Nfl Report Thurs.

[HEAV]

Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is poised for a huge payday. The Cowboys
can't afford to wait until he becomes a free agent. They'll try to get something
done as soon as possible. The good news for the Cowboys is that coach Bill
Parcells and Witten share the same agent, Jimmy Sexton. That doesn't mean the
Cowboys will get a special discount, but it should make negotiations relatively
painless.


The Dolphins may find help for their defensive line through the NFL's
supplemental draft, as Southern California defensive tackle Manuel Wright is set
to visit next Thursday and Friday with team officials. Agent Peter Schaffer said
Wright will visit with Philadelphia today and Cincinnati on Friday before
heading to South Florida. Wright has a workout planned for all interested NFL
teams early next month before the supplemental draft is held July 14.


Mike Sherman ended last season as Green Bay's head coach and general manager. He
was stripped of the latter in January and the head-coaching position could be
next. Sherman enters 2005 in the final year of his contract. New general manager
Ted Thompson has said he wants to evaluate Sherman into the season before making
a decision on his future. Even if Thompson decides Sherman's his guy, there's no
guarantee Sherman - whose feelings were deeply hurt when he lost his GM title -
would sign an extension.


According to contract figures obtained by The Inquirer, the average annual value
of Terrell Owens' deal over the first three seasons is just under $7 million.
Only Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison received better deals during the first three
seasons. Moss signed an eight-year deal worth $75 million with the Minnesota
Vikings in 2001. The deal included an $18 million signing bonus, which remains
by far the highest for a wide receiver in NFL history. At the time, Moss was
just 24 and had compiled 4,163 receiving yards and 43 touchdown catches in his
first three NFL seasons. Now with the Oakland Raiders, he averaged $9 million
over the first three years of the contract. The only other receiver with a
better annual average salary over the first three seasons of a contract is
Harrison, the Roman Catholic graduate who signed an eight-year, $72.5 million
contract last season with the Indianapolis Colts.


Linebacker LaVar Arrington's long-standing grievance against the Washington
Redskins should be heard July 18, attorney Dan Nash confirmed yesterday. Nash,
of the Washington law firm of Akin Gump, will represent the Redskins at the
hearing in Washington along with an attorney from the NFL's Management Council.
Arrington will be represented by Jeffrey Kessler of the New York law firm of
Dewey Ballantine, presumably along with NFL Players Association general counsel
Richard Berthelsen. Arbitrator Shyam Das will hear the grievance. Arrington says
the Redskins owe him $6.5 million in bonus from the eight-year, $68 million
contract extension he signed in December 2003 to give the team salary cap relief
that year.


Lions return specialist Eddie Drummond has made the richest fair catch of his
NFL career -- a $1.43 million base salary for 2005, without signing a contract.
The Lions decided Wednesday to keep in place the $1.43 million tender for
Drummond, even though he has not signed it. The team had the right under league
rules to reduce his base salary to $455,000 for 2005. Wednesday was the deadline
for restricted free agents to sign their tenders. There was no consideration
given to reducing Drummond's base salary, Tom Lewand, executive vice president
of the Lions, said during a conference call. The Lions are continuing
negotiations on a long-term deal with Drummond's agent, Drew Rosenhaus.


Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor , facing two felony counts of aggravated
assault with a firearm and one misdemeanor charge of battery, has switched to a
new defense lawyer. Taylor hired Edward Carhart , a well-known trial lawyer in
Miami, to replace Fred Moldovan , who had accompanied the safety when he
surrendered to authorities June 4.
Safety Sean Taylor's arraignment on two counts of aggravated assault with a
firearm, a third-degree felony, and one count of simple battery, a first-degree
felony, is still set for June, 24 in Miami. Taylor would face a minimum of three
years if convicted.


Ravens CB Deion Sanders said he is leaning toward keeping No. 37, which he wore
for the first time last season to match his age. "Some people were saying
you should do 38 but I'm thinking I'm going to stay with 37," he said.




Agent Leigh Steinberg also said the Dolphins have given Ricky Williams a copy of
their offseason workout program to help him regain some of the weight he lost in
his year out of football. Steinberg said Williams, who weighed 195 pounds last
month. according to a Sports Illustrated story, is back in the 205-pound range
and will work with a nutritionist to add more bulk.


