HEAV
03-07-2006, 09:35 AM
Former Redskins star LaVar Arrington said he is eager to make his mark elsewhere. One AFC general manager contacted yesterday said there could be 10 teams in the market for outside linebackers -- including NFC East rivals Dallas, Philadelphia and New York. "That's a position of need for a lot of teams out there, and there isn't a whole lot of talent [available] at outside linebacker," the general manager said. "I'm sure there will be some concern over his health, but there will be interest in him."
Former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Trevor Pryce is set to be in Cleveland today for a visit, a league source said. (The Browns' policy this offseason is not to confirm visits, unlike past years when the team announced who was in the building.) Pryce spent the past nine seasons as a starter in Denver, and was a leader of the team. He was released March 2 in a salary cap move and can be signed at any time.
While the Rams had only a brief discussion Monday with Isaac Bruce's agent, Jimmy Sexton, four teams had called expressing interest in Bruce by late afternoon. Sexton declined to name those teams, but the Post-Dispatch confirmed the identity of three of the clubs: Detroit, Houston and Washington. Detroit is an obvious choice given the fact that former Rams coach Mike Martz is now the Lions' offensive coordinator. It is unlikely that Bruce will take a tour of prospective future homes. As a veteran player, he doesn't really need to tour a facility or be wined and dined. And those close to Bruce say he remains hopeful that something can be done with the Rams.
The Dolphins will have 12-year veteran defensive tackle Sam Adams in for a visit today. Buffalo released Adams last week in a salary-cap move. Although Adams can sign now, agent Angelo Wright said his client likely will wait until Thursday -- the start of free agency and the deadline for clubs to get under the salary cap -- before making a decision to see if there will be more money available under the cap. Adams is a stout run defender who would likely challenge Keith Traylor for playing time, if not a job, period. ''I give the Dolphins credit, they're working this hard to make sure they're ready to go when the bell chimes,'' Wright said. 'There are a lot of teams sitting out there saying, `We'll wait a day or two to see how things shake out.' By that time, a lot of players might be gone.''
Look for the Browns to make a major push to sign New England free-agent wide receiver David Givens, who knows Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel from their days together with the Patriots. Crennel knows that Givens could be just the type of receiver the Browns would like to pair with former first-round pick Braylon Edwards. But the Browns are not expected to pursue just a wide receiver. They have enough funds to address other needs at linebacker and offensive line.
The acrimony between GM A.J. Smith and Marty Schottenheimer reached a new high recently when published reports quoted Schottenheimer wondering if everyone in the organization was on the same page and how Schottenheimer lacked a strong line of communication with Smith. Smith replied that he's in the business to win games ---- he's 25-24 as the Chargers' general manager ---- and not friends. He's chummy with few, with Schottenheimer certainly not among that small group. What the pointed comments by Smith and Schottenheimer failed to do was win over a miffed owner Dean Spanos. So Saturday, Spanos brought them together, closed his office door overlooking the Chargers' practice fields and basically told them to knock it off.
It also appears unlikely that the Ravens will land Cincinnati's Jon Kitna, who is rumored to be headed to Detroit.
Kerry Collins is widely considered the top option for the Ravens, although no team official has publicly confirmed it. Collins, 33, had the best statistical seasons of his career under then-New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, who has since become the Ravens' offensive coordinator. The Ravens are looking for a veteran quarterback to compete with inconsistent Kyle Boller for the starting job. Besides Collins, the Ravens could have the chance to pursue Tampa Bay's Brian Griese, Miami's Gus Frerotte or Washington's Patrick Ramsey if they are released for cap reasons. Another possibility is unrestricted free agent Chris Weinke, the long-time backup in Carolina.
The negotiations aimed at re-signing Mike Alstott began early Monday. By Monday afternoon they'd escalated to the point where Alstott cut short his appearance at teammate Shelton Quarles' charity golf tournament to meet with Allen. "My agent called me and told me I need to get over to One Buc [Place] and talk to Bruce," Alstott said. "There's nothing definitive yet in terms of numbers or anything like that, so we'll see what happens. But I've made it clear, I want to come back and play again." At issue is the price at which Alstott would be willing to play. The six-time Pro Bowl fullback is believed to be seeking a deal that pays him at least the $1.5 million he earned in base salary last year. Such a deal may be doable. Though he did not go into detail, Allen seemed optimistic Sunday about re-signing Alstott, saying, "We're hoping for a positive answer out of that."
