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One of the more compelling players to watch during the unrestricted free agent period, which begins on March 1, figures to be quarterback Trent Dilfer. A veritable vagabond quarterback who has played for three different teams in three years, not of his own choosing, the eight-year veteran has won 19 of his last 20 starts yet earned just $2 million the past two seasons.
|  | | Trent Dilfer will be happy to listen to offers from other teams this offseason. |
That should change in 2002, when Dilfer is apt to land a starting job, a multi-year contract that pays him more upfront than he collected overall from the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 and Seattle Seahawks in 2001, and put his career back on track.
For whatever reason, some Seattle executives, and likely coach Mike Holmgren as well, seem to be taking for granted that Dilfer will be back in 2002. The quiet suggestion has been that, after Dilfer tests the free agent market and finds few opportunities, he will return to the Seahawks and to a possible competition with Matt Hasselbeck for the starting job. But that isn't likely to occur, given the interest in Dilfer that ESPN.com has discerned in surveying general managers who might have reason to court the former Tampa Bay first-round draft choice.
At least five teams -- Buffalo, Cincinnati, Chicago, Washington and the expansion Houston club -- could have legitimate interest in Dilfer. And it appears the Seahawks would welcome him back, assuming that Holmgren doesn't trade for Drew Bledsoe of New England.
The Texans make plenty of sense if for no other reason than the apparent design that the team seems to want to implement. Houston will not, as indicated here last week, choose any of the quarterbacks available to it on the expansion list. Instead the Texans will sign a veteran such as Dilfer, Jim Miller (Chicago) or Gus Frerotte (Denver), and pay that player commensurate to being a two-year starter.
Understood in the deal will be that the veteran quarterback will help mentor David Carr of Fresno State, the Texans' likely choice with the first selection in the 2002 draft. And who has Carr long viewed as a role model and mentor? You've got it, Trent Dilfer, who also played at Fresno State.
That is not to suggest that Dilfer is definitely earmarked for Houston or that the Texans will win what should be at least a middle-level bidding skirmish for his services. The quarterback pool in free agency is a shallow one and, let's face it, only one team will wind up with Bledsoe in a deal that probably will include the sacrifice of a first-round draft choice.
Truth be told, Dilfer actually has far better statistics than Bledsoe, when comparing the past 20 starts for both players. Dilfer has an edge in passer efficiency rating (85.8-76.1), touchdown passes (26-20), yards per attempt (7.50-6.07), yards per completion (12.93-10.34), percentage of touchdown passes (5.46-3.11) and average length of touchdown pass (31.3-14.2).
It is difficult, of course, to quantify overall performance at the quarterback position. But the adage that the only viable statistic is wins and losses makes it hard to overlook Dilfer's 19-1 mark compared to Bledsoe's 6-14 record in his last 20 starts.
Most personnel chiefs will favor Bledsoe for his perceived physical advantages. But in this era of quarterback de-emphasis, when teams are attempting to make the position a complementary one in which results are maximized by fitting the optimum player into the right system, Dilfer cannot be overlooked in free agency.
And the early signs are that he won't be.
Around the league
Should he land the general manager post in Atlanta, which now seems likely, look for Rich McKay to try to bring with him at least a few Tampa Bay colleagues. Foremost among them might be personnel director Tim Ruskell, and another could be public relations director Reggie Roberts. If McKay succeeds in getting Ruskell freed up, which probably couldn't occur until after the draft in April, it wouldn't bode well for current Falcons personnel director Ron Hill. As far as the public relations end of things, it's interesting that both Roberts and current Atlanta PR director Aaron Salkin are both interviewing in the next few days for the New York Jets media liaison post. That job became vacant when Frank Ramos, who headed the Jets public relations department for nearly four decades, retired earlier this month.
San Francisco officials love the work of offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and probably will afford him some consideration for the head coaching position if (more like when) incumbent Steve Mariucci moves on to Tampa Bay. But the consensus seems to be that Knapp still might be a bit too inexperienced for the leap to head coach. That probably leaves two scenarios: The 49ers reach out to Dennis Green, who would pack away his fishing poles in a heartbeat for a chance to coach in the Bay Area again. Or current general manager Terry Donahue takes over as coach, maybe for just one year, after which Oakland's Jon Gruden will be available. Donahoe insisted at the Super Bowl, though, that he had no designs on coaching and enjoyed his current role.
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| Coleman |
The New York Jets will lose both their starting cornerbacks, Marcus Coleman and Aaron Glenn, in Monday's expansion draft to stock the new Houston Texans franchise. The future of both starting safeties, Damien Robinson (2002 cap charge of $3.28 million and roster bonus of $2.64 million payable on March 1) and Victor Green (a March 1 roster bonus of $2 million and cap charge of $3.226 million for '02), are likely tied to their willingness to accept restructured contracts. For a team that earned a postseason berth under rookie coach Herm Edwards, a salary cap overage of about $19.4 million is helping to break up that old "Gang Green" of mine.
