March 2007 - Posts
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 OK, filling in the holes on Jamel Richardson, the recently-signed CFL receiver who did not attend major college in the States. Richardson, from Syracuse (N.Y.) Corcoran High School, signed a letter of intent with Michigan State, but was academically ineligible. That eventually landed him at Victor Valley Community College in Victorville, Calif., where he was a two-time Juco All-American. The Cowboys were interested in signing him last off-season, but the Saskatchewan Roughriders wouldn’t let him out of his contract. So this time around, with his contract expired and several NFL teams interested, his decision came down to the Cowboys or the Colts. Richardson, who missed all but the first four games of last year’s CFL season after breaking a bone in his foot, got himself back in shape over the past 2½ months and his 40 time to respectable speed (4.53) for his workout here. “I was just in love with the Cowboys,” Richardson told the Syracuse Post-Standard after signing here. “They just showed me a whole lot of love and attention. They showed me so much respect, that they really wanted me. The atmosphere was better. I met the owner. That was just a plus for me. Then the head coach. It was just like so much love there.”
Even after the NFL awarded compensatory picks this week, the Cowboys still have 10 picks, one in each of the seven rounds, and thanks to trades an extra pick in the sixth round (Sean Ryan) and two extra picks in the seventh (Pete Hunter and Scott Shanle). The free-agent signings of the likes of Akin Ayodele, Kyle Kosier and Mike Vanderjagt canceled out the losses of Dan Campbell and Scott Fujita. And since Torrin Tucker was a washout at Tampa Bay, he didn’t factor into the NFL’s compensatory equation. So no extra picks. So as it stands, of the 255 picks, the Cowboys hold picks at 22, 53, 87, 122, 159, 195, 200, 212, 234 and 237.
Well it appears the Cowboys and Redskins simply exchanged spare parts. First the Cowboys signed free-agent offensive lineman Jim Molinaro, the backup the Redskins declined to issue even a minimum restricted free agency tender. And now the Redskins have signed veteran offensive tackle Jason Fabini, the guy the Cowboys released at the start of free agency after fulfilling just one year on his three-year, $4.5 million deal that included a $1.75 million signing bonus . . . And did you see where last year’s practice-squader D’Anthony Batiste, signed away by Carolina on Oct. 14, was recently arrested for carrying a concealed weapon?
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So did anyone see the recent Sports Illustrated ranking of the Top 10 running back tandems in the NFL? Well, there’s Julius Jones and Marion Barber checking in at No. 4. Why in the world anyone would purposely break up that tandem is beyond me, unless of course, someone offered me the ranch for Jones. And when Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush are No. 1, along with Clinton Portis and LaDell Betts No. 3, that’s not bad company.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on a couple of topics:
Thoughts on your wide receiver position: “I think that’s one of the strengths of our team,” which to me means he fully intends to fund Terrell Owens’ $3 million roster bonus come June 1.
On if he needs to address the safety position: “I like what we can do from within,” which means he hasn’t given up on Pat Watkins, Abram Elam and Keith Davis playing alongside Roy Williams. Maybe he thinks Roy can improve, too. Maybe he also feels a draft.
On if the Cowboys will remain active in free agency: “It’s logical to say we probably won’t have the activity we’ve had but I wouldn’t go as far as to say we’re done.”
On how the signing of Marc Colombo affects the roster status of Marco Rivera, rehabbing after a second back surgery in two years: “It’s something, and again in it’s own way, it allows us the flexibility to be pretty patient here with Rivera,” meaning signing Colombo and Leonard Davis buys Rivera rehabilitation time since the club is covered now at right guard.
One last thing on Al Johnson’s four-year, $17.5 million deal, which included a $3.5 million signing bonus with Arizona. The base salaries for all four years are $3.5 million. That means Johnson, assuming he’s not cut this year, will pocket $7 million. Not a bad chunk of change for a guy who barely played last year and said to now be competing for a starting job.
Totally unrelated to the Cowboys, so grant me some latitude here, but I must tell you it was a privilege to be there Tuesday night to witness Mike Modano scoring his 500th career goal for the Dallas Stars. Ranked right up there with seeing Brett Hull score his 600th while with the Stars, New Year’s Eve 1999. And to let you know what a hockey nut I was growing up, I’ve got a scrapbook – still – chronicling his dad, Bobby Hull, at the time becoming only the third player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a single season, that occurring the final game of the 1961-62 season. OK, sorry, enough.
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Talk about the increased price of doing business in NFL free agency. Al Johnson, the Cowboys’ second-round pick in 2003 who was a backup last year and played sparingly, was signed by Arizona to a four-year, $17.5 million deal which included a $3.5 million signing bonus. That means a guy who barely played in 2006 just received a contract averaging $4.4 million a year, and whose average base salary will be $3.5 million a year. You go Al.
This Mike Vanderjagt, he is something else. He visited with New Orleans on Tuesday, and prior to his arrival, Vanderjagt actually said he wasn’t sure what the Saints were looking for, an alternative to John Carney kicking field goals or a kickoff specialist. No kidding, he actually said that . . . kickoff specialist. Ugh, and to think his unaccounted prorated signing bonus from the three-year deal that paid him a $2.5 million signing bonus will count $1.67 million against the Cowboys cap this year.
While Leonard Davis’ seven-year contract totals $49.6 million, here are the base salaries for the first three years: $1 million for 2007, $750,000 for 2008 and $5.25 million for 2009. From there, the final four years go to $6 million, $6 million, $5 million and $6 million. So his first-year cap figure will be close to $3.7 million with guarantees . . . . As for Martin Gramatica, his two-year deal will total around $1.6 million, which means he is getting just a tad more than his eighth-year minimum of $720,000 this year and the $730,000 of next year . . . As pointed out earlier, the Cowboys are offering Marc Colombo basically the same deal right tackle Jon Stinchcomb signed with the Saints, which was two-year, $7 million for a guy who basically has started one full season in the NFL after suffering a near career-ending knee injury in 2005. Sound familiar?
OK, sorry, can’t let this one pass. So many of you got down on Bill Parcells for sending the troublesome Antonio Bryant on his way. Well, would you lookee here. After signing a big, free-agent contract last year with San Francisco, Bryant caught 44 passes for 733 yards and three touchdowns. But evidently his arrest last season and subsequent four-game suspension was enough incentive for the 49ers to walk away from last year’s $4 million signing bonus. So that means he’s been through two teams (Cleveland and San Francisco) since the Cowboys released him five games into the 2004 season. Nice.
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