THE LATEST OFF-SEASON NFL NEWS
By: David Williams

The Dallas Cowboys made official what everyone has known for weeks now on Thursday, when they released Emmitt Smith to pursue a free-agency deal. It wasn't that the Cowboys did not want the All-Time Leading Rusher on their team, they just could not guarantee Emmitt Smith that he would be starting. For Emmitt Smith to stay, he wanted that guarantee. Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones had made it clear during last season that FB Troy Hambrick would get the chance to start in this coming season. Emmitt Smith and Cowboys QB Clint Stoerner were in Fayetteville, AR for an Athletes In Action Banquet last week. Emmitt sat down with the local media here to discuss the situation, and this is what he had to say. "I love the game of football," Emmitt said. "The game of football has been very good to me, and I love the game. So as long as I have the ability to play the game, I feel I owe it to the fans of the game, as well as the game itself to play. I feel I still have 2-3 1000 yard seasons in me. The game of football does not wear a silver star on its jersey. I have worn other uniforms before, and I will wear other uniforms in the future if that is what I have to do to continue to play." Well Emmitt, it just will not be the same watching you play without a Cowboys jersey on. Reportedly, Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Raiders are already in talks with Emmitt Smith about playing for their teams. The Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, and Cleveland Browns are also wanting to talk with Emmitt, according to his agent, Werner Scott. The Cowboys are reportedly interested in talking with RB Stephen Davis and RB Tyrone Wheatley, who were both released by their respective teams earlier this week. The Cowboys also released FB Robert Thomas and WR Raghib Ismail earlier in the week.

Then on Saturday, the Cowboys made a couple more roster moves, one of which was a complete surprise. First, the Cowboys re-signed OL Flozell Adams to a 5-year, $25 million deal. Despite his sometimes inconsistent play, Bill Parcells made it clear from the start that he wanted Flozell Adams to remain a Cowboy. Then, in a surprise move, the Cowboys worked a trade with the Green Bay Packers to acquire WR Terry Glenn. What was so surprising about this move was that Glenn and Parcells did not get along when the two were with the New England Patriots. But Parcells said he felt that " . . . Glenn would be a perfect addition to Joey Galloway and we look for them to compliment each other nicely." The Cowboys gave a draft pick and has yet to be determined.

In other off-season actions around the NFL:

---The Washington Redskins traded with the St. Louis Rams on Friday to acquire RB Trung Candidate. In return for Candidate, the Redskins gave up a fourth-round draft pick in this years draft along with OG David Loverne. The Redskins also went out and bought themselves the best offensive line money can buy by signing former Jets OG Randy Thomas and 49'ers OG Dave Fiore. Thomas signed a 7-year, $28 million deal with a $7 million signing bonus. Dave Fiore's contract was not revealed. The Redskins also made moves to solidify their defense on Saturday, by signing former Cowboys DL Brandon Noble and Raider's DE Regan Upshaw. Noble's terms were not made available, but Upshaw was signed to a 5-year, $7.5 million deal with a $2 million signing bonus. On Wednesday, the Redskins signed veteran QB Rob Johnson to play back-up to Patrick Ramsey. They also signed Kicker John Hall. The Redskins are also reportedly in talks with former Dallas WR Rocket Ismail.

---The Buffalo Bills were able to sign the first player to go in free agency this year when they signed Linebacker Jeff Posey on Friday. Posey played for the Houston Texans this last year. Posey signed what is reported to be a 4-year deal, but the monetary amount was not disclosed. The Bills are bringing Posey in to try and help strengthen what was the 29th ranked defense in the NFL last year. Bills president Tom Donahoe assured reporters on Friday that more defensive players would be signed during the free agency period. The Bills are also in talks with the Atlanta Falcons on a proposed trade. Will fill you in on this further along in the article.

---The Seattle Seahawks were able to keep two of the top defensive players in the league from going to free agency on Friday by coming to terms with LB Anthony Simmons and DL Antonio Cochran. Simmons was signed to a 5-year, $23 million deal with a $8.5 million signing bonus. Cochran was signed to a 4-year, $10 million contract with a $3 million signing bonus.

