erback Jay Cutler will miss at least the next four weeks of the season

With many NFL training camps underway, the league is abuzz with position battles, injury news and rookies making an immediate impact. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NFL beat. Johnny Be Focused? Cleveland Browns head coach Mike Pettine declared on Wednesday that Johnny Manziel needs to focus on football in order to have a chance to win the starting quarterback job. "I think he knows that in order for him to compete well, hes going to have to probably be more dedicated than ever," Pettine said via Tom Withers of the associated press. After a well-documented offseason, Manziel enters training camp behind incumbent Brian Hoyer at the quarterback position. The Browns report for training camp on Friday. Showing Up Injured Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart reported to training camp with a pulled hamstring and will miss the first one-to-two weeks of camp. Due to injury, Stewart appeared in only six games for the Panthers last season, rushing for 180 yards on 48 carries. Genos Job According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith took 13 first-team reps on Thursday compared to Michael Vicks four. Throughout the offseason, the starting quarterback position has been reported to be Genos to lose. Entering his sophomore season, Smith threw 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in 16 games in 2013. Instant Starter? Eric Williams of ESPN reports that San Diego Chargers first-round pick Jason Verrett practiced at starting right cornerback on Thursday, while Richard Marshall lined up across from him. Free agent acquisition Brandon Flowers worked at left cornerback with the second team. The Chargers ranked fourth-worst in the NFL last season against the pass, averaging 258.7 yards allowed per game via the air. Riddick in the Rotation? Kyle Meinke of MLive.com believes 2013 sixth-round draft pick Theo Riddick is a lock to make the Detroit Lions 53-man roster, while 2011 second-round pick Mikel Leshoure is on the roster bubble. Despite receiving only 13 offensive touches in his first year, Meinke notes that Riddick has drawn praise from both coaches and teammates this offseason. Meinke envisions Riddick filling a Darren Sproles-like type of role in the Lions offense and earning regular touches in the running back rotation. Leshoure faces an uphill battle to earn touches in the Lions offense. The 24-year-old played in just three games last season, receiving two carries for nine yards. He rushed for 798 yards on 215 carries with nine touchdowns in 2012. New Lead? Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle would be "surprised" if Maurice Jones-Drew was not the starting running back for the Oakland Raiders this season. Signed this offseason after spending eight seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jones-Drew joins a backfield in Oakland that features former fourth-overall pick Darren McFadden, as well as Latavius Murray, Jeremy Stewart, rookie George Atkinson and former CFL standout Kory Sheets. Jones-Drew rushed for 803 yards on 234 carries in 15 games with the Jaguars in 2013. Exiting for Personal Reasons Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas is expected to miss the first four days of training camp for personal reasons. Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that Thomas attended the teams camp-opening meeting but was then excused by coach John Fox to attend the funeral services of the grandmother who helped raise him in Georgia. Thomas led the Broncos with 92 catches for 1430 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2013. He also set a Super Bowl record with 13 catches in the Broncos loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Wholesale Fake Air Max 97 . 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"Im going to celebrate for a whole 12 minutes, and then Im going to start watching Orlando and trying to figure them out," the first-year Celtics coach said after Boston beat the Utah Jazz, one of the leagues other winless teams, 97-87 on Wednesday night. Fake Air Max 97 . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal.LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears were already losing games. Now theyre going to be without their most important players on both sides of the ball. Injured quarterback Jay Cutler will miss at least the next four weeks of the season and Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs will be out for around six weeks, staggering blows for a struggling team. The Bears announced the news Monday, a day after Cutler suffered a muscle tear in his groin during a 45-41 loss to the Washington Redskins, forcing the Bears to go with veteran Josh McCown. Briggs left the game with a small fracture in his left shoulder. Neither player will need surgery. "Theyre not done," coach Marc Trestman said. "Theyre going to be back (this season)." Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman also left the game with a knee injury as Chicago (4-3) lost for the third time in four games. The Bears are off this week, but with the injuries mounting, their season could be slipping away from them. The defence has been hit particularly hard in recent weeks, and with Cutler out, itll be veteran McCown lining up behind centre as they try to keep up with Green Bay and Detroit in the NFC North. Cutler came up clutching the top of his left leg following a sack by 333-pound nose tackle Chris Baker with about 10 minutes left in the first half. He stayed down for a few minutes and eventually limped off the field. "They said this is a minimum four weeks and then well evaluate it week to week," Trestman said. "Based on the history -- I talked to the doctors this morning -- of this injury, four weeks is a reasonable start and that it would be week to week." The Bears insisted Cutler will return this season. "Unless theres a complication during his rehab, with the injury that he has that Im certain hell be back at some point," general manager Phil Emery said. Where Cutler will be next season remains to be seen, given his expiring contract. Its the second time in three years that he will miss a significant chunk of time, after suffering a season-ending injury in 2011. Emery said he doesnt see a pattern. As for how this injury will impact contract negotiations with Cutler after the season, he wouldnt discuss that. "Theres no reason to because its not the here-and-now," Emery said. The here-and-now has the Bears forced to go with McCown, hoping he can at least keep them afloat while Cutler recuperates. He entered Sundays game at Washington in the second quarter, seeing his first game action since the 2011 season. He completed 14 of 20 passes for 204 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett that gave his team a 41-38 lead with 3:57 to play. MMcCown looked understandably rusty in his first few plays, but he did put Chicago in position to win the shootout with the Redskins.dddddddddddd The Bears will need more of the same if theyre going to have a chance of winning their next game at Green Bay on a Monday night following the bye, not to mention beating Detroit the following week. They didnt fare well the last time they went an extended period without Cutler. After he broke his thumb two years ago, the Bears dropped five of six following a 7-3 start in a collapse that cost general manager Jerry Angelo his job. Back then, Caleb Hanie struggled in a big way. The Bears then turned to McCown, who had been coaching high school football in North Carolina, late in the season. They have more weapons now with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Bennett, not to mention a rebuilt offensive line and a system thats geared more to quick, high-percentage passes than what they were running under Mike Martz. "Especially in this league where the quarterback drives the ship, I dont know if youre ever ready to handle losing your starting quarterback," McCown said. "But I think the structure is in place and the emphasis has been put on individuals to do their job and do their part. If we continue to get that, and we felt like we got that yesterday, it allows the quarterback to step in there, whether its Jay or myself, to function and play, because guys are going to be coached to be where they are supposed to be and do what theyre supposed to do." With Cutler out, Chicago is bringing in Jordan Palmer to back up McCown. The Bears were one injury away from having receiver Earl Bennett line up behind centre because they only carry two quarterbacks. Emery said that wont change. He also said the Bears are looking to bring in a veteran with Briggs injured. And just for the record, Brian Urlacher is not a candidate. Emery shot down that idea, pointing out that the former star middle linebacker filed his retirement papers before the season and received his termination pay. He also said the Bears wont make a trade simply because of the injuries, even though they have some big holes to fill. They lost defensive tackle Henry Melton, his replacement, Nate Collins, and middle linebacker D.J. Williams to season-ending knee injuries. With Briggs out, rookie Jon Bostic or veteran James Anderson figure to call plays and rookie Khaseem Greene will likely get more playing time. "Weve worked trades here the last couple of weeks, we just havent found the correct combination of value and player exchange," Emery said. NOTE: To make room for Palmer, Emery said the Bears released TE Steve Maneri. ' ' '