Agent Mark Bartelstein said several teams called yesterday with interest, and one is believed to be the Eagles. Kevin Mawae, regarded as the best center in the NFL for most of his time with the Jets, said he's fully recovered from the torn left triceps that ended his 2005 season.
One Giants player said yesterday that middle linebacker Antonio Pierce has begun making a big push for the team to sign outside linebacker LaVar Arrington, his former teammate with the Redskins. In a radio interview in Washington yesterday, Arrington said he wants to stay in the NFC East, but would prefer not to play for the Cowboys. That obviously leaves the Eagles and Giants as the top two on his list of potential destinations.
LaVar Arrington's favorite coach, Marty Schottenheimer, and position coach, Greg Manusky, who worked with him 2001 in Washington, are in San Diego, as is his protege, Shawne Merriman. Arrington's former defensive coordinators, Marvin Lewis and George Edwards, are in Cincinnati and Miami, respectively. Arrington said he wants to remain in the NFC East -- Philadelphia and the New York Giants certainly could use him -- and of course, he would love to return home to Pittsburgh. "LaVar played well at the end of the season," an AFC scout said. "He'll be somebody that a lot of people will be interested in. He's a quality player. He's still young, is proven and has a lot of good years left in him. He won't have any trouble finding employme
Packers GM Ted Thompson said he has received no indication from Brett Favre if the veteran quarterback will soon decide whether he will return for a 16th NFL season or retire. Packers FanFest begins Friday, and last year, Favre announced his intention to return at the event. "Frankly, I couldn't tell you (if he's any closer to a decision)," Thompson said. "I hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm afraid I have to: We've had talks with him, he knows we'll need a decision at some point, and he's working through it." Favre is due a $3 million roster bonus five days after the new league year begins. Because the start of the new league year has been pushed back twice during negotiations between management and the NFL Players Association, so too has Favre's bonus. While Favre would earn the bonus by being on the roster on that date, the payment date for the $3 million is later in the year. Thus, the team can wait until Favre makes his decision before paying him the money, one source said.
Another NFL source said one unrestricted free agent the Packers have targeted is Seattle Seahawks safety Marquand Manuel. The 6-foot, 209-pound Manuel, 26, joined the Seahawks in 2004, when GM Ted Thompson, then the Seahawks' director of player personnel, claimed him off waivers from Cincinnati.
USC tailback LenDale White became USC's all-time touchdown leader this
past season with 54 total touchdowns. He decided to forgo his senior
year and declare for the NFL draft, and he joined Ben Maller and Jim
Mora on FOX Game Time Saturday to talk about preparing for the draft and
attending the NFL Combine last week. LenDale was asked what teams were most interested in him. "I had some teams where the coaches were interested - Falcons, Green Bay, Jets, Saints, the Texans, Titans. I think pretty much everybody."
Once the Dolphins sign a new quarterback, they are expected to ask starter Gus Frerotte to take a pay cut from his $4.38 million salary. If not, Frerotte will be released.
If the Ravens are unable to retain nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu, they could go after veterans Ted Washington or Sam Adams, who were both released last week. The Ravens have not yet contacted Angelo Wright, the agent for both players.
