Redskins QB Robert Griffin (knee) resumed throwing in late-April.  "Robert is doing extremely well as far as the timetable,'' RG3's dad said. "He's been doing a lot over time, he never stops. He was throwing some prior to the draft. Everything seems to be on cue. Everybody in the organization is targeting that season opener.''  Griffin's dad added that Griffin's rehab is ahead of where it was when he tore his ACL at Baylor back in 2009.  "He might be a little ahead of himself in terms of doing what he did then compared to now,'' he said. "He's smarter, stronger, wiser.''  RG3 remains a question mark for Week 1, but it's been so far, so good.

Redskins QB Robert Griffin is now 4 months removed from reconstructive knee surgery.  It's still way too early to get a good read on his status for the start of the 2013 season.  But we do know that RG3 has yet to encounter a setback.  “I’m doing great,” he said. “Knee feels fine. It’s about taking it slow. Each day is a better day.”  If he stays setback-free, Griffin will have a realistic shot of taking the field for Week 1.  For now, though, he remains a risk/reward pick in early fantasy football drafts.

Redskins HC Mike Shanahan says he won't let QB Robert Griffin (knee) back on the field "unless he's 100%."  Shanny also promises to keep RG3 from pushing too hard in rehab.  “We need to make sure he doesn’t go too quickly because he could set it back,” Shanahan said. “There’s time it’s going to take to do it the right way. The ligament needs time to heal... When you see how hard he’s working, everyone is really optimistic. But you have to let a ligament heal.”  Of course, it's tough to take Shanny at his word.  His decision to let Griffin start last year's playoff game at less than 100% is the reason RG3 is in this spot in the first place.  Ideally, the Redskins will ease him back into action like the Vikings did with Adrian Peterson this past summer.

The league has suspended Seahawks DE Bruce Irvin for 4 games for violating the performance-enhancing drugs policy.  That will likely leave Seattle's defense without its top 2 sack guys from last year to open the season.  DE Chris Clemons is working his way back from an ACL tear he suffered in the playoff win at Washington.  The Seahawks added DE Cliff Avril and DL Michael Bennett in free agency, so one could slide into Irvin's pass-rushing role to open the season.  The plan has been for Bennett to man the 3-technique tackle spot.  It's also a significant blow to the IDP prospects for Irvin, who would have carried serious sleeper potential.  At least the Seahawks open with Carolina, San Francisco, Jacksonville and Houston -- not the toughest slate of pass offenses.

Bruce Irvin undoubtedly left Round 1 as the most surprising pick Thursday night. The former West Virginia Mountaineer is widely regarded as one of the class' best pure pass rushers, though. He's slight by prototype standards for an NFL DE, but he's about the same size as new teammate Chris Clemons and Indy's Robert Mathis. The Seahawks already have Clemons in place and big Red Bryant starting at the other end. That likely makes Irvin a situational rusher. He's ideally suited for such a role but might have trouble getting enough snaps to be worth an IDP pick.

2 important updates on the Rob Gronkowski back story.  First, Pro Football Talk has learned that Gronk is awaiting a 2nd opinion but will "probably" need surgery to address the disc problem.  Second, we've learned more about the timetable for the procedure and recovery.  PFT reports that Gronk will go under the knife 3-4 weeks after the final forearm procedure.  That could be Monday, or it could be later if he needs that 5th surgery.  (Still following?)  Then Gronk will need 10 weeks of rehab after the back surgery, according to ESPN.  If our math is right, that means Gronk will be back in 13-14 weeks, assuming he doesn't need a 5th forearm surgery.  The 2013 season starts in 16 weeks.  If everything goes to plan, Gronk would be ready for Week 1.  But he won't do much in training camp or the preseason.  If he needs that 5th forearm surgery, all bets are off.

