| Take your big man in basketball, your starting
pitcher in baseball, your goaltender in hockey, and still, quarterback is arguably the
most important position in team sports. In the two weeks since free agency has taken the
NFL world by storm, lots of things have happened to the passers around the league. Here is
a brief look at some of the top players who have changed locations and what may lie ahead. No
team was able to truly expose Trent Dilfer during the Ravens’ magical playoff
run, but the first few weeks of free agency certainly have. Despite helping orchestrate a
Super Bowl win, Dilfer is about as hot a commodity in the free-agent market as Pauly Shore
or Steve Guttenberg are in Hollywood these days. The Ravens welcomed Ray Lewis back with
open arms after his legal debacle, but the team’s two starting quarterbacks from last
season, Dilfer and Tony Banks, were shown the door as fast as a kid with muddy
shoes. Dilfer will resurface again in a few weeks with an organization in need of a
serviceable backup, but his days of paid trips to Disneyland are a thing of the past.
Troy Aikman has had 11 career concussions that doctors actually knew about and last
season suffered from a back condition that kept him out for five games. Statistically, he
had his worst season since his rookie campaign back in 1989. Business is the name of the
pro game these days, and the Cowboys did what they had to do, especially considering the
all-important health factor. While he should be sitting in a TV booth somewhere next
season, he’ll probably be joining up for another year of being chased by defensive
linemen instead of escaping into the much safer world of retirement/broadcasting. Too bad.
For all involved.
The Rams are saying they’ll pull Trent Green off the market if they
don’t get an acceptable offer from the Chiefs before Thursday, the date in which a
$500,000 roster bonus is due to Green’s wallet. The Rams could save $1.875 million if
he’s traded before Thursday and $1.375 million after that. Part of the delay with
trading Green came from the Rams’ concerns with the length of time it took Kurt
Warner to recover from a late-season concussion. Chiefs doctors examined Green’s
surgically repaired left knee today, and a deal could finally go down soon. The Chiefs
appear to be the only team still in the running for Green, as teams are reluctant to
surrender draft picks unless they have a serious void to fill with a veteran. The Chiefs
have that serious void, with Todd Collins as the only remaining passer from a 2000
team that finished 7-9. The $500,000 could be very valuable to the salary cap-strapped
Rams, who could use the money for such things as signing bonuses for draft picks or
signing a veteran free agent.
According to the Chiefs, Elvis Grbac made up his mind early that he didn’t
want to return, which made restructuring his contract to avoid a $10 million roster bonus
seem as useless as asking pubs to close on St. Patrick’s Day. Grbac signed a
six-year, $30 million deal with the Ravens on March 6 and should provide a downfield
passing threat that will make the Ravens a permanent fixture on the short list of Super
Bowl contenders for the next few years. Grbac says goodbye to the best tight end in the
game (Tony Gonzalez) and hello to the arguably the best tight end in the ’90s
(Shannon Sharpe). Goodbye, RB-by-committee system and hello, Jamal Lewis. Goodbye, Derrick
Alexander and hello Qadry Ismail. Goodbye, Sylvester Morris and hello, Travis Taylor. Head
coach Brian Billick may finally be able to do what he wanted to do all along since coming
in from Minnesota, and maybe Randy Moss will be looking for a new home before long. OK,
now I’m getting ahead of myself.
The Buccaneers, the team that never seems to know exactly what it wants to do
offensively now has another weapon to help them figure it out. Though Brad Johnson
has just two complete, solid seasons to his credit, he was one of the biggest names on the
market when the free agency period began. If he can stay healthy and show the timing and
decision-making skills he possessed in Minnesota and Washington, the Buccaneers could be
on their way to getting over the hump.
Doug Flutie may no longer have to look over his shoulder to keep an eye on Rob
Johnson, but all may not be exactly peachy as he closes out his career in southern
California. The Chargers have added key defensive players in free agency, but plenty of
questions remain on the offensive line and at running back for a team that mustered just
one win last season. San Diego is expected to select Michael Vick with the first
pick in the draft, and while many expect he’ll be a year or two away from
contributing, there will be pressure to give Vick the reigns and let him learn for
himself.
"I love Doug," Chargers SS Rodney Harrison said. "If you can’t have
a winner, if you can’t have a great leader at quarterback, I don’t believe a
team can win."
The recent numbers from the QB position in San Diego back up Harrison’s statement.
In the last three and a half years, six Chargers quarterbacks have combined for 99
interceptions and just 47 TD passes. Flutie, even with just an average year, could be a
welcome relief for a team with plenty of defensive prowess.
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