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Not Old School...Old Testament...
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LaVar Arrington, 27, is seemingly coming into the prime of his career. Not surprisingly, he has drawn interest from a slew of teams. He made recent visits to Miami and Jacksonville and ... Green Bay. In a move cloaked in secrecry, Arrington and his wife, Trishia, flew to Green Bay on Sunday. They went to dinner that night with Packers officials and spent Monday chatting with Packers personnel. It's obvious the Packers have a serious interest in Arrington. It's also obvious Arrington has serious interest in Green Bay. It sounds like a perfect fit.
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Ty Law and his agent also are talking with the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Patriots. But Law likes his chances of adding to his legacy with the Seahawks. "Although I did have a season no one thought I would have last year, it just didn't satisfy me at all," he said of intercepting 10 passes and being voted to the Pro Bowl for the 4-12 Jets. "I'm used to winning. So the objective is to go somewhere with a chance to compete and an opportunity to win. I really, really want an opportunity to win again, and I definitely think that could come in Seattle."
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Safety Keith Davis, a restricted free agent who started 16 games last year, has agreed to a two-year contract with New Orleans. The deal, which includes a $1.2 million signing bonus, would allow Davis to earn $2.1 million this season. He will count $1.5 million against the club's 2006 salary cap, which isn't much for a starting safety in today's NFL. Davis is expected to submit the deal to the league office today. The Cowboys would then have seven days to match the contract.
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For the first time since being traded to the Dolphins last month, former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper expressed some doubt that his surgically repaired knee will be strong enough for him to start the season. "That's my goal, but there really is no timeline on when I'm going to be 100 percent or ready to play," Culpepper said Monday at team headquarters. "That's my personal goal, but I still have a good picture of the whole thing, and I'm real good with reality here, and I know that an injury like this is tough to come back from that quick."
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Veteran linebacker Chad Brown will take a trip to see a second team after meeting last Friday with the Giants, according to Brown's agent, Peter Schaffer. The Giants have interest in signing Brown to add depth to a position depleted by the departures of Barrett Green and Nick Greisen. No substantive talks between Brown and the Giants have taken place, and it's hard to believe the Giants will offer much more than the veteran minimum for a player who has spent 13 years in the NFL and will turn 36 bef
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Southern Cal's Matt Leinart will visit with Titans officials today at Baptist Sports Park, and Vince Young, who played at Texas, is scheduled to be in Nashville tomorrow for a pre-draft visit. "This pretty much fulfills the cycle of what can happen,'' said agent Chuck Price, who represents Leinart. "I know (Matt) is excited to get there.''
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The Giants remain interested in former Panthers wide receiver Ricky Proehl, a New Jersey native. They would sign him for a minimum contract. Now it's a question of whether Proehl wants to finish his 16-year career in the Meadowlands or elsewhere.
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USC RB LenDale White, appearing as a guest on "FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period," on the possibility of playing in Denver: "Truthfully, I'd love playing there."
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The Texans turned their attention to Mario Williams, the top defensive prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. Williams arrived at Reliant Stadium late Monday afternoon to visit the facilities and talk to the personnel. The 6-7, 292-pound defensive end from North Carolina State is just beginning his tour of NFL facilities. He visited Detroit last week and has five more visits scheduled prior to the April 29 draft.
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Plans are for Vikings coach Brad Childress to meet with Onterrio Smith, the running back suspended for substance abuse, to determine his future with the team.
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Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson admits that quarterback Brett Favre's indecision on whether to return next season has affected off-season operations, but he rejects the idea that Favre is holding the team hostage and forcing them to make the decision about his future. Thompson said Favre was not holding up the team. "I wouldn't put it like that," he said Monday. "For whatever reason, it's taking him a little bit of time. It's a decision he has to make." Asked if he thought Favre was trying to get the Packers to make the decision for him, Thompson said, "No. I think he's just working through it."
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LaVar Arrington, who shares the same agents as free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson, met with Packers officials Monday to discuss the possibility of playing in Green Bay. Arrington and Woodson, who visited Green Bay last week, are the two biggest names left in free agency and are both seeking a big payday.
