Category: NFL (Page 786 of 1282)

NFL Free Agency: No deal for Warner, Colts re-sign Saturday, Rex Grossman the Lion?

According to NFL.com, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals remain far apart on a new contract, which means the quarterback will hit the open market at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. Warner is still likely to re-sign with Arizona, but the Cards can’t feel entirely comfortable that he’ll be allowed to test the market.

– Despite saying he would like to play for the Steelers, Jeff Saturday re-signed with the Colts for three more years. Saturday was apparently willing to play guard if he went to Pittsburgh, but he’s a fan favorite in Indianapolis and apparently well liked by new head coach Jim Caldwell.

– Free agent quarterback Rex Grossman (Bears) says he would be interested in playing for the Lions next season. He must think he can beat out the other 95 quarterbacks that Detroit has on its roster.

The National Football Post is reporting that there’s a 70% chance that T.J. Houshmandzadeh stays a Bengal. Not that the report is inaccurate by any means, but I highly doubt Housh stays in Cincy if a contender comes along and outbids the Bengals. Still, this is positive news for Cincy fans.

– In a series of moves, the Dolphins signed free agent free safety Gibril Wilson, who was cut by the Raiders earlier this week, and re-signed strong safety Yeremiah Bell to a new four-year, $20 million contract.

According to FOXSports.com, the Cowboys are reportedly shopping strong safety Roy Williams. So if any team is in need of an extra linebacker that they can line up at safety, Williams might be their guy.

Vick approved for release from prison

Suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick has been given the okay to be released from federal prison. According to a report from the Associated Press, Vick will be allowed to return to his Hampton home in Virginia (under supervision) because there is no room at a halfway house for him.

Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., after pleading guilty to bankrolling a dogfighting operation at a home he owned in eastern Virginia’s Surry County. He also admitted to participating in the killing of several underperforming dogs.

Vick’s lawyers have said they expected him to be moved any day into a halfway house in Newport News. But because of a lack of space, Vick will be released instead to his Hampton home at some point on or after May 21, said the official, who has knowledge of the case but requested anonymity because the individual was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Vick will be on electronic monitoring and will only be allowed to leave home for activities approved by his probation officer, the official said. He is eligible for release in July.

According to Vick’s lawyers, the former Virginia Tech standout plans to resume his pro football career. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended Vick without pay, has repeatedly said he will review Vick’s status after the legal proceedings are completed.

Officials of some other NFL teams have said they are not interested in Vick because they would rather not face the wrath of pet lovers and groups such as PETA, which has been a constant fixture at Vick’s hearings.

There’s only one owner with enough brass between his legs to sign Vick once the Falcons release him (and they’ll have to release him because nobody will trade for him) and that’s Al Davis. Do you think Davis cares about PETA members being outside his team’s compound? Not a chance.

It’s time to officially start the Vick-to-Raiders campaign.

Pete Prisco’s Top 50 NFL Free Agents

Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com ranks his top 50 NFL free agents and to no one’s surprise, he has Titans’ defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth ranked No. 1. No other free agent should be ranked ahead of Haynesworth given his age and talent. But anyone that thinks he isn’t a major risk is fooling themselves.

Haynesworth wants $72 million, as in, seventy-two million dollars. He would be the highest paid defender in the league and while his talent is unquestioned, he’s coming off a career season in a contract year. Would anyone be surprised if he caught Tommie Harris’s disease and his production drops off after he gets paid? I wouldn’t, and I firmly believe that if he winds up signing with the Redskins, there’s a great chance he’ll be a major disappointment considering Washington is the black hole for defensive linemen.

I think Prisco hit the nail on the head by ranking Ravens’ center Jason Brown No. 2. Even though guys like Matt Birk (Vikings) and Jeff Saturday (Colts) will be available, Brown is the best center on the market and can help anchor the interior of somebody’s line for years to come.

Where Prisco loses me is his ranking of the cornerbacks.

5. Bryant McFadden, CB, Pittsburgh Steelers: He’s a solid starter and teams are always looking for corners. Plus, his best football will come in the next three years.

8. DeAngelo Hall, CB, Washington Redskins: He’s not nearly as good as he thinks, but he played well for the Redskins after the Raiders let him go last season. But how does he play after he gets paid? He had to play well in Washington to get another big contract.

12. Philip Buchanon, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: He started last year for the Bucs, and at 28 he still has some good football left. He’s another player who is a perfect second corner.

31. Chris McAlister, CB, Baltimore Ravens: He’s getting up in years and has injury issues last season, but he can still help a team for a year or two. When he’s healthy, he can still cover well.

33. Ronald Bartell, CB, St. Louis Rams: He’s a young player who emerged last year in his first as a starter. He’s the kind of rising player teams need to sign.

McFadden is a good young player, but I don’t know if he should be listed in the top 5 of available free agents. Hall proved last year in Oakland that he’s an overrated and overpaid, while Buchanon is a classic underachiever and McAlister (as Prisco noted) is getting up there in years.

But how is Bartell the fifth best cornerback on the market? There’s no way. He’ll be overpaid (he’s likely to command $40 million over five years), but he offers more upside than every free agent Prisco rated higher outside of maybe McFadden.

Jerry Jones should be held personally accountable for keeping T.O.

After months of speculation regarding whether or not to release or trade him, Cowboys’ owner Jerry Jones has decided to hang onto wide receiver Terrell Owens.

Financially, this was a wise move. Cutting T.O. wouldn’t have created much cap space and there’s nobody on the open market outside of T.J. Houshmandzadeh who matches what Owens brings to the field. That said, Jones better realize that he has nobody but himself to blame if Owens turns around and makes a mess of things in the locker room this season.

Something is wrong in Dallas, this much we know. They have more than enough talent on both sides of the ball to compete for a Super Bowl, yet they can’t even make the playoffs in a weak NFC. For the Eagles to make the postseason after looking so bad mid-year, there’s no reason a team composed of Owens, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Marion Barber and DeMarcus Ware should miss the playoffs. And yes, Barber’s injury hurt the ‘Boys towards the end of the year, but a team as talented as the Cowboys should be able to overcome one player’s absence.

The word that keeps coming up with this team is chemistry. The Cowboys don’t have enough good chemistry to win. If that’s the case, then that hangs on Jones’s shoulders and again, he should be held personally accountable. He put this team together and he’s the one that believes a bunch of malcontents like T.O. and Pacman Jones can survive under one roof.

Jones jettisoned one bad apple (Pacman), but decided to keep another (T.O.). If the decision to keep Owens sours (pardon the apple pun) in the end, then Jones needs to look in the mirror and discover that the main problem is staring him right in the face.

Jacobs proves his loyalty to Giants with new contract

The Giants re-signed running back Brandon Jacobs to a very fair, very reasonable four-year, $25 million contract Wednesday night. The deal includes $15 million in the first two years and $13 million in guarantees.

The G-Men placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jacobs in mid-February, which meant he could have negotiated with other teams, although New York would have received two first round picks if he had signed elsewhere. Given his age (26) and bruising running style most teams covet, he could have easily gotten more than $25 million on the open market and may have even scored a five or six-year contract.

But he stated all along that he wanted to remain a Giant and this proves his loyalty to the franchise that selected him in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. And given his bruising style and injury history, the contract that he received is quite fair. The time of the deal helps the Giants, because by the time he becomes a free agent in four years, Jacobs will reach the dreaded age of 30 for running backs.

This deal was handled extremely well on both sides and it’s a shame more contracts aren’t constructed as intelligently.

« Older posts Newer posts »