Bills WR David Nelson recently revealed that QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played through cracked ribs during the 2nd half of the 2011 season.  Fitz suffered the injury against the Redskins in Week 8.  He didn't miss any time but threw 16 INTs compared to just 10 TDs from Week 9 on.  Fitzpatrick averaged 18 fantasy points before the injury and just 15 after.  Still, it's tough to lay all the blame for his poor 2nd half on the injury considering he faded down the stretch in 2010 too.

The Chiefs have hired Brian Daboll as their OC.  Daboll hasn't had much success running the Browns and Dolphins' offenses over the past 3 seasons, failing to finish better than 22nd in total yards.  He is familiar with QB Matt Cassel from their days together in New England though.

Steelers WR Hines Ward underwent minor ankle surgery to remove bone spurs earlier this offseason.  He'll start working out again this coming week and will be ready for all offseason activities.  The fact that he had the procedure done immediately after the season is another sign that Ward wants to return for a 15th season in 2012.  It's still unclear if that'll be with the Steelers though.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle) put in another limited practice on Friday.  He made it through the past 2 days without a setback.  Gronk is officially listed as questionable but is fully expected to play in the Super Bowl.  Just how effective he'll be is anyone's guess.

While QB Peyton Manning has been medically-cleared to resume his footballl career, there are still questions about his ability to return to his previous level of performance.  The issue is with the nerve regeneration to his triceps.  Manning's neck has stabilized, but without a full recovery of those nerves, his arm strength and accuracy would be impacted.  "It's not a safety issue; it's a performance issue," a source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.  Manning has intensified his workouts and had a throwing session with WRs Anthony Gonzalez and Blair White on Tuesday.  He's certainly making progress, but Peyton isn't out of the woods just yet.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle) returned to a limited practice on Thursday.  He reportedly participated in the 2nd half of a 2-hour session.  “He did some things. He didn’t do everything,” HC Bill Belichick said. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow. I think that will be the big key – how he responds to this today... whether that set him back, whether it didn’t and whether he’s able to continue to progress on a daily basis. But it was a good test for him, too, at least. At least he was out here and did some things to see how it feels. We’ll see how it goes.”  We'll have another update Friday afternoon, but the story remains the same: Gronk is fully expected to play in the Super Bowl but won't be at 100%.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that doctors have medically-cleared QB Peyton Manning to resume his football career.  The news comes a little more than a month before Manning's monster $28 million option comes due.  We'd still be surprised if the Colts opt to pick that up, but owner Jim Irsay may have a little more thinking to do now that Manning has been given the green-light medically.  Stay tuned...

QB Donovan McNabb was released by the Vikings midway through this past season and drew no interest on the open market,  Still, he isn't ready to hang up his cleats just yet.  “I see three teams in the NFL, right now, that I feel like I can add a little bit of flavor to it from what they have,” McNabb said. “I won’t mention those teams. But, if the phone rings, there will be a lot of decisions to make on that.”  The only 2 teams we could see considering McNabb this offseason would be the 49ers and Dolphins.  And even then, McNabb would be far from a lock to win a starting job.  He's a long shot to make any sort of fantasy impact in 2012.

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle) shed his walking boot on Tuesday but did not practice on Wednesday.  He's still fully expected to play against the Giants on Sunday, but it'd be nice to see him get some work in beforehand.  Otherwise, Gronk will play the biggest game of his career on a 2-week layoff. He won't be anywhere near 100% regardless of whether or not he practices Thursday or Friday.

Patriots RB Stevan Ridley was a healthy scratch for the AFC Championship after fumbling in each of the previous 2 games.  But the rookie has been told that he'll be active for the Super Bowl.  "This game I'm gonna be dressed and out on the field," Ridley said. "So hopefully I'll get some carries."  RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis played well against the Ravens, so he'll likely serve as the lead back this weekend.  Look for Ridley to spell BGE for 6-8 carries.

Yahoo's Jason Cole hears from 2 separate sources that QB Peyton Manning's career could be over. "The nerves in Manning’s arm are not healing as quickly as hoped and, worse, don’t appear to be progressing at enough of a rate to indicate that he will play again," Cole writes. "He hasn’t shown improvement in velocity on his passes, and the two sources fear he likely never will again... Manning has hit a plateau in his rehabilitation in terms of getting stronger, both sources said. While atrophy in the arm was expected, the fact that it hasn’t improved recently is an ominous sign." We reported way back in early October that the neurosurgeon who operated on Manning described the nerve in his throwing arm as "dead." Sounds like that was an accurate assessment. The talk over the past month has been about whether or not Manning will return to Indy. The more relevant question at this point is whether or not he'll return to the football field at all.

The Raiders have hired former Texans QB coach Greg Knapp as their OC.  Knapp served as Oakland's OC in 2007 and 2008 before taking the same position in Seattle for the 2009 season.  All 3 of those squads finished in the bottom-10 in total offense.  The passing games ranked 31st, 32nd, and 15th.  It's a pretty uninspiring hire for the Raiders.

While ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms that Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (ankle) is fully expected to play in Sunday's Super Bowl, Schefter also reports that Gronk will be nowhere near full strength.  "There are very few people, nobody, who fully expects him to be 100%," Schefter said.  It's not all that surprising considering last week's report that Gronkowski is dealing with a high-ankle sprain.  Even at 70 or 75%, Gronk figures to make an impact against the Giants.  But don't expect him to be his usual dominant self.

After a brilliant rookie season, Bucs WR Mike Williams' numbers fell across the board in 2011.  His yards-per-catch average dropped from 14.8 to 11.9, and his TDs plummeted from 11 to 3.  Sources tell team insider Charlie Campbell that Williams wasn't putting in the necessary work, spending too much time partying and too little time in the weight room.  "One coach said that if Williams doesn't wake up and turn things around, he will have another down year," Campbell writes.  Williams came into the league with character and work ethic concerns, so this is definitely something to monitor.  We'll keep our ears open for updates on his dedication this offseason.

The Colts have hired Bruce Arians as their OC.  The Steelers opted against extending Arians' contract this offseason.  He'd spent the last 5 seasons as Pittsburgh's OC, with the Steelers finishing 14th or better in total offense each of the past 3.  Arians runs a pass-heavy system, which is good news for soon-to-be Colts QB Andrew Luck.  The fact that the Colts are implementing a new offense is also another sign that they're ready to move on from QB Peyton Manning.

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks briefly left last Sunday's NFC Championship with a shoulder injury.  He didn't practice this past week and is tentatively listed as questionable for the Super Bowl.  "I expect to be a full go by next week," Nicks said. "Just using next couple of days to rehab it. It was painful. I landed right on an AC joint that I have injured a few times this season. Went in and got it taken care of and by halftime I was cool."  We'll update Nicks' status next week, but the injury shouldn't be an issue.

According to Patriots insider Shalise Manza Young, TE Rob Gronkowski will likely need to undergo offseason surgery to clean up the ligament damage in his ankle.  Young confirms that Gronk is still fully expected to play in the Super Bowl, but it's becoming more and more clear that he won't be close to 100%.

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.