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As if we didn't have enough to obsess about ...

New England Patriots guard Logan Mankins and San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson, antitrust lawsuit plaintiffs, reportedly want to be declared unrestricted free agents or receive $10 million for their trouble before signing off on dropping the suit. The suit must be resolved before the collective bargaining agreement can be finalized.

Mankins and Jackson have been trapped by the uncapped season and were unable to be free agents last year. The minimum service time was raised temporarily from four years to six years, forcing them to remain with their teams for qualifying money.

ESPN analysts Cris Carter and Tim Hasselbeck break down the best places for star free-agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha to land.

Sorry, New York Jets fans. Neither expert mentioned your team, although there had been buzz Asomugha could team up with Darrelle Revis to form a super tandem.

Plaxico Burress is scheduled to get out of the pokey June 6.

That would give the former New York Giants receiver plenty of time to get on a roster and play a full season. If a labor standoff doesn't compress the summer workout schedule, Burress also would have a good chance to learn the new offense by opening day.

Would Burress be a fit in the AFC East?

Before we consider each team, let's project the kind of receiver Burress will be.

His 34th birthday is in August. He hasn't caught an NFL pass since November 2008. Even before he went to prison after accidentally shooting himself at a Manhattan nightclub, his average yards per catch diminished four straight years.

Still, he's 6-foot-5 and always a threat to sky over defensive backs.

"When you look at him on the field, the guy is tall," ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck said Monday. "He's got long arms. One of the things the Giants loved to do is they'd get on [the opponent's] 45 and take a shot. With the way the rules are set up in the National Football League, it's absolutely perfect for a guy like Plaxico Burress, whose got the long arms, got the reach, who understands how to use his body.

"He's not as fast as he was two years ago. He can still be effective and still can help somebody out if that team ends up trusting him."

Hasselbeck said Burress' employment prospects could be helped by Michael Vick's successful return from prison. Vick seemed to have grown from the experience. Maybe Burress did, too.

Next to Hasselbeck on the "NFL Live" set was former Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who claimed prison might have helped Burress in another way. Pierce won a Super Bowl ring after Burress caught the decisive touchdown to deny the New England Patriots' perfect season.

"He was in jail for two years, and that's a lot of time for that body to heal up," Pierce said. "Plaxico had some ankle, some knee injuries. You sit around for two years, your body starts to heal.

"There's some teams out there ... that would love to have his services."

The AFC East could be a destination. I reached out to Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson for his thoughts on the four rosters and whether or not there would be room for a receiver like Burress.

"I really don't know what he will be able to provide," Williamson said. "He obviously will be the same size when he returns and should continue to use his big frame well, especially near the goal line. It is speculation as to what he will be like athletically, but I have to think that his big play ability and suddenness will be greatly compromised."

Buffalo Bills

Their receiving corps looks solid, but it can be upgraded. Lee Evans has been a disappointment, but defenses must account for him at all times. Steve Johnson had a breakout season with more than 1,073 yards and 10 touchdowns. Roscoe Parrish had the best season of his career even though a broken wrist sidelined him after just eight games. Undrafted rookie David Nelson stepped up late in the year when injuries provided an opportunity. Interest in Burress: Low.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have invested heavily in Brandon Marshall, and Burress probably offers a similar skill set at this stage. They are tall, possession receivers who don't stretch the field (anymore). The Dolphins also have their slot receiver in Davone Bess. While Burress could help the Dolphins' woeful red-zone offense, what they need is a speedster who can help Chad Henne blow the top of coverages on occasion and loosen things up for Marshall and Bess underneath. Interest in Burress: Medium.

New England Patriots

The Patriots, as Williamson noted, are in a similar situation as the Dolphins. The Patriots have Wes Welker and Deion Branch plus tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Their greatest need in the passing game is a lightning bolt to help Tom Brady keep defenses honest. Brandon Tate and Taylor Price are burners, but they are young and haven't established themselves as capable. Interest in Burress: Low.

New York Jets

The Jets seemingly present the greatest possibility for Burress in the AFC East. "That could be a fit," Williamson said. "I could see them taking the risk. And after free agency departures, Burress might be attractive. Plus, they are in win-now mode." Points well taken. The Jets might not be able to re-sign all of their free-agent receivers: Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith. General manager Mike Tannenbaum and head coach Rex Ryan have shown with Holmes, Edwards and Antonio Cromartie they're open to second chances. Interest in Burress: High.

A couple weeks ago, most Buffalo Bills fans didn't consider Auburn quarterback Cam Newton a legitimate possibility for the third overall pick in April's draft.

Now a respected NFL draft analyst has expressed shock at the thought of Newton still being on the board when the Bills are on the clock.

Gil Brandt is a former Dallas Cowboys executive who dissects draft prospects for NFL.com. Brandt told Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Jimmy Burch the Carolina Panthers should name Newton their No. 1 selection.

"It would shock me ... if he's not the first player picked," Brandt said. "If I was drafting and I had Carolina's pick, I'd feel really good about who I was getting as far as ability.

