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Giants Acquire Droughns

Filling their need for a proven running back to team with youngster Brandon Jacobs, the New York Giants on Friday acquired Reuben Droughns from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for wide receiver Tim Carter, ESPN.com has learned.

Cleveland has been shopping Droughns in trade talks since signing unrestricted free agent tailback Jamal Lewis to a one-year contract earlier this week. The Giants were seeking a tailback to replace the retired Tiki Barber.

Droughns, 28, should provide the Giants a solid insurance policy and a veteran and tested back who can share the ball-carrying chores with Jacobs, a two-year veteran. Jacobs has been the complementary back to Barber, playing mostly in short-yardage and goal-line situations in his two NFL seasons.

A fourth-round pick in the 2005 draft, Jacobs has logged only 134 career carries for 522 yards, but has scored 16 touchdowns. Last season, the former Southern Illinois standout rushed for 423 yards and nine TDs on 96 attempts.

Droughns came to the Browns from Denver in a 2005 trade after rushing for 1,240 yards in 2004. He gained 1,232 yards in 2005, his first year in Cleveland, and the Browns rewarded him with a three-year contract extension worth $12 million. But Droughns slumped to 758 yards in 2006 and there have been some off-field problems in the past year.

He was due a $1.75 million roster bonus on March 17 but the Browns wanted to avoid paying it, especially after acquiring Lewis, who has already been penciled in as the starter. Droughns is scheduled to have a base salary of $1.25 million for 2007 and is due base salaries of $1.75 million for '08 and $2.75 million for '09 under his Cleveland contract. It was not immediately known if he reworked his contract to help accommodate the trade.

For Carter, the deal represents a chance for a fresh start after five injury-marred seasons with the Giants.

"Tim is absolutely excited about this opportunity," agent Pat Dye Jr. said on Friday afternoon. "In discussing Tim's situation with the Giants, we wanted to identify some teams who might be a good fit for him if New York decided to deal him. Obviously the Browns, who were looking for the kind of deep-threat dimension he brings to the table, were the most proactive."

Carter, 27, was a second-round choice of the Giants in 2002. The former Auburn standout possesses sprinter's speed, but a series of injuries have kept him from fulfilling his potential. He has 72 career receptions for 967 yards and three touchdowns in 33 games, including 11 starts. Last season, Carter started eight games and had 22 catches for 253 yards and two touchdowns.

In an active market, Droughns is the fourth starting-caliber tailback to be traded in the past week. The other tailbacks to be traded were Tatum Bell (from Denver to Detroit), Thomas Jones (from Chicago to the New York Jets) and Willis McGahee (from Buffalo to Baltimore).

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2793305

Pats Sign Donte Stallworth

The Patriots continued their offseason spending spree, adding wide receiver Donte' Stallworth to their 2007 haul, league sources told ESPN.com.

The deal -- negotiated by agent Drew Rosenhaus, who concluded a frenetic week in free agency by constructing a contract that met the needs of all parties -- can be as brief as one season or as lengthy as six. But for the Patriots to retain Stallworth beyond the 2007 season, a year in which he will make $3.6 million in bonuses and salary, New England will have to make a significant investment.

Stallworth will receive an initial signing bonus of $1 million, a roster bonus of $1.6 million and a $300,000 workout bonus, to go along with his 2007 base salary of $700,000. That totals $3.6 million for the coming season.

It's after the 2007 season, however, when the really big money could kick in.

For the Patriots to retain Stallworth for the 2008 season, they must pay him an option bonus of $6 million by Feb. 25, 2008. There is a subsequent roster bonus of $2 million due March 1, a second roster bonus of $1.6 million based on playing time, a base salary of $1 million and a $400,000 workout bonus. That totals an exorbitant $11 million for 2008, or a two-year total of $14.6 million.

To keep Stallworth for 2009, the Patriots would have to pay another option bonus, this one of $2 million, by Feb. 25 of that year. In terms of bonuses and base salary, the 2009 season would be worth $5 million to Stallworth, for a three-year total of $19.6 million.

The final three seasons of the contract all include workout bonuses of $500,000 each and base salaries of $4 million each. The maximum value of the contract, if the Patriots were to keep Stallworth for all six years, is $33.1 million.

An initial report on ESPN.com saying the deal was worth a guaranteed $12 million was later clarified by a source, who said the deal -- with only one year guaranteed -- gives Stallworth and the Patriots flexibility.

The rationale behind the structure: Stallworth has the opportunity to register a huge season in 2007, playing with quarterback Tom Brady on a team that figures to be a Super Bowl contender. And after the 2007 campaign, the Patriots will have to dig deep to retain him, dramatically rework his contract or allow him to go back into the free-agent market. It was a creative concept developed by Rosenhaus, one accepted by several of the teams bidding for Stallworth, to maximize his client's earning potential. At the same time, it provides New England a big-play threat for at least one season, with the capacity to retain Stallworth beyond that, if desired.

League and union officials are investigating a Philadelphia Inquirer report that Stallworth is in the NFL's substance-abuse program, sources from both parties told ESPN.com.

Citing unnamed sources, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday that Stallworth is a participant in the league program and that he could be subject to suspension if he suffered a repeat violation of its conditions. The newspaper also reported that a breach of the program's confidentiality agreement can warrant a league fine, and NFL and NFL Players Association officials began to seek possible sources for the leak Monday.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2794615

Falcons Trade Matt Schaub to Texans for Draft Picks

In a move that figures to have significant ramifications for the incumbent starters from both teams, the Atlanta Falcons on Wednesday agreed in principle to trade three-year veteran quarterback Matt Schaub to the Houston Texans.

When the trade is completed, Atlanta and Houston will flip-flop first-round picks in April's draft, and Atlanta will receive Houston's second-round picks in 2007 and 2008. The deal likely will be completed later Wednesday afternoon. Houston has the No. 8 pick in the first round of the draft, while Atlanta is slotted 10th.

Sources told ESPN.com that the trade is contingent upon the Texans reaching agreement with Schaub on a contract, and negotiations have already begun.

In acquiring Schaub, the Texans have ostensibly conceded that five-year veteran David Carr, the top overall player chosen in the 2002 draft and a quarterback in whom Houston has invested considerable time and money, is no longer their quarterback of the future. At the same time, the departure of Schaub indicates that new Falcons coach Bobby Petrino is sold on Michael Vick, who is said to have made a strong impression on the rookie sideline boss in their first few months working together.

Schaub, 25, has been the subject of trade rumors for each of the past two springs. ESPN.com reported last Friday in its "Tip Sheet" column that Falcons officials seemed prepared to begin listening to trade offers for him and had begun discussing possible replacements.

One of the strong candidates to replace Schaub as the backup to Vick, ESPN.com has learned, is Anthony Wright, who played with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2006.

Despite starting only two games in three seasons and winning neither of them, Schaub is highly regarded around the NFL. The former Virginia standout, a third-round pick by Atlanta in 2004, has completed 84 of 161 passes for 1,033 yards, with six touchdown passes and six interceptions.

Schaub was a restricted free agent this spring and the Falcons made him the highest qualifying offer possible, at $2.3 million. That qualifying offer meant that, had another team signed Schaub to an offer sheet, and Atlanta not matched it, the Falcons would have received first- and third-round draft choices as compensation.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2807051