If Brian Urlacher chooses to hold out this season, the Bears’ replacement at middle linebacker has just been found.
Now granted he didn’t wrap up, but that hit was magnificent.
Category: NFL (Page 1032 of 1282)
NFL.com ranked the best annual signings in the first 15 years of free agency.
1993: Reggie White, Packers
Former team: Eagles
Position: Defensive end
Reported terms: Four years, $17 million
The first free agent period was ushered in with perhaps the biggest impact signing of all time. The Packers lavished the richest contract for a defensive lineman ever on Reggie White and he proved worth every penny. White amassed 68 ½ sacks in six seasons with Green Bay and led the Packers to their only Super Bowl championship since the Vince Lombardi era. White was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006. Honorable mention: RB Marcus Allen (Raiders to Chiefs)
1995: Deion Sanders, Cowboys
Former team: 49ers
Position: Cornerback
Reported terms: Seven years, $25 millionSanders makes the list twice in a row. After accepting less money and winning a Super Bowl with the 49ers, Sanders decided to end talk that he would retire from football and play baseball exclusively by signing a mega deal with the Cowboys. In his first year he helped lead Dallas to its third championship in four years and went on to have five standout seasons with the Cowboys despite playing part-time in 1995. Honorable mention: G Mark Schlereth (Redskins to Broncos)
2001: Priest Holmes, Chiefs
Former team: Ravens
Position: Running back
Reported terms: Five years, $8 millionHolmes performed well as Jamal Lewis’ backup during the Ravens’ Super Bowl season in 2000, but despite his success, there were not a lot of suitors for Holmes in free agency. The Chiefs signed him for a bargain price and got perhaps the NFL’s best running back over a three-year period. From 2001-2003, Holmes averaged 1,530 rushing yards, 659 receiving yards and 20 total touchdowns per season. Honorable mention: LB Mike Vrabel (Steelers to Patriots)
Great list. It’s hard to find a better free agent signing than Reggie White in 1993. More often than not these days, free agents aren’t worth half the contracts they signed. As the write up noted – White was worth every penny.
Fox Sports is reporting that Larry Johnson injured foot looks completely healed.
From all appearances, L.J. is back.
“It felt good to come out here and still be able to come out and run,” Johnson said after the 90-minute practice on Tuesday. “Body-wise, I’m 100 percent.”
It’s taken a long time for the rough-and-tumble running back to say that. After rushing for more than 1,750 yards in 2005 and 2006, he missed most of training camp in a contract dispute and never regained his stride. But he’d scored two touchdowns on Oct. 4 when a Green Bay linebacker jumped onto his back and rode him to the Arrowhead Stadium turf late in the fourth quarter.
Start moving LJ up your draft board. He has a lot of miles on his odometer, but he’s only 28 and he missed half of the season with the injury, which means his legs should be relatively fresh heading into the season. I can only think of five guys that I’m sure I’d take over LJ if my draft were today – LaDainian Tomlinson, Joseph Addai, Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson and Brian Westbrook. There are three other candidates – Frank Gore, Marion Barber and Clinton Portis – but a strong preseason might push Johnson ahead of them.
In his latest edition of Hashmarks, Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com mentions five NFL teams that could surprise this season.
CAROLINA PANTHERS
Coach John Fox spent much of last year saying he didn’t like to make excuses and then turning right around and telling anyone who would listen how tough it is to win without your starting quarterback. That part was painfully true as David Carr flopped and Vinny Testaverde fossilized after Delhomme went down in Week 3. The bright spot was the play of undrafted rookie quarterback Matt Moore late in the season, but he remains a project.
Yasinskas also lists the Eagles, Jets, Cardinals and Raiders.
Aren’t the Panthers always listed in these types of write-ups? Ever since they went to the Super Bowl in 2003, the Panthers have been everyone’s “sleeper” damn near every year. SI.com is absolutely infatuated with them and rarely has them missing the playoffs. This team gets more love than Hugh Hefner.
According to the Florida Times Union, the Miami Dolphins are only willing to part with defensive end Jason Taylor in exchange for a first round draft pick.
Parcells is unhappy that Taylor is skipping the offseason program to, among other things, perform on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars. And even though Taylor likely will retire before the Dolphins become a contender, Parcells won’t trade him unless he receives a first-round pick.
Nobody is going to give up a first-round pick for a 34-year-old defensive lineman. So Parcells’ stance is that Taylor will play for the Dolphins or retire.
As the article notes, it’s highly doubtful any team parts with a first rounder in exchange for Taylor. He’s still very productive, but at his age, a team would be crazy to part with a first round pick for a guy who won’t be in the league much longer.
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