LEPANTO (AP) It was not that long ago that Lepanto native Marcus Monk sat in his backyard and dreamed about playing professional football. Monk's dream is now a reality as the former Arkansas wide receiver is about to enter training camp after being drafted by the Chicago Bears in April's NFL Draft.
"It was a great feeling," Monk said before a weekend charity basketball game. "It was just an honor and blessing to just be picked anywhere. Obviously, everyone wants to be picked early, but just being picked is a great feeling."
Monk said that before the draft was over he had been in contact with several teams about the possibility of signing as a free agent. He also said that teams still had questions about a knee injury that caused him to miss all but six games of his senior season.
"I really wasn't nervous, he said. "I just kept trying to stay positive and keep a good attitude about the situation and once I got picked it was just a great feeling.
"When you look at the big picture you have a whole lot of guys that want to get drafted and only 280 get the chance and I get to say that I was one of those few."
Monk's spot on the roster is anything but guaranteed, however. Chicago will enter training camp with eight wide receivers on its roster and Monk is aware that it will take a lot of work and training to earn a spot at the conclusion of camp.
One area in which he hopes to stand out is on special teams. Monk said he has been working hard to improve his skills in the special teams area and knows that he could make an impact on the Bears by showing he can be versatile. "It is just all about learning," Monk said. "You think you know a lot, but once you get out there you realize there are a whole bunch of small things you still need help with. Like playing special teams is something that I never did, but is more than likely what I will end up having to do."
Monk has gone through two mini-camps already this year and said he was preparing to leave on Tuesday for the start of training camp on Wednesday. Chicago's 23-day camp will feature 19 days of practice and one preseason game against Kansas City on Aug. 7.
"I am just ready to get back on the field and continue learning," Monk said. "I just want to try and work hard and earn a spot on the team. My goal is to make the 53-man roster and I am going to have to work hard to do it."
The transition from small-town life to a big city is something Monk said he will just have to adjust to. Monk will not be alone in the move as his teammate at Arkansas, Marcus Harrison, will also move to Chicago after being drafted as the 90th overall pick. Monk set several school records at Arkansas, including a freshman record of 37 catches. He also caught 11 touchdowns in his junior season, more than any other wide receiver in Arkansas history.
Monk also said he wants to give back to his community every chance he gets, which is why he put together Saturday night's charity basketball event.
"I was just trying to come up with a way that I could help on short notice and it doesn't take a lot to put a basketball game together with everyone coming out and showing support," he said. "The main objective is to just help the kids and help progress in the Lepanto and Marked Tree school districts."
Monk said he hopes to continue the event in the coming years and will eventually add camps in the future for kids to attend.
Giants trade Shockey
to Saints for draft picks
NEW ORLEANS (AP) Jeremy Shockey was traded to the Saints for two draft picks Monday, giving New Orleans a disgruntled star tight end who watched from afar while injured as the New York Giants surged to the Super Bowl title.
The Giants will get second- and fifth-round picks in the 2009 draft. The deal must be approved by the league and is contingent on Shockey passing a physical.
The deal reunites Shockey with Saints coach Sean Payton, who was the Giants' offensive coordinator in 2002, when Shockey was Rookie of the Year.
"I have had a relationship with coach Payton and I appreciate what he has done as a head coach," Shockey said in a statement released by the Saints.
"The Saints have a lot of weapons starting with Drew Brees and I look forward to joining my teammates at training camp. This will be a fun year."
The Saints report to training camp in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday with several other tight ends on the roster, including last year's starter, Eric Johnson, along with Billy Miller and Mark Campbell.
Shockey, a four-time Pro Bowl selection who spent six seasons with the Giants, broke his leg against the Washington Redskins on Dec. 16.
He is known for his offensive ability more than his blocking, and was unhappy even before the injury he was asked to block in addition to catch. Once hurt, he didn't like the fact that much was made of the Giants winning with rookie Kevin Boss in his place.
"Jeremy brought great energy to the game every time he stepped on the field," said Giants team president John Mara, son of the late Wellington Mara, a longtime owner of the team. "He had a close relationship with my father from the time we drafted him, and I had a couple of long conversations with Jeremy this spring and summer. From those conversations, it was apparent to me that a fresh start was the best thing for us and for Jeremy."
The Giants, a proven winner without Shockey in the lineup, cut ties with a player who provided plenty of excitement on the field and plenty of distractions off it once throwing a cup of ice in the stands during a playoff game in San Francisco, criticizing Giants fans for leaving a game early, blaming Giants coach Tom Coughlin's staff for a loss in 2006 or skipping voluntary team workouts in favor an offseason program run by his agent.
The Giants also unload the remainder of a five-year, $31.2 million contract extension that Shockey signed in 2005.
Shockey had 371 catches for 4,228 yards and 27 touchdowns with the Giants. He was drafted out of Miami with the 14th overall pick in the 2002 draft.
Coughlin called the departing tight end "an outstanding football player who plays the game full speed and plays the game the way it was meant to be played."
"I wish him the best," the coach added.
The Giants still have five tight ends, including Boss, who started the last six games of last season. The others are rookie Eric Butler, Jerome Collins, Darcy Johnson and Michael Matthews.
"We have five young kids who are all vying for the position," Coughlin said. "The tight end position will be a very competitive position in training camp."
The Saints have been seeking a tight end who is a downfield threat. Eric Johnson, who started 12 games for the Saints last season, caught 48 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns.
"Jeremy is a player that we are excited to have on our roster. He is someone I am familiar with as a player," Payton said. "He brings a skill set to the position that I feel will be a tremendous benefit to our offense."
The Saints' offense has been among the best in the NFL during Payton's first two seasons as coach, with Brees eclipsing 4,000 yards passing in each of them.
The hope in New Orleans is that Shockey's addition as a receiving threat, when combined with receiver Marcus Colston and Reggie Bush coming out of the backfield or lining up in the slot, will give Brees the options he needs to move the ball, no matter what defenses attempt.
Shockey's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, called last season a difficult one for his client, who was looking for a change of scenery.
"He's been one of the most successful tight ends in NFL history, but now I think he's going to be more prolific in the Saints' offense," Rosenhaus said. "I don't think Jeremy could ask for a better situation."
