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It is now more than a week after unrestricted free
agent quarterback Jeff Blake had thought he would have a job set up for 2002 and beyond. And it could well be several more weeks until the
10-year NFL veteran finds a new home.
Things are going nowhere in talks with Washington and Buffalo, the two
publicly acknowledged suitors of Blake, and neither team is prepared to increase
the urgency of discussions. The Redskins, who with the one exception of
defensive end Renaldo Wynn seem to be trying to sign everyone to
minimum-salary deals, aren't offering anything close to what Blake is
seeking. And the Bills believe Blake might still be looking for a job
two or three weeks from now, and will spend that time before the draft
in earnest pursuit of a trade for New England backup quarterback
Drew Bledsoe.
|  | | Jeff Blake threw only one pass for the Saints in 2001. |
Conventional wisdom is that the Pats won't swap Bledsoe to a team
within their division, but they might not have a choice. Owner Bob Kraft is
terribly fond of Bledsoe and won't relegate him to Siberia. So with the
quarterback leaking word he won't go to Cincinnati, the Bengals appear to be
out of the running. The only other team in active negotiations for Bledsoe --
and the discussions have been more substantive than either team will concede -- is Buffalo, where general manager Tom Donahoe has slammed the brakes on
the Blake talks until he determines if he can do better.
Better in his mind is Bledsoe, who will not be back in New England for 2002.
Despite suggestions by Bill Belichick at the recent league meetings that the
Patriots might hold onto Bledsoe and Tom Brady, that isn't going to
happen. ESPN.com has learned Bledsoe will accompany the rest of the Patriots
when they visit the White House on Tuesday, but then is heading home and
has no plans to participate in the team's formal offseason conditioning
program.
Blake's agent, Ralph Cindrich, this week faxed the Bills a contract
proposal. It called for a two-tiered signing bonus, $1 million this year and
then $4.1 million in 2003, but Buffalo is hardly leaping to the phone to
respond. Blake overplayed his hand four weeks ago when
his contract demands nixed a trade that would have sent him from New Orleans
to Buffalo. Now in the free agent market, released by the Saints for salary-cap
reasons, he might not see the kind of money he would have realized had he
agreed to that trade, in which New Orleans would have received a sixth-round
draft choice.
So wither Blake for the 2002 season? Well, the bet here is that he lands
somewhere other than in Buffalo or Washington.
If he can wait until June 1, when Baltimore should be able to clear some
salary-cap space, the Ravens will have an interest. As much as coach Brian
Billick talks about elevating third-year veteran Chris Redman to the top of
the depth chart, he wouldn't mind having a veteran safety net on hand to
compete for the job, and Blake might be more viable in that role than
Randall Cunningham.
Know this, however, about Cindrich: He is rarely backed into a corner and is
said to have a suitor or two up his sleeve. They are teams that haven't been
publicly "outed" yet, until now, regarding their interest in Blake. As an
educated guess, make Carolina, where new coach John Fox isn't yet convinced
that Chris Weinke is the answer, one of them. Blake would certainly have the
chance to oust the second-year pro from the starter's role.
Even after signing Rob Johnson as a free agent, Tampa Bay still had interest
in Blake, and it sure seems coach Jon Gruden is going to make Brad Johnson
stave off a posse of contenders to remain the incumbent there. And don't rule
out Denver, where Gus Frerotte hasn't yet re-signed and the Broncos don't
yet have a veteran backup to Brian Griese, he of the balky throwing
shoulder. The bet here, though, is that Blake is in the Ravens' camp this
summer.
Around the league
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| Brunell |
Jags pass on any Brunell trade:You can relegate to the cylindrical receptacle all those silly rumors
that Jacksonville might trade quarterback Mark Brunell before the start of the season.
Even though the Jaguars are still battling salary-cap problems,
owner Wayne Weaver realizes that to deal Brunell would be to essentially
announce to the fans that the team was in full rebuilding mode, and that's
one concession to which he won't admit. The attendance at
Jaguars games fell off in 2001 and, with the city set to host the Super Bowl
in 2005, the last thing Weaver wants is for Jacksonville to be reduced to an
NFL ghost town. From a competitive standpoint, too, he needs Brunell.
