There was a slight chance that he was going to the Raiders, that's what all the raidernews links were pointing to after Daunte and Kitna were signed. Well, now I strongly suspect that they're going to start Andrew Walter from ASU, our 3rd string qb last season.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Lions ink free agent QB McCown
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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
In a move that likely augurs the imminent departure of starting quarterback Joey Harrington after four disappointing seasons, ESPN.com has learned that the Detroit Lions on Thursday signed unrestricted free agent Josh McCown, who had played his entire career with the Arizona Cardinals.
McCown, 26, signed a two-year contract worth $6 million, a deal that will pay him $4 million in 2006 between his signing bonus and base salary. The addition of McCown comes just two days after Detroit signed former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna to a four-year, $11.5 million contract that has a signing bonus of $3.5 million.
League sources said that the acquisitions of Kitna and McCown will result in the release or trade of Harrington, who was the third overall player selected in the 2002 draft. Harrington is due a roster bonus of $4 million on June 15 and is scheduled to have a 2006 base salary of $4.5 million.
Releasing or trading Harrington, who has compiled an 18-37 record as a starter, will save the Lions about $5.4 million in 2006 cap space.
First-year head coach Rod Marinelli and offensive coordinator Mike Martz both suggested in recent days that they viewed Harrington as the starter. The public support aside, team and league sources acknowledged that the new coaching staff did not regard Harrington as much as they claimed and that the Lions were actively seeking out alternatives.
The plan now is to allow Kitna and McCown to compete for the starting job.
In McCown, whose résumé includes 22 starts, Martz is getting a young, talented quarterback that he might be able to mold in much the same manner he did past protégés like Trent Green, Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger. McCown has appeared in 33 games and completed 498 of 862 passes for 5,431 yards, with 25 touchdown passes, 29 interceptions and a 72.1 efficiency rating.
The strategy of McCown's agent, Mike McCartney, was to sign his client to a short-term deal and with a team where he could legitimately compete for the starting job, and then get back to the bargaining table for a bigger contract. The plan is the same blueprint McCartney and his associates at Priority Sports used with Jake Delhomme three years ago.
"Josh is ecstatic. We were looking for a spot where he could compete for a job," McCartney said. "The word is that the best man wins. He's excited. It's the right offense for him."
The Lions invested a lot of time and money in Harrington, a former Oregon star, but apparently have decided that, with a new coaching staff, his shelf-life in Detroit has expired. Harrington, 26, started in 55 of 58 appearances and completed 986 of 1,802 passes for 10,242 yards, with 60 touchdown passes, 62 interception and a 68.1 passer rating.
It's lookin like TO was signed by Dallas...I guess we'll know on Monday
Quote:
Originally Posted by Profootballtalk.com
DENIALS OF T.O. SIGNING ARE BOGUS?
Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports that receiver Terrell Owens indeed has a deal in place with the Dallas Cowboys, even as agent Drew Rosenhaus denies that any arrangement with the Cowboys is in place.
Glazer reports that it's a three-year deal. If so, that tells us that T.O. didn't get a signing bonus in excess of $15 million. Otherwise, the contract undoubtedly would have had a longer term, if for no reason other than to reduce the cap charge in 2006.
The broader questions are these. First, if no deal is in place, why are there multiple reports to the contrary? Second, if a contract has been reached, why wouldn't the Cowboys announce it now -- and why would Rosenhaus deny its existence?
Here's our interpretation.
There is a deal in place, and Rosenhaus is saying that there isn't because he agreed to allow the Cowboys to announce the deal on Monday. So when asked about reports of a deal, what else can he say?
But why would the Cowboys wait until Monday to announce the deal? On the surface, the answer is easy -- owner Jerry Jones is on vacation and he wants to be the one who gets in front of the media and crows about the team's biggest free agent signing in a decade (see Deion Sanders).
And let's take this a level deeper. Owens was released on Tuesday. Could it be that the Cowboys and Rosenhaus worked out the contract before Tuesday -- and that both sides thereafter decided to defer announcing it for a week after the official termination of his contract?
Owens had permission to seek a trade before his release, which would have included working out a contract with a new team and then working out compensation with the Eagles. But Owens didn't have permission to strike a deal with a new team and then sit back and wait to be released.
