Steve Smith wasn't surprised at all when the Saints bounty program came to light this offseason. The longtime Panthers wide receiver said he's "always known" that Gregg Williams and his defenses try to hurt opposing players. "I actually had an altercation with a guy who told me firsthand," Smith said on NFL.com's "Dave Dameshek Football Program," although he didn't name the Saints player. "I was going out of bounds, and the guy went for my ankle. I said, 'Hey, man, cut that out.' He's like, 'Well, we get fined if we don't go after your legs when you go out of bounds.' ... And actually this past year, this last game when we played them, I had a little conversation with Gregg Williams. ... He took responsibility, he was saying it wasn't right, but that's who he was."

This year's bracket-style tournament to select a cover athlete for the 2013 version of the wildly popular Madden video game is down to Calvin Johnson and Cam Newton. Voting runs through next Wednesday.

After an impressive rookie season, Cam Newton believes he has made many improvements as a quarterback. "With reviewing all the games from last year, I feel that the improvement is through the roof for me," Newton said. "I've had the whole offseason to work on the things that I feel like I need to get better at (and that) will come into fruition. With the upcoming OTAs, I feel like that's another time for me to get better."

After a brief period of ups-and-downs, Steve Smith will likely finish his career with the Panthers. The Panthers have announced Smith has agreed to a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the team through the 2015 season. There is also a team option for the 2016 season. "Steve has been a difference maker at receiver for us since he's been here," Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said. "It's always good to keep your core players. We felt like Steve made it very clear that he wanted to finish career as a Panther. We're glad he did."

The Panthers signed Mike Tolbert this offseason and plan to use him as a fullback paving the way for rushers DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. "Everybody keeps saying he's a tailback. But he's a fullback to us," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "Because again, we saw how we had used him in San Diego. We just thought this is a guy we'd love to have. ... If you can put an athletic, play-making fullback there, I think it helps you."