Pasquarelli:NFL Rumor Mill,(Packers enamored by Vince Young)
This weekend's mandatory mini-camp in New Orleans could be critical, not just to rookie head coach Sean Payton and a Saints team trying to recover from the disastrous 2005 campaign, but also to the landscape of the early portion of this month's NFL draft.
New Orleans dealt starting left offensive tackle Wayne Gandy to Atlanta on Thursday, in part because the Saints' brass felt the 12-year veteran had become too pricey with a $4 million base salary for this year, but also because Payton and offensive coordinator Doug Marrone wanted the chance to see how second-year pro Jammal Brown would react to a crucial position change.
Brown started in 13 games at right tackle for the Saints last season.
The team's first-round choice in 2005, and a 13-game starter at right tackle as a rookie, Brown was quietly one of the NFL's top first-year players last season. But now the former Oklahoma standout will be asked to move to the left side, and to become the primary pass-protection bodyguard for quarterback Drew Brees, who is still recovering from shoulder surgery and scheduled to be just a spectator this weekend.
By making the Gandy trade when they did, the Saints essentially provided themselves five practice sessions this weekend to evaluate Brown at left tackle. That's five practice sessions well in advance of the draft, where the Saints, if Brown falters, still have the option of using the second overall pick in the first round to snatch University of Virginia left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, if necessary.
Ferguson, of course, is the top-rated tackle in the lottery. Pairing him with Brown would provide the Saints a terrific young tackle tandem for many years. New Orleans has so many shortcomings to address, though, that choosing Ferguson might be a luxury the Saints really can't afford. On the other hand, if Brown isn't up to the task, and this weekend will provide an early evaluation, then the Saints might have to take a hard look at Ferguson, especially given the need to protect Brees.
Other franchises in the top 10 of the draft, several of whom covet Ferguson, will be keeping a keen eye on the reports coming out of the Saints' mini-camp this weekend. They will pay strict attention to any news that hints at how Brown performed at left tackle.
It wasn't all that long ago that New Orleans could claim a wealth of depth on the offensive line. As much as any team in the league, the Saints did a superb job of stockpiling young blockers, and for years were one of the deepest franchises in the NFL on the offensive line. But the Saints lost star center LeCharles Bentley to Cleveland as an unrestricted free agent, released starting left guard Kendyl Jacox and then dealt Gandy to the Falcons, a rare trade involving division rivals.
There's a lot to rebuild in New Orleans, obviously, off the field. On it, the Saints need to remake much of their offensive line, and the first step comes this weekend.
Around the league
• It won't be all that surprising, no matter what Brett Favre decides about his future, if the Green Bay Packers consider choosing University of Texas quarterback Vince Young with the No. 5 slot in the first round. Assuming, of course, that Young still is available there. Some in the league insist that the Packers' brass is becoming increasingly captivated by Young's unique skills set. So much so that, while the Packers have a lot of holes to fill, they might find it difficult to pass on a player of Young's stature, even if there is some redundancy involved in taking him. Green Bay invested its first-round pick in 2005, of course, on quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the conventional wisdom is that he is the starter of the future. But there is a belief in some quarters that the former University of California star isn't necessarily viewed as the heir apparent to Favre's job by everyone in the Green Bay organization. First-year head coach Mike McCarthy was the offensive coordinator in San Francisco last season, and worked with 49ers top pick Alex Smith, so he is eminently familiar with having to wean a quarterback away from the shotgun as his primary formation and convert him to playing behind center. That's the task, or at least part of it, which awaits any team that chooses Young.
Young
As noted here last week, if Young slides out of the top five, its hard to envision Oakland not stopping his plummet with the seventh overall selection. And Arizona would jump on him with the No. 10 slot if he dropped to them. Keep an eye on Tennessee, too, with the No. 3 overall pick. It's not a slam dunk, even with the presence of offensive coordinator Norm Chow on the staff, that the Titans would take Matt Leinart of Southern California over Young as their long-term quarterback of the future.