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs recently contacted defensive lineman Brandon Noble, cornerback Walt Harris, and center Cory Raymer, among others, to inform them they would be released, according to several of the players and their agents. Quarterback Patrick Ramsey was not one of the players Gibbs called, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, and Gibbs said yesterday that uncertainty about the CBA has suspended trade talks for the former first-round pick
Although the NFL's current labor problems may not have reached the point of sleepless nights for the suits at CBS, Fox, ESPN and NBC, the longer they linger the greater chance they'll make the league's TV partners very unhappy. First things first. Traditionally, the NFL announces its prime-time TV schedule for Monday night and Sunday night games in April. If there is no extension of the collective bargaining agreement and free agency kicks in at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, with teams required to be under the $94.5 million salary cap by 9 p.m. Wednesday, the roster makeup of most teams will be demonstrably different. Salary cap dumps will result in big-name players looking for new teams. With this marketplace instability, how could the NFL release a schedule in April reflective of the September-December competition? Although the NFL's parity/mediocrity system makes scheduling a crapshoot, a flood of marquee players on the market would make it nearly impossible for NFL schedule-makers to project next fall's hot teams. Tagliabue & Co. could avoid presenting ESPN/NBC with mystery meat schedules by pushing the release back a month. Still, even a May release is less than ideal from a financial perspective. The usual April announcement gives each network an advantage with potential advertisers. They are are on the street selling NFL football three or four weeks before the prime-time entertainment schedules go public. The NFL carriers can suck ad dollars out of the marketplace before the rest of the networks even begin selling new product
After almost a year of vigorously declaring his innocence in a federal steroids case involving Carolina Panthers players, Dr. James Shortt pleaded and was declared guilty Monday of conspiring to illegally distribute anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. "I wrote prescriptions and shipped growth hormone to those who wanted to use them for weight gain and performance enhancement," Shortt told U.S. District Court Judge Joe Anderson in a hearing. "I know now that is federally illegal and I'm sorry." The purpose of Monday's hearing was for Shortt to change his plea to guilty to the first and most far-reaching count against him. The other 42 counts were dropped as part of his plea agreement. The hearing lasted little more than an hour. No Panthers officials attended, but the team's NFL security liaison, former FBI special agent Brendan Battle, was there to prepare a report for the league. Shortt and his attorney declined comment after the hearing. Sentencing by Anderson could take three or four months. Shortt faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and two years of supervised release.
Eddie DeBartolo is throwing a reunion party this month in Las Vegas for all five teams that won Super Bowls during his 22-year run as owner of the 49ers. "I was pumped up when I got the invitation," said Brent Jones, a member of three Super Bowl teams. "It was just a matter of time before he pulled off something big."
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In what his agent Monday described as the culmination of a "long and difficult process," defensive end Courtney Brown is closing in on a restructure of his existing deal to remain with the Denver Broncos. The revised deal likely will become official today, with only a "few tweaks left," according to Marvin Demoff, Brown's agent.
Joey Harrington, Dan Orlovsky and Shaun King were on hand Monday to begin working with Mike Martz, the new offensive coordinator. Martz asked the quarterbacks to come in early to begin learning his system and the fundamentals required to run it. This is a particularly important period for Harrington. Martz has made it his personal project to improve Harrington.
The agent for Pro Bowl linebackers LaVar Arrington and Julian Peterson said his clients are eager about their first foray into free agency. The Vikings, who are in the market for an upgrade at linebacker, could pursue them when the new NFL year begins.
The Bucs are hoping for a positive outcome to their negotiations with Brian Griese. Though they've re-signed Chris Simms, who started the final 11 games last year, the Bucs would like to pit him against Griese in training camp in a battle for the starter's job. "I don't think there's any question that [the Bucs] don't want to let this guy get out on the market," agent Ralph Cindrich said of Griese, who got the Bucs off to a 4-1 start before going down with a season-ending knee injury. "The labor talks will determine what happens."
The Ravens are still not expected to go after San Diego's Drew Brees, who is regarded as the top free-agent quarterback available. Matching Brees' asking price - which could escalate with the new cap limit - would severely limit what the Ravens could do the rest of free agency.
It'll be interesting to see where Ravens backup Chester Taylor fits among these running backs. According to the NFL Network, Taylor is seeking a contract similar to the one given last year to LaMont Jordan (five-year, $27.5 million deal with a $7 million signing bonus). Taylor's agent, Ken Sarnoff, did not respond to messages yesterday.
The Steelers intend to re-sign Nick Logan and fellow safety Russell Stuvaints, who also was released with an injury after he had ACL surgery. He was injured Nov. 20 in Baltimore.
