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Veteran star receiver Eric Moulds asked the Buffalo Bills to release or trade him yesterday, believing the team has no intention of keeping him at his current salary.
"The Bills have put us in a position where we're at Option Z and Option Z is to ask to be released," Moulds' personal adviser, Greg Johnson, told Associated Press. "It's a sad day. And we wish things could've worked out, but it's just not working out."
Moulds, a 10-year veteran and the Bills' senior player, has two years left on his contract. He's scheduled to make about $7.1 million (all figures U.S.) next season and count about $10.85 million against the salary cap.
Moulds twice has rejected the team's request to take what Johnson referred to as "a substantial pay cut." Johnson said the two sides are at a stalemate in finding other ways to reduce the player's salary cap hit.
LEWIS STAYS PUT: Running back Jamal Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens agreed on a three-year contract yesterday, less than 24 hours after the team added free agent Mike Anderson to improve a rushing attack that ranked 21st in the NFL last season.
Lewis's deal was in the vicinity of $25 million, according to the league's website.
The franchise career rushing leader with 6,669 yards, Lewis became a free agent in January.
Lewis had planned to fly to Denver yesterday afternoon to talk about joining the Broncos, but cancelled the flight after coming to terms with the Ravens.
He ran for a career-low 906 yards in 2005 after serving a four-month federal prison sentence on a drug charge and undergoing off-season ankle surgery.
SPENDING SPREE: The Tennessee Titans have money to spend in free agency and they haven't wasted time trying to improve a team that went 4-12 last season, agreeing to terms yesterday with linebacker David Thornton. The five-year deal is worth more than $22 million with an $8 million signing bonus.
Tennessee also met with wide receiver David Givens, another top free agent on the market. "We're not done," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "Veteran presence is important to us."
SIZE MATTERS: The Cleveland Browns signed 6-foot-5, 365-pound nose tackle Ted Washington to a two-year contract to bolster the team's run defence.
The 14-year veteran, who will turn 38 in April, recently was released by the Oakland Raiders for salary cap reasons.
FALCON STAYS HOME: Receiver Brian Finneran re-signed with the Atlanta Falcons, agreeing to a four-year, $8 million contract.
Finneran caught 60 passes for 611 yards last season.
SAFETY REASONS: Dexter Jackson, MVP of the 2003 Super Bowl, signed a four-year contract with the Cincinnati Bengals. The safety, an eight-year player, was with Tampa Bay from 1999-2002. He spent 2003 with Arizona, then returned to Tampa.
REDSKINS BUSY: Washington added safety Adam Archuleta and linebacker Andre Carter to its free-agent haul yesterday, giving the Redskins five new players in three days.
Archuleta, who played five years with the St. Louis Rams, signed a six-year, $30 million deal with a $10 million signing bonus.
Carter will fly to Washington today to sign his deal.
The two players join receivers Brandon Lloyd and Antwaan Randle El and tight end Christian Fauria as the newest additions to Joe Gibbs' team.
with files from star wire services
I was going to wait until football started to begin what will become the most important sports related blog.......on this page, but I can't wait. Let's begin.
Word comes from the football world that these guys are going to give another shot at giving football fans a spring league. Since WAY back in the USFL days I've thought that another league COULD work.
BUT...
It all depends on how you do it. The WFL (World Football League) didn't work because there wasn't enough money involved. I think they had a "If you build it, they will come" mentality. "We'll give folks MORE football and they'll gives us tons of money. Who cares if it's barely above high school ball, people will LOVE IT because we call it PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL". It doesn't work like that. Plus the WFL SAID they were going to try and make football popular worldwide, hence the name, but how the thought they were going to get this done with all of the teams in the US I have no idea. They did however have a team in Hawaii, something that the NFL should do. On top of this they had some of THE fugliest uniforms since the original Denver Broncos Guldens Spicy Brown mustard (Free plug = Free mustard!) meets beef bullion brown. *ack* There were lots of problems, so the WFL folded.
