Tuesday, April 16, 2002

ProFootballWeekly.com asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in football. 

Chiefs force Bears to act on signing LB Holdman

LB Donnie Edwards felt a $3 million per year pact wasn’t enough and was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs shortly thereafter. Monday, Kansas City appeared closer to finding his replacement, signing Bears restricted free agent Warrick Holdman to a four-year, $12 million offer sheet, including a $2 million signing bonus. A clerical error in the Bears’ front office negated mandatory compensation — as is the norm when teams sign restricted free agents — which would have been a fourth-round draft choice due to the Bears from Kansas City.

Buchsbaum: Holdman’s offer sheet of four years, $12 million, with much of the money coming in the second year, is probably one the Bears will not match. Holdman is an active, aggressive linebacker with very good speed and range who is very similar to Edwards in many respects, but not as polished or explosive. On the other hand, Edwards remains unsigned and after the Cowboys signing of Kevin Hardy, may be the top unsigned linebacker out there and is one of the top available free agents.

Rams upgrade WR corps

The Rams weren’t willing to pay the $3 million a year salary Az-Zahir Hakim wanted to stick around, but may have the next best thing after trading what is thought to be a sixth-round pick to Indianapolis for WR Terrence Wilkins, who agreed to a four-year, $4.6 million deal. Wilkins, a speed receiver and return specialist, had 34 catches for 332 yards in 2001. Wilkins and Ricky Proehl figure to be the No. 3 and 4 receivers, respectively, for St. Louis.

Buchsbaum: In a very good move, the Rams traded a later-round pick to the Colts for WR Terrence Wilkins. Wilkins doesn’t have the speed and explosiveness that Az-Zahir Hakim had, but he has a similar style — an excellent third or fourth receiver with more quickness than pure speed and a gifted return man to return both kickoffs and punts. With the loss of Hakim, the Rams needed a return man badly and Wilkins should fill that role. However, like Hakim, Wilkins had a fumble problem in the past, though not as severe.

Broncos add OL Salaam

Mike Shanahan felt the slip on offense last season was due in large part to a lack of production on the offensive line. He addressed that need Monday, bringing in 6-7, 320-pound OL Ephraim Salaam aboard to play tackle or possibly a guard position. Salaam, a four-year veteran, has spent his entire career in Atlanta to this point. The deal, for seven years, included a $700,000 signing bonus.

Buchsbaum: The Broncos made a nice move signing Salaam. If worse comes to worse, Salaam can start at right or left tackle. On the other hand, if Denver can sign Blake Brockermeyer, then the Broncos can keep Matt Lepsis at left tackle, start Brockermeyer on the right side and have a good set of tackles. With Salaam, they may be hurting a little bit, but not as much as they did last year with Trey Teague starting at left tackle.

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