Mike Mayock, the NFL Network's draft guru told me these are the players who he considers the 10 best players in the draft, not how they'll necessarily be picked:
1. Reggie Bush, running back, Southern California
2. D'Brickshaw Ferguson, offensive tackle, Virginia
3. Jay Cutler, quarterback, Vanderbilt
4. Mario Williams, defensive end, North Carolina State
5. Vernon Davis, tight end, Maryland
6. A.J. Hawk, outside linebacker, Iowa
7. Ernie Sims, outside linebacker, Florida State
8. Michael Huff, defensive back, Texas
9. Matt Leinart, quarterback, Southern California
10. Vince Young, quarterback, Texas
With Shaun Alexander off the market, the focus at running back will shift to Indianapolis free agent Edgerrin James and Baltimore's Jamal Lewis, neither of whom is expected to re-sign with his former team. The Colts have had a difficult time affording James' demands, and the Ravens, for the time being, have opted to start anew next season, letting Lewis and their other free-agent running back, Chester Taylor, explore offers they can get from other teams. Even with Alexander out of the mix, running back might be the deepest position in this year's free-agent class. It includes James, Lewis, Carolina's DeShaun Foster, Denver's Mike Anderson and Seattle's Maurice Morris.
The Giants are locked in serious talks with former Pro Bowl cornerback Sam Madison to bring the ex-Miami Dolphins standout to New York. Other teams have been asked if they would be interested in trying to outbid the Giants, and it's possible another suitor could still come up, but if not, Madison would be headed to New York. Madison would provide the exact type of cornerback that the Giants lacked in their playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers, when wide receiver Steve Smith dominated.
The Washington Redskins will raise the price of lower-bowl general-admission seats 39 percent next season, and will increase the cost of parking in the 20,000 parking spaces at FedEx Field from $25 to $35, up 40 percent. Redskins chief operating officer Mitch Gershman said yesterday that this is the team's first general-admission ticket price increase in four years and puts the franchise more in line with the other teams in the area.
Mack Brown, University of Texas football coach, talked to Fox Sports Radio's Chris Myers and Ben Maller about Vince Young and the Wonderlic Test scores. "There's a couple of things. Again, the perception of the six is untrue. That's really sad that a score leaks out that is untrue and then so much conversation is talked about Vince doing so poorly on the test when it's inaccurate. He was not planning on taking the test. The way I understand it, he went to an interview and they gave him the test and he was reluctant, but said OK, because he had not studied it and had not looked at it. He took the test and, in essence, it was graded improperly, which was released by the combine and some score leaked out that was not true and then he re-took the test without looking at it all again and the reports I got from everybody else is he made 16 on the first time that he took the test that it was graded properly."
Former Denver Broncos defensive lineman Trevor Pryce is set to be in Cleveland today for a visit, a league source said. (The Browns' policy this offseason is not to confirm visits, unlike past years when the team announced who was in the building.) Pryce spent the past nine seasons as a starter in Denver, and was a leader of the team. He was released March 2 in a salary cap move and can be signed at any time.
While the Rams had only a brief discussion Monday with Isaac Bruce's agent, Jimmy Sexton, four teams had called expressing interest in Bruce by late afternoon. Sexton declined to name those teams, but the Post-Dispatch confirmed the identity of three of the clubs: Detroit, Houston and Washington. Detroit is an obvious choice given the fact that former Rams coach Mike Martz is now the Lions' offensive coordinator. It is unlikely that Bruce will take a tour of prospective future homes. As a veteran player, he doesn't really need to tour a facility or be wined and dined. And those close to Bruce say he remains hopeful that something can be done with the Rams.
The Dolphins will have 12-year veteran defensive tackle Sam Adams in for a visit today. Buffalo released Adams last week in a salary-cap move. Although Adams can sign now, agent Angelo Wright said his client likely will wait until Thursday -- the start of free agency and the deadline for clubs to get under the salary cap -- before making a decision to see if there will be more money available under the cap. Adams is a stout run defender who would likely challenge Keith Traylor for playing time, if not a job, period. ''I give the Dolphins credit, they're working this hard to make sure they're ready to go when the bell chimes,'' Wright said. 'There are a lot of teams sitting out there saying, `We'll wait a day or two to see how things shake out.' By that time, a lot of players might be gone.''
Look for the Browns to make a major push to sign New England free-agent wide receiver David Givens, who knows Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel from their days together with the Patriots. Crennel knows that Givens could be just the type of receiver the Browns would like to pair with former first-round pick Braylon Edwards. But the Browns are not expected to pursue just a wide receiver. They have enough funds to address other needs at linebacker and offensive line.