Next up was the USFL (United States Football League). A much better effort to have a summer league. They had stable ownership (Well, more stable than the WFL anyway) and managed to get top college prospects to sign with them instead of the NFL. Hall of famers Jim Kelly, Steve Young and soon to be HOF'er Reggie White started out in the USFL, as well as Hershel Walker and shoulda been an NFL star, fan favoUrite (they spell it screwy like that in Canada where Doug kicked ass in the CFL) Doug Flutie. This league might have worked out if they'd been able to get national coverage, but any attempt to get a TV contract was snuffed by the NFL. That's the way it seemed anyway, I don't have all the facts. Eventually the USFL folded too, with many players finally signing with NFL teams. A lot of these teams, just going by the fact that I'm an insane jersey collector, had much cooler uniforms that the WFL and even a lot of NFL teams. My hometown USFL team the Denver Gold had really cool unis.
As far as I know there wasn't another attempt at a spring/summer league until the XFL (X-treme Football League). This one, started by bazillionaire and World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon and NBC-tv, had a really good chance of succeeding. However, McMahon's seeming insistence that it be campy with elements used in "Professional" wrestling, helped this league shoot itself in the foot. They held open tryouts to anyone, and that's who showed up. Not that there aren't good athletes sacking groceries at the local Publix, I mean Kurt Warner worked at at grocery store right before his NFL career, but for every Rod Smart/He Hate Me (he was a return specialist for the NFL Carolina Panthers after his XFL stint), and, dare I say it Tommy Maddox (comeback player of the century really, and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback until Ben "Faceplant" Roethlisbergergerer-er showed up), there are TONS of guys like ME who suck at Mattel Handheld football who showed up. IF NBC and McMahon had taken themselves just a WEE bit more serious, it might have worked. People watch wrestling because it's a soap opera/comic book. They WANT to see over the top, campy, T&A, superhero-ish stuff, but with football, an almost....what am I saying it IS sacred in this country, people don't want that shit. Well, except for a little T&A, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders didn't get famous because they read to the blind. In wrasslin I can accept The Human Baboon yelling stupid crap at Captain Headlock right before commercial break, I don't need players with "Big Pimpin" on their jersey pretending to lick....whatever off of a cheerleaders ass while the coach cusses like Anna Nicole Smith on qualudes as he walks of the field getting harassed by Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Just give me football. IF a guy gets a nickname, cool, I don't need it literally spelled out for me and repeated over and over again. I knew who BIlly "White shoes" Johnson was without it on his friggin jersey. If "Mean" Joe Greene had had "Mean Joe" on his jersey it would've look retarded, I know because that's what I thought watching the XFL. "Wow, that guy....#54....what is it..."Bloodspurge"....he's not half bad at middle linebacker." Hearing the guy try and call the game was painful. "Greaseball drops back......fakes the hand off to Big Balls....looks down field for an open receiver...OH...the pass was incomplete. If he'd had a bit more on that throw Smooth Playa might have caught that. Great play by Whiplash to break that play up." The XFL was more joke than football so it went bye-bye.
I hope this new league does things right. If it starts out slow, and gives us decent football with no bullshit it could work. Think of it like Minor League Football. NFL teams could "call up" talent if need be, or let a guy develop for a couple years playing at game speed. They've been trying this with the Euro-League, but I think if you had it here you'd make more money and have success. Instead of trying to force feed Europe our brand of "football".
I know if it's done right it CAN work because every football fan I know about a week after the superbowl starts mumbling about how they miss it. This country can't get enough football and we all know it. In the fall, on friday nights, all across this nation people are watching highschool football, and the next day they wake up and watch college ball, and that tides them over until the NFL takes over on Sunday. After a break to eat and whatever, we get Sunday NIGHT football which barely holds us over until Monday Night Football and just so we don't go into withdrawal the NFL has kindly started showing games on Thursday nights as well. Would we watch a DECENT spring or summer league? You bet your ass we would, but DECENT is the key word here.
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