USA Today’s Mike Garafolo reports that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski has a disc issue in his back that is “being examined and could require surgery.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter hears that the issue is considered minor and wouldn’t keep Gronk out longer than he’ll be sidelined with his forearm situation. “He’s going to be fine long term,” a person close to Gronk said. “[He’s] not worried about the short term, i.e. start of training camp.” Fantasy owners should be alarmed, though. Gronkowski is only 24, but the medical problems are starting to pile up. Remember that he missed the entire 2009 college season after undergoing surgery to repair a disc in his back, although this latest issue is reportedly unrelated. He also dealt with a hip problem for a chunk of last year. Gronk needs to be considered an injury-risk in fantasy drafts this summer – even if he’s ready to go for Week 1.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport has learned that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is expected to undergo a 4th forearm surgery on Monday.  This procedure was planned.  The hope is that the infection has cleared so doctors can replace the plate in Gronk's arm.  If that's the case, he should be ready for the start of training camp.  But if the infection is still lingering, Gronkowski will need a 5th surgery.  That'd put his availability for Week 1 in doubt.

USA Today’s Mike Garafolo reports that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski has a disc issue in his back that is “being examined and could require surgery.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter hears that the issue is considered minor and wouldn’t keep Gronk out longer than he’ll be sidelined with his forearm situation. “He’s going to be fine long term,” a person close to Gronk said. “[He’s] not worried about the short term, i.e. start of training camp.” Fantasy owners should be alarmed, though. Gronkowski is only 24, but the medical problems are starting to pile up. Remember that he missed the entire 2009 college season after undergoing surgery to repair a disc in his back, although this latest issue is reportedly unrelated. He also dealt with a hip problem for a chunk of last year. Gronk needs to be considered an injury-risk in fantasy drafts this summer – even if he’s ready to go for Week 1.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport has learned that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is expected to undergo a 4th forearm surgery on Monday.  This procedure was planned.  The hope is that the infection has cleared so doctors can replace the plate in Gronk's arm.  If that's the case, he should be ready for the start of training camp.  But if the infection is still lingering, Gronkowski will need a 5th surgery.  That'd put his availability for Week 1 in doubt.

A decision on Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski's forearm is expected in 2 weeks.  That's when his antibiotic therapy will wrap up.  At that point, doctors will go back into the forearm to replace the plate securing the bone.  If the antibiotics haven't cleared up the infection, though, Gronk will need a 5th surgery.  That one would put his status for Week 1 in serious jeopardy.  We should have a much clearer picture of Gronkowski's 2013 outlook in 2 weeks time.  Stay tuned...

RB Reggie Bush sees a lot of similarities between the offense he's joining in Detroit and the one he played in in New Orleans.  “As far as from an offensive perspective it’s a lot like what we did in New Orleans,” Bush said. “It’s a lot of spread-open passing. Obviously we can attack downfield, and with the running game, a lot of screens, draws and stuff like that. Basically what I did in New Orleans, so running this offensive system has been pretty easy for me.”  HC Jim Schwartz has also mentioned that he plans to use Bush like the Saints did.  Bush averaged 8.7 carries and 4.9 catches per game in New Orleans -- 139 carries and 78 catches over 16 games.  Bush should see quite a bit more action on the ground with the Lions, and he could approach  78 catches.

We've already discussed Lions RB Reggie Bush returning to a role similar to what he played with the Saints.  Well, the team website reports that HC Jim Schwartz expects Bush to catch 60-80 passes.  Joique Bell led Detroit RBs with 52 receptions last season.  That total sat just 7 catches behind TE Brandon Pettigrew to rank 3rd on the team.  RB Mikel Leshoure caught another 34 balls, while he and Bell combined for 116 targets.  Expect Bush to take over a lot of those.  He twice reached 70 catches in New Orleans, including 88 in his rookie season. Bush looks like a strong RB2 in your PPR league, with RB1 potential.  He should be able to deliver solid RB2 production across fantasy football formats.

Lions HC Jim Schwartz says that RB Reggie Bush might return kicks and punts for his new team.  Schwartz indicated that return duties are nothing more than a possibility at this stage but said Bush "can change field position."  Bush has always been and will likely always be the type of player that coaches want to create touches for.  He has also proved rather fragile in his career.  Our guess is that the Lions will ultimately limit Bush's exposure in the return game.  His fantasy owners should hope for as little work as possible in that area.