The acrimony between GM A.J. Smith and Marty Schottenheimer reached a new high recently when published reports quoted Schottenheimer wondering if everyone in the organization was on the same page and how Schottenheimer lacked a strong line of communication with Smith. Smith replied that he's in the business to win games ---- he's 25-24 as the Chargers' general manager ---- and not friends. He's chummy with few, with Schottenheimer certainly not among that small group. What the pointed comments by Smith and Schottenheimer failed to do was win over a miffed owner Dean Spanos. So Saturday, Spanos brought them together, closed his office door overlooking the Chargers' practice fields and basically told them to knock it off.
It also appears unlikely that the Ravens will land Cincinnati's Jon Kitna, who is rumored to be headed to Detroit.
Kerry Collins is widely considered the top option for the Ravens, although no team official has publicly confirmed it. Collins, 33, had the best statistical seasons of his career under then-New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, who has since become the Ravens' offensive coordinator. The Ravens are looking for a veteran quarterback to compete with inconsistent Kyle Boller for the starting job. Besides Collins, the Ravens could have the chance to pursue Tampa Bay's Brian Griese, Miami's Gus Frerotte or Washington's Patrick Ramsey if they are released for cap reasons. Another possibility is unrestricted free agent Chris Weinke, the long-time backup in Carolina.
The negotiations aimed at re-signing Mike Alstott began early Monday. By Monday afternoon they'd escalated to the point where Alstott cut short his appearance at teammate Shelton Quarles' charity golf tournament to meet with Allen. "My agent called me and told me I need to get over to One Buc [Place] and talk to Bruce," Alstott said. "There's nothing definitive yet in terms of numbers or anything like that, so we'll see what happens. But I've made it clear, I want to come back and play again." At issue is the price at which Alstott would be willing to play. The six-time Pro Bowl fullback is believed to be seeking a deal that pays him at least the $1.5 million he earned in base salary last year. Such a deal may be doable. Though he did not go into detail, Allen seemed optimistic Sunday about re-signing Alstott, saying, "We're hoping for a positive answer out of that."
Agent Mark Bartelstein said several teams called yesterday with interest, and one is believed to be the Eagles. Kevin Mawae, regarded as the best center in the NFL for most of his time with the Jets, said he's fully recovered from the torn left triceps that ended his 2005 season.
One Giants player said yesterday that middle linebacker Antonio Pierce has begun making a big push for the team to sign outside linebacker LaVar Arrington, his former teammate with the Redskins. In a radio interview in Washington yesterday, Arrington said he wants to stay in the NFC East, but would prefer not to play for the Cowboys. That obviously leaves the Eagles and Giants as the top two on his list of potential destinations.
LaVar Arrington's favorite coach, Marty Schottenheimer, and position coach, Greg Manusky, who worked with him 2001 in Washington, are in San Diego, as is his protege, Shawne Merriman. Arrington's former defensive coordinators, Marvin Lewis and George Edwards, are in Cincinnati and Miami, respectively. Arrington said he wants to remain in the NFC East -- Philadelphia and the New York Giants certainly could use him -- and of course, he would love to return home to Pittsburgh. "LaVar played well at the end of the season," an AFC scout said. "He'll be somebody that a lot of people will be interested in. He's a quality player. He's still young, is proven and has a lot of good years left in him. He won't have any trouble finding employme
Packers GM Ted Thompson said he has received no indication from Brett Favre if the veteran quarterback will soon decide whether he will return for a 16th NFL season or retire. Packers FanFest begins Friday, and last year, Favre announced his intention to return at the event. "Frankly, I couldn't tell you (if he's any closer to a decision)," Thompson said. "I hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm afraid I have to: We've had talks with him, he knows we'll need a decision at some point, and he's working through it." Favre is due a $3 million roster bonus five days after the new league year begins. Because the start of the new league year has been pushed back twice during negotiations between management and the NFL Players Association, so too has Favre's bonus. While Favre would earn the bonus by being on the roster on that date, the payment date for the $3 million is later in the year. Thus, the team can wait until Favre makes his decision before paying him the money, one source said.