The Jags don't figure to be very good, face at least a couple of seasons of
regrouping and need a veteran cornerstone at quarterback. The club
began its offseason conditioning program this week, and Brunell was on hand
and accepting, if grudgingly, the dramatic alterations necessitated by years
of salary-cap excesses and fiscal irresponsibility. He allowed that wideout
Keenan McCardell almost certainly will be released after June 1, put in a
plug for receiver Jimmy Smith to get a pay raise (which won't happen) and
insisted he is willing to restructure his contract again if it will help the
team. At the same time, he acknowledged that a restructuring would only
increase his cap value for 2003 and hamstring the team in its free-agent
efforts next spring. Bottom line, Brunell, while miffed about things such as the expansion-draft departure of offensive tackle and longtime colleague
Tony Boselli, is going to be the good soldier for 2002. He may not grin, but
he'll bear whatever comes his way this season and hope there are better
times ahead.
Steelers tackling linebacker position: The Pittsburgh Steelers last month secured one of their vaunted outside
pass rushers, strongside linebacker Jason Gildon, with a long-term contract.
The designated "franchise" linebacker landed a five-year, $23 million deal
that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the league at his
position. Now the team would like to ensure the continued presence of his
sidekick, Joey Porter, the weakside 'backer who had nine sacks in 2001.
Porter is a restricted free agent, and Pittsburgh made him the mid-level
qualifying offer, meaning a team would have to compensate the Steelers with
a first-round draft choice if it signed him. As good a player as he is,
Porter hasn't drawn any interest in the restricted market, largely because of
the compensation ramifications. But that doesn't mean Porter won't make a
lot of money this spring. The Steelers plan to commence negotiations with
his agent, Mike Sullivan of Octagon, next week. The aim is a long-term
contract, likely in the range of that signed by Gildon, and such a deal is a
real possibility. An increasing possibility as well is the retention of
restricted free agent inside linebacker Earl Holmes. As indicated in this
space last week, Holmes has been victimized by a sluggish market, and
recently phoned coach Bill Cowher to see if there is any way the team can
accommodate his return. The bet is that the Steelers re-sign Holmes to a
very palatable contract, thus keeping the league's best defense intact for
another season. And if a deal with Holmes doesn't materialize, the guy
topping Pittsburgh's wish list is New York Jets free agent James Farrior,
the team's leading tackler in 2001. There is also a chance Farrior, who has
played most of his career on the weak side, will sign with the Cleveland
Browns and move to middle linebacker.
Peppers to Panthers? How closely are the Carolina Panthers scrutinizing their likely first-round
draft choice, North Carolina defensive end Julius Peppers? Well, for Peppers' on-campus workout for NFL scouts
Tuesday morning, Panthers personnel director Jack Bushofsky arrived in
Chapel Hill nearly an hour before the audition. By 40 minutes before the
workout, he had already claimed the front spot at the finish line of the
40-yard dash. Since there typically is a crowd at the finish line, all
jostling for position, Bushofsky wanted to make sure he was situated in the
cat bird's seat. Like everyone else, Bushofsky timed Peppers in the mid- to
high-4.7s. It was not, virtually every scout in attendance agreed, a stellar
workout. One general manager told ESPN.com that Peppers slipped at the start
of nearly every drill, and blamed it on his shoes and the surface, even
though no other prospect was experiencing such problems. The fairly mundane
workout aside, the Panthers will still take Peppers with the second overall
choice on April 20, unless someone absolutely knocks their socks off with a
trade-up proposal. And just to put this rumor to rest: Sources close to
Peppers deny he has told Carolina officials that he would prefer they not
choose him because he doesn't want the pressure inherent to being a local
hero and a guy viewed as the franchise's savior. "A blatant lie," said one
source. "Julius has never told the Panthers anything like that. Not at all."
More time for Pennington: Last week, we noted that Jets coach Herm Edwards will build into his 2002
game plans at least one series every contest for Chad Pennington, in hopes
of determining if the third-year passer is the franchise's quarterback of
the future. Now with the news this week that Vinny Testaverde has undergone
surgery to remove a benign tumor from his foot, Pennington's importance
becomes even more significant. The doctors seem in concert on the fact
Testaverde will be recovered in time for training camp. But, let's face it,
Testaverde is 38 years old, and a month on crutches is hardly what he had in
mind for his offseason. If there is a positive to the Testaverde surgery, it
is that Pennington must now step up in mini-camps, and will get the chance
to take the front seat in quarterback meetings with coordinator Paul Hackett
and senior assistant Jimmy Raye. Basically, the learning curve has been
further accelerated for the former Marshall star, and that is hardly a bad thing for him or for the team. He is going to get a lot more
exposure now this spring, helping New York officials determine
his long-term value to them.
