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Redskins LB
Jeremiah Trotter
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The 2002 NFL draft may not have been chock full of outstanding LB prospects, but in the
free-agent market, teams have been able to choose from some of the best talent in the
league.
Five of this year’s top 10 unrestricted free agents, according to Pro Football
Weekly’s rankings, were linebackers. Three of those top 10 signed lucrative contracts
in April, with the two others committing to teams at the beginning of the free-agent
signing period.
Jeremiah Trotter, Kevin Hardy and Donnie Edwards all have new homes after agreeing to
deals recently. Trotter, who had his franchise designation rescinded in a surprising move
by the Eagles, is headed to division rival Washington. Hardy, a salary-cap casualty in
Jacksonville, will begin what is essentially a one-year tryout with the Cowboys. And
Edwards, a cap casualty in Kansas City, heads to San Diego to play for his hometown team,
the Chargers.
Trotter signed the richest of the three deals, getting a seven-year contract worth
$35.5 million, including a $7 million signing bonus. The pact voids after five seasons if
he reaches specific playing-time incentives, meaning Trotter can cash in again as a free
agent at the relatively young age of 30.
Considered one of the best young middle linebackers in the game, Trotter will be
joining an all-star cast of ’backers. The Redskins will feature a starting LB corps
of Trotter in the middle, ex-Giant Jessie Armstead on the weak side and rising star LaVar
Arrington on the strong side. All three players appeared in last season’s Pro Bowl.
Hardy is coming off knee surgery, which may have hurt his marketability as a free agent
this spring. But the Cowboys love his potential if he can come all the way back from the
injury, which is why they signed him to a one-year, $2.5 million deal that included a $1.5
million signing bonus and a club option for four more years. If Hardy plays to his old
form, the Cowboys can trigger the final four years of the deal by paying a $5 million
option bonus. That would kick up the total value of the deal to $23 million, the same
amount that Steelers OLB Jason Gildon agreed to re-sign for back in February.
The Cowboys are expected to unleash Hardy and allow him to do what he does best, rush
the quarterback. Dallas linebackers have netted just one sack in the last two seasons.
Hardy has 28.5 sacks in six NFL seasons, including 10.5 in 1999.
"He offers something we have not had at the linebacker position since I’ve
been here," said head coach Dave Campo, who is entering his 14th season as a member
of the Cowboys’ coaching staff. "With the ability he has shown to slither,
he’s going to be able to do some things to up our ability to rush the passer and
force some bad plays."
Edwards agreed to terms with the Chargers on the first day of the draft. He signed a
five-year, $19 million deal that includes a signing bonus of between $6 million and $6.5
million.
One of the NFL’s best outside linebackers, Edwards rejoins his former head coach,
Marty Schottenheimer. Edwards also will be very familiar with his new position coach, Greg
Manusky. They were teammates together in Kansas City.
Edwards, who will start on the strong side, joins a team that already has a standout
linebacker in Junior Seau.
"He’s a lot like me," Edwards said of Seau. "He plays with high
intensity, emotion, and the guy shows up week after week. That’s the way I play this
game too. I think having both of us out there on defense is going to be exciting.
You’re going to see a lot of plays."
It’s not only the unrestricted linebackers who have been cashing in of late. A
pair of restricted free agents became millionaires in recent weeks when the Cowboys
re-signed MLB Dat Nguyen and the Bears re-signed OLB Warrick Holdman.
Holdman wasn’t expected to cash in until next year, when he was slated to become
an unrestricted free agent. But instead, the Chiefs signed him to an offer sheet worth $12
million over four years. It includes a $2 million signing bonus. The way the deal is
structured, Holdman is slated to count $950,000 vs. the salary cap this season, but his
cap liability will skyrocket to $4 million in 2003. That was intentionally set up by the
Chiefs in an effort to dissuade the Bears from matching, but Chicago didn’t want to
lose its second-leading tackler and opted to keep him in the fold. Perhaps factoring into
the Bears’ decision was the fact that they would not have received any compensation
in the form of a draft pick from the Chiefs, thanks to a clerical error on paperwork filed
with the NFL.
As for Nguyen, who has 204 tackles, one sack, three interceptions and seven passes
defensed in his three-year career with the Cowboys, he signed a six-year deal that is
reportedly worth $13.5 million, including a $2.55 million signing bonus.
 One of the most
active teams on the free-agent market in recent weeks has been the Saints, who are
undergoing another roster overhaul after their late-season collapse. In April alone, the
Saints signed WR Jerome Pathon, DT Grady Jackson, OT Victor Riley and CB Ken Irvin —
all of whom could wind up starting. Those signings are in addition to the late-March
arrivals of TE David Sloan, LB Bryan Cox and OT Spencer Folau. CB Dale Carter and WR Jake
Reed joined at the start of the free-agent signing period.
There’s been a
lot of movement among kicking specialists in recent weeks. PK Mike Hollis, who wasn’t
going to be welcomed back in Jacksonville, signed with the Bills. Ex-Ravens P Kyle
Richardson signed with the Vikings. Ex-Vikings P Mitch Berger signed with the Rams.
Ex-Rams P John Baker was picked up off waivers by the Texans. Ex-Buccaneers P Mark Royals
signed with the Dolphins. Ex-Dolphins P Matt Turk signed with the Jets.
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