Bills DE Schobel is ready to retire at any time

The Buffalo Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel will turn 33 years old by the first day of September, and he is now thinking that he might have been too old to play more football, so he would be fine and announce his retirement if the Bills finally decide that they do not need the defensive end any more.

"I think this coaching staff is OK with moving on without me, and that’s fine," Schobel said via the team’s website. "I understand he has to come in and do what he has to do, but at this point in my career that’s what has to happen for me to play. If September rolls around and Buffalo wants me, then maybe I’ll play. But I doubt it."

Even if Schobel retires, the Bills will not lose much in productivity. The 32-year-old man had only 10 sacks, three forced fumbles, four passes batted down and one interception in 2009 season. Schobel used to say that he wanted to preserve his body for post-career life, which will be spent mostly on staying with his three young children. He may also put on his wife’s favorite Vikings jersey to watch other teams’ game. On the other side, the Bills GM Buddy Nix told reporters recently that the team would keep Schobel if the player still wants to play.

Guard Chester Pitts attracted interests from Vikings

Still rehabbing from the knee injury suffered last September, the Houston Texans guard Chester Pitts is now on his way back to NFL, but it’s very unlikely for him to return with the Texans. According to recent reports, other teams have been in contact with the veteran, and one of them is the Minnesota Vikings.

Pitts recently told reporters that he received phone call from the Vikings last week and was asked about the rehab process. The Seattle Seahawks also contacted him, but it seems that the Vikings attracted more attention from the public because of their roster moves during the offseason.

After losing Artis Hicks to the Washington Redskins during free agency, the Vikings have been in lack of a qualified replacing offensive lineman. Although the drafted former Wake Forest lineman Chris DeGeare from the fifth-round of 2010 NFL draft, there is still a void in the starting line. Replacement for Hicks must be like the former starter, veteran and versatile, and that are the very traits making Pitts the best choice. Besides, having Pitts put on Vikings jersey would be cheap as he is just coming off a microfracture surgery. What’s more, Vikings head coach Brad Childress would like Pitts to be in his offensive line the 32-year-old veteran has been famous for being a finesse blocker instead of an overpowering one.

Rookie RB Gerhart is already familiar with some Vikings

Being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings as a second-round pick from the 2010 NFL draft, running back Toby Gerhart seemed doomed to get linked with the team. Although he would put on Vikings jersey for the first time by the time of rookie camp, Gerhart has already known some of the Vikings long before.

The starting running back Gerhart is going to back up, Adrian Peterson has been the rookie’s idol for long. Winning the Heisman Trophy as one of the best college running backs, Gerhart’s career goal is just to become a running back like Peterson, who was a college star already when Gerhart was a freshman in college. Then he met the famous running back at a Super Bowl game and was excited enough to have a handshake with Peterson. Now he really puts on Vikings jersey and will play with his idol, and Gerhart just has more motivation than other rookies to do his best.

Except for Peterson, there is another Vikings a non-stranger to Gerhart. Running backs coach Eric Bieniemy used to be recruiting Gerhart to UCLA, but eventually Gerhart went to Stanford and Bieniemy joined the Vikings. So it’s interesting enough that finally the two still came to the same place to work for the same team.