John Clayton

[Randall]

posted: Tuesday, March 21, 2006

filed under: Chicago Bears, Atlanta Falcons, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers

 

The interesting part of the Bears signing of Brian Griese is the commitment they are making with a five-year deal. Griese will make $6 million in the first year of the contract. Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton are making only $975,000 combined. The Bears made the move to sign Griese because they feel they have a chance to be the team to beat in the NFC North, and they don't want to fall apart with a quarterback injury. Grossman has a history of injuries and Orton isn't very mobile. Griese had Cincinnati, Miami and Tampa Bay after him. The Bears stepped up and made him a great deal.

Abraham lands close to home: Credit John Abraham for getting his way. After a good visit with Seattle, he settled in on trying to get a deal from the Falcons. Atlanta is close enough to his home in South Carolina so that his family could see him in a game. The Falcons gave him a six-year, $45 million deal that included $13.5 million to sign and $25.5 million over the first three years of the contract. The Seahawks were actually offering more money in the end, but Abraham decided over the weekend he wasn't going to listen to anything else. He wanted to join the Falcons and waited until they worked out a way to get a first-round pick to satisfy the Jets.

 

Dwight to Jets: The Jets made an interesting signing in getting Patriots wide receiver Tim Dwight, who agreed to a four-year, $4.2 million contract. Dwight wanted to reunite with new Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, whom he got to know during his days with the Chargers. Dwight likes some of the things Schottenheimer might do with him in the offense. Plus, Dwight will be a big asset on special teams.

 

Buffalo showdown: Even though the Bills gave wide receiver Eric Moulds the ability to shop himself in a trade, general manager Marv Levy doesn't want him to leave. Levy is banking on Moulds not being able to find a trading partner and will be willing to take a pay cut to stay with Buffalo. Moulds has a $10.855 million salary cap numbers, but refuses to take a pay cut because he wants to be released. Meanwhile, the Bills reached a three-year, $7.2 million deal with former Vikings center Melvin Fowler, who will probably take over the starting center job for Trey Teague. The Bills aren't making much of an effort to re-sign Teague, who is an unrestricted free agent. Fowler also had been talking to the Saints.

 

Patriots have plenty to spend: The Patriots have lost six unrestricted free agents, including kicker Adam Vinatieri and Dwight. They've cut linebacker Willie McGinest and cornerback Tyrone Poole. The Patriots are obviously in a state of transition. They will probably lose offensive lineman Tom Ashworth in the next day or two and could also lose guard Steve Neal. The big question is what they are up to? They have $21 million of cap room, second most in the league. They must be saving up for something big.

 

Packers lose out on Vinatieri: The Packers are disappointed Vinatieri went to the Indianapolis because they felt they finished second in the bidding for the best clutch kicker in this era. The Packers felt Vinatieri was going to Green Bay over the Patriots, but in the end, the Colts' money was good and Vinatieri wanted to kick in a domed stadium for the first time in his career. The RCA Dome is a haven for kickers. Now that they have lost Adam Vinatieri, the Patriots are looking at Paul Edinger and Mike Vanderjagt as options.

[loyalboyd]

So I am guessing this means Rex Grossman is on a very very short chain? Because u dont pay that kinda money to a back up.....Right?

[NAUgrad]

Hmmm...didn't no Teague was a free agent. Perhaps he heads back to Denver to help fill in badly needed O-line depth.