always been a big Felix backer, so this is significant.  Murray will enter the 2012 season as Dallas' lead back, with Jones moving back into a change-of-pace role.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle) will not practice today.  When asked about his progress, HC Bill Belichick replied, "good... we'll take it day by day."  Gronk is unlikely to practice this week, but he'll be fine as long as he gets back on the field this coming Wednesday.  He's still fully expected to play in the Super Bowl.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that the Bucs are set to hire Greg Schiano as their HC.  Schiano really came out of nowhere to land this job.  He's spent the past 11 years as the HC at Rutgers, where the Scarlet Knights went 68-67.  Schiano did turn the program around over the past 7 seasons, though, going 5-1 in bowl games.  Schiano has a defensive background and spent 3 years as a defensive assistant with the Bears back in the mid '90s.

Bears new OC Mike Tice wants to install a more up-tempo offense in 2012.  "I'm a no-huddle guy and we don't have no huddle," he said.  "I want to be able to go no huddle and change the rhythm offensively."  Tice also mentioned getting QB Jay Cutler in shorter drops and throwing quicker passes to get the ball into his playmakers' hands.  It makes sense considering Chicago's offensive line struggled in pass protection again last year.

The Colts have hired Chuck Pagano as their HC.  Pagano has spent the past 4 seasons with the Ravens -- the most recent as the DC.  We like the hire for a Colts team that's finished in the bottom-half of the league in both yards and points allowed in each of the past 2 seasons.  We'll have to see who Pagano brings in as OC though.  Indy is likely headed towards a total rebuild on the offense.

Vikings HC Leslie Frazier says RB Toby Gerhart earned a bigger role with his impressive play during the 2nd half of the 2011 season.  "He really did a great job for us and showed us that he is worthy of more carries," Frazier said. "We want to be able to get him more involved in our offense going forward."  With RB Adrian Peterson sidelined for the majority of the final 7 weeks, Gerhart averaged 4.7 yards per carry.  AP is extremely iffy to be ready for the start of the 2012 season, so Gerhart could be in for a major role.  Once Peterson gets back to 100%, though, we doubt Gerhart will see more than 6-8 touches per game.  The talent gap between the 2 is still massive.

The Raiders have hired Dennis Allen as their new HC.  It's a bit of a head-scratcher.  Allen has no head coaching experience and just 1 year as a coordinator at the NFL level.  Running the Broncos defense this past season, his squad finished 20th in yards allowed.  But Denver did rank 5th in sacks -- a testament to the aggressive system that Allen will bring to Oakland.  We'll need to see who he brings aboard as OC.

In an interview with the Indianapolis Star’s Bob Kravitz, Colts QB Peyton Manning discussed his health and his future with the team. Manning wouldn’t put a percentage on his health or guarantee that he’d be at 100% when his $28 million bonus comes due in early March. But he did make it clear that he’s not ready to retire. Manning was also forthright with his feelings about all the turnover within the organization over the past few weeks. “I’m not in a very good place for healing, let’s say that,” he said. “It’s not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody’s walking around on eggshells. I don’t recognize our building right now. There’s such complete and total change. That’s hard to see, all these people leaving. And I may be behind them. Who knows?” Manning certainly sounds like a guy ready to move on. Our guess is that he’s in a new uniform come Week 1 of the 2012 season.

Cardinals RB Beanie Wells announced via Twitter that he's undergoing knee surgery today.  Wells tweaked the knee back in late October.  The team never revealed the exact nature of the injury, but Beanie only averaged 4.0 yards per carry over his final 10 games.  We're expecting him to be fine for offseason activities, but durability will still be a major concern for Wells heading into 2012. 

A source close to New England's Rob Gronkowski tells the Boston Herald that the TE will be "ready to go" for the Super Bowl.  Gronk was in a walking boot after Sunday's win over the Ravens, but the fact that he returned to that game was a good indication that he only suffered a minor sprain.  He's unlikely to practice this week, but Gronkowski should get back on the field next week and then play against the Giants.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco's numbers regressed in 2011.  His 57.6% completion rate and 6.7 yards-per-attempt average were the lowest marks of his career.  His 20 TDs were his fewest since his rookie campaign back in 2008.  But he played his best game of the season in Baltimore's AFC Championship loss to the Patriots on Sunday.  Flacco tallied 306 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT.  And he put the ball in WR Lee Evans' bread basket for what would have been a game-winning TD had CB Sterling Moore not knocked it out.  HC John Harbaugh endorsed Flacco as the team's QB-of-the-future after the game.  "Obviously, he played well enough to win this game. I think his best football is in front of him," Harbaugh said. "He's only getting better. He's our kind of guy. He's a tough guy, a competitive guy. He's a leader, and I just can't wait to see where this thing goes with him. The plays that he made down the stretch, I think it says a lot about him and his future."  Flacco's rookie deal is set to expire after the 2012 season.  But after his performance against New England, there's a good chance Baltimore locks him up long-term this offseason.

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks injured his shoulder in the 1st quarter of Sunday's game against the 49ers.  He returned a short time later, though, and finished with 5 catches for 55 yards.  He'll likely undergo further testing today, but Nicks said after that game that he doesn't think it's serious.  He should be just fine for the Super Bowl in 2 weeks.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski had his ankle bent under him in the 3rd quarter of Sunday's win over the Ravens.  He limped off into the locker room but returned after missing just 3 minutes of game time.  Gronk left the stadium in a walking boot but didn't sound concerned about his status for the Super Bowl.  "It's fine... good," he told reporters.  With 2 weeks to get ready, Gronkowski should be fine for the showdown with the Giants.

Giants TE Jake Ballard (knee) is active for today's NFC Championship Game against the 49ers.  He took a pain-killing injection and didn't practice on Friday.  Ballard figures to be well below 100% today.

As expected, Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez (concussion) is active for today's game against the Ravens.  He'll be a full-go after practicing all week.