• During their Thursday visit with USC tailback and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush, the Houston Texans did not initiate contract negotiations, but that next critical step in the wooing of the player who will be the top overall choice in the draft probably is imminent. Agent Joel Segal and Bush's marketing expert, Mike Ornstein, huddled on Thursday with Texans contract negotiator Dan Ferens. And that get-acquainted session figures to soon grow into full-blown negotiations. Like any team with the top choice, the Texans prefer to have a deal in place with Bush before the draft begins. For his part, Segal has been scouring the contracts signed by the last several No. 1 overall selections and developing a framework for his client's financial expectations. "It would be great to have the contract done before the draft," Segal acknowledged. "That's the ultimate."
• Don't buy into the rhetoric that the other half of USC's star-studded tailback tandem, LenDale White, will slide all the way through the first round because of serious questions about his work ethic, conditioning and lingering hamstring problem. The leading touchdown-maker in Trojans history did not endear himself to scouts last Sunday, when he barely registered a pulse at the school's pro day audition. And, yes, White is going to have to make an attempt to log a 40-yard time, and soon, before any team is inclined to invest millions of dollars in him. The conundrum for White is that, if he tries to run before his hamstring is healed, and pops it again, he won't have time to recover and get in a 40 for scouts before the draft. Still, if you watch White on tape, he is a heck of a player, the only real high-round power back in this year's tailback talent pool. And while there are a lot of flies buzzing around him right now, there are still enough teams that covet him (Denver with the 22nd pick and Carolina at No. 27), that he'll find a safety net in the second half of the first round.
• So much for those guesstimates this week by some of the parties involved that the trade of Detroit Lions quarterback Joey Harrington was imminent. As with any deal that demands two-pronged compensation -- reaching a contract accord with the player and also agreeing to satisfactory payment with the franchise that is trading him -- things have gotten complicated. There probably has been enough negotiating that agent David Dunn can strike a deal with either the Miami Dolphins (on a two-year contract) or with the Cincinnati Bengals (one year) at any time. But the Lions, who originally were reported to be seeking just a sixth-round choice in return for Harrington, the third prospect selected overall in the 2002 draft, actually are looking for more. Detroit is said to want a pair of middle-round choices, preferably fourth- and fifth-rounders for Harrington, and isn't inclined to make a quick trade until it determines if there are other suitors beyond the Dolphins and Bengals out there.
Harrington
As noted here last week, the Lions have no urgency to make a move, since Harrington isn't due a $4 million roster bonus until June 15, and Detroit simply can hold onto him. There are suspicions, though, that the Lions prefer Harrington depart before the draft. And if that is true, the clock is ticking, but not yet very loudly. You can't blame the Lions for wanting to squeeze the most they can out of any team seeking Harrington, especially since Detroit made a significant investment (about $20 million and countless hours of tutoring) in the four-year veteran. Meanwhile, the Dolphins, who are growing increasingly impatient with the pace of the Harrington negotiations, suddenly have turned their attentions to free agent Jamie Martin as a potential fallback. That's ironic, because the Bengals have been talking with Martin's agent, Tom Mills, as well. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis vowed at the start of free agency to have a new backup quarterback in the first week of the signing period. A month in, Cincinnati still hasn't filled the vacancy created when Jon Kitna departed as a free agent. That could mean the club is encouraged by the progress that starter Carson Palmer has demonstrated to this point in his rehabilitation from January knee surgery. It might also mean, quite simply, the Bengals haven't found anyone they like very much for the No. 2 role. There is some feeling now that Cincinnati will just go with backups Doug Johnson and Craig Krenzel for the time being, and then re-evaluate the depth chart either during or after the draft later this month.
• It didn't get much media play this week but, when the Lions added versatile free agent Mike Furrey, formerly of the St. Louis Rams, it offered the latest indication that the trio of first-round wide receivers in Motown might not be together much longer. There have been rumblings about the work ethic (or lack thereof) of Charles Rogers, Roy Williams and Mike Williams, and how it might stall the progress new offensive coordinator Mike Martz is trying to make during the Lions' offseason program. Last month, Detroit added unrestricted free agent wide receiver Corey Bradford of Houston and now Furrey, who played wide receiver for Martz in St. Louis before moving to free safety in 2005, has come aboard.
