Morning Report: Lions may pass on top pick

Maybe it's the economy.

Maybe it's uncertainty over this season's rookies.

Maybe it's just common sense rearing its ugly head.

But, says ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, at least four NFL teams scheduled to draft in the top 10 this Saturday afternoon are actively seeking to trade down.

And that number does not include the Detroit Lions, who have the No. 1 pick but are said to be considering passing and allowing St. Louis or Kansas City to go first.

Under current rules, if a team on the clock allows its allotted time to expire, it re-enters the round as soon as it wants to exercise the pick.

Detroit is said to be interested in drafting Georgia's Matthew Stafford, but many observers don't consider him worthy of overall No. 1 money. Since neither St. Louis nor Kansas City is likely to draft a quarterback, the Lions could go down to fourth and still get the guy they want.

And pay him a lot less than the approximately $40 million guaranteed to the guy taken No. 1.

Maybe, just maybe, the money given to untested youngsters is getting so big that some teams are backing away from simply shelling it out.

Also, consider this: For the first time since free agency hit the NFL in 1993, not one restricted free agent changed teams.

Four players signed offer sheets and had those offers matched by their teams.

Will Boldin move? The Eagles got their No. 1 draft pick on Friday, as Jason Peters certainly is better right now than any left tackle who will go high on Saturday.

That leaves open the possibility that the Birds will use their remaining first-round pick in a trade with Arizona for receiver Anquan Boldin.

But don't count on it.

According to Profootballtalk.com, there are rumblings around the league that the Cardinals receiver might have a chronic hip condition.

Boldin, 28, missed some time in 2007 with a hip injury. In six NFL seasons, he has played in all 16 games only twice.

What were they thinking? This week's puzzler comes from Major League Baseball.

Righthander Josh Beckett of Boston was given a six game suspension last week for allegedly throwing at the Angels' Bobby Abreu.

Hitting a pitcher with a six-game suspension is about the only way to guarantee he'll actually miss any playing time, so the penalty wasn't as severe as it sounds.

Now, it turns out there will be no penalty. MLB yesterday cut the suspension to five games.

Since the Red Sox have a day off this week, they will move Jon Lester back a day in the rotation and Beckett won't miss a start.

Some punishment.

Finally. The Phillies got their best win of the season yesterday and may finally be shaking their early season malaise. Chan Ho Park didn't turn in a bad start, as a team like the Phillies should score more than four runs a night.

J.A. Happ was stellar in three relief innings and Clay Condrey held the fort in the ninth.

The home runs from Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins (where's he been?) and Raul Ibanez were right on time.

For the first time maybe all season, everybody did their jobs.