Another NFL source said one unrestricted free agent the Packers have targeted is Seattle Seahawks safety Marquand Manuel. The 6-foot, 209-pound Manuel, 26, joined the Seahawks in 2004, when GM Ted Thompson, then the Seahawks' director of player personnel, claimed him off waivers from Cincinnati.
USC tailback LenDale White became USC's all-time touchdown leader this
past season with 54 total touchdowns. He decided to forgo his senior
year and declare for the NFL draft, and he joined Ben Maller and Jim
Mora on FOX Game Time Saturday to talk about preparing for the draft and
attending the NFL Combine last week. LenDale was asked what teams were most interested in him. "I had some teams where the coaches were interested - Falcons, Green Bay, Jets, Saints, the Texans, Titans. I think pretty much everybody."
Once the Dolphins sign a new quarterback, they are expected to ask starter Gus Frerotte to take a pay cut from his $4.38 million salary. If not, Frerotte will be released.
If the Ravens are unable to retain nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu, they could go after veterans Ted Washington or Sam Adams, who were both released last week. The Ravens have not yet contacted Angelo Wright, the agent for both players.
Redskins coach Joe Gibbs recently contacted defensive lineman Brandon Noble, cornerback Walt Harris, and center Cory Raymer, among others, to inform them they would be released, according to several of the players and their agents. Quarterback Patrick Ramsey was not one of the players Gibbs called, according to a source with knowledge of the situation, and Gibbs said yesterday that uncertainty about the CBA has suspended trade talks for the former first-round pick
Although the NFL's current labor problems may not have reached the point of sleepless nights for the suits at CBS, Fox, ESPN and NBC, the longer they linger the greater chance they'll make the league's TV partners very unhappy. First things first. Traditionally, the NFL announces its prime-time TV schedule for Monday night and Sunday night games in April. If there is no extension of the collective bargaining agreement and free agency kicks in at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, with teams required to be under the $94.5 million salary cap by 9 p.m. Wednesday, the roster makeup of most teams will be demonstrably different. Salary cap dumps will result in big-name players looking for new teams. With this marketplace instability, how could the NFL release a schedule in April reflective of the September-December competition? Although the NFL's parity/mediocrity system makes scheduling a crapshoot, a flood of marquee players on the market would make it nearly impossible for NFL schedule-makers to project next fall's hot teams. Tagliabue & Co. could avoid presenting ESPN/NBC with mystery meat schedules by pushing the release back a month. Still, even a May release is less than ideal from a financial perspective. The usual April announcement gives each network an advantage with potential advertisers. They are are on the street selling NFL football three or four weeks before the prime-time entertainment schedules go public. The NFL carriers can suck ad dollars out of the marketplace before the rest of the networks even begin selling new product
After almost a year of vigorously declaring his innocence in a federal steroids case involving Carolina Panthers players, Dr. James Shortt pleaded and was declared guilty Monday of conspiring to illegally distribute anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. "I wrote prescriptions and shipped growth hormone to those who wanted to use them for weight gain and performance enhancement," Shortt told U.S. District Court Judge Joe Anderson in a hearing. "I know now that is federally illegal and I'm sorry." The purpose of Monday's hearing was for Shortt to change his plea to guilty to the first and most far-reaching count against him. The other 42 counts were dropped as part of his plea agreement. The hearing lasted little more than an hour. No Panthers officials attended, but the team's NFL security liaison, former FBI special agent Brendan Battle, was there to prepare a report for the league. Shortt and his attorney declined comment after the hearing. Sentencing by Anderson could take three or four months. Shortt faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and two years of supervised release.
Eddie DeBartolo is throwing a reunion party this month in Las Vegas for all five teams that won Super Bowls during his 22-year run as owner of the 49ers. "I was pumped up when I got the invitation," said Brent Jones, a member of three Super Bowl teams. "It was just a matter of time before he pulled off something big."
P
In what his agent Monday described as the culmination of a "long and difficult process," defensive end Courtney Brown is closing in on a restructure of his existing deal to remain with the Denver Broncos. The revised deal likely will become official today, with only a "few tweaks left," according to Marvin Demoff, Brown's agent.
Joey Harrington, Dan Orlovsky and Shaun King were on hand Monday to begin working with Mike Martz, the new offensive coordinator. Martz asked the quarterbacks to come in early to begin learning his system and the fundamentals required to run it. This is a particularly important period for Harrington. Martz has made it his personal project to improve Harrington.