---The San Diego Chargers went out and picked up Pro-Bowl Fullback Lorenzo Neal on Friday to help block for Charger RB LaDamian Tomlinson. Lorenzo Neal was signed to a 3-year, $4.5 million contract. Neal, 32, spent the last 2 years blocking for Corey Dillon with the Cincinnati Bengals. Marty Schottenheimer, Chargers Head Coach, was thrilled to sign Neal. "He is an unselfish, quality performer who goes about that job that often times goes unrecognized. He will be a great addition to our team." The Chargers have also signed WR David Boston to a 7-year contract. This will allow the Chargers to fill the gap that was left when WR Curtis Conway was released due to salary cap issues.

---The NY Giants made sure that they did not lose their biggest free agency victim by signing Offensive Tackle Luke Petitgout just 2 hours before the free agency deadline. Petitgout, 26, refused to discuss the financial terms of the deal, but it is reported to be an annual rate of about $5 million, with a signing bonus in the range of $9 to $10 million. "This is where I wanted to be," said Petitgout. "I wasn't about to leave here for a few more bucks somewhere else." In other Giants news, on Wednesday, the Giants released long time Giant CB Jason Sehorn. Do not look for other teams to actively chase after Sehorn, as he has been losing respect in the league over the last few years. Many players no longer respect his cover ability, with many players, including Tampa Bay DE Warren Sapp calling him " . . . the most overrated player in the NFL."

---The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to a trade with the Green Bay Packers on Friday afternoon. The Packers will acquire Cornerback Al Harris from the Eagles for a second-round draft pick in this years NFL draft. Harris played in a back-up role this last year behind All-Pro Cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor. This will help out the Packers, who were decimated in the cornerback position in the off-season by free agency. "He can come in and help us pretty quickly," said Packer's Head Coach Mike Sherman. "I needed to fix this position on the team immediately, and Harris allows me to do just that." In a coaching move, the Eagles have hired former Detroit Head Coach Marty Mornhinweg as "Senior Assistant Coach.'' He is to work with the offensive coaches.

---Earlier this week, the Denver Broncos gave permission to QB Brian Griese to discuss trade options with other NFL teams, basically guaranteeing Griese that he will not be the Bronco's starting QB next season. However, the Broncos are insisting on getting a first round draft choice for Griese, and that is making most teams back off. Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones and Head Coach Bill Parcells were very interested in bringing Griese to Dallas. But Jones refused to give up a first round draft pick. "If they (Denver) want to trade Brian (Griese), they are going to have to come down a little bit on what they are asking to get it done. I will not be giving up a first round draft pick." So stay tuned to see what happens to the much maligned Brian Griese. In related news, the Broncos signed veteran QB Jake "The Snake" Plummer to a 7-year contract. The monetary terms of the deal were not released, but this will allow the Broncos to easily replace Griese at the starting QB position.

---The New Orleans Saints signed free agent Left Tackle Wayne Gandy to a 6-year contract. Gandy played with the Pittsburg Steelers last year.

---The St. Louis Rams were able to re-sign Cornerback Aeneas Williams to a 2-year deal. Head Coach Mike Marsh was not willing to release details of the contract, but he was VERY happy to be able to re-sign Williams, whom the Rams had been forced to cut earlier in the year due to salary cap issues.

---The Carolina Panthers were able to agree with QB Rodney Peete on a 3-year $4 million extension. To further shore up their QB corps, the Panthers also signed Jake Delhomme to a 2-year $4 million deal. Delhomme had played for the New Orleans Saints for the last 2 years as back-up QB for the Saints.

---The Atlanta Falcons have reportedly agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Bills to send star WR Peerless Price to Atlanta in return for Atlanta's first round draft choice in the 2003 draft. This will finally give Atlanta a BIG NAME Wide Receiver for QB Michael Vick to throw to. Buffalo is excited over this trade, as they feel they have an excellent WR corp without Peerless Price, and they can use the draft pick to help shore up their defense.