A former Arena Football League standout, Furrey is a hard worker, knows the Martz design, and will move back to wide receiver with the Lions now. Martz isn't exactly known for his patience and it won't take long for him to become frustrated if the big-name wide receivers in Detroit lag behind the learning curve. Also, first-year head coach Rod Marinelli has made it clear he won't reconcile laggards. Lions team president Matt Millen already has swallowed hard by putting Harrington on the trading block. It might not be long before one or more of the team's former first-round wide receivers, all of them brought in to play in the West Coast style offense of deposed coach Steve Mariucci, are out the door, too.
• Good move this week by Buffalo general manager Marv Levy, debunking rumors that emanated from the recent league meetings that the Bills are shopping former first-round quarterback J.P. Losman in trade talks. First off, the rumors aren't true, according to several personnel directors asked if they had heard anything about a Losman trade. Second, the former Tulane star, for all his outward bravado, is a kid who needs to have his confidence boosted, not torn down, at this early juncture of his career. Said Levy: "We have made no overtures to anyone. No one has approached us and, even if they did, we have a high regard for J.P. He's a young quarterback who has put in his learning time … There are many things about him that we like." Losman will compete in camp with Kelly Holcomb and Craig Nall for the starting job. He certainly has the most obvious physical talent of the trio, but needs to display maturity on and off the field and better decision-making skills.
Eric Warfield
Cornerback
New England Patriots
Profile
2005 SEASON STATISTICS
Tot Ast Solo FF Sack Int
57 53 4 0 0 1
• Nice move, too, this week by the New England Patriots, in signing unrestricted free agent cornerback Eric Warfield, who played with the Kansas City Chiefs the first eight years of his NFL career. Warfield has had more than his share of off-field problems the last few seasons, notably a string of DUIs, and so there is some risk involved in taking him. But the Pats signed him to a two-year contract that had no signing bonus and just minimum base salaries, so their financial exposure is zero. It wasn't all that long ago that Warfield, who turned 30 last month, was a top-shelf cover guy. If he can walk the straight and narrow, he might be a terrific veteran addition to a cornerbacks corps that is very young and features kids such as Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs and Randall Gay. New England didn't get much out of the last few veteran cornerbacks it imported, guys like Tyrone Poole and Duane Starks, but Warfield has a solid résumé as a player and could be a steal.
• The deadline for signing restricted free agents to offer sheets is April 21 and there are still some candidates, including Cincinnati three-year veteran fullback Jeremi Johnson, who are being pursued. The Bengals are trying to sign Johnson, a powerful 265-pound lead blocker who has cleared the way for star tailback Rudi Johnson to average 1,289.7 rushing yards over the past three seasons, to a long-term contract rather than just one one-year restricted free agent qualifying offer. But the San Francisco 49ers, who let longtime starting fullback Fred Beasley depart in free agency, have made overtures to Jeremi Johnson as well. A fourth-round choice in the 2005 draft, the former Western Kentucky standout is a prototype of how the fullback position is defined by most teams now. He has just 69 "touches" in three seasons, including only 26 rushes in 48 appearances, but is a selfless performer. While he might not seem as big a key to the potent Cincinnati offense as the stars who share his surname, Rudi Johnson and wideout Chad Johnson, the young fullback is a key component. To date, four restricted free agents have switched teams this spring, the latest being offensive tackle Torrin Tucker, who went from Dallas to Tampa Bay on Thursday night when the Cowboys chose not to match the two-year, $2.6 million offer sheet he signed with the Bucs.
