ADN

Texans Set To Sign Ahman Green

The Houston Texans agreed to terms with free agent running back Ahman Green on Sunday.

The 30-year-old former Green Bay Packer will likely become the starter for a team that struggled at the position last season after Domanick Williams -- formerly Davis -- missed the year with knee problems.

Green, an Omaha native who played at Nebraska in 1995-97, will be introduced at a 1 p.m. news conference in Houston on Monday, said Texans vice president of communications Tony Wyllie. Terms of the contract were not immediately available.

Houston also has a trio of inexperienced running backs in Wali Lundy, Chris Taylor and fellow former Green Bay player Samkon Gado. They also hope to re-sign free agent Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman Trophy winner, who excelled late last season after years of struggles.

Green had 266 carries for 1,059 yards last season after returning from a torn right quadriceps in 2005. He missed two games last season because of lingering effects from the injury.

He has 8,491 yards and 54 touchdowns in his nine-year career that began with Seattle. Before the injury two years ago, Green gained more than 1,100 yards in each of the previous five seasons.

Green, who has been with the Packers since the 2000 season, has close ties with former Packers head coach Mike Sherman, who is the Texans' offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Along with Gado, former Packers teammate Mike Flanagan also plays for the Texans.

"I'm just looking for a situation where I feel comfortable around the players and the coaches, where I can be myself," Green said Sunday before the deal was announced. "Come down here and just play football and have fun. That is what I'm looking for."

Green said facing the possibility of leaving Green Bay would be difficult.

"That's where the majority of my career is at," Green said. "I think speaking in general with anybody that has been in a situation for a long time, regardless of if it was good or bad, I've been there seven years. Some good, some bad, but regardless of the fact, staying or leaving will be tough. I don't know yet, but, I think for anybody generally speaking it would be tough to do. When you're a kid and you transfer a school, and that school you have all your buddies, regardless of if it was good times or bad times, it's still a tough time to leave."

Going into the offseason, Green had indicated he preferred to stay in Green Bay. He was scheduled to appear at the Packers' annual fan fest next weekend.

With Green out, the Packers are left with Vernand Morency, an inexperienced but quick back who was obtained for Gado in a trade with the Texans last season. Morency gained 434 yards on 96 carries last year.

Green Bay also could look to address their running back needs with the No. 16 pick in the NFL draft next month or obtain another running back through free agency.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/f ... index.html


*******

As a Packers fan all I can say is "FUCK!!!!"

Falcons Reach Deal with Joe Horn

Atlanta's young and underachieving receiving corps has a leader. More important, the Falcons have fetched Michael Vick another dependable target.

Former Saints receiver Joe Horn, released last week by New Orleans, agreed Wednesday to sign with the rival Falcons, according to team sources. Terms of the contract, which was being finalized, were not immediately available.

Horn began his visit with the Falcons on Monday night and never left, deciding not to visit Green Bay or Jacksonville, who also were interested in the services of the 35-year-old wideout, who has 576 receptions, 8,501 yards and 57 touchdowns in 11 seasons with Kansas City and New Orleans.

Horn, a four-time Pro Bowl selection who served as the voice of the Saints' franchise -- and, to some extent, the Gulf South region -- during a 2005 season ruined by Hurricane Katrina, posted four 1,000-yard seasons with the Saints. But he's had only five touchdown catches the past two seasons and missed six games last year due to injury.

The chance to face the Saints twice a season and remain close to New Orleans presumably played a part in Horn's decision to sign with the Falcons, along with the prospect of playing with Vick in new head coach Bobby Petrino and offensive coordinator Hugh Jackson's system.

The Saints deemed Horn expendable largely because of the emergence last season of rookie Marques Colston and former second-round pick Devery Henderson.

In Atlanta, Horn immediately vaults to the top of a receiver depth chart that includes former first-round picks Michael Jenkins and Roddy White, who will no doubt benefit from a mentor as experienced and accomplished as Horn.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2791102

Browns Sign Jamal Lewis To One-Year Deal

The Browns finally tackled Jamal Lewis.

Unable to reach a deal to remain in Baltimore, the free agent running back signed a one-year deal on Wednesday with Cleveland, the team he blistered for an NFL single-game record 295 yards in 2003.

Lewis was released last week in a salary-cap move by the Ravens, who elected not to pay their career rushing leader a $5 million roster bonus. He'll now join the Browns, Baltimore's AFC North rival, who were last in the league in rushing in 2006.

"We are pleased to add Jamal Lewis to our team," Browns general manager Phil Savage said in a statement. "He is a proven NFL back who brings a toughness and demeanor to the game that his teammates and our fans will appreciate."

With the Ravens reportedly interested in acquiring Buffalo running back Willis McGahee, Lewis decided to look elsewhere and found a fit with the Browns -- one of the teams he has torched while rushing for 7,801 yards and 45 TDs in seven seasons.

Lewis, the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2003, is an upgrade at running back for the Browns, who now have to figure out what to do with feature back Reuben Droughns. They owe Droughns a $1.75 million roster bonus later this month, but may choose to cut him instead.

Slowed by injuries, Droughns rushed for just 758 yards last season after gaining 1,232 yards in 2005 -- the first Cleveland back to eclipse 1,000 yards since 1985.

Adding Lewis also gives the Browns more options as they plan for April's college draft. The club was believed to be targeting Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson with the No. 3 overall pick, but with Lewis on his roster, Savage may be able to address other needs.

In 2003, Lewis rushed for 2,066 yards, the second-highest total in league history. Last season, he ran for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns, but averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. He recently underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle.