Onterrio Smith is suspended for the year, but if fellow Vikings running back
Michael Bennett remains healthy, that might not matter. Bennett was clocked in
9.91 seconds and 10.0 seconds in 100-meter track races this spring. "The
9.91 would have been a fifth-place finish in the last Olympics in Athens,
Greece," Vikings running backs coach Dean Dalton said. "He's
smoking." Bennett is healthy for the first time in two years after
recovering from major ankle and knee surgeries.


Just more than a month before the opening of training camp, Brian Urlacher
boldly proclaims the Bears are "the team to beat" in the NFC North.
"I think we are going to be the team to beat. That's the only way to look
at it," he said. "We're healthy. Rex Grossman is back. Mike Brown is
back. We're jacked. We looked good in practice, flying all over the place. It's
an exciting time right now." The Bears finished 5-11 and in last place last
season. Asked his reaction to future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre
returning to the defending division-champion Packers, Urlacher said, "He's
not on my team, so I don't really care. I guess it's good for [his] team."


Lions QB Joey Harrington was guaranteed a $3 million roster bonus. The bonus is
part of his rookie contract, signed in 2002.


A Terrell Owens holdout this summer might be the best thing that could happen to
the Eagles. Now, there are certain parameters here. T.O. has to be back in time
for the regular-season opener against Atlanta. T.O. also has to be relatively
quiet during his holdout, sticking to an I'm-just-trying-to-get-what's-fair line
of crying. He can't talk about Donovan McNabb. He can't rip his teammates. If
all of that happens, this could be good for the Eagles. Really.


John Madden's agent Sandy Montag said Madden has a higher "Q" rating
(a measure of celebrity based on surveys) than any current NFL player.


The Jets yesterday released veteran safety Reggie Tongue, who started all 16
games last season but was often inconsistent. Tongue, 32, played one season with
the Jets after playing four seasons with Seattle. He signed a four-year deal
that included a $1.1 million signing bonus in March 2004. Veteran Jon McGraw,
who has been injury-prone throughout his career, is expected to get first crack
at replacing Tongue.


Opening statements in linebacker Terrell Suggs' trial concluded yesterday in
Phoenix, Ariz., Suggs is charged with two counts of aggravated assault for his
involvement in a fight in Phoenix two years ago. The trial is expected to wrap
up June 30.


Billy Kilmer, who led the Redskins to their first Super Bowl after the 1972
season, will be inducted into the National Quarterback Club Hall of Fame on June
29. Kilmer will be presented by Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen, with whom he
shared the Redskins' job from 1971 to 1974.


Quarterback Kyle Boller has spent the past two years growing into this role of
offensive leader on the Baltimore Ravens. Now it seems like it's finally
starting to fit. "He's just being more aggressive and more confident,"
center Mike Flynn said as the Ravens wrapped up their mandatory minicamp
practices on Wednesday. "The receivers and quarterback have taken a lot of
flak, but they're a lot more confident and they're having fun out there, which
is a good sign." "This is all orchestrated for Kyle, this playbook,
this offense, because he has to be successful," Coach Brian Billick said.
"We have every confidence he can be, not only with the people we brought
in, but with the structure we've wrapped around him."


The Green Bay City Council on Tuesday may bring city rules in line with reality
by changing its ordinance regarding intoxicants in public. Although precedence
has long allowed drinking in the Lambeau Field parking lot, the Green Bay city
ordinance was a little hazy on the issue. A proposed change, headed for the
Green Bay City Council on Tuesday, clears up any confusion by officially making
it legal to drink in the city-owned stadium lot. �If the ordinance was not
changed and we were to go out there and enforce it � it would be extremely
difficult to enforce,� said Police Chief Craig Van Schyndle. �It would be a very
difficult situation for my entire department to enforce.� If Green Bay Packers
fans had never before been allowed to lift a glass at the stadium, the ordinance
might be enforceable, he said. That not being the case, to kick off the season
by arresting tailgaters by the dozen becomes a nearly impossible task.


Leave it to Seahawks QB coach Jim Zorn to come up with an innovative drill.
Yesterday, the quarterbacks were playing dodge ball -- with a ridiculously
oversized ball -- so the passer in the middle of the group could work on his
quickness in the pocket

[TheReverend]

Sounds like the Seahawks are ripping off the Madden Video game... that sounds just like their pocket presence drill.