woodbuck27
04-20-2007, 03:10 PM
http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10138086
Dillon leaning further toward retirement
By Adam Schefter
Special to NFL.com
(April 19, 2007) -- Of all the options available to running back Corey Dillon, none is any more appealing right now than benching himself and retiring.
Those close to the 32-year-old Dillon say that, after an offseason of talking with the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills and without a worthwhile playing-paying situation materializing, the running back now is planning to retire.
Corey Dillon seems content with hanging up his cleats after 10 seasons in the league.
After 10 seasons with the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals, after 11,241 rushing yards that made him the league's leading active rusher last season, Dillon is happier running errands than the football.
He now spends his days in Malibu, Calif., shuttling his daughters to school, hitting the golf course, then returning to school to pick up his daughters. It is an arrangement that Dillon, already financially secure, has found more appealing than any that could be offered to him.
Of course, Dillon could change his mind, and has before this offseason. He initially planned to retire at the start of the offseason, decided to explore the opportunities that beckoned, but now is back to where he was in January, ready to call it a career.
A second-round pick out of the University of Washington in 1997, Dillon will be remembered as one of the game's more punishing runners, a player who once set the NFL single-game rushing record with 278 yards against the Denver Broncos.
In 2004, Dillon validated the faith the Patriots showed in him in 2004, when New England traded a second-round draft pick for him. Dillon helped the Patriots win one Super Bowl and helped them come within a few minutes of reaching another.
Dillon hinted at retirement shortly after New England's season ended in Indianapolis, and now, according to those who know him best, it sounds like he's following through on it.
.
SILVER-AND-BLACK DEALINGS
Jerry Porter wanted a trade last season, but it seems he's stuck in Oakland for another year.
However it works out, the Raiders still have some decisions to make at quarterback. But by the end of the draft, they should be wrapped up.
But Oakland could be far from through dealing.
Teams around the league have confirmed that Oakland is shopping its two high-profile receivers -- Randy Moss and Jerry Porter -- seeing what it can get in return.
Problem is, it's a buyer's market.
Neither player has much value around the league, plus Raiders owner Al Davis typically wants a ransom for his players. Just last year, he was asking for two first-round picks in return for Porter. But new coaching staffs like to start with their own players. Moss and Porter are leftovers from other regimes and darker times.
It would surprise nobody if neither receiver returns to Oakland this season, whether each is traded or even released.
Should the Raiders release Moss, they would get the greatest return he could bring:
Oakland would free up his $9.75 million base salary and save $7.75 million against its salary cap this season and another $9.25 million next season, space that could and would be used on other players.
Porter's contract voids after this season, so teams would be leery about trading for him.
If Oakland cut him now, the Raiders would lose $4 million in salary-cap space this season, so it looks like, for now, Porter is back in Oakland.
QUICK HITS
*An apparent fast riser at running back is Arizona's Chris Henry, who has spent the past three weeks, Monday through Friday, visiting with and meeting multiple teams. Henry's agents, Steve Feldman and Josh Luchs, said they never have had a client that has had a travel schedule as busy as Henry's. Henry could turn out to be a second-round pick.
*Jacksonville Jaguars restricted free agents Ernest Wilford and quarterback Quinn Gray are expected to sign their one-year, $1.3 million contract tenders by April 20, according to their agent, Drew Rosenhaus. But Rosenhaus said that his other Jaguars client, restricted free-agent defensive end Bobby McCrary, who received a first-round tender of $1.85 million, will not sign his tender. McCrary still has other options he wants to explore.
*Tennessee Titans restricted free-agent offensive lineman Jacob Bell will decline to sign his first-round tender of $1.85 million for now. Like McCrary, Bell believes he still has options available.
Dillon leaning further toward retirement
By Adam Schefter
Special to NFL.com
(April 19, 2007) -- Of all the options available to running back Corey Dillon, none is any more appealing right now than benching himself and retiring.
Those close to the 32-year-old Dillon say that, after an offseason of talking with the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills and without a worthwhile playing-paying situation materializing, the running back now is planning to retire.
Corey Dillon seems content with hanging up his cleats after 10 seasons in the league.
After 10 seasons with the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals, after 11,241 rushing yards that made him the league's leading active rusher last season, Dillon is happier running errands than the football.
He now spends his days in Malibu, Calif., shuttling his daughters to school, hitting the golf course, then returning to school to pick up his daughters. It is an arrangement that Dillon, already financially secure, has found more appealing than any that could be offered to him.
Of course, Dillon could change his mind, and has before this offseason. He initially planned to retire at the start of the offseason, decided to explore the opportunities that beckoned, but now is back to where he was in January, ready to call it a career.
A second-round pick out of the University of Washington in 1997, Dillon will be remembered as one of the game's more punishing runners, a player who once set the NFL single-game rushing record with 278 yards against the Denver Broncos.
In 2004, Dillon validated the faith the Patriots showed in him in 2004, when New England traded a second-round draft pick for him. Dillon helped the Patriots win one Super Bowl and helped them come within a few minutes of reaching another.
Dillon hinted at retirement shortly after New England's season ended in Indianapolis, and now, according to those who know him best, it sounds like he's following through on it.
.
SILVER-AND-BLACK DEALINGS
Jerry Porter wanted a trade last season, but it seems he's stuck in Oakland for another year.
However it works out, the Raiders still have some decisions to make at quarterback. But by the end of the draft, they should be wrapped up.
But Oakland could be far from through dealing.
Teams around the league have confirmed that Oakland is shopping its two high-profile receivers -- Randy Moss and Jerry Porter -- seeing what it can get in return.
Problem is, it's a buyer's market.
Neither player has much value around the league, plus Raiders owner Al Davis typically wants a ransom for his players. Just last year, he was asking for two first-round picks in return for Porter. But new coaching staffs like to start with their own players. Moss and Porter are leftovers from other regimes and darker times.
It would surprise nobody if neither receiver returns to Oakland this season, whether each is traded or even released.
Should the Raiders release Moss, they would get the greatest return he could bring:
Oakland would free up his $9.75 million base salary and save $7.75 million against its salary cap this season and another $9.25 million next season, space that could and would be used on other players.
Porter's contract voids after this season, so teams would be leery about trading for him.
If Oakland cut him now, the Raiders would lose $4 million in salary-cap space this season, so it looks like, for now, Porter is back in Oakland.
QUICK HITS
*An apparent fast riser at running back is Arizona's Chris Henry, who has spent the past three weeks, Monday through Friday, visiting with and meeting multiple teams. Henry's agents, Steve Feldman and Josh Luchs, said they never have had a client that has had a travel schedule as busy as Henry's. Henry could turn out to be a second-round pick.
*Jacksonville Jaguars restricted free agents Ernest Wilford and quarterback Quinn Gray are expected to sign their one-year, $1.3 million contract tenders by April 20, according to their agent, Drew Rosenhaus. But Rosenhaus said that his other Jaguars client, restricted free-agent defensive end Bobby McCrary, who received a first-round tender of $1.85 million, will not sign his tender. McCrary still has other options he wants to explore.
*Tennessee Titans restricted free-agent offensive lineman Jacob Bell will decline to sign his first-round tender of $1.85 million for now. Like McCrary, Bell believes he still has options available.