NFL Off-Season

[ACCBiggz]

Deal is done.... being voted on Tuesday....

Players will be getting 59.5%. Upshaw said they had a final offer, Owner's rejected, at somewhere around 11:10pm They called him back, said they'd accept and get it voted on Tuesday pushing everything back.

FA starts on Thursday.

Seahawks resign Alexander for [insertmoneyhere].

Edited March 6, 2006 by ACCBiggz

[Chris2K]

Alexander's staying in Seattle.

Last month, Shaun Alexander said he didn't need to wait for free agency and multiple offers from eager suitors to know what price is right for the league's MVP.

Good thing -- because he might have been waiting a while otherwise, given the NFL's current, dizzying labor mess.

"Fair is fair," Alexander said. "I know what fair is. Other teams don't decide what fair is. I think the Seahawks definitely know."

They do now. Fair is apparently $62 million over eight years -- the deal Alexander and the Seahawks agreed to late March 5, keeping the NFL rushing champion in Seattle.

Agent Jim Steiner said the deal is the richest for an NFL running back and will pay Alexander over $15.1 million in guaranteed cash, through signing and other bonuses and 2006 base salary.

Steiner told The Associated Press of the signing in a telephone interview, minutes after the NFL pushed back the start of the free-agent signing period 72 hours to March 9.

The league still must approve the contract, and Alexander has yet to sign it.

The team is waiting for the deal to become official before announcing it, though a press conference at team headquarters in Kirkland, Wash., could come as early as Monday afternoon.

"They definitely wanted to do this," Steiner said of the Seahawks bringing back Alexander, who set an NFL record with 28 touchdowns last season. "And Seattle was Shaun's first choice all along."

[Damian WayLNKe]

Rams release WR Issac Bruce

Rams sign DT La'Roi Glover

[Green Demon]

This may be only the first day of Free agency but it is already one of the best off seasons the Browns have had in quite some time and with some more signings it could just get better. We were able to get what many consider one of the top players if not the top FA avalible in LeCharles Bently, and able to solidify the O-Line even more with another quality O-linemen in Kevin Shaffer. Along with that they were able to get a sure handed reciever which is something we didnt entirely have last year, in Joe Jurevicius. It is also nice because both Bently and Jurevicius are hometown guys and it will be nice to see them in a Browns uniform. With a couple of the injured guys coming back including Kellen Winslow and Braylon, I am really looking forward to seeing what the Browns can do this year.

[TOG]

Edgerrin James has signed with the Cardinals.

[Evil Chase K]

The Colts are stupid for letting Edge go.

Antwaan Randle El signs with the Redskins.

[TOG]

The Colts are stupid for letting Edge go.

Antwaan Randle El signs with the Redskins.

[Mofoticon]

The Colts will draft Laurence Maroney from Minnesota anyway.

[Evil Chase K]

The Colts are stupid for letting Edge go.

Antwaan Randle El signs with the Redskins.

As has been said, the Colts had no choice in letting Edge go.

[VerbalPuke]

The NFL free-agency is really starting to heat up now, and a huge trade has just been announced.

The Dolphins decided to stop waiting for Chargers quarterback Drew Brees to lower his contract demands and opted to give the Vikings a second-round choice to acquire quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Daunte Culpepper

Quarterback

Minnesota Vikings

Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS

Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat

216 139 1395 6 12 72.0

Miami coach Nick Saban revisited the trade talks with the Vikings on Monday, after Dolphins officials determined that the contract demands of Brees were more than they wanted to invest.

The acquisition of Culpepper is contingent on him passing a Dolphins-administered physical exam.

Culpepper had been talking to the Dolphins for the past week, expressing his desire to be with the Dolphins along with showing a willingness to rework his contract to fit into the Dolphins salary cap. Contract talks between the Dolphins and Brees have been stalled because the Saints had more money and more guarantees on the table from the Saints.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said recently Culpepper is on schedule in his rehab from surgery in which he tore three knee ligaments after having a trainer fly to Florida to meet with Culpepper. The recovery time from such major surgery is 12 months, but Culpepper has told the Dolphins that he's ahead of schedule and may be able to play before September.

Culpepper's trade clears the stage for the Saints to get Brees.

Brees is coming off January surgery to repair a torn labrum and also a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. The Dolphins spent much of Monday putting Brees, who is currently rehabilitating the shoulder in Birmingham, Ala., under renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews, through a lengthy battery of tests. It is not known how much the results of those tests entered into the decision to pursue Culpepper instead.

Adding Culpepper almost certainly means the Dolphins will release 2005 starter Gus Frerotte, a move that would save Miami about $1.4 million in salary cap space.

Upset by Daunte Culpepper's public attempts to force a divorce, Minnesota determined last week to trade the unhappy quarterback and ratcheted up their dialogue with possible suitors. The situation, however, was so awkwardly handled by both Culpepper and the Vikings that trade talks dragged on, interested franchises came and went, and Minnesota eventually found itself with few options.

In an e-mail last week, the fourth he has sent to Twin Cities and national reporters since last month, Culpepper wrote: "Now that I have confirmed that the Vikings have been seeking to trade me, I have asked for permission to speak to the interested teams. The Vikings have denied my request. If a trade does not happen, then I am asking the Vikings to terminate my contract as soon as possible."

