Wednesday, May 30, 2001

Cunningham signs with Ravens

The Ravens have come to terms with QB Randall Cunningham. Cunningham will be the backup to Elvis Grbac and Chris Redman, who threw only three passes last year as a rookie. Ravens coach Brian Billick was the Vikings’ offensive coordinator and Cunningham was the quarterback in ’98, when the Vikings scored a record 556 points. Cunningham threw for 34 touchdowns that year.

Buchsbaum: It’s a very good fit all the way around. Cunningham still can play, he knows Brian Billick’s offense, and he had his best year under Billick, who knows his strengths and weaknesses. One of his strengths is throwing the long ball, something Billick likes to do. Cunningham gives them mobility, which neither of their other quarterbacks have, and he’s shown he can play well in spurts if Elvis Grbac gets hurt. Going in knowing he’s the backup is what he wanted. It takes the pressure off him and he tends to play better that way if he’s called upon. He gives them a quarterback if Grbac gets hurt and Chris Redman isn’t healthy.

Pickens retires

ESPN.com has reported that Carl Pickens told his agent, Steve Zucker, to notify the Cowboys that his hamstring has not gotten any better and that he is in the process of preparing his retirement papers. He signed with the Cowboys for a one-year, $500,000 deal. Pickens, 31, finishes with 540 receptions, 7,129 receiving yards and 63 touchdowns in nine seasons. He played his first eight years for the Cincinnati Bengals, and then played for the Tennessee Titans last season.

Buchsbaum: Pickens was a very good, physical receiver during his prime, but he was always known as a selfish player and not a great team guy. He was a little too much for Carl Pickens all the time, had a very big ego — he was a high school All-American and carried that all the way through — and he always seemed to have almost like a little chip on his shoulder. Now that it’s time for him to say goodbye, he probably wants to say hello, because he’ll miss the game a lot.

Flanigan signs with Green Bay

The Packers signed former Bears DT Jim Flanigan to a one-year contract on Tuesday. The 29-year-old Flanigan played seven seasons for the Bears before being released last month. He had 463 tackles, including 40 1/2 sacks in 108 games with the Bears.

Buchsbaum: The Packers were hurting at defensive tackle because of the injuries that happened at the end of last year. Flanigan faced them twice a year, they know what he has left, what he can and can’t do. Both the player and the team feel he’s a much better fit for the defense Green Bay is playing now, as opposed to the power defense they used to play. They want to rotate the lighter tackles, which means he’ll probably rotate, which should help him. Mark Hatley, in the personnel department, always liked Flanigan when they were with the Bears. He likes his effort, he likes his motor, and the other factor is Flanigan always grew up dreaming of being a Packer. His father spent three to four years as a linebacker for the Packers. He was raised in the area and it’s a little bit of a dream come true. Now the question is just how much does he have left in the tank and how much will he be able to contribute? On the surface, this was a shocking cut, as was Tampa Bay’s cutting Brad Culpepper last year. But very often, clubs see a smaller, older player declining, and they worry he will go too far.

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2000 - 2001 Season