Category: NFL (Page 1241 of 1282)

The last big-name free agent on the market has reached an agreement with the Green Bay Packers.

The contract is a seven-year deal worth $52 million, ESPN.com’s Michael Smith reports. Woodson will make $10.5 million in the first year of the deal and $18 million over the first three years. Woodson will also receive a $3 million bonus if he is selected to the Pro Bowl in two of the first three years of the contract.

It looks as if the Packers plan to play Woodson at cornerback, while Tampa Bay, the only other team to express major interest, planned to use him as a safety. He will most likely start opposite Al Harris, replacing Ahmad Carroll, who hasn’t improved as expected after being drafted in the first round of the 2004 draft. Woodson should help to bolster the Packer defense, which was suspect in 2005.

I remember seeing a recent ESPN SportsNation poll in which Wisconsin was the only state that a majority of voters thought that Brett Favre should return for another year. That makes sense, because Packer fans understand that Favre gives them the best chance to win games, and if he wants to play another year, the Green Bay faithful want him on the field.

After an offseason of wavering back and forth, the quarterback told the team yesterday that he wants to play another year. He said all along that he wanted the Packers to make a splash in free agency, and when the team failed to make any big signings, many thought that Favre was on the way out.

The Packers’ two most high-profile free-agent signings have been former St. Louis Rams defensive tackle Ryan Pickett and former Seattle Seahawks safety Marquand Manuel. The team has also re-signed fullback William Henderson and wide receiver Rod Gardener.

The Pickett and Manuel signings will bolster a defense that was horrible against the run but great against the pass in 2005. The article failed to mention the re-signing of Aaron Kampman, one of the league’s hardest working defensive ends. Throw in the #5 pick (probably LB A.J. Hawk, but possibly DE Mario Williams) and the Green Bay defense should be markedly better this season.

The offense is a bigger question. Once the strength of the team, the unit took a hit last season with the loss of their two starting guards, Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera, which made running room hard to find for most of the year. Still, fifth-string RB Samkon Gado averaged 104 yards in the five games where he was given 20+ carries, so the offensive line started to show some life in the second half of the season. The team re-signed Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport, so they have some depth in the backfield. The bigger question at the moment is the status of WR Javon Walker, who has said he will retire before playing another game in a Packer uniform. If he stays true to his word and the team is unable to get a good WR to line up with the ever-consistent Donald Driver, moving the ball is going to be tough. Walker is coming off a knee injury that has diminished his trade value. He’d be smart to prove himself healthy by playing this year in Green Bay and then try to make a splash on the free agent market after the season.

Cornerback Ricky Manning, Jr. was not picked up by his former team, the Carolina Panthers, and is able to sign with the Chicago Bears, who offered him a five-year deal worth up to $21 million. Manning was recently arrested for an alleged assault at a Los Angeles restaurant.

Because of the relatively modest compensation involved, Manning was an attractive target for a Bears team seeking to upgrade at cornerback. Veteran cornerback Jerry Azumah recently retired after battling injuries for two seasons. That left Chicago without an experienced No. 3 cornerback. The team’s starters are Nathan Vasher, who is coming off a Pro Bowl season, and Charles Tillman, considered a rising star until a difficult 2005 campaign.

He will bank about $7.5 million over the next 12 months on a creative deal negotiated by agents Jim Ivler, Bill Heck and Brian Mackler. The deal includes so-called “de-escalators” that could reduce its overall value if Manning is not a starter in the latter years of the contract.

Manning was a large part of the Panthers’ Super Bowl run in 2003 and would be a good fit in Chicago playing with Tillman and Vasher, two young solid corners. If I were a Bears fan, I would be a little concerned however that the team just signed a player with apparent character issues but if everything gets resolved and Manning is acquitted of the charges, I say pretty good move. The initial value of his contract in the first year seems a little steep for a nickel back but the de-escalator clause could help the Bears if things don’t work out down the road with Manning.

In what might just be a move to try to gain some leverage in their contract negotiations with Reggie Bush, the Houston Texans have exchanged contract proposals with both Bush and NC State defensive end Mario Williams.

Because they own the first choice, the Texans are free to speak with any of the prospects and to conduct simultaneous negotiations.

Houston general manager Charley Casserly said earlier this week that the Texans would likely not settle on a top pick until next week. Like most teams, the Texans are deep into their draft evaluation meetings, which will continue this weekend. The choice, Casserly all but acknowledged this week, comes down to Bush or Williams, but the consensus in the league is that the Texans will choose the former Trojans star.

The Texans have yet to receive any firm offers from other teams trying to trade up to the top spot. Certainly they have the right, and ability, to financially leverage Bush and Williams against each other by negotiating with both at the same time and to strike a deal most advantageous to the team.

The Texans already have a pretty good running back on the roster in Domanick Davis, so the idea of going with Williams isn’t necessarily a bad one.

The Cincinnati Bengals locked up stud WR Chad Johnson, restructuring his current contract and extending it throughout the 2011 season.

In essence, by restructuring the remainder of Johnson’s existing contract, which was set to run through the 2009 campaign, the Bengals created a six-year deal with a total value of $35.5 million.

Of course, Johnson’s agent (and possible anti-Christ), Drew Rosenhaus, almost broke his arm patting himself on the back.

“In terms of ‘new money,’ and just being unique from the standpoint of being able to do something for a player who still had four years left on his [existing] contract, it’s really monumental,” said agent Drew Rosenhaus, who was hired by Johnson a year ago to upgrade his contract “As long as I’ve been doing this, I’ve never been able to get an extension like this, basically because of the time remaining on the contract. It’s historical. And it’s a testament to Chad, and how well he’s performed, and to Bengals management for the way they have handled this and the commitment they’ve made to him.”

Putting Rosenhaus’ blathering aside, this is good deal for both sides. CJ gets some new money and the Bengals lock up their star receiver for the next six years.