• While there were some skeptics, mostly because of the propensity of the agent involved to exaggerate contract numbers even when they don't need to be inflated, it turns out that the contract defensive end John Abraham signed with the Atlanta Falcons is precisely as advertised. Six years for $45 million. Granted, the base salaries jump so dramatically after the first two seasons that the Falcons likely will have to restructure the contract at that juncture, but that is easily enough accomplished. The most impressive element of the contract for Abraham, acquired from the New York Jets in a three-team trade that also involved the Denver Broncos, is that the six-year veteran will bank a monstrous $15.5 million this season and $19.5 million in the first two years. Even for a proven pass-rusher such as Abraham, those are staggering numbers. League documents show the contract includes a signing bonus of $12.5 million and roster bonuses of $1 million for 2006 and $2 million for 2007. The annual base salaries are $2 million (2006), $2 million (2007), $6 million (2008), $5 million (2009), $6.5 million (2010) and $8 million (2011).
• Lost in the shuffle of rules changes enacted at the recent league meetings in Orlando was an alteration to Rule 6, Section 1, Article 5 which, in part, deals with onside kicks. Proposed by the competition committee and largely championed by Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian, the change addresses the increasing threat of injury during onside kicks. Too many teams, the committee opined, had been "loading up" on onside kick attempts, placing a disproportionate number of players to one side of the kicker. The move created not only a disadvantage for the receiving team but also placed players in peril while attempting to recover the kick while being besieged by opponents. The rules change stipulates that at least four players from the kicking team must be on each side of the kicker when the ball is put into play.
• Every year, agent Joe Linta comes up with an offensive line sleeper in the draft, a guy who somehow has fallen between the cracks, then gets chosen in the middle rounds and makes a roster. Last year, Linta's project guy was tackle Todd Herremans of Saginaw Valley State, who was chosen by Philadelphia in the fourth round, and ended up starting four games as a rookie. This year's Linta find: Hofstra offensive lineman Willie Colon, who is a shade under 6-feet-3, weighed 333 pounds at a workout for one NFL team this week, and likely will go off the board in the fourth or fifth round. A guard much of his career, some teams feel that, despite less than prototype height, Colon might be able to play some tackle in the league. A tough, blue-collar kid from the South Bronx, and blessed with a strong work ethic, Colon has met with six teams so far.
• Punts: A belated high-five to the NFL's first lady, Chan Tagliabue, for politely pointing out to us at the annual league meetings an error in a recent column about her husband. In a column authored the day Paul Tagliabue announced his pending retirement, we wrote that he had undergone laser eye surgery in the past year. It was actually cataract surgery on both eyes, quite a difference, and we appreciate Mrs. Tagliabue calling it to our attention … For the second year in a row, tailback Warrick Dunn has restructured his contract to help the Falcons' salary cap situation. As part of the adjustment, which reduced Dunn's salary cap charge from $8.5 million to $5.728 million for 2006, the veteran running back, coming off his finest season, received a $2.5 million signing bonus … Free agent quarterback Kerry Collins, released by the Oakland Raiders last month, seriously will consider retirement if he doesn't get a contract offer to his liking. The Baltimore Ravens remain an option for Collins, although the team is also closely monitoring the contract spitting match in which the Tennessee Titans and Steve McNair are currently involved … The Steelers are trying to land a long-term contract with three-year veteran cornerback Ike Taylor, a rising star and restricted free agent … The Titans continue to pursue a deal with New York Giants unrestricted free agent linebacker Nick Greisen… Even though the Rams signed Gus Frerotte to a three-year contract to serve as the backup to starter Marc Bulger, the team might consider investing an early-round draft choice on a quarterback … One of the fastest movers up draft boards around the league: Oklahoma center Chris Chester, a former tight end with great feet, and a prospect who is demonstrating to scouts that he can hold the fort in the middle.
• The last word: "It's a business, and players, for the most part, understand that. But Steve is the guy who made that franchise … They basically rode Steve and Eddie (George) to a Super Bowl, and I hate to see him treated like that, not even being allowed in the facility." - Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason, a former Tennessee star, on the Titans' decision to ban quarterback Steve McNair from the team facility until his contract situation is resolved
