Dickerson Wants Rams Back in L.A. 

The race to Los Angeles found a new champion this week in Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson. And not surprisingly, the man who had his No. 29 jersey retired by the Rams after being drafted by the team in 1983 is campaigning for his former team to come back to Los Angeles.

“Honestly, I’m hoping the Rams come back,” Dickerson told ESPN. “I do go to St. Louis, they’re still the Rams and the team I played for, but a lot of guys feel the same way. They’d like to have them back here in town. We need a team now, and I think the perfect fit would be the Los Angeles Rams … I believe the Rams belong here [in Los Angeles].”

At this point, it is inevitable at least one team will be playing in Los Angeles by 2016. The NFL will consider a bid for relocation by the Rams, whose owner Stan Kroenke is building a $2 billion stadium in Inglewood, as well as a separate joint bid by the Chargers and Raiders, who have proposed a stadium project in Carson City.

Of the three teams, the Rams and Chargers seem most determined to move, while the Raiders face the most dire stadium situation in their incumbent city. As such, the popular belief is the Rams or Chargers will be allowed to make the jump first, with the Raiders likely to follow suit as the expected second tenant.

The NFL will hear updates from all the affected cities and teams in August, with a final decision on relocation likely to come in January.

Polls show that football fans in Los Angeles prefer to see the Rams in L.A. more so than the Raiders or Chargers, which makes sense given the Rams were the first major professional sports franchise to move to California in 1946.

You can count Dickerson amongst those fans.

“If the Rams come, they have a great owner in Stan Kroenke, and it’s a different organization than when I played,” Dickerson said. “I just think it would be great. I don’t think you’ll find one person who will say L.A. shouldn’t have a team. If they do, they don’t like football. I think we do need a team here.”

The Time for Green is Coming

Now that Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas have agreed to five-year, $70 million extensions, the focus has turned to fellow receivers A.J. Green and Julio Jones as the top-10 picks from the 2011 draft await similarly lucrative extensions.

It is likely Jones will be the first to sign a new deal, with the Falcons optimistic about getting an extension in place as early as this week. Green may have to wait a little bit longer — such is life with notoriously cheap owner Mike Brown — but there is a good chance his payday will come ahead of Week 1.

Green averages better than 80 catches, 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns per season.

“All that contract stuff doesn’t really bother me, because when you put in the body of work I’ve put in, it speaks for itself,” he told Fox10tv.com. “My time is coming.”

“It’s always what great athletes dream of, to finish with the team that gave them their first opportunity. Cincinnati is a great place. We’re a great team that can be good for a long time. We got a lot of young talent. It would be great to stay there, I want to stay there. I think they’re going to get something done.”

Since drafting Green and QB Andy Dalton in 2011, the Bengals have been to the playoffs every season. It marks the first time in franchise history the team has made four consecutive trips to the postseason.

Colts Cut Ties with Cherilus

The Colts have released RT Gosder Cherilus just two years into the five-year, $34.5 million deal he signed with the team back in 2013. Cherilus started 29 games over the last two seasons but struggled with injuries and inconsistency.

He underwent a knee scope earlier this offseason, hoping to solve a knee issue that kept him out of Indianapolis’ playoff run last season, but his recovery has gone slower than expected. The Colts discussed a renegotiated contract with Cherilus’ agent, Greg Diulus, but no common ground could be reached.

Diulus insists is client is healthy enough to play immediately and will do so with a new team.

“He did what he was supposed to do. He visited the doctors this week, and he passed everything with flying colors,” Diulus told ESPN.com. “He’s going to play somewhere this year.”

The Colts will carry $2.9 million in dead money this season and $5.8 million next season as a result of the move, but the transaction ultimately saves Indianapolis the $18.5 million in unguaranteed money remaining on Cherilus’ contract.

Jack Mewhort, a second-round pick in 2014 who started at left guard as a rookie, will take over for Cherilus at right tackle. Donald Thomas will fill in for Mewhort at left guard.

Walsh Gets His Wish

The Vikings signed place kicker Blair Walsh to a four-year, $14 million deal on Sunday that makes him among the top-five highest paid kickers in the game.

The deal is not as rich as the contract signed by Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski last week (four years, $17.2 million), but it is still a healthy payout for a player who has converted 84.5 percent of his field goal attempts during this three-year career.

Walsh missed nine field goals attempts last season, more than in his first two seasons combined, although two of those attempts were blocked.

“Blair has been a vital part of our special teams success since we drafted him and we felt it was very important to secure his future with our organization,” GM Rick Spielman said in a statement. “His consistency on kickoffs and on long range field goals can help change the game for our team and we’re excited for his future here in Minnesota.”

The hope is that with the return of Adrian Peterson and the arrival of Mike Wallace, Walsh will spend less time kicking field goals and more time kicking extra points.

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