If that happened, it would explain the information that we caught wind of on Tuesday night regarding Owens' supposed plan to wait as long as it takes for the deal that he wants. It's possible that this was all part of the ruse and that, in reality, he didn't have to wait at all, because the deal with the Cowboys already was in the bag.
Here's one thing of which we're relatively certain. The Eagles are paying close attention to this one, and there will be plenty of discussions among the upper reaches of the organization regarding whether to pursue tampering charges against the Cowboys.
Bwwaaaahhhaaaaahhhaaaaaa!!!! Stupid Iggles. They are gonna be so bent that I wouldn't be surprised if they did try to accuse (sp?) the Cowboys of tampering.
Oakland Raiders
An open letter to Mr. Al Davis from his faithful fans By Anthony Carroll
03/17/06
It’s nearly impossible to speak for the entirety of the Raider Nation, but at this point in the offseason Al Davis has made it fairly easy to do so. Oakland has been virtually silent in free agency and the speculation of a Kerry Collins reunion is becoming more and more likely—naturally fans aren’t pleased. With this in mind, I’ll attempt to speak the mind of every Oakland Raiders fan out there—or at least the majority. Although, unlike the bulk of fans, I’ll refrain from the use of profanity.
Dear Mr. Al Davis,
Where have you been? The Raider train seemed right on track when Kerry Collins was released. Kicking Ted Washington, Denard Walker, and Ron Stone to the curb was also another defendable way to save $8.8 million. Once again, you proved your mastery of the NFL salary cap by quickly releasing these four unworthy veterans. Declining one more season to unproductive safety Derrick Gibson and over-the-hill cornerback Charles Woodson was also highly warranted. In all, you made a $23.6 million bottomless cap hole look like a mere dent in the sidewalk.
But since then, the train has seemingly stopped rolling. In fact, it seems completely derailed. We had thought a giant, Daunte Culpepper, was coming aboard. But he wanted to join the Dolphins and the Dolphins wanted him to join even more. No big deal though, McCown would have been just as good—maybe better. But he left the Bay Area with no offers; and when the Lions baited $6 million in front of him, he bit. So where does that leave us? Jon Kitna is in Detroit with McCown and Drew Brees is in New Orleans. And please, please no Jeff George—even as a triple backup.
Can we have Rich Gannon back? He’s not a very good broadcaster.
For about 24 hours, Toniu Fonoti seemed like a good pickup. But all 350 pounds of him failed the ever-important physical. So now what’s left? Signing the brother of Zack Crockett, Henri, is a great story to tell, but can’t we already tell that story using the Tuiasosopo brothers? All the studs like LaVar Arrington, John Abraham, and Lawyer Milloy aren’t even being discussed in Oakland. Rob Ryan is certainly a great defensive coach, but you can only ask so much of him and his young crew. Why not bring another on-field coach to the defense?
In 2005, you traded for wide receiver Randy Moss on the first day of free agency and signed running back LaMont Jordan on day two. Why such a drop-off this offseason?
And what are these talks of Kerry Collins coming back to Oakland? The pinnacle of this uneventful offseason was when he hit the road. Last time I checked the mottos "Commitment to Excellence" and "Just Win Baby" still apply to the Oakland Raiders, but with a 7-21 record in Oakland, Collins has been far from "excellent" and surely did not "just win." The only positive coming from keeping Kerry Collins in a Raiders uniform is that we can easily refer to him as "KFC"—and you have been around long enough to decode exactly what the "F" stands for.
Season tickets went on sale to the general public on Thursday. And if Collins is back with the Raiders for 2006, you better hire some extra employees to dish out refunds. And we’d better get refunds, or you will see first-hand what it means to be a part of the Black Hole.
We love you Mr. Davis. You are the face of this tremendous longstanding franchise. But we are bored and tired of losing. It’s time to cause some commotion this offseason.
I feel his pain. I was looking forward to either Daunte or McCown and those were snatched up. The QB and the O-line are so instrumental for 2006 that something drastic has to be done.
The letter did not mention the hiring of Art Shell, and I think Davis made a good decision for doing that. Things in Raider camp always happen stealthfully and are very well calculated. I remembered when they signed Warren Sapp. That was a surprise. I expect something like that to happen.
But I'm okay with starting Andrew Walter. The kid is good, has a good arm and can play. If it's a rebuilding year, it's a rebuilding year, but it's time to see what we drafted.