That is about all that is going on around the NFL this week. Keep your eyes posted right here for more news and information concerning your teams and their off-season moves. I will be doing a weekly article so that everyone can stay up-to-date on what is going on with their teams and their favorite players. Also, keep your eyes on Outsports.com for complete NFL Draft 2003 Coverage.

Have a GREAT ONE!!!
David Williams

[ March 07, 2003, 04:15 PM: Message edited by: exfballplayer ]

The Patriots made a couple of very nice acquisitions to bolster their defense. Former Chargers safety Rodney Harrison and former Bears linebacker Rosevelt Colvin are the newest Pats.

Blake Replaces Jake the Snake!

The Arizona Cardinals signed Jeff Blake after losing Jake Plummer to free agency. The Cards also signed Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson.

Kordell Stewart signed with Chicago. If he plays to his potential, that's a big deal for the Bears. When's the last time they had a really good quarterback?

Joe: You are right on there about Cordell Stewart. Pittsburgh was too fickle with him to really give him a chance this last year. I think his play ability is much more than Pittsburgh took advantage off. And Lord knows Chicago needs a QB. They have a great running back there, and great potential at the WR slots, all they need is a QB to finish off that equation and you could see the offense finally taking a load off of the Bear defense this year.

As far as the Cardinals, they need to make ALOT of other pick ups beside a QB. They need to seriously take advantage of free agency and pick up some big names. I understand they were seriously pursuing Emmitt Smith, but Smith said that Arizona was not a real possibility cause he wanted to go someone where the ownership wanted to win, and would do what was necessary to put together a Super Bowl team. Emmitt said that Arizona did not have that in an owner, and it appears that he is right, as Phoenix has not spent much money in free agency over the last several years.

David
exfballplayer

The Jets have signed former Chargers WR Curtis Conway to replace Redskin-bound Laveranues Coles. Conway is pretty injury prone, isn't he? He's played a full schedule only 4 times. And in 10 seasons. he's only had 3 1000-yard seasons with only 2 seasons catching 70 or more passes. Not sure he's a great Jet get.

That's exactly what I think of when I hear the name Curtis Conway. INJURY PRONE! What were the Jets thinking?

There's an interesting dance going on between the Eagles, Packers and restricted free agent Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, according to a conversation I heard on the radio.

The Packers matched an offer sheet to keep Na'il Diggs, so they don't have much cap room to match an offer sheet to KGB. They want the Eagles to take him off their hands so they can get a first-round draft pick as compensation. If he doesn't sign an offer sheet he can leave as an unrestricted free agent after this season and there would be no compensation.

The Eagles don't want to pay that much for KGB, and they're not convinced he really wants to leave Green Bay. They don't want to overpay but they don't want to make an offer small enough that the Packers might change their minds and match it. So they haven't made any offer.

KGB wants a huge contract or he wants to be a free agent after the upcoming season, but he can't get either team to make a move.

Eagles wont overpay for KGB... they wont overpay for Douglas... Scared to see what they offer Dawk... KGB, ND and Burgess can get a pass rush going, but tell me who's going to pick up the run stopper role that douglas had???????? Hugh opened up alot of holes for barber to run up and make a play last year... If hollis thomas can come back 100% this year (MAYBE) What about Darwin Walker playing some DE?????

KGB is a great player -- but not worth a $14 million signing bonus. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of the cap, tenders, restricted / unrestricted free-agencies etc. -- but it looks like Sherman and the Pack are screwing up this off-season.

Glad to see them lock in Diggs though.

[ March 31, 2003, 09:50 AM: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

KGB re-signs with GB, Way to go Fat Man, get those free-agents in. Good thing you didnt overpay for that 31 yo DE that you had. Guess we will find out how well the "system" works that you've talked about...

The Giants have signed former Packers RB Dorsey Levens. Probably means the end of Heisman winner Ron Dayne's tenure in New York.

The Packers have lost another free agent-DE Vonnie Holliday has signed with the Chiefs. The Chiefs are really a team to watch this season. They just needed to tune up the defense a bit, IMO.

Junior Seau is now officially a Miami Dolphin. Seau goes to the Dolphins in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick in 2004 that could upgrade to a fifth-rounder depending on playing time, according to ESPN.com's John Clayton.