"I just hope he realizes how hard he needs to work. You can have all the ability in the world but if you don't work like Drew Brees, Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers, you're only going to be semi-successful."

National writers and analysts have noted Bills general manager Buddy Nix has an affinity for Newton. That growing sentiment plus Newton's impressive public workout earlier this month sent him soaring up many mock draft boards and ahead of Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert as the top player at his position.

ESPN draft overlord Mel Kiper's latest mock draft has Newton slotted to the Bills.

Newton announced Monday night he would participate fully at this week's NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. Some quarterback prospects prefer not to throw at the combine.

"I don't have nothing to hide, and I'm a competitor," Newton said. "I'm going to go out here and do what I've been working on this whole time and preparing for this moment right here."

ESPN commentators Tim Hasselbeck and Mark Schlereth preview Sunday's game between the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC crown.

Both analysts predict the Steelers will win the rematch because superstar safety Troy Polamalu is back, and the Jets won't be able to handle Ben Roethlisberger's brand of "backyard football."

With help from co-host Jenny Dell and some insightful data from ESPN's Stats & Information crew, analyst Tim Hasselbeck explained how the New York Jets' defense has evolved into a unit that gave Peyton Manning and Tom Brady fits.

Now they'll try to confuse Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the AFC Championship Game.

The Jets have dialed back their blitzes. They've flooded the field with defensive backs and rushed four or fewer defensive linemen the past couple of weeks.

"The Jets were so aggressive [early in the season], bringing all kinds of blitz pressure," Hasselbeck said. "They were really leaving their corners out there on an island. Everybody talks about Revis Island, but you're asking other guys -- safety players, linebackers -- to cover with no help. It's hard to do that consistently.

"What you've seen from the Jets now is a change in their philosophy. They're still aggressive. They'll still come after you. At the same time, they've backed off a little bit.

"So it's not so predictable. Teams can't game plan and know when that pressure is coming."

Hasselbeck speculated, after two weeks of not blitzing Manning or Brady, the Jets would crank up their pass rush against the Steelers.

Hasselbeck also broke down the importance of a healthy Troy Polamalu to the Steelers' defense.

ESPN analysts Tim Hasselbeck and Tedy Bruschi disagree on the victor of Sunday's game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets at the Meadowlands.

Hasselbeck predicts the Bills will win -- and not because the Jets will rest players. Hasselbeck just happens to like the matchup for the Bills. Bruschi calls Hasselbeck "crazy" and points out the Bills' defense ranks dead last against the run. The Jets will be pounding it.

ESPN analysts Tedy Bruschi and Tim Hasselbeck predict what will happen Sunday in Gillette Stadium, where the Miami Dolphins will meet the New England Patriots.

Both claim Patriots backup quarterback Brian Hoyer will beat the Dolphins even if Tom Brady doesn't play much.

ESPN analysts Tedy Bruschi and Tim Hasselbeck gave their thoughts on whether the New York Jets should rest quarterback Mark Sanchez or any other starting players for Sunday's regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills at the Meadowlands.

The Jets have clinched a playoff berth. They have a remote shot of moving up from the sixth seed to the fifth seed with a victory, but other games also would have to break a certain way.

"Unless you're clearly convinced that he's really at risk with that shoulder or you know he's going to be substantially better by giving him a week off, then I think you play Mark Sanchez," Hasselbeck said. "We've seen a quarterback really not play that great down the stretch. You're also asking a young quarterback to do a lot at the line of scrimmage. I think he's struggled in that area. I think playing in the game would be a good thing for him, to get a little confidence going."

Bruschi said, in general, the decision to rest or play should come down to whether a team has a first-round bye. The Jets will play on the road in the first round no matter what.

"If you have that first-round bye, you play because you don't want to get rusty on two weeks off," Bruschi said. "But if you have a game the next week, you take rest even if you have a little bit of an injury."

ESPN convened a panel of five experts to deliver a comprehensive examination of the ongoing debate.

Who's the better quarterback? Tom Brady or Peyton Manning?

ESPN analysts Herm Edwards, Marcellus Wiley, Eric Allen, Tim Hasselbeck and Matt Williamson each voted on 15 categories.

Edwards has gameplanned against both quarterbacks as a head coach. Wiley and Allen played against them on defense. Hasselbeck is a former NFL quarterback. Williamson is a former NFL scout.

A winner was declared. Click on the story to find out which iconic quarterback came out on top with a breakdown of how each panelist voted along with their reasoning.

You can check out the winners per category here (with how the panel voted).

Better deep ball: Brady (3-2)

More accurate passer: Manning (3-2)

Choice to win one playoff game: Brady (4-1)

Choice to orchestrate last-minute drive: Manning (4-1)

Tougher to prepare for: Manning (3-2)

Better remembered in history: Manning (5-0)

More durable: Manning (5-0)

Stronger arm: Brady (3-2)

Smarter: Manning (4-1)

Better pocket presence: Brady (4-1)

Better leader: Manning (3-2)

More mobile: Manning (4-1)

Better mechanics: Manning (3-2)

More quality seasons left: Manning (3-2)

Make a better coach: Manning (3-2)

On the AFC East blog Monday afternoon, I shared some numbers from ESPN Stats & Information that illustrated how much the New England Patriots' offense has been relying on multiple tight ends.