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A clean-shaven Ricky Williams showed up on a crisp, cool day in Manhattan. Whether that look helps Williams prove that he is also clean of using a banned substance again remains to be seen. Williams and attorney David Cornwell met with NFL attorney Jeff Pash at an undisclosed office in Manhattan for several hours Monday afternoon with Williams telling the league that he did not use the substance for which he tested positive in late December. Rather, they were expected to contend that Williams tested positive after taking an herbal supplement as part of his practice of holistic medicine. However, a source said league officials are dubious of the claims by Williams, Cornwell and Leigh Steinberg and are expected to suspend Williams unless he can show that the substance was clearly not a drug.
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The Rams’ Jamie Martin is still in the mix, and he still may come here, but only if the price gets better. Tom Mills, his agent, said Monday that the Bengals have been upfront about it and the reason they’re not offering a big number is because they want to keep room for their linemen. But Mills has also had to keep Martin’s options open and he has sent him to Seattle on a visit.
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Southern California offensive tackle Winston Justice is scheduled to visit the Eagles late this afternoon as general manager Tom Heckert and head coach Andy Reid continue to decide which player they will take with the 14th overall pick when the NFL draft begins April 29. Justice, 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds, is entering the draft after his junior season at USC, where he played with such stars as quarterback Matt Leinart and running backs Reggie Bush and Lendale White. All four players are projected as first-round picks.
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Florida wide receiver Chad Jackson, who is expected to be a first-round pick this month, will visit the Dolphins for a workout Friday. This is the second time Jackson has met with the Dolphins privately. The Dolphins have had similar meetings with Texas standouts Vince Young and Michael Huff and Ohio State wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
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The Bears are expected to bring University of Miami receiver Sinorice Moss to Halas Hall for a pre-draft visit, continuing a relationship that started at January's Senior Bowl and continued at February's Indianapolis Scouting Combine. "They've shown a lot of interest," Moss said then.
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Quarterback Steve McNair and the NFL Players Association filed their grievance against the Tennessee Titans late last Friday. Now, the next step for both sides is to wait until a hearing can be scheduled for an arbitrator to hear the matter. Agent Bus Cook, who represents McNair, said he had not heard anything Monday regarding when the hearing might take place. “I haven’t heard. This is now between the players association and the Titans,” Cook said.
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USC RB LenDale White, appearing as a guest on "FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period," on meeting Panthers coach John Fox: "I really liked him. He's a straight shooter. He told me, 'After four years, I'm looking to replace you.'"
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The Packers also are considering Baltimore backup safety Chad Williams, who made a free-agent visit on Friday. Williams has played in all 64 games for the Ravens since being drafted in the sixth round in 2002. He has four sacks and eight interceptions in his career.
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At the moment, the scenario involving LaVar Arrington and the Giants is a dead issue. The Giants do not have an offer on the table and would bring the former Commanders linebacker in only at modest price, which is significantly lower than the bloated contract sought by Arrington's agents. The Dolphins have made the most public noise about signing Arrington, but Miami, like most teams, is concerned about the durability of his knees.
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Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, who spent Friday with the Titans, was in Minnesota on Monday to visit with the Vikings. Cutler is scheduled to head to St. Louis to work out for the Rams today before a private workout in Nashville with the New York Jets over the weekend. According to Cook, who represents Cutler, the former Commodores star has a trip to meet with the Detroit Lions scheduled for next week.
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The Titans have several of the top players in the 2006 draft scheduled for visits this week. Texas quarterback Vince Young will come to the facility on Wednesday, while Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart will likely arrive Thursday, though that visit has not officially been confirmed. Others who are expected to come to Nashville as part of the Titans’ 30 players allotted for visits include North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams and Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk.
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The Jets are expected to sign a veteran offensive lineman. They've had center Trey Teague (Bills) and tackles Anthony Clement (49ers) and Mike Pearson (Jaguars) in for visits.
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The Baltimore Ravens recently worked out Eagles punter Dirk Johnson, according to the Carroll County (Md.) Times. It would be a surprise if the Ravens tried to sign Johnson, since he is a restricted free agent and the Eagles would have the right to match any offer he got. Johnson, 30, is coming off a second surgery to repair the sports hernia and groin tear that limited him to seven games last season, his third year with the Eagles.
