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Not Old School...Old Testament...
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Steelers LB Joey Porter will consider holding out from training camp, and a potential contract stalemate is on the horizon. Porter has two years remaining on a contract that is scheduled to pay him $3.85 million this season and $5 million next season. When Steelers executives were asked about the idea of Porter staying away from the team recently, they shrugged and said, "voluntary minicamp," as if it were no big deal. But it will be a big deal if Porter is not at training camp. And there are indications that could be the case.
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San Diego is shopping linebacker Donnie Edwards (who is unhappy with his contract), and Miami has interest if the Chargers become fed up and release him. Edwards, 33, has had at least 100 tackles seven straight years. The Dolphins were disappointed they couldn't sign Giants-bound linebacker LaVar Arrington. Ex-Saints newcomer Sedrick Hodge hasn't wowed anybody.
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Ideally, the NFL wants a gleaming expansion team in place first, either downtown in an extensively refurbished Los Angeles Coliseum or in a new stadium in Anaheim. Then, as the long-standing rumor goes, a distressed franchise -- the Saints, the Chargers, the 49ers or the Raiders, all of whom play in archaic stadiums -- would be trucked to Los Angeles. Now, a new twist on the L.A. Story: This fantasy tale involves former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo and team president Carmen Policy taking over the NFL team in Oakland and reclaiming the title "Los Angeles Raiders'' somewhere down south. Sports Illustrated is publishing a story today in which DeBartolo intimates to senior writer Michael Silver -- who was an invitee to a lavish three-day Super Bowl reunion Eddie D. threw in Las Vegas in March -- that the Raiders' lack of attendance and the "declining" health of Raiders owner Al Davis makes the franchise vulnerable for a takeover.
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The Colts do not plan to sign former No. 1 overall choice Tim Couch. Now that the Colts have passed on Couch, the next team to consider working him out will be the New York Giants, who are in the hunt for a backup quarterback to compete with Tim Hasselbeck. But should the Giants decide what the Colts and other teams already have, then the curtain could come down on Couch's career, one of the more disappointing ones in NFL history.
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Look for the Kansas City Chiefs to soon reach agreement with former first-round pick Kyle Turley, who recently went to a Miami Dolphins minicamp. After sitting out football for one year, Turley's back is feeling considerably better, and he is expected to play tight end in Kansas City. But the Chiefs also plan to remain open to the idea to switching Turley back to offensive tackle if and when he can add weight to his current 260-pound frame.
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Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer has been issued a summons by the Englewood police in connection with a purported "road-rage-type incident" last month, investigator John Hoehler said Tuesday night. Police were sent to East Hampden Avenue and Downing Street on April 20 after a report of a hit-and-run accident. The victim of the incident - identified by Fox 31 News as Doug Stone - told officers he had been involved in a road rage incident with the driver of a gray Honda van.
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Miami likes New Orleans running back Michael Bennett, but Houston and Kansas City are considered more aggressive suitors. Miami could go to camp with Sammy Morris as the backup, then scan the waiver wire for late cuts.
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Could Gov. Jeb Bush's future be in football instead of politics? While U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has publicly flirted with the idea of becoming the next commissioner of the National Football League, Bush has been privately approached to gauge his interest in the job. Bush, who spends his Sundays each fall watching pro football, acknowledged Tuesday that the NFL job was broached during a recent meeting with Patrick Rooney Sr., owner of the Palm Beach Kennel Club.
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The agent for Browns first-round pick Kamerion Wimbley came to town Tuesday to open contract negotiations. Joe Linta, who also represents coach Romeo Crennel, met with Browns General Manager Phil Savage and salary-cap coordinator Trip MacCracken. Linta also had lunch with Crennel. "They were just preliminary talks to dis cuss the pa rameters of the contract," said Browns spokes woman Amy Palcic. "It's a positive step that he came in to talk, but it's just the first step." The only first-rounder signed so far is top pick Mario Williams of the Texans, but Wimbley said during draft weekend - and again at rookie minicamp earlier this month - that he expects to be in on time.
