NFL Insider: Charean Williams’ five cents

My five cents

1 The night before Super Bowl XLV, Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy had everyone sized for Super Bowl rings as motivation. This week, after Green Bay’s loss in Buffalo, McCarthy had the team vote on playoff captains. The Packers are not assured a postseason berth, but Aaron Rodgers, Jordy Nelson, Morgan Burnett, Julius Peppers, Randall Cobb and Jarrett Bush were voted playoff captains.

2 Jay Cutler’s benching in favor of Jimmy Clausen sends a strong message. Clausen, a former second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers, has not started a game since 2010, when he went 1-9. In fact, he has thrown only nine passes since, with all nine coming this season. Cutler might have played his last game in Chicago. The Bears owe him $15.5 million fully guaranteed next season, and they would have a cap charge of $16.5 million if they designated him a post-June 1 cut.

3 The Vikings, with only three healthy safeties, signed former Baylor standout Ahmad Dixon to their active roster. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer called Dixon “a talented guy.” Dixon has spent time with four teams since the Dallas Cowboys made him a seventh-round pick.

4 The Cowboys rated defensive tackle Aaron Donald high on their draft board, but the St. Louis Rams took him with the 13th overall pick. Donald is a candidate for defensive rookie of the year. His eight sacks lead all rookies and are the third most among all defensive tackles. He also has 15 tackles for loss.

5 Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill has a career-best 66.3 completion percentage, but only because he throws mostly short and intermediate passes. The former Texas A&M star, who is inaccurate on deep throws, ranks 30th in yards per attempt (6.73).

This story was originally published December 20, 2014 at 5:22 PM with the headline "NFL Insider: Charean Williams’ five cents."