So how does New York figure to rebuild a secondary that could be decimated in the next couple weeks? For openers, Jets coaches and officials like 2001 fourth-round pick Jamie Henderson, the kind of bigger and more physical corner Edwards and defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell seem to prefer, and who played in all 16 games as a rookie. The team also still has "nickel" cornerback Ray Mickens, who could be used as a starter. But look for the Jets to keep an eye trained on Tampa, where there are whispers that cornerback Donnie Abraham will be a cap casualty in the next couple weeks. Abraham has a 2002 cap number of $5.5 million and the Bucs could save all but $1 million of that if they release him before he is due a $500,000 roster bonus on March 1. It should be noted that, as the former Tampa Bay assistant head coach and also secondary mentor, Edwards is very familiar with Abraham, who lost his starting job to Brian Kelly in 2001. Kelly is also scheduled for unrestricted free agency on March 1 and is another player Edwards likes. On the offensive side, the Jets will make a big push to extend the contract of left tackle Jason Fabini, even a higher priority since the team figures to lose right tackle Ryan Young in the expansion lottery. If the Jets don't reach an agreement with Fabini by March 1, they almost certainly will designate him a "transition" free agent and retain a right of first refusal. Although he lacked some discipline in his 2001 rookie season, the Jets feel third-round tackle Kareem McKenzie should be able to step into Young's spot.
One of the first moves by new Carolina defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was to switch 2001 first-round choice Dan Morgan to middle linebacker, a transition that's already excited the former University of Miami star. Del Rio is a former middle linebacker and realizes the importance of having a playmaker at the position. For many teams, the middle linebacker spot has become a low priority because of the scheme played. But more teams, including the Panthers, are going to a "flow" type of defense and that requires an active linebacker who can run. Atlanta found out last season that former weakside linebacker Keith Brooking could play well in the middle, and now the Panthers probably will have similar success with Morgan in the thick of the action. One key for Morgan, of course, is staying healthy. He missed five games in 2001 and can't afford to be such an absentee in a defense where Del Rio is relying so heavily on his skills on and off the field. Morgan will replace Lester Towns, a modestly-talented athlete and a try-hard guy, one who will have to fit in somewhere else in the reshuffled Panthers lineup. Del Rio has already listed as his first priority in 2002 improved tackling by the Carolina defenders. Del Rio has gone out of his way not to criticize the former Carolina coaching staff, but he did rip the poor overall tackling of the defense and acknowledged he won't tolerate a repeat performance.
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| Williams |
League sources contend that, if Ricky Williams is traded, the Cleveland Browns are far more likely to strike a deal with the New Orleans Saints than are the Miami Dolphins. The feeling is that Miami will not meet the Saints' asking price, not as long as it continues to include a first-round draft choice, but that Browns coach Butch Davis might ante up. Davis desperately wants to surround quarterback Tim Couch with upgraded personnel, especially now that Cleveland brass has committed to him for the long-term, and the first step is improving the anemic rushing game the team had in 2001.
There continue to be indications, for unknown reasons, that some Baltimore Ravens officials weren't as saddened by the departure of defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis as they initially appeared to be. There is an undercurrent which suggests that Lewis might have balked at the new 3-4 defense the team is all but certain to deploy in 2002. It will now be up to Mike Nolan, a former defensive coordinator who had been coaching receivers with the Ravens, to make the scheme work.
As noted in previous "Tip Sheet" columns, there is a chance that all three of the remaining defensive line starters from the past two seasons will be jettisoned for cap reasons. Word is that left end Rob Burnett could come back, but only if he reduces his salary to about $1 million, which he appears reluctant to do. One starting end will be youngster Adalius Thomas, who played well when forced into the lineup in 2001 because of injuries, and the Ravens hope to re-sign pending unrestricted free agent tackle Lional Dalton to play on the nose. The chances of retaining Dalton, however, could be slim, since several teams covet the four-year veteran. Dalton, 26, is seen by a few teams as an emerging star at the interior spot.
The indications are that the Philadelphia Eagles will permit standout middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter to go into free agency. Although vice president Joe Banner and agent Jimmy Sexton have been talking about an extension for Trotter for more than a year, the discussions have not come close to culminating in a contract. Philadelphia could designate Trotter as a "franchise" player, but the organization seems to feel the one-year tender of about $5.5 million is exorbitant. If he does go onto the open market, Trotter will be one of the most pursued defenders in the pool.
Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier still needs an assistant for the secondary to finish off his staff, and ESPN.com has learned he quietly interviewed former Indianapolis Colts assistant head coach-defensive backs George Catavolos before heading to Mexico with owner Dan Snyder for a short golfing holiday this week. Catavolos, 56, is an 18-year league veteran, a superb teacher and seemingly a strong candidate for the job. New defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis had planned to bring former Baltimore colleague Donnie Henderson with him as secondary coach, but he opted to remain with the Ravens, citing his loyalty to head coach Brian Billick and owner Art Modell.
Some catching up on the details of a few new contracts recently awarded to quarterbacks: The five-year deal signed by Alex Van Pelt of Buffalo is worth $5.4 million and it includes a $1 million signing bonus along with base salaries of $650,000 (for 2002), $750,000 (2003) and $1 million each for 2004-2006. The seven-year contract that former Stanford star Chad Hutchinson got from the Dallas Cowboys featured a signing bonus of $3.1 million. The base salaries are $225,000 (for 2002), $300,000 (2003), $380,000 (2004), $455,000 (2005) and then $545,000 each for the 2006-2008 campaigns. The base salaries are guaranteed for each of the first four seasons, meaning Hutchinson can make no less than $4.46 million in the deal. The one-year deal signed by Joe Germaine with Kansas City is for the minimum restricted tender of $563,000.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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