Source: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/f ... index.html

Broncos Add Patrick Ramsey As Backup

The Denver Broncos on Wednesday night won the battle for coveted backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey, with ESPN.com learning the club has reached a contract agreement with the five-year veteran.

Ramsey, 28, will sign a two-year contract worth approximately $5 million, with about $1.5 million in guarantees.

The Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers also were interested in Ramsey, who recently was released by the New York Jets after only one season with the team. Ramsey will become the backup to Denver second-year pro Jay Cutler, and he ostensibly replaces Jake Plummer in that role.

Denver last weekend traded Plummer to Tampa Bay, and the veteran abruptly retired. The Broncos then began exploring their options for a proven veteran to back up Cutler, their first-round choice in 2006, and quickly targeted Ramsey.

The Broncos will be Ramsey's third team in three seasons, but one of the reasons he settled on Denver as his new home is the overall stability of the organization and the chance to settle in with a franchise and coaching staff he respects.

The first-round choice of the Washington Redskins in 2002, Ramsey has played in 34 games, and his r©sum© includes 24 starts. He has completed 480 of 862 passes for 5,649 yards, with 34 touchdown passes, 29 interceptions and a passer rating of 74.9. His best season came in 2002, when he made 11 starts for the Redskins. Although he had a 4-7 record that year, Ramsey had 14 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.

The former Tulane star threw only one pass for the Jets in 2006, and New York released him rather than pay a roster bonus due this spring.

Blessed with a strong arm and solid pocket presence, Ramsey has suffered from being overcoached at times and, certainly during his tenure under coach Joe Gibbs in Washington, he was mishandled and lost confidence.

Given the volume of teams that pursued him after the Jets released him, though, it appears there are still people in the league who value him.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2791258

Raves Acquire McGahee from Bills For 3 Draft Picks

The Ravens and Bills agreed to a trade Thursday that will send running back Willis McGahee to Baltimore in exchange for the team's third and seventh-round picks in this year's draft, along with the Ravens' third-round pick in 2008.

Baltimore announced the deal Thursday afternoon.

Buffalo dealt McGahee in anticipation of difficulty with his contract, which has one season remaining at $2.155 million. The Ravens and McGahee have already begun negotiations on a contract extension, McGahee's agent Drew Rosenhaus said.

It's the second year in a row the Ravens pulled off a trade for a marquee veteran. Last year they dealt for Tennessee Titans quarteback Steve McNair, who led the Ravens to the AFC North title.

"This is a runner who can make people miss and has the explosion and speed to take it the distance," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "He also has the power and size to run inside. He's a viable receiver out of the backfield and is a good pass blocker, not something every back can do.

"He also plays physical and with toughness, which are things we pride ourselves on here."

The Bills, whose remaining running backs are Daimon Shelton and Shaud Williams, are now in the market for multiple backs. They have shown interest in the Colts' Dominic Rhodes and the Titans' Chris Brown, and both have visited the team. Former Patriots running back Corey Dillon has not visited Orchard Park, but the Bills are said to be interested.

Buffalo's first-round pick out of Miami in 2003, McGahee is coming off a down season in which he finished with a career-low 990 yards rushing, but led the team with six rushing touchdowns in 14 starts.

The Bills have been disappointed in McGahee for conducting most of his offseason workouts in his native Miami, rather than traveling to the team's Orchard Park headquarters. McGahee also created a stir when he was quoted in a magazine article suggesting the NFL consider moving the Bills to Toronto, a comment he later said was taken out of context.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2791831

LOL! That's an insult to him though. 3rd round draft picks? Ouch!

Oh well, Frank Gore is by far the best runningback to come out of the U in the past decade anyway.

Damn, isn't dude, or wasn't dude playing good football in Buffalo..? With J Lewis going to the Browns, I'd say the Ravens got a fucking steal man...

He was playing really well in Buffalo. His numbers were a little down this year, but he's still an awesome back. The Ravens did get a huge steal. I'm liking how they are doing business. They way they grabbed McNair last year and McGahee now....wow...they are gonna be awesome next year

Raiders Sign Dominic Rhodes

Running back Dominic Rhodes, one of the heroes of the Indianapolis Colts' Super Bowl XLI championship less than two months ago, is headed to the team that finished the 2006 season with the league's worst record.

Rhodes on Friday morning agreed with the Oakland Raiders on a two-year contract that can be worth as much as $7.5 million, league sources confirmed for ESPN.com. Rhodes had generated considerable interest as an unrestricted free agent and made several visits, but met with Oakland officials earlier this week and was sold on the opportunity there.

The six-year veteran will serve as an insurance policy for the Raiders, in the event incumbent starter LaMont Jordan does not bounce back from the medial collateral ligament injury that limited him to nine games in 2006. More likely, however, the two will split the ball-carrying duties in the Oakland backfield.

Rhodes, 28, played six seasons in Indianapolis, appearing in 71 games and starting in 27 contests. The former Midwestern State (Texas) standout made the Colts' roster as an undrafted college free agent in 2001, then further beat the odds by rushing for over 1,000 yards as a rookie, when he replaced an injured Edgerrin James.

He carried 550 times for 2,274 yards and 19 touchdowns in six seasons and added 90 receptions for 649 yards and one touchdown.

Last year, in the Colts' Super Bowl season, Rhodes started all 16 regular-season games before rookie Joseph Addai replaced him in the lineup at the outset of the playoffs. But Rhodes still played a significant role in the postseason and, in the Super Bowl victory over the Chicago Bears, he rushed for a game-high 113 yards.

Rhodes still faces a drunken-driving charge in Indiana, where police said he was pulled over early the morning of Feb. 20 driving a truck 81 mph in a 55-mph zone on an Indianapolis-area interstate.

Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2792972

I think I'm gonna go cry now...