Draft talk: Unlike the NBA, which invites 15-20 prospects to its draft, and then allows
the television cameras to document the personal anguish as some of them slip
low into the first round, league officials are typically judicious about the
players they bring to New York for the lottery. Rarely do any of the players
in attendance fall out of the top 10. One exception came last year when
offensive tackle Kenyatta Walker nearly wept on camera as teams kept passing
on him, and his free-fall didn't stop until the Tampa Bay Bucs traded up in
the first round to grab him with the 14th overall selection. This year, six
prospects -- quarterbacks David Carr (Fresno State) and Joey Harrington
(Oregon), offensive tackles Bryant McKinnie (Miami) and Mike Williams
(Texas), defensive end Peppers and cornerback Quentin Jammer (Texas) -- have been invited
to Manhattan for the draft. There is, however, one wild card among the
bunch. No one can yet peg where Harrington stands right now. Everyone knows
he should be chosen in the top 10, but there is no real guarantee, and it's
still possible he could fall all the way to the Washington Redskins at No.
18.
'Skins in the running for Levens: Speaking of the Redskins, they are quietly courting free-agent tailback
Dorsey Levens, late of the Green Bay Packers, as the backup to Stephen
Davis. At least to this point Ki-Jana Carter, who served as Davis' caddy in
2001, is balking at the minimum-range deal Washington is offering. The 'Skins
won't wait forever on Carter, and Levens is interested provided
the Redskins include incentive clauses (specifically for receptions)
that allow him to boost compensation. Levens is an accomplished receiver and
is solid in blitz pick-up situations, the perfect third-down back in most
situations. Problem is, the Washington offense under Steve Spurrier isn't
truthfully most situations, since backs are rarely utilized as receivers,
even on third down. So Levens and agent Hadley Engelhard might be able to
negotiate reception-based incentives into a deal with the Redskins, but the
tailback still might not come close to cashing in on them. By the way, the
value of that three-year, $4.3 million deal that wide receiver Jacquez Green
signed with Washington is more pumped up than a wrestler on steroids. Green
received a signing bonus of $225,000, and the base salaries for 2002 and 2003
are just $525,000 and $550,000, respectively. To make the deal look good, a
third season at a whopping base salary of $3 million was added. The
contract would be voided, though, and allow Green to go back into free agency next
spring, if he were to simply register 40 catches this season.
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| Dunn |
Dunn deal: Any way you cut it, the Atlanta Falcons overpaid for free agent tailback
Warrick Dunn. But at least the deal looks a little bit more palatable now
that ESPN.com has obtained a breakdown of the six-year, $28.85 million
contract. The contract is worth $12 million over the first three years, and
then annual roster bonuses of $1 million or more will probably dictate it be
restructured after that, when Dunn will be 30 years old. As previously
reported, the signing bonus is $6.5 million and the base salaries are
$600,000 (2002), $2 million (2003), $2.4 million (2004), $3 million (2005),
$3.5 million (2006) and $4 million (2007). There are March roster bonuses of
$500,000 for 2004, then $1 million each for '05 and '06, and $2.35 million
for '07. In essence, the 2007 season is an option year, and Atlanta must
pay Dunn a bonus of $2 million after 2006 to exercise the option.
Number crunching: While on the subject of contracts for free-agent running backs, it's
notable the five-year deal that brought Antowain Smith back to the New
England Patriots isn't worth anything close to the $21 million that was
reported. Even if one assumes Smith plays all five years of the contract
and earns the $9.51 million due him in the final two seasons, the contract
still totals $17.53 million. In truth, it is structured as a three-year
contract, totaling $8.02 million. The signing bonus is $3 million and
Smith's base salaries for the first three seasons are $900,000 (2002), $1.4
million (2003) and $2.4 million (2004). There are offseason workout bonuses
of $105,600 in each year. Even the three-year total isn't bad for a guy who
was out of work for several weeks last summer and who came back to rush for
1,157 yards. But the $21 million figure that was floated earlier this month
when Smith re-signed was grossly inflated.
Falcons drafting a plan: Once the esteemed Ron Wolf rejected his offer, one could hardly blame new
Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank for backing off on his general manager
search, since no one he hired would have had an impact on the 2002 draft
anyway. Now the pressure shifts to the current staff, which has worked hard
to convince Blank it can do the job in the draft, coming off a strong
showing in the 2001 lottery. If personnel chief Ron Hill and his lieutenants
do well, it might not be enough to keep Blank from eventually hiring a
general manager, but could allow him to once again alter the job description
and skew the position more to the corporate side. Kudos, too, to Tim Ruskell
of Tampa Bay, who officially withdrew from consideration for the Falcons
job. Ruskell subjected himself to nearly 25 hours of interviews, jumped
through every hoop Blank put in front of him, but retained his dignity by
pulling out. If the Falcons want to talk to him once Blank resumes his
search for a general manager, they will have to start from square one by
obtaining permission from the Bucs again. At least Ruskell fared better than
Buffalo director of football operations Tom Modrak, another onetime
candidate for the position. Blank arrived a half-hour late for that
interview and, ever since the audition, Modrak hasn't so much as received an
e-mail indicating his status. Modrak can take a hint as well as anyone, but
to have zero contact even as Blank was insisting publicly he was still a
candidate, defines the lack of direction the search always had.