The agent for Pro Bowl linebackers LaVar Arrington and Julian Peterson said his clients are eager about their first foray into free agency. The Vikings, who are in the market for an upgrade at linebacker, could pursue them when the new NFL year begins.
The Bucs are hoping for a positive outcome to their negotiations with Brian Griese. Though they've re-signed Chris Simms, who started the final 11 games last year, the Bucs would like to pit him against Griese in training camp in a battle for the starter's job. "I don't think there's any question that [the Bucs] don't want to let this guy get out on the market," agent Ralph Cindrich said of Griese, who got the Bucs off to a 4-1 start before going down with a season-ending knee injury. "The labor talks will determine what happens."
The Ravens are still not expected to go after San Diego's Drew Brees, who is regarded as the top free-agent quarterback available. Matching Brees' asking price - which could escalate with the new cap limit - would severely limit what the Ravens could do the rest of free agency.
It'll be interesting to see where Ravens backup Chester Taylor fits among these running backs. According to the NFL Network, Taylor is seeking a contract similar to the one given last year to LaMont Jordan (five-year, $27.5 million deal with a $7 million signing bonus). Taylor's agent, Ken Sarnoff, did not respond to messages yesterday.
The Steelers intend to re-sign Nick Logan and fellow safety Russell Stuvaints, who also was released with an injury after he had ACL surgery. He was injured Nov. 20 in Baltimore.
Mike Mayock, the NFL Network's draft guru told me these are the players who he considers the 10 best players in the draft, not how they'll necessarily be picked:
1. Reggie Bush, running back, Southern California
2. D'Brickshaw Ferguson, offensive tackle, Virginia
3. Jay Cutler, quarterback, Vanderbilt
4. Mario Williams, defensive end, North Carolina State
5. Vernon Davis, tight end, Maryland
6. A.J. Hawk, outside linebacker, Iowa
7. Ernie Sims, outside linebacker, Florida State
8. Michael Huff, defensive back, Texas
9. Matt Leinart, quarterback, Southern California
10. Vince Young, quarterback, Texas
With Shaun Alexander off the market, the focus at running back will shift to Indianapolis free agent Edgerrin James and Baltimore's Jamal Lewis, neither of whom is expected to re-sign with his former team. The Colts have had a difficult time affording James' demands, and the Ravens, for the time being, have opted to start anew next season, letting Lewis and their other free-agent running back, Chester Taylor, explore offers they can get from other teams. Even with Alexander out of the mix, running back might be the deepest position in this year's free-agent class. It includes James, Lewis, Carolina's DeShaun Foster, Denver's Mike Anderson and Seattle's Maurice Morris.
The Giants are locked in serious talks with former Pro Bowl cornerback Sam Madison to bring the ex-Miami Dolphins standout to New York. Other teams have been asked if they would be interested in trying to outbid the Giants, and it's possible another suitor could still come up, but if not, Madison would be headed to New York. Madison would provide the exact type of cornerback that the Giants lacked in their playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers, when wide receiver Steve Smith dominated.
The Washington Redskins will raise the price of lower-bowl general-admission seats 39 percent next season, and will increase the cost of parking in the 20,000 parking spaces at FedEx Field from $25 to $35, up 40 percent. Redskins chief operating officer Mitch Gershman said yesterday that this is the team's first general-admission ticket price increase in four years and puts the franchise more in line with the other teams in the area.
Mack Brown, University of Texas football coach, talked to Fox Sports Radio's Chris Myers and Ben Maller about Vince Young and the Wonderlic Test scores. "There's a couple of things. Again, the perception of the six is untrue. That's really sad that a score leaks out that is untrue and then so much conversation is talked about Vince doing so poorly on the test when it's inaccurate. He was not planning on taking the test. The way I understand it, he went to an interview and they gave him the test and he was reluctant, but said OK, because he had not studied it and had not looked at it. He took the test and, in essence, it was graded improperly, which was released by the combine and some score leaked out that was not true and then he re-took the test without looking at it all again and the reports I got from everybody else is he made 16 on the first time that he took the test that it was graded properly."