Jersey numbers have sometimes been the subject of serious problems in NFL locker rooms. Former Redskins defensive back Ifeanyi Ohalete agreed to sell No. 26 to Clinton Portis for $20,000, then sued Portis for not coming through. Former Giants punter Jeff Feagles sold his jersey number to Eli Manning one year, then sold his new number to Plaxico Burress— but said later that Burress never paid up.
The ultimate confrontation could have come up in New England this week whenChad Ochocinco — the man who changed his name to a bastardized Spanish version of his jersey number — arrived in a locker room where teammate Aaron Hernandez already had 85.
But no problem came up at all. Hernandez simply gave 85 to Ochocinco, for free. Hernandez said he’s perfectly content to switch to 81, which he wore at Florida.
“Chad Ochocinco came to the team, and he’s a great player, and I had a chance to get my college number back, and he obviously wanted #85, and there wasn’t a problem,” Hernandez said, per the Boston Herald. “He deserved it, so I thought he should get it.”
Hernandez sounds like he doesn’t particularly care about his jersey number — or particularly care about getting money out of Ochocinco.
“All of us have a decent amount of money,” Hernandez said. “I definitely should have [asked for something], but I didn’t. It was just a welcome to the team. I’m glad to have him.
Ultimately, Hernandez said, he just wants to be a good teammate.
“Hopefully we get some big things out of him this year,” Hernandez said of Ochocinco. “I thought he may look better and play better in #85, cuz that’s his last name. So why not give it to him?”
The Colts have Peyton Manning in the fold for five more years.
Manning, the Colts’ franchise quarterback since 1998, has agreed to a five-year, $90 million contract, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is reporting.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has said that Manning deserves to be the highest-paid player in the league, but Manning said he was willing to take less than the Colts were offering if it meant they’d have more salary cap space for some of his teammates. Mortensen reports that Irsay was willing to go up to $100 million over five years.
We don’t yet know how the numbers break down — how much is guaranteed, how big a signing bonus Manning received — but Manning will average $18 million a year for five more years. Manning agreed to a deal with the same average value asTom Brady got on his four-year, $72 million contract with the Patriots.
And Manning will be the Colts’ quarterback through the 2015 season, when he’ll be 39 years old.
Just when it looked like the Philadelphia Eagles were doing nothing but spending to bolster their defense for a title run this year, they’ve traded away a member of their defense for a future draft pick.
Philadelphia has traded defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley to Cleveland for the Browns’ fifth-round pick in 2012.
Bunkley was the Eagles’ first-round draft pick, No. 14 overall, in 2006. Although he showed flashes of the talent the Eagles saw in him coming out of Florida State, he never became quite the player he was expected to become. Last year Bunkley played through an elbow injury for most of the season and appeared in 14 games, starting five.
Today’s acquisition of free agent defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins made Bunkley expendable, and he’ll compete for a starting spot in Cleveland.
Now that Manning’s deal is done, the Colts have taken care of one of their key free agents. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that Joseph Addai has signed an undisclosed deal.
We thought getting Addai back in the fold was perhaps the most important move the Coltshad to make in free agency.
Even though Manning’s cap number is lower by far than it would be as a franchise player, the Colts still had a cap cut to make. Cornerback Kelvin Hayden was surprisingly let go.
The Colts are deeper than people think at cornerback and Hayden was due over $6 million. He’ll be an interesting pickup for a zone team.
The Chicago Bears have picked up another free agent, but they’re likely to lose one of their own.
Running back Marion Barber, formerly of the Cowboys, has signed a two-year deal with the Bears, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribunereported, and the Bears have now announced. Barber was released by the Cowboys this week after six seasons in Dallas. He’s coming off a 2010 season in which he had a career-low 374 rushing yards and a career-low 3.3 yards a carry.
PFT has learned that Barber’s deal with the Bears is a two-year, $5 million contract.
But while the Bears add Barber, they may be losing veteran center Olin Kreutz. Kreutz’s agent, Mark Bartlestein, said it’s not looking good for his client to remain in Chicago.
Those quotes could be designed to spur the Bears to up their offer. But they also may be an indication that the Bears are going to have to find a new center because they’re about to lose the one who has started the last 134 games.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Newton has signed with the Carolina Panthers and arrived at training camp.
The team announced Friday night that the quarterback had signed a deal and was attending team meetings. The Panthers also said on Twitter that the quarterback "had officially signed on the dotted line."
