Manziel leads NFL’s rookie jersey sales; Sam second

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By Friday at 5 p.m., some 20 hours after the Browns traded up to No. 22 to take quarterback Johnny Manziel, the team's ticket office sold more than 2,300 season tickets. So it's no surprise that he also has the league's top-selling rookie jersey, according to the NFL (via Outsports.com).

Second behind Johnny Football: Michael Sam (7th round, 249 overall), the NFL's first openly gay player. He's followed by defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (first round, first overall), and quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater (first round, 32nd overall) and Blake Bortles (first round, third overall).

"This is unprecedented for a Day 3 pick, let alone a seventh round pick, to crack the top five rookies sold following Draft weekend," NFL spokesperson Joanna Hunter said.

More amazing: Sam's jersey didn't go on sale until Saturday night while jerseys for Manziel, Clowney, Bridgewater and Bortles were all available Thursday when they were drafted six rounds earlier.

"We think this is a sign of what we've been saying all along, that Michael's inclusion in the NFL is bringing fans into the game who weren't previously consumers of the NFL game," his agent Cameron Weiss, told ESPN.

And that's a good thing. Still, there are no guarantees that Sam, as a late-round pick, makes the Rams' final roster. It's something coach Jeff Fisher spoke about shortly after taking the former Missouri standout.

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The Cardinals say goodbye to RB Ryan Williams



The Cardinals released 2011 second round pick Ryan Williams after a brief and injury plagued stint in Phoenix. Williams was set to be the highest paid running back on the team despite not being active at any time last year. Although he didn't play last year, he was healthy after training camp, hopefully this extra time will gave him the opportunity to heal properly and get him into another teams camp this fall.Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-USX-NONEX-NONE/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:107%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Williams ruptured his patellar tendon during his rookie year and and has struggled to regain his form since.



A lot of fantasy owners were very high on Williams when he entered the NFL, but every year injuries held him back from achieving his potential, fantasy or otherwise. His fantasy value is gone until he hooks on with another team, and even then it will be negligible, unless he finds the perfect fit at the perfect time.Andre Ellington took charge of the Arizona backfield last year, and could emerge as a solid RB2/3 heading into this year's draft. He may lose short yardage carries to Jonathan Dwyer and Stepfan Taylor, but his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield should make up for those lost points. Running against NFC west defenses appears to be the biggest challenge to Ellington's success in 2014. Try to grab Ellington by round four if you want him on your roster. And as always, watch those ADP's!