Post by heavyg on Mar 13, 2007 21:14:28 GMT -7
Cowboys' Jones be next runner on the move
By Adam Schefter
NFL Analyst
Adam Schefter's "Around the League" reports and commentaries can be seen regularly on NFL Total Access.
(March 12, 2007) -- Since free agency opened, running backs have traded places.
Reuben Droughns was traded from the Browns to the Giants, Willis McGahee from the Bills to the Ravens, Thomas Jones from the Bears to the Jets, and Tatum Bell from the Broncos to the Lions.
Now at least one more running back could be dealt in the days leading up to, or during, the NFL draft.
Dallas running back Julius Jones, the younger brother of Thomas and somebody plenty familiar with trades, is in a situation where the Cowboys have no choice but to contemplate his future.
Jones has one year remaining on his contract. After this season, he can walk away from the Cowboys without Dallas receiving any compensation. This is a situation that, if nothing else, bears monitoring.
Julius Jones ran for 1,084 yards last year but split time with Marion Barber. In the interim, the Cowboys can address the issue in a variety of ways: They can turn their heads and do nothing; or they can opt to try to sign Jones to a long-term extension; or they can look to deal their running back, which would not be overly difficult to do.
Teams such as Green Bay, Tennessee, Buffalo and Indianapolis have noticeable holes at the running back position that Jones could help solve.
Those teams could wind up using the draft to upgrade their backfield, but if they desire a more experienced back, then Jones would be the player to make the call on, as Dallas would be willing to listen to offers, according to an NFL source.
However it works out, it creates more intrigue at a position where there already has been plenty this offseason.
JUNE ENVY
Heading into free agency, agents Alan Herman, Brian Mackler and Jason Chayut represented two linebackers: Indianapolis's unrestricted free agent Cato June and Dallas' restricted free agent Ryan Fowler.
Anyone would have thought that June, a former Pro Bowl selection, would have gotten the big money deal. But Fowler, an undrafted free agent out of Duke, signed before June.
Fowler signed a four-year, $11.5 million offer sheet that included $5 million worth of guaranteed money Monday with the Tennessee Titans. And if the Titans hadn't shown him the money, Philadelphia would have.
Despite just three career starts, Ryan Fowler has found plenty of interest. Eagles coach Andy Reid met with Fowler and recruited him. The Eagles even thought they had an agreement as of Sunday. But Sunday night, Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt reemerged in the picture after he had been out of the mix all afternoon. And this came after Titans coach Jeff Fisher recruited Fowler hard.
The 24-year-old Fowler reviewed the two teams' offer sheets and decided he preferred to compete with Tennessee linebacker Stephen Tulloch for a starting job than Philadelphia linebackers Dhani Jones and Jeremiah Trotter.
Fowler opted for the $11.5 million in Tennessee, but he could wind up making it in Dallas, which has seven days to decide whether or not to match the offer sheet.
However it ends up, nobody could have guessed -- including the agents representing them -- that Fowler would land a high-paying gig well before June. Free agency sometimes can be unusual, but no signing was more unusual than this one.
Few had heard of Fowler; then he had Reid and Fisher pleading with him; then he had an agreement with the Eagles that he opted against only to sign with the Titans; and when all is said and done, Fowler still might wind up back with the Cowboys.
RECEIVER SURPLUS
Patriots wide receiver Tom Brady went from playing with a lack of quality wide receivers to now having a surplus of them.
In a 24-hour stretch, the Patriots signed former Bengals wideout Kelley Washington to a five-year contract worth up to $22 million including a $300,000 signing bonus, and former Eagle Donte' Stallworth to a six-year, $33.1 million contract that included $2.9 million worth of guaranteed money.
Already the Patriots had signed former Miami wide receiver Wes Welker to a five-year, $18.1 million contract.
Yet just as some receivers are arriving in New England, some are bound to be departing. With each day that passes, there seems to be less room for Patriots legend Troy Brown, who might wind up retiring.
Also, last year's second-round pick Chad Jackson might not be able to return this season from the significant knee injury he suffered during last season's AFC Championship Game.
And with all the new receivers in Brady's arsenal, there also would seem to be no room for Oakland's Randy Moss, who some have speculated could wind up in New England. It's certainly not looking that way now.
LET'S MAKE A DEAL!
Since free agency kicked off March 1, renowned agent Drew Rosenhaus has turned into the NFL's version of Monty Hall.
The 17 contracts he has negotiated have been for a whopping $255 million, including an equally jarring $64.6 million in bonus monies.
Three of those contracts -- for Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan, Redskins running back Clinton Portis and wide receiver Santana Moss -- were restructured contracts.
But even after removing those deals from the equation, Rosenhaus still has done $185.59 million worth of new contracts since March 1, including $52.11 million worth of bonus monies.
His last deal was negotiated over the weekend, when Rosenhaus signed Stallworth to a six-year, $33.1 million contract with the Patriots that included $2.9 million worth of guaranteed money.
