New England Patriots: The second generation of Klecko family members in the NFL has officially begun.

ESPN.com has learned that nose tackle Dan Klecko, a fourth-round draft choice of the Patriots and the son of onetime New York Jets standout defensive tackle Joe Klecko, has signed his first professional contract. The former Temple star, who was the 117th player chosen overall in the 2003 draft, signed a four-year deal.

The contract includes a $320,000 signing bonus. The base salaries are $225,000 (2003), $305,000 (2004), $380,000 (2005) and $460,000 (2006). The contract also features an escalator that could increase the 2006 salary based on playing time.

Dan Klecko, 22, appeared in 40 games and started 36 of them at Temple, and he finished his college career with 206 tackles, 26 sacks, 70 quarterback pressures, three recovered fumbles and five forced fumbles. His best season came in 2002, when he had 68 tackles and 10 sacks, while earning all-Big East honors for a second time.

Although undersized for the nose tackle position by NFL standards, Klecko (5-feet-11 ½ and 283 pounds) plays with surprising power, has a big motor and good quickness. He has impressed Patriots coaches in offseason workouts and, with the team switching to a 3-4 defensive front in 2003, could see considerable playing time.

The Patriots have also signed the latter of their two fourth-round choices, cornerback Asante Samuel, ESPN.com has learned.

The former Central Florida standout signed a four-year contract with a signing bonus of $312,500 and the same base salaries as Klecko received. His contract also includes an escalator clause that could boost his 2006 base salary if he reaches some predetermined playing time levels.

Samuel played both safety and cornerback in college and is slated for the latter position with the Patriots. The 120th player chosen overall, Samuel had eight interceptions during his college career, and also can return punts and kickoffs.

New England has now reached contract terms with three of its 10 draft choices.

Detroit Lions: Continuing with the family theme, Lions rookie safety Terrence Holt, the younger brother of St. Louis Rams star wide receiver Torry Holt, has signed his first league deal, ESPN.com has confirmed through league sources.

The former North Carolina State standout was selected in the fifth round, the 137th player chosen overall, and he signed a three-year contract. The deal includes a $130,500 signing bonus and standard rookie minimum base salaries of $225,000 (2003), $305,000 (2004) and $380,000 (2005).

Holt, 23, is the second of the Lions' 11 draft choices to come to contract terms.

In four college seasons, he totaled 315 tackles, five interceptions, 20 passes defensed, five fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles. Holt also returned punts and is viewed as an excellent special teams performer.

Miami Dolphins: Dolphins defensive end David Bowens, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament of his right knee last week while changing a light bulb, underwent Wednesday surgery and remains guardedly optimistic he will return to the field for the second half of the season.

Under the best-case scenario, the four-year veteran will miss the first three months of the 2003 season, and will have to diligently rehabilitate his knee to get back for the latter part of the campaign. And even without ancillary cartilage damage, Bowens could be lost for the entire season, and force Miami coaches to alter their defensive line plans.

"But the doctors seem confident he'll play this year because it was a pretty 'clean' tear," agent Harold Lewis said. "Everybody feels the surgery was successful."

Bowens, 26, has never started a game in four league seasons. But in previous stints with Denver (1999), Green Bay (2000), Washington (2001), most recently the Dolphins, he has proven to be an excellent No. 3 or No. 4 end. The former Western Illinois standout is a good pass rusher, plays the run far tougher than most people thought he would when he entered the NFL, and is versatile enough to slide inside and play tackle on third-down.

He was an unrestricted free agent after the '02 season but, after receiving interest from a number of teams, opted to re-sign with the Dolphins for three more years. The contract is worth about $5 million and Bowens could have significantly augmented his compensation this year through incentives, an opportunity likely lost with the injury.

His loss means that veteran reserves Jay Williams and Rob Burnett, both starters earlier in their respective careers, will likely get increased playing time.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos have sued approximately 50 club-seat patrons for breach of contract because those patrons are allegedly in arrears on payments for premiums seats at Invesco Field. Team officials said that after some ticketholders failed to respond to recent efforts to collect the payments, they were left with little choice but to take legal action.

The tickets cost $1,750-$3,000 per seat each season.

Team attorney David Bailey said additional lawsuits could be filed if the team does not reach resolutions with ticketholders with whom it is currently negotiating. Bailey said that the unusually high number of patrons who failed to make payments on the luxury seats was likely a function of the poor economy.

"You probably had some account holders purchase club seats where it was an economic stretch for them to do that," Bailey said.

Chicago Bears: The Bears have signed a pair of draft choices, fourth-round safety Todd Johnson and seventh-round offensive guard Bryan Anderson, to multi-year contracts. Chicago has now signed four of its 12 choices in the 2003 draft.

The earlier of the team's two fourth-round picks, Johnson signed a four-year contract and the former University of Florida standout received a $425,000 signing bonus. His salaries are $225,000 (2003), $305,000 (2004), $380,000 (2005) and $460,000 (2006).

Jonhnson, 24, collected 284 tackles, nine interceptions and 15 passes defensed. He also had three blocked kicks.

Anderson, who played at the University of Pittsburgh, signed a three-year deal that had a signing bonus of $23,000 and the standard minimum base salaries. The next-to-last player chosen in the draft, Anderson started all but one game in four college seasons.