With those same numbers at his disposal, ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck gave his take on why the approach is working for the Patriots.

"The two tight ends on the field, without a doubt, their best personnel grouping because of the matchups that it creates," Hasselbeck said. "Not all tight ends are created equal. Aaron Hernandez, he's basically a wide receiver. They like to use him around like a Dallas Clark-type tight end or a Dustin Keller-type tight end. Rob Gronkowski is a much better blocking tight end but also a viable target in the red zone.

"When they're putting their best 11 guys out on the field on offense, two of those guys happen to be rookies, and they're both tight ends. But it's certainly working for that offense."

Hasselbeck also addressed whether the Patriots are getting enough attention in the New York Jets' shadow and mentioned the Miami Dolphins might be the team getting overlooked most of all.

ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck is an advocate of Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne and recommends patience as the second-year starter comes into his own.

"They don't want to make the move back to Chad Pennington," Hasselbeck said in a "Countdown Daily" video segment that takes a look at Henne's numbers. "Really, when you look at Chad Henne, he's played well this year.

"He's had a couple of weeks where he made a couple crucial mistakes. You can look at the Monday night game against the New England Patriots, and that will come to mind, where two bad decisions really impacted how people viewed his performance in that game. But Chad Henne's an excellent quarterback."

Hasselbeck also views the Dolphins as a potential playoff team because they improved during the offseason more than any other team in the AFC East.

On the "NFL Live" set, actor Kevin Connolly from HBO's hit series "Entourage" debates analysts Trent Dilfer and Tim Hasselbeck on the quarterbacking merits of Chad Henne over Mark Sanchez.

Connolly claims Sanchez will "get exposed later in the season." Dilfer replies it's "a no brainer" that Sanchez is better than Henne, while Hasselbeck plays the middle.

Might the Miami Dolphins consider a quarterback switch during their bye week?

Chad Henne threw for great yardage and four touchdown passes the past two weeks, but he also tossed four interceptions. The Dolphins lost both games at home.

Third quarterback Tyler Thigpen relieved Henne in the fourth quarter of Monday night's 41-14 loss to the New England Patriots, bypassing backup Chad Pennington. That decision probably helped reduce the quarterback-controversy chatter folks in South Florida will hear the next two weeks.

ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck doesn't think the Dolphins need to make a change.

In a video piece for "Countdown Daily," Hasselbeck said he has been impressed with Henne and partially blamed Brandon Marshall for the third interception Monday night.

"When I watch Chad Henne, I'm not really that discouraged about his game," Hasselbeck said. "We saw in the Monday night game he throws for over 300 yards, throws a couple of touchdowns. We saw the interceptions, and partly, in my mind, a lot of it has to do with guys being dropped back into coverage. You have to be patient. You can't force the ball to Brandon Marshall on a deep in cut when you have Ricky Williams open in the flat.

"But, for the most part, other than two poor decisions that ended up in interceptions, I thought he played pretty well. On the third interception, Brandon Marshall sells him out on the route a bit.

"Ultimately, Chad Henne's had two fairly good weeks of quarterbacking for the Miami Dolphins. I'm not too worried about him going forward, being the quarterback of that team."

Mark Sanchez didn't have the kind of performance that would give New York Jets fans peace of mind heading into the regular season.

The third preseason game is supposed to be the most realistic exhibition, but in Friday night's 16-11 loss to the Washington Redskins at the Meadowlands, Sanchez looked like he needs more time to figure things out.

Sanchez was 13-of-21 for 139 yards and one touchdown with one interception. The Redskins sacked him twice.

Sanchez guided the Jets to zero touchdowns on 15 straight possessions before he hooked up with tight end Dustin Keller in the fourth quarter.

In all three preseason games, Sanchez has quarterbacked 18 drives that have gone for 28 points. That's two touchdowns (a missed extra point) and four field goals.

The "NFL Live" crew of host Michael Smith and analysts Tim Hasselbeck and Eric Allen took a look at Sanchez's development and how the Jets will handle it.

"From what I saw from him last season and then what I've seen in the preseason," Hasselbeck said, "you've seen some improvement, but you've also seen him revert back to some things that got him into trouble last year. What I would like to see from Mark Sanchez is really more consistency."

Hasselbeck was critical of how careless Sanchez is with the ball when he's in the pocket.

"That is an issue for me and something I'd like to see him clean up," Hasselbeck said, "if he's going to take the Jets to ultimately where they think he can take them."

Allen provided his formula for the Jets to help Sanchez come around.

"They have to get back to controlling the middle of the football field with Shonn Greene, utilize [LaDainian Tomlinson's] experience," Allen said. "When you're standing back there and it's third down, having that great veteran by you and be able to chip before he goes out [for a pass], utilize Keller in the passing game, screens and draws, really get that confidence back into that passing game and confidence back into that young man so they can work down the football field."