It will hardly be his last one. San Francisco running back Frank Gore, another Rosenhaus client, is up next.
By Adam Schefter
NFL Analyst
Adam Schefter's "Around the League" reports and commentaries can be seen regularly on NFL Total Access.
(March 12, 2007) -- Since free agency opened, running backs have traded places.
Reuben Droughns was traded from the Browns to the Giants, Willis McGahee from the Bills to the Ravens, Thomas Jones from the Bears to the Jets, and Tatum Bell from the Broncos to the Lions.
Now at least one more running back could be dealt in the days leading up to, or during, the NFL draft.
Dallas running back Julius Jones, the younger brother of Thomas and somebody plenty familiar with trades, is in a situation where the Cowboys have no choice but to contemplate his future.
Jones has one year remaining on his contract. After this season, he can walk away from the Cowboys without Dallas receiving any compensation. This is a situation that, if nothing else, bears monitoring.
Julius Jones ran for 1,084 yards last year but split time with Marion Barber. In the interim, the Cowboys can address the issue in a variety of ways: They can turn their heads and do nothing; or they can opt to try to sign Jones to a long-term extension; or they can look to deal their running back, which would not be overly difficult to do.
Teams such as Green Bay, Tennessee, Buffalo and Indianapolis have noticeable holes at the running back position that Jones could help solve.
Those teams could wind up using the draft to upgrade their backfield, but if they desire a more experienced back, then Jones would be the player to make the call on, as Dallas would be willing to listen to offers, according to an NFL source.
However it works out, it creates more intrigue at a position where there already has been plenty this offseason.
JUNE ENVY
Heading into free agency, agents Alan Herman, Brian Mackler and Jason Chayut represented two linebackers: Indianapolis's unrestricted free agent Cato June and Dallas' restricted free agent Ryan Fowler.
Anyone would have thought that June, a former Pro Bowl selection, would have gotten the big money deal. But Fowler, an undrafted free agent out of Duke, signed before June.
Fowler signed a four-year, $11.5 million offer sheet that included $5 million worth of guaranteed money Monday with the Tennessee Titans. And if the Titans hadn't shown him the money, Philadelphia would have.
Despite just three career starts, Ryan Fowler has found plenty of interest. Eagles coach Andy Reid met with Fowler and recruited him. The Eagles even thought they had an agreement as of Sunday. But Sunday night, Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt reemerged in the picture after he had been out of the mix all afternoon. And this came after Titans coach Jeff Fisher recruited Fowler hard.
The 24-year-old Fowler reviewed the two teams' offer sheets and decided he preferred to compete with Tennessee linebacker Stephen Tulloch for a starting job than Philadelphia linebackers Dhani Jones and Jeremiah Trotter.
Fowler opted for the $11.5 million in Tennessee, but he could wind up making it in Dallas, which has seven days to decide whether or not to match the offer sheet.
However it ends up, nobody could have guessed -- including the agents representing them -- that Fowler would land a high-paying gig well before June. Free agency sometimes can be unusual, but no signing was more unusual than this one.
Few had heard of Fowler; then he had Reid and Fisher pleading with him; then he had an agreement with the Eagles that he opted against only to sign with the Titans; and when all is said and done, Fowler still might wind up back with the Cowboys.
RECEIVER SURPLUS
Patriots wide receiver Tom Brady went from playing with a lack of quality wide receivers to now having a surplus of them.
In a 24-hour stretch, the Patriots signed former Bengals wideout Kelley Washington to a five-year contract worth up to $22 million including a $300,000 signing bonus, and former Eagle Donte' Stallworth to a six-year, $33.1 million contract that included $2.9 million worth of guaranteed money.
Already the Patriots had signed former Miami wide receiver Wes Welker to a five-year, $18.1 million contract.
Yet just as some receivers are arriving in New England, some are bound to be departing. With each day that passes, there seems to be less room for Patriots legend Troy Brown, who might wind up retiring.
Also, last year's second-round pick Chad Jackson might not be able to return this season from the significant knee injury he suffered during last season's AFC Championship Game.
And with all the new receivers in Brady's arsenal, there also would seem to be no room for Oakland's Randy Moss, who some have speculated could wind up in New England. It's certainly not looking that way now.
LET'S MAKE A DEAL!
Since free agency kicked off March 1, renowned agent Drew Rosenhaus has turned into the NFL's version of Monty Hall.
The 17 contracts he has negotiated have been for a whopping $255 million, including an equally jarring $64.6 million in bonus monies.
Three of those contracts -- for Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan, Redskins running back Clinton Portis and wide receiver Santana Moss -- were restructured contracts.
But even after removing those deals from the equation, Rosenhaus still has done $185.59 million worth of new contracts since March 1, including $52.11 million worth of bonus monies.
His last deal was negotiated over the weekend, when Rosenhaus signed Stallworth to a six-year, $33.1 million contract with the Patriots that included $2.9 million worth of guaranteed money.
It will hardly be his last one. San Francisco running back Frank Gore, another Rosenhaus client, is up next.