San Francisco 49ers general manager Bill Walsh faces a tough decision. With the third pick in the draft, Walsh knows Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown should be available and he needs to replace Charles Haley.

Equally desperate needs for a starting linebacker, cornerback and strong safety along with having only 18 defensive players on his current roster have forced Walsh to lean toward trading down in the first round to acquire more choices.

Walsh would like to make a trade in the next couple of weeks.

Dillon airs displeasure
Restricted free agent Corey Dillon used Carl Pickens' tactics Monday by phoning a Seattle radio station and calling the Bengals cheap and criticizing them for not firing coach Bruce Coslett.

Like Pickens, Dillon, who visited Kansas City Tuesday, says he wants out of Cincinnati. With the fourth pick in the draft and the chances of drafting either Virginia halfback Thomas Jones or Michigan State receiver Plaxico Burress, Bengals general manager Mike Brown may let one go for the right amount of draft choices.

St. Louis' line dancing
With close to $10 million a year tied up with tackle Orlando Pace and guards Adam Timmerman, Tom Nutten and Andy McCollum, the Super Bowl champion Rams had no choice but to say goodbye to tackle Fred Miller and center Mike Gruttadauria. And remember, they let tackle Wayne Gandy and guard Zach Wiegert go last year.

Keeping everyone would have cost $25 million a year, an amazing figure when you recall the Rams allowed 47 sacks and lost 12 games in 1998.

Browns bag big spending
After spending a league-high $76 million for a 2-14 opening season, the Browns refuse to overspend, which is why they said no to paying what it would have taken to get wide receiver Joey Galloway or Shawn Jefferson, defensive ends Tony Brackens or Simeon Rice and halfback James Stewart.

General manager Dwight Clark hopes a more gradual fix of adding halfback Errict Rhett, defensive end Orpheus Roye and safety Percy Ellsworth and some other economical moves will help improve the team.

Autry ready for football sequel
Darnell Autry, who retired from the NFL in 1998 to pursue what became a struggling acting career, has been reinstated to the Eagles' roster. For Autry, who spent most of his Hollywood time working at the House of Blues, gaining yardage on the football field turned out to be easier than running around to auditions.