Drafting a quaterback: The consensus now is that former Tulane star Patrick Ramsey is the No. 3
quarterback prospect in the draft, following Carr and Harrington, who figure
to be selected in the first round. After that, as has been the case in
recent years, beauty is definitely in he eye of the beholder. One team will
fall in love with a quarterback no one else likes and take him in the middle
rounds. But one player who is climbing up draft boards and might be a
first-day selection is Greg Zolman of Vanderbilt. A durable player who hung
tough despite a very suspect supporting cast in college, Zolman is on the
rise in more ways than one. At his campus workout this week, attended by
representatives from 20 teams, Zolman was actually a half-inch taller
(6-feet-2¼) than at the combine earlier this month. And the 3½-year
starter threw the ball with solid velocity and improved accuracy. Because he
is left-handed and is built somewhat like Mark Brunell, he has been compared
by some to the Jacksonville Jaguars star, and might now be a first-day
selection. At least one team to whom ESPN.com spoke has Zolman rated as a
late second- or early third-round pick. Not everyone has him that high, but
things are so subjective at the quarterback position, it only takes one team
to really get hot on a prospect. Zolman threw for more than 2,000 yards in each
of his last three seasons. One concern is that Zolman threw more
interceptions (46) than touchdown passes (41) at Vandy.
Shepherd should help: Solid move by Houston general manager Charley Casserly on Thursday night in
trading for St. Louis cornerback Jacoby Shepherd. The only question about
the deal is why Casserly simply didn't snatch Shepherd in the expansion
draft. The Texans will send the Rams a seventh-round pick in the 2003 draft
if Shepherd makes their 53-man roster this season, and the bet is that he
will. A second-round choice in the 2000 draft, Shepherd played in 14 games
and started one as a rookie. But he fell into Mike Martz's doghouse at
mid-season in 2001, was nearly released and finished the season on injured
reserve with a strained groin. If he matures, however, and starts to show up
for meetings on time, Shepherd can be a player. He has prototype cornerback
size (6-1, 200 pounds) for the way the game is played now, good speed,
and notable toughness. As has been the case for the past couple of years, there
aren't many big corners in the draft, and getting Shepherd for a
seventh-round pick could be a bargain.
Punts: San Francisco officials have all but decided either Ron Stone (New
York Giants) or Chris Naeole (New Orleans) will be the free agent
replacement for left guard Ray Brown, who will be released after June 1. But
the 49ers haven't yet made what either player considers a solid offer and
won't jump at any low-ball proposals. ... There are still a couple of teams
thinking about signing Denver tailback Olandis Gary to a restricted free
agent offer sheet. The compensation for signing Gary is a fourth-round
choice, and the Broncos might grab that instead of matching an offer sheet to the three-year veteran. ... The locals in New England keep writing
about the three-year, $4.5 million contract that "franchise" kicker Adam
Vinatieri signed earlier this month. The real numbers on the three-year deal
are $5.39 million. But the great part about the contract is that, with the
exception of annual workout bonuses of $5,600, everything else is
guaranteed. ... Tampa Bay got its tailback of the present this week by
signing former Arizona Cardinals starter Michael Pittman. The tailback of
the future for the Bucs could be Travis Stephens of Tennessee, a likely
second-round pick to whom Tampa Bay scouts have been paying plenty of
attention in recent weeks. ... Bet the house that Miami tight end Jeremy
Shockey is selected between pick Nos. 13-18 in the first round. Colorado
tight end Daniel Graham is a stud, too, but Shockey is incredibly fluid, and
the Saints and Giants are possibilities for him. ... The Dolphins are
looking at former Minnesota punter Mitch Berger in case incumbent Matt Turk
signs elsewhere as a free agent. ... Oakland may actually be able to get
starting defensive tackle Grady Jackson back in free agency with just a
modest offer. Jackson isn't getting much play anywhere else, largely as a
result of his weight and shoulder injuries.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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