Bus Cook, Newton's agent, told The Associated Press via a text message Friday night that the deal was for four years and "$22 million-plus."
Newton was seen Friday night driving into the back lot of the Richardson Physical Activities Building and entering the offices that serve as team headquarters for the Panthers' training camp at Wofford College..
Panthers coach Ron Rivera had said earlier Friday that he expected the former Auburn quarterback to be at Wofford when the team held its first practice session Saturday. Also earlier Friday, general manager Marty Hurney said the sides were making good progress on an agreement.
The Heisman Trophy winner might be the biggest financial casualty of the NFL lockout.
The new collective bargaining agreement sets a rookie wage system for first-year pros. Last year's No. 1 draft pick, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford, signed a six-year, $78 million contract with the St. Louis Rams last summer. Newton would have been in for a likely even better payday if not for the lockout.
At Auburn, Newton took snaps out of the shotgun in a spread offense where he had opportunities to run and pass for big yardage. He threw for 30 touchdowns and rushed for 20 more in the Tigers' 14-0 title-winning season.
Newton will have to move under center and scramble less in offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski's Panthers scheme.
"I don't think it's going to be a problem for me. I think it's just timing more than anything," Newton said last May. "Just repetition as far as me knowing what I have to do, knowing the assignment, the alignment and what everybody's doing on that particular play."
Newton has had Chudzinski's playbook since April 29, when a judge temporarily lifted the lockout. Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith said he was impressed with Newton's skills he saw during private workouts the two have had before labor peace was reached.
Another Panthers rookie from Auburn, receiver Darvin Adams, called Newton a "natural-born leader."
Newton will be looked at to bring stability to a position where the Panthers struggled greatly last season. Carolina was last in several NFL categories and finished with the fewest points in team history.
Rivera said Newton would battle for the starting job with the quarterbacks in camp, last year's starter Jimmy Clausenand Tony Pike. Hurney didn't rule out bringing in a veteran quarterback to add depth during camp.
Newton was the focus of an NCAA investigation. The governing body ruled that his father, Cecil, had sought money from Mississippi State when Cam Newton was being recruited out of junior college. The quarterback signed with Auburn and was deemed eligible after a one-day suspension when the NCAA's reinstatement staff found he didn't know about the pay-for-play scheme. He was cleared to play in the Southeastern Conference and BCS national championship games.
Said Dolphins RB Reggie Bush, “I have always wanted to be a featured back, you know, the main guy and I feel like there is an opportunity here for that.”
Said Bengals LB Rey Maualuga, “We can’t say, ‘We don’t have this guy, we don’t have that guy.’ That’s going to kick us back one step further from where we’re trying to get to.”
Marshall was a solid player for much of his time in Carolina, starting 32 games over the last two seasons. He struggled in 2010, but was considerably better before that.
This move should quiet talk that the Cardinals could pick upAsante Samuel in a possible trade. Marshall figures to start opposite rookie Patrick Peterson, who remains unsigned.
UPDATE: The Cardinals announced the Marshall move, saying the sides have agreed to terms. They also signed undrafted rookie free agent cornerback Tae Evans and released cornerback Da’Mon Merkerson.
SECOND UPDATE: We’re told that the Marshall deal has not yet been signed. So it’s not a done deal until the deal is done. That said, it’s expected that, in short order, the contract will be signed.
Chad Ochocinco is on the practice field with the Patriots today, and in a brief chat with reporters after the morning session he said he’s willing to change the way he does things if that’s what he has to do to fit in with his new team.
“I’ll always be me,” he said. “But there’s a certain way the Patriots do it, and I’ve always been a chameleon, and I’m going to do it the Patriot way, which is win.”
Ochocinco said he had a pleasant chat with his new coach, Bill Belichick, and that he knows Belichick doesn’t want him to be quite as outlandish as he was in the past.
“Bill, we had our talk and without him having to saying anything, I’ll say, there’s no need for some of the things that have been before,” Ochocinco said.
Ochocinco said he has enjoyed his new teammates, noting that he’s keeping a close eye on Wes Welker to learn the Patriots’ offense. And he said he’s already comfortable with Belichick from previous meetings.
“They’ve welcomed me with open arms,” Ochocinco said. “I talked to coach Belichick, we had our normal talk, our normal chat like we do when I’ve played against them. It sort of went the same way. Other than that, I’m ready to rock and roll.”
Clearly happy in his new environment, Ochocinco concluded his first meeting with the local media by asking if he could arrange a group hug.
