Archives for March 2002

‘Fletcher, 26, is a four-year veteran who led the Rams in tackles this year and was an alternate to the Pro Bowl.’

‘Cowart, who spent his first four NFL seasons with Buffalo, will meet today and possibly Wednesday with Bradway, coach Herman Edwards, and defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, his coordinator with the Bills.’

‘While the Bills clearly have far more room to manuever under the salary cap now than they did this time a year ago, Fletcher’s asking price may be too high anyway. But the fact the Bills are apparently going to the trouble to fly him in and talk to him could signal they are looking for options in their talks with Cowart, who is coming off an achilles injury.’

‘Keeping all options open, the team has scheduled free-agent visits with Sam Cowart today and Shawn Barber on Thursday. Cowart, 27, thrived in Buffalo’s 3-4 defense under Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, but missed all but one game last season with an Achilles injury. One of his agents, Gene Burroughs, said Cowart is ready to pass a physical. If healthy, Cowart is an attractive option.’

‘Now, don’t misunderstand our point. Ruskell isn’t an awful choice for the Falcons. He just isn’t the best choice, especially since Tom Modrak and his decades of experience when it comes to player personnel decisions is only a phone call away with the Buffalo Bills.’

‘"Coming from the team I came from, (the Texans) already have a better offensive line, defensive line and secondary in place. That’s very attractive. I know the offensive coordinator, and I’m very comfortable with him. I think my best years are ahead of me."’

@ LB Sam Cowart looks to be leaving Buffalo but may not be moving out of the state of New York. The Jersey Jets, who have been one of the busier teams early in free agency, will bring Cowart in Tuesday. The Bills maintain interest in bringing the 1998 second-round pick back. One player with a vested interest in where Cowart lands is LB James Farrior, who led the NFL in tackles with the Jets last season. Farrior?s destination of choice remains New York, but he?s unaware what level of interest the Jets have in bringing him back.

‘If the Texans do sign Johnson, it would likely be a one-year deal for about $1 million, which may not sound like a lot of money, but it would give Johnson the chance to jumpstart his career again. The Texans would likely make him the starter ahead of rookie David Carr, who is almost certain to be their choice with the first pick in the April draft. The Texans would love to allow Carr a year to groom behind a veteran before turning over the starting job to him.’

@ According to ESPN’s John Clayton the Bills are pretty focused on signing quarterback Jeff Blake or [Jaguars] Jonathan Quinn. They haven’t made any decision whether or not to show interest in Elvis Grbac.

@ ‘Moose’ has released a Wallpaper of retired Bill Phil Hansen.

@ The Bills were so interested in QB Jeff Blake that they were prepared to give the Saints a fifth-round pick for him. And Blake was so interested in playing for the Bills that he was willing to rework his contract. Knowing the Saints would release Blake anyway, the Bills backed out. Now that Blake has been released, he is expected to sign with the Bills.

@ Now that Rob Johnson has left Buffalo, let’s all look ahead. Johnson was given every opportunity to be the leading QB of the Bills.

‘Houston offensive coordinator Chris Palmer was Johnson’s quarterback coach at Jacksonville and thinks highly of him.’

‘"It was our intention to try and work something out with Rob," he said. "Right from the beginning we wanted to work something out. If there’s a guy in free agency who makes sense, we’ll take a look at him. But we really like Alex."’

@ Kris Brown is kicker who missed so many field goals last year, right? Simon has the explanation.