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One veteran player recently had this take on the Patriots’ kicking situation since the loss of Adam Vinatieri to the Indianapolis Colts: “Adam’s replacement won’t be the next kicker we bring in here. It will be the guy after that guy.” The player was only half-joking, knowing all too well that the man who takes over for one of the greatest kickers in NFL history will be attempting to fill impossibly large shoes. In some ways, Vinatieri’s heir apparent doesn’t even stand a chance. All it will take is one miss. Say hello to Martin Gramatica. “Well, we all know he is the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history. I don’t see it as a no-win because Adam has moved on,” Gramatica said yesterday in a conference call to local media.
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The Bucs made another move aimed at keeping their offensive line intact Monday when they signed left tackle Anthony Davis to a three-year, $4.725 million contract. Davis, who is entering his third NFL season, would have been a restricted free agent after the 2006 season and an unrestricted free agent after the 2007 season. "I think this is a good deal for both Anthony and the Bucs," said Davis' agent, Jeff Chilcoat. "It gives Anthony stability early in his career and it gives the Bucs some stability at left tackle."
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Will Allen, one of four free-agent cornerbacks added to the Dolphins roster this offseason, said he felt his reputation of having poor hands is undeserved. "Interceptions come from being in the right place at the right time," said Allen, who had four interceptions his 2001 rookie season with the Giants, but just four since. "Who knows? I might come out here and get 10 picks this year and never get questions like that again."
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Former Texas quarterback Vince Young, expected to be off the draft board long before the Dolphins pick at No. 16, concluded his two-day visit with the team Monday. "I met him today," said Daunte Culpepper, to whom the 6-foot-5 Young has been compared. "He's a great specimen. ... I think he's on his way."
____________________________________________
Jerry Jones was one of the keynote speakers at the NFL meetings Monday at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas. At the meetings, seminars are held in all aspects of running a team, including public relations, internet, radio and television and community service.
____________________________________________
Ty Law and his agent also are talking with the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns and Patriots. But Law likes his chances of adding to his legacy with the Seahawks. "Although I did have a season no one thought I would have last year, it just didn't satisfy me at all," he said of intercepting 10 passes and being voted to the Pro Bowl for the 4-12 Jets. "I'm used to winning. So the objective is to go somewhere with a chance to compete and an opportunity to win. I really, really want an opportunity to win again, and I definitely think that could come in Seattle."
____________________________________________
Safety Keith Davis, a restricted free agent who started 16 games last year, has agreed to a two-year contract with New Orleans. The deal, which includes a $1.2 million signing bonus, would allow Davis to earn $2.1 million this season. He will count $1.5 million against the club's 2006 salary cap, which isn't much for a starting safety in today's NFL. Davis is expected to submit the deal to the league office today. The Cowboys would then have seven days to match the contract.
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For the first time since being traded to the Dolphins last month, former Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper expressed some doubt that his surgically repaired knee will be strong enough for him to start the season. "That's my goal, but there really is no timeline on when I'm going to be 100 percent or ready to play," Culpepper said Monday at team headquarters. "That's my personal goal, but I still have a good picture of the whole thing, and I'm real good with reality here, and I know that an injury like this is tough to come back from that quick."
____________________________________________
Veteran linebacker Chad Brown will take a trip to see a second team after meeting last Friday with the Giants, according to Brown's agent, Peter Schaffer. The Giants have interest in signing Brown to add depth to a position depleted by the departures of Barrett Green and Nick Greisen. No substantive talks between Brown and the Giants have taken place, and it's hard to believe the Giants will offer much more than the veteran minimum for a player who has spent 13 years in the NFL and will turn 36 bef
____________________________________________
Southern Cal's Matt Leinart will visit with Titans officials today at Baptist Sports Park, and Vince Young, who played at Texas, is scheduled to be in Nashville tomorrow for a pre-draft visit. "This pretty much fulfills the cycle of what can happen,'' said agent Chuck Price, who represents Leinart. "I know (Matt) is excited to get there.''
