Archives for February 23, 2005

‘The decision to sign Bledsoe, and to adopt a more prudent approach in the development of Henson (about whom some Dallas coaches have real doubts) will be viewed in a lot of different ways over the next few days. For what it’s worth, here is one contrarian take on the signing: Parcells extended the career of Bledsoe by bringing him aboard. If Bledsoe plays well enough, wins, say, nine games in 2005, he’ll help extend Parcells’ stay as well.’

‘Bledsoe said he was "disappointed and angry" he was released by Buffalo but "energized" to be in Dallas. "The passion is still there…any thoughts of retirement were fleeting," Bledsoe said.’

‘Parcells makes no secret of his affinity for his former players, believing he can trust them more. His collection in Dallas already included receivers Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn and running back Richie Anderson. Glenn played with Bledsoe from 1996-2001 in New England.’

‘According to several sources, the Cowboys and Bledsoe have an agreement in principle, and the veteran quarterback is in Dallas today to finalize the deal. The Cowboys have scheduled a 3 p.m. news conference.’

‘Each NFL team will be allowed to interview 60 players for 15 minutes apiece.’

‘The Bills’ first order of business during the new J.P. Losman era is to change the second-year quarterback’s last name to "Winman." Losman is pronounced LOSS-man, and that makes me uneasy. Hopefully, his name doesn’t reflect his on-field performance.’

‘Since Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells arrived in Dallas back in early 2003, it has been no secret he likes to reunite with former players.’

‘The Bills, meanwhile, did not exercise their option to designate anybody on the roster as a franchise player or transition free agent. It means left tackle Jonas Jennings and defensive tackle Pat Williams can shop their services around the league starting March 2. The Bills are expected to attempt to sign at least one of the two. They could wind up signing both, depending on how much money they command in the open market.’

‘The Bills are likely to be at about $78.5 million come next Wednesday. Initial estimates of the Bills having more than $10 million in cap space did not take into account several bonus payments that are included in player contracts this year.’

‘Jennings is expected to command a signing bonus of more than $10 million alone. In recent days, huge deals have been struck with Seattle’s Walter Jones (seven years, $52 million) and Indianapolis’ Ryan Diem (seven years, $36 million) by their own teams to keep them in the fold.’

‘Bledsoe playing behind the Dallas line? Jevon Kearse and Michael Strahan can almost feel their sack bonuses kicking in.’

‘The page is one ripped out of the “Bill Parcells Players” book. Parcells drafted Bledsoe first overall with the Patriots in 1993, and Bledsoe helped lead New England to Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season. And while Bledsoe is 23-25 in his three seasons with the Bills, in many ways he defines the “bus driver” Parcells has said he desires in a quarterback.’

‘The addition of Bledsoe leaves Dallas with three quarterbacks, including second-year player Drew Henson and third-year pro Tony Romo. Vinny Testaverde, who started 15 games at quarterback for the Cowboys last season, will become an unrestricted free agent March 2.’

‘Bledsoe likely will become the new starter for a Cowboys club that went 6-10 last season, but perhaps could improve rapidly. The Cowboys have abundant salary cap space to sign free agents, and have two first-round picks in the April draft. Dallas will turn over its running game to tailback Julius Jones, who was highly productive as a rookie last season after recovering from a shoulder injury, and Bledsoe almost certainly will start at quarterback ahead of youngsters Drew Henson and Tony Romo.’

‘In the long run, this could be a heck of move for the Cowboys — perhaps a last-gasp effort by Parcells to turn things around. The talk is he will leave the team after the 2005 season if they don’t make the playoffs. Henson wouldn’t do that. Bledsoe can.’