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Broncos executive vice president of business operations Joe Ellis said having one or two teams in the Los Angeles area would not affect the team's business plan, but the franchise would like for at least one team to compete in the AFC West. That could be a possibility with the San Diego Chargers, a longtime divisional rival who have struggled to secure a new stadium and have the ability to escape their lease in the coming years. The Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints also are considered potential candidates to be relocated.
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Bears RB Thomas Jones left the team's voluntary off-season program and expressed a desire to be traded when he finally grew tired of making less money than backup Cedric Benson. Talks for a long-term contract extension for Bears LB Lance Briggs broke off shortly before the NFL draft. Agent Drew Rosenhaus represents both players. Rosenhaus has had high-profile clients who have held out in the past.
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Toronto Argonauts vice president of football operations Adam Rita told media Tuesday morning that although talks between the Argonauts and the Dolphins were ongoing, the Argonauts still didn't have permission to negotiate with Miami running back Ricky Williams. Rita didn't divulge details of the discussions between the two teams. Williams, who will be suspended for the 2006 NFL season -- during which he would have earned a $585,000 base salary -- would like to spend the season earning money in the Canadian Football League with Toronto. The Argonauts would like to have him as soon as possible. Their regular season is June 17 through Oct. 28.
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The Tennessee Titans have attempted to try to hammer out an agreement with quarterback Steve McNair before the arbitrator is scheduled to announce his ruling in early June. The Titans also have considered the idea of trading McNair before the arbitrator's ruling. But right now, neither is likely. It looks like the Titans will wait for the ruling and then decide whether they want to pay McNair (highly unlikely), trade him to the Baltimore Ravens (much more likely), or simply release him (possible, but not likely).
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Rest, not repair, is considered the immediate remedy for Jim Sorgi. The Indianapolis Colts' backup quarterback did not participate in last weekend's mandatory minicamp after complaining of soreness in his right (throwing) arm. An evaluation revealed no damage. The team recently had Tim Couch, the No. 1 pick in the 1999 draft, in for a workout. It did not offer him a contract.
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Bobby DePaul, the Bears' director of pro personnel, is rumored to be a candidate for the Houston general manager job vacant since the departure of Charley Casserly. According to a team official, DePaul hasn't been contacted about the position, nor has Houston asked the Bears for permission to interview him. But general manager Jerry Angelo isn't expected to deny permission.
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Carson Palmer would have preferred his first Sports Illustrated cover as a Bengal to be a picture of him holding a Super Bowl trophy. And maybe it would have been if the Bengals quarterback hadn't blown out his left knee in a Jan. 8 playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead, the Palmer cover that hits newsstands today shows him running in a hydrotherapy pool with the words "The Rehab of Carson Palmer" superimposed over the picture. ... As for the Steelers, Palmer, who said he rooted against them throughout the playoffs and was upset when they won the Super Bowl, pulls no punches in the story. "I keep thinking about how much, back in college, I hated UCLA," he says in the article. "I hate the Steelers more than I hate UCLA. Yeah, it's because I'm jealous and want what they have."
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Expect opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers to challenge Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson next season because Woodson has missed so many games and won't be in top form. That theory about Woodson, the Packers' major free-agent acquisition this off-season, was expressed by Solomon Wilcots, a studio analyst for the NFL Network.
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After Houston interviews Green Bay director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie, the next candidate on its horizon will be Jacksonville's pro personnel director, Charles Bailey. Bailey is expected to interview sometime in the next week. Detroit Lions senior vice president and assistant general manager Martin Mayhew also might be in the mix in Houston. But Denver assistant general manager Rick Smith still is considered the favorite.