____________________________________________
The Giants remain interested in former Panthers wide receiver Ricky Proehl, a New Jersey native. They would sign him for a minimum contract. Now it's a question of whether Proehl wants to finish his 16-year career in the Meadowlands or elsewhere.
____________________________________________
USC RB LenDale White, appearing as a guest on "FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period," on the possibility of playing in Denver: "Truthfully, I'd love playing there."
____________________________________________
The Texans turned their attention to Mario Williams, the top defensive prospect in the upcoming NFL draft. Williams arrived at Reliant Stadium late Monday afternoon to visit the facilities and talk to the personnel. The 6-7, 292-pound defensive end from North Carolina State is just beginning his tour of NFL facilities. He visited Detroit last week and has five more visits scheduled prior to the April 29 draft.
____________________________________________
Plans are for Vikings coach Brad Childress to meet with Onterrio Smith, the running back suspended for substance abuse, to determine his future with the team.
____________________________________________
Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson admits that quarterback Brett Favre's indecision on whether to return next season has affected off-season operations, but he rejects the idea that Favre is holding the team hostage and forcing them to make the decision about his future. Thompson said Favre was not holding up the team. "I wouldn't put it like that," he said Monday. "For whatever reason, it's taking him a little bit of time. It's a decision he has to make." Asked if he thought Favre was trying to get the Packers to make the decision for him, Thompson said, "No. I think he's just working through it."
____________________________________________
LaVar Arrington, who shares the same agents as free-agent cornerback Charles Woodson, met with Packers officials Monday to discuss the possibility of playing in Green Bay. Arrington and Woodson, who visited Green Bay last week, are the two biggest names left in free agency and are both seeking a big payday.
____________________________________________
A clean-shaven Ricky Williams showed up on a crisp, cool day in Manhattan. Whether that look helps Williams prove that he is also clean of using a banned substance again remains to be seen. Williams and attorney David Cornwell met with NFL attorney Jeff Pash at an undisclosed office in Manhattan for several hours Monday afternoon with Williams telling the league that he did not use the substance for which he tested positive in late December. Rather, they were expected to contend that Williams tested positive after taking an herbal supplement as part of his practice of holistic medicine. However, a source said league officials are dubious of the claims by Williams, Cornwell and Leigh Steinberg and are expected to suspend Williams unless he can show that the substance was clearly not a drug.
____________________________________________
The Rams’ Jamie Martin is still in the mix, and he still may come here, but only if the price gets better. Tom Mills, his agent, said Monday that the Bengals have been upfront about it and the reason they’re not offering a big number is because they want to keep room for their linemen. But Mills has also had to keep Martin’s options open and he has sent him to Seattle on a visit.
____________________________________________
Southern California offensive tackle Winston Justice is scheduled to visit the Eagles late this afternoon as general manager Tom Heckert and head coach Andy Reid continue to decide which player they will take with the 14th overall pick when the NFL draft begins April 29. Justice, 6-foot-6 and 319 pounds, is entering the draft after his junior season at USC, where he played with such stars as quarterback Matt Leinart and running backs Reggie Bush and Lendale White. All four players are projected as first-round picks.
____________________________________________
Florida wide receiver Chad Jackson, who is expected to be a first-round pick this month, will visit the Dolphins for a workout Friday. This is the second time Jackson has met with the Dolphins privately. The Dolphins have had similar meetings with Texas standouts Vince Young and Michael Huff and Ohio State wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
____________________________________________
The Bears are expected to bring University of Miami receiver Sinorice Moss to Halas Hall for a pre-draft visit, continuing a relationship that started at January's Senior Bowl and continued at February's Indianapolis Scouting Combine. "They've shown a lot of interest," Moss said then.
____________________________________________
Quarterback Steve McNair and the NFL Players Association filed their grievance against the Tennessee Titans late last Friday. Now, the next step for both sides is to wait until a hearing can be scheduled for an arbitrator to hear the matter. Agent Bus Cook, who represents McNair, said he had not heard anything Monday regarding when the hearing might take place. “I haven’t heard. This is now between the players association and the Titans,” Cook said.