Minnesota was scheduled to pay Culpepper a $6 million roster bonus on March 20 as part of a contract enhancement new owner Zygi Wilf added to the quarterback's existing deal last summer. It remains to be seen how the Dolphins deal with that obligation. Miami almost certainly will want to readjust the contract as part of the trade.

But the contract, which runs through 2013 and pays a base salary of $2 million for this year, was just one of the several elements that complicated the trade negotiations with several teams.

Culpepper, 29, continues to rehabilitate his right knee and, while he is said to have made substantial progress in his recovery, the injury was a severe one. Culpepper tore three ligaments in the knee in an Oct. 30 game at Carolina and has been rehabilitating in the Orlando, Fla., area. First-year Vikings head coach Brad Childress would have preferred that Culpepper continue his rehabilitation at the team's facility.

It was not immediately known if the Dolphins did any preliminary examination of Culpepper's knee.

In addition, Culpepper still faces misdemeanor charges related to the so-called "Love Boat" scandal of last September, an incident allegedly involving some Vikings teammates. And, finally, Culpepper split during this offseason with longtime agent Mason Ashe, and has been representing himself. He may need to hire representation to help him deal with the Dolphins in any contract restructuring.

Culpepper's base salaries for the seasons after this one rise dramatically, to $5.5 million in 2007 and $6 million each for 2008-2009.

A first-round pick in the 1999 draft, Culpepper has appeared in 81 games and started all but one of them. He has completed 1,678 of 2,607 passes for 20,162 yards, with 135 touchdown passes and 86 interceptions.

The former Central Florida star has also rushed 454 times for 2,476 yards. He has been chosen to the Pro Bowl on three occasions. Len Pasquarelli and John Clayton are senior NFL writers for ESPN.com.

Daunte Culpepper is now a Miami Dolphin. This now makes Drew Brees's free agency situation even more interesting.

Adding a bit more intrique is the fact that Jon Kitna is now a Detroit Lion, crossing off another potential Brees suitor. I've been hearing that New Orleans is a strong possibility for Brees, although the Saints have also been eyeing Vince Young in the upcoming draft. Things are certainly heating up with more big off-season moves to come.

[Mofoticon]

Saints sign Brees to a 6 year 60 million dollar deal....also rumors are now they are shopping the no.2 pick.

[ACCBiggz]

TO finally is a free agent, Eagle released him.

If the Saints were smart they would trade down, but not far to take someone like Mario Williams or D'Brickashaw.

I've been hearing that New Orleans is a strong possibility for Brees, although the Saints have also been eyeing Vince Young in the upcoming draft. Things are certainly heating up with more big off-season moves to come.

[punky]

Cowboys released Keyshawn, so it looks like TO is gonna be going to Dallas.

[VerbalPuke]

Even though they signed Brees, most likely the Saints were going after Leinart and not Young.

I had thought Young was a possibility for them, after seeing a few mock drafts that had them taking Young. Obviously mock drafts are not an indication of what a team is going to do, I had heard reports of them looking toward Young as their guy. It's a moot point now though, as Brees is most definitely their guy, and they now have a lot of options with that pick.

[Guest rbreg7]

Culpepper to Dolphins, James to Arizona..

Whoa, haha.

[Green Demon]

The Browns grab another FA in Willie MiGinist and help another postion on the field for them. I am already pretty axious to see what happens this year with the Browns with a number of players back from injury and the FA that we have signed this year it looks like things are headed in the right direction.

[ACCBiggz]

I do look for the Browns to make a strong case for the playoffs, maybe not this year, but next.

It almost goes the same way I predicted (and successfully) about the Bengals when they hired Marvin Lewis. I said 3 years and in....

It all has to do with Coaching and Owners... get that good coach, and then start allowing him to fill the holes while you write the checks, and look at what is happening. There are still a few holes that are very concerning, and the division is tough.

I do look for them to be right there however, maybe not this year (wouldn't suprise me), but next.

[VerbalPuke]

The Lions have agreed to terms with Josh McCown, making him the third QB they have signed this off-season (Shaun King, John Kitna being the other two, though King wont make the squad, he's there to provide a more heated competition). So as it stands, it appears that the Joey Harrington era is now officially over in Detroit. On one hand I'm happy to start new, but also bummed that Joey wasn't the guy to turn things around in Detroit. I like Joey, as a person, he's really as good as they get, but he just didn't have it on the field for us. I wish him luck with his future.

Essentially, signing McCown/Kitna and cutting/trading Joey is actually going to save the Lions quite a bit of cap room. Fiscally, it's not a bad move, and actually makes a bit of sense. It leaves the Lions open to sign an O-Lineman or perhaps a LB.

The signing of McCown also took a coveted FA QB off the market, further complicating where the QB's in the draft will land.

[Maxx]

Looks like the T.O. to dallas deal is all but done.

As a cowboys fan, I'm indifferent. Yes he's caused problems but they stemmed from contract disputes, which we should have a handle on.

I look at the cowboys as a team in desperate need of a big playmaker and thats T.O.

Plus this is his last shot at showing how great he is, because if he doesn't work out in Dallas, no one is going to give him anywhere close to the money he'll want, if they sign him at all.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm curious how Parcells and T.O. work together.