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The mysterious absence of Joey Porter from Steelers practices the past week was not cleared up yesterday, even though a team spokesman revealed that the Pro Bowl linebacker will have arthroscopic knee surgery today. Coach Bill Cowher continued to decline comment on why Porter has not attended any of the voluntary spring practices, and spokesman Dave Lockett said the impending knee surgery was not necessarily the reason. Sources tell the Post-Gazette that Joey Porter is unhappy with his contract, which has two years left at $3.85 million and $5 million annually. Porter showed up yesterday morning at the Steelers' UPMC training facility. He lifted weights and attended meetings, but he left the complex as his teammates took the practice field. Some of them could not clear up the secrecy surrounding Porter's absence.
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Defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson, who played well for Detroit the past three years, is on the Dolphins radar. Wilkinson was released by the Lions on Monday because he didn't want to commit to playing there. But he still wants to play, Lions president Matt Millen said. At 33, Wilkinson is 3 ? years younger than Miami's Keith Traylor, who was arrested for DUI last week and whose durability is a concern. Privately, the Dolphins have questions about how much second-year defensive tackles Manny Wright and Kevin Vickerson are ready to contribute.
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Of all the jobs available in the Patriots’ starting lineup, none is more wide open than the No. 2 receiver spot opposite Deion Branch. The top two candidates for the position, veteran Reche Caldwell and second-round pick Chad Jackson, have already paired up in the team’s offseason conditioning program. They train together and work on routes together, building off their common background as University of Florida alums. The last thing they see themselves as is combatants, although that’s exactly what they are.
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According to Donovin Darius and the Jaguars, he is on track to be available for the start of training camp in two months and in uniform for the team's Sept. 10 season opener the Dallas. Both parties consider that to be great news, because there is no doubt the Jaguars missed Darius' hard-hitting presence in the secondary after he went down with the knee injury last September in a Week 2 loss at Indianapolis. Although the Jaguars finished 12-4 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1999, strong safety was a weak spot after Darius' injury. Replacement Deke Cooper lost his starting job in late December before leaving for Miami in free agency, and rookie Gerald Sensabaugh struggled.
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Joey Porter can be removed from Pittsburgh's unsolved mystery list. Turns out, the Pro Bowl outside linebacker has been absent from the team's voluntary workouts because he is set to undergo knee surgery today. The surgery is not believed to be serious, and Porter is expected to be back to full strength by the start of training camp July 28. Neither Porter nor coach Bill Cowher would comment, so it is unknown when he injured the knee and why he waited until today to have the procedure performed.
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Texans middle linebacker Sam Cowart was injured the first day of practice last week and is still sidelined with a sore calf and sore Achilles. He could return as early as next week but is definitely targeting the start of minicamp on June 7.
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Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson is ready to add punt returner to his résumé. For the past week in practice, Robinson has been lining up alongside Phillip Buchanon as a return specialist during special teams drills. Buchanon remains the Texans' No. 1 punt returner, but Robinson appears as if he will earn the No. 2 spot.
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As for the Bucs, all they really gave Jamie Winborn was a chance. They signed him to a two-year contract that pays him just $55,000 more than the veteran minimum for a player with his experience, skill and ability. They also gave him the right to opt out of the deal after this year. Winborn likes that. It gives him incentive. "I'm in my contract year again," he said. "But you know what? This is a place I always wanted to be. I always thought this defense was perfect for the type of player I am. And I know they've got a lot of good coaches here.
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The Bears signed cornerback Ricky Williams on Tuesday. The undrafted rookie free agent out of Bethune-Cookman participated in the team's rookie minicamp from May 5-7. He will participate in the Bears' full minicamp at Halas Hall from June 2-4.
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Paul Grasmanis' body told him it was time to find another line of work. He does not know what it is going to be yet, but his days working for the Eagles and in the NFL are over. "I just knew my time in football was up because of the injuries and the way my body was feeling," Grasmanis said from his home in Tallahassee, Fla., yesterday after the Eagles announced the veteran defensive tackle's retirement.