____________________________________________
USC RB LenDale White, appearing as a guest on "FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period," on meeting Panthers coach John Fox: "I really liked him. He's a straight shooter. He told me, 'After four years, I'm looking to replace you.'"
____________________________________________
The Packers also are considering Baltimore backup safety Chad Williams, who made a free-agent visit on Friday. Williams has played in all 64 games for the Ravens since being drafted in the sixth round in 2002. He has four sacks and eight interceptions in his career.
____________________________________________
At the moment, the scenario involving LaVar Arrington and the Giants is a dead issue. The Giants do not have an offer on the table and would bring the former Commanders linebacker in only at modest price, which is significantly lower than the bloated contract sought by Arrington's agents. The Dolphins have made the most public noise about signing Arrington, but Miami, like most teams, is concerned about the durability of his knees.
____________________________________________
Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, who spent Friday with the Titans, was in Minnesota on Monday to visit with the Vikings. Cutler is scheduled to head to St. Louis to work out for the Rams today before a private workout in Nashville with the New York Jets over the weekend. According to Cook, who represents Cutler, the former Commodores star has a trip to meet with the Detroit Lions scheduled for next week.
____________________________________________
The Titans have several of the top players in the 2006 draft scheduled for visits this week. Texas quarterback Vince Young will come to the facility on Wednesday, while Southern Cal quarterback Matt Leinart will likely arrive Thursday, though that visit has not officially been confirmed. Others who are expected to come to Nashville as part of the Titans’ 30 players allotted for visits include North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams and Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk.
____________________________________________
The Jets are expected to sign a veteran offensive lineman. They've had center Trey Teague (Bills) and tackles Anthony Clement (49ers) and Mike Pearson (Jaguars) in for visits.
____________________________________________
The Baltimore Ravens recently worked out Eagles punter Dirk Johnson, according to the Carroll County (Md.) Times. It would be a surprise if the Ravens tried to sign Johnson, since he is a restricted free agent and the Eagles would have the right to match any offer he got. Johnson, 30, is coming off a second surgery to repair the sports hernia and groin tear that limited him to seven games last season, his third year with the Eagles.
____________________________________________
One veteran player recently had this take on the Patriots’ kicking situation since the loss of Adam Vinatieri to the Indianapolis Colts: “Adam’s replacement won’t be the next kicker we bring in here. It will be the guy after that guy.” The player was only half-joking, knowing all too well that the man who takes over for one of the greatest kickers in NFL history will be attempting to fill impossibly large shoes. In some ways, Vinatieri’s heir apparent doesn’t even stand a chance. All it will take is one miss. Say hello to Martin Gramatica. “Well, we all know he is the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history. I don’t see it as a no-win because Adam has moved on,” Gramatica said yesterday in a conference call to local media.
____________________________________________
The Bucs made another move aimed at keeping their offensive line intact Monday when they signed left tackle Anthony Davis to a three-year, $4.725 million contract. Davis, who is entering his third NFL season, would have been a restricted free agent after the 2006 season and an unrestricted free agent after the 2007 season. "I think this is a good deal for both Anthony and the Bucs," said Davis' agent, Jeff Chilcoat. "It gives Anthony stability early in his career and it gives the Bucs some stability at left tackle."
____________________________________________
Will Allen, one of four free-agent cornerbacks added to the Dolphins roster this offseason, said he felt his reputation of having poor hands is undeserved. "Interceptions come from being in the right place at the right time," said Allen, who had four interceptions his 2001 rookie season with the Giants, but just four since. "Who knows? I might come out here and get 10 picks this year and never get questions like that again."
____________________________________________
Former Texas quarterback Vince Young, expected to be off the draft board long before the Dolphins pick at No. 16, concluded his two-day visit with the team Monday. "I met him today," said Daunte Culpepper, to whom the 6-foot-5 Young has been compared. "He's a great specimen. ... I think he's on his way."
____________________________________________
Jerry Jones was one of the keynote speakers at the NFL meetings Monday at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Dallas. At the meetings, seminars are held in all aspects of running a team, including public relations, internet, radio and television and community service.
