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NEW ORLEANS -- Having brought Tony Boselli to town for a physical examination, the Houston Texans will now have to think long and hard about whether to select the Jacksonville Jaguars left offensive tackle in the Feb. 18 expansion draft.
General manager Charley Casserly and coach Dom Capers would love to have a natural leader like Boselli as the character cornerstone for their team, but there are a ton of considerations, not the least of which is his health.
|  | | A long history of health problems could prevent the Texans from drafting Tony Boselli, left. |
Noted one team official: "We love him but his medical dossier looks like
Noah's Ark, you know, two of everything. Two surgeries on his shoulders this
offseason, problems with both knees, two bad ankles. If we're going to take
on a guy with that kind of salary cap (between $7 million to $8.9 million based
on incentives from the 2001 season), we've got to be sure he can play. And
let's face it, by the time that we're really competitive, maybe in the third
season, Tony could be finished as a player."
Boselli was originally excited about the prospects of joining the second
expansion franchise of his career, but now the reality is settling in on
him, and he's having second thoughts. Agent Jack Mills knows about the "fire
sale" the Jacksonville Jaguars are conducting, and feels a change of scenery
might benefit his client, but Boselli isn't so certain about that or about
leaving his home in Jacksonville and moving to Houston.
There are some business and personal reasons why Boselli might consider
Houston a good spot to finish his career but he also realizes it's at best a
lateral move from a competitive standpoint. Even a Jaguars team frayed at
the edges still figures to be better than the Texans in their debut
campaign, so Boselli has nearly as much soul-searching to do as the Houston
officials.
Much has been made of the fact Houston brought Boselli and Baltimore return
specialist Jermaine Lewis in for physical exams, but actually they are doing
so with about 20 players on the expansion list.
"We got boxes and boxes of medical information on the players available to
us and we have to be very diligent in examining all of it," owner Bob McNair
said here early this week. "On its face, the list of players we've seen
looks pretty impressive. But the more you look into all the angles, the
salary ramifications and the injury history, the more you realize how smart
we have to be in forging this team for the long-haul."
One player in whom Houston is very interested, ESPN.com has learned, is
Jaguars defensive tackle Gary Walker. Although he has a high salary cap
number for next season ($5.25 million), Walker is a player Capers likes from
his stint as Jacksonville defensive coordinator.
Named to the Pro Bowl this week as a replacement for Denver tackle Trevor Pryce, he certainly rates as a tough interior player with a non-stop motor. Walker has been consistently excellent for the Jaguars but, even if he is
not selected by Houston in the expansion draft, his tenure in Jacksonville
could be ended.
The Jaguars' roster figures to be gutted for a second consecutive season as owner
Wayne Weaver attempts again to get his corpulent salary cap under control.
So there is a real chance that Walker will be released which could make him,
in the eyes of some personnel directors, the best tackle available in free
agency.
Around the league
One year into Herm Edwards' tenure, the New York Jets organization has fallen in
love with the head coach. So much so that ESPN.com has learned the
team already is into discussions with agent Ray Anderson about enhancing
Edwards' contract. Edwards signed a four-year contract last season worth
about $850,000 to $900,000 per year. That rates at the low end of the pay scale
for NFL head coaches. New York management wants to address it and will.
It's not known yet if Edwards' contract will be extended or if he'll just
receive raises for the remaining three years. The likelihood is that the
Jets will add another year or two to the end of the deal.
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SIDE LINES
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Stat of the Week
New England quarterback Tom Brady fumbled 15 times during
the regular season and the Pats lost only three of the miscues. Said one
Rams defender: "The odds are going to run out on the guy. You put (the ball)
on the ground that much, you don't get it back that often. He's been leading
a charmed life, that's for sure, but it's got to end."
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San Francisco 49ers general manager Terry Donahue said here Friday that he hopes
"consultant" Bill Walsh remains with the team for several more seasons.
Walsh is under contract for multiple years and, while Donahue did a good job
with the draft in 2001, no one manipulates the system quite like Walsh, one
of the all-time lottery wheeler and dealers. "I want him here a long, long
time," said Donahue. The 49ers will spend the offseason seeking depth at
cornerback, offensive line and wide receiver, where Terrell Owens has
reached enough performance benchmarks to void the final part of his contract
and will only be around for two more seasons. The team isn't nearly as sold
on young wideout Tai Streets now as it once appeared to be.
When the scoreboard clock hits all zeroes for Super Bowl XXXVI on Sunday
night, there will be a battle to secure the services of New England
offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, whose contract technically lapsed
earlier this week and who becomes a coaching free agent at the end of the
Patriots' season. The Pats will try hard to retain Weis, who's close to coach
Bill Belichick and who did a masterful job this year in playing things
close to the vest for young quarterback Tom Brady. The clever Weis is also a
good friend of new Carolina Panthers coach John Fox, however, and the
downtrodden club is prepared to offer a lucrative deal. The fallback for Fox
is New York Giants tight ends coach Mike Pope, who interviewed in Charlotte
earlier this week. There also is a chance that Weis will get an interview
for the Tampa Bay head coaching position.
Speaking of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it now appears that general manager Rich McKay will
recommend a coach for consideration by the Glazer family by this weekend. It
also appears that if the Bucs introduce their new coach next Monday or
Tuesday, which appears to be the timeline on which the team is operating
now, LSU coach Nick Saban won't be on the dais. Sources close to Saban told
ESPN.com that, as of Friday morning, Bucs officials had not contacted him.
Since McKay arrived here on Thursday, it has been assumed he would make a
clandestine trip to Baton Rouge or have Saban drive to New Orleans for an
interview. That hasn't been the case and, unless there is some sudden
change, Saban will have to wait at least another year before going to the
NFL. One more oddity about how McKay and the Bucs are conducting their
search: The team doesn't have a head coach but sure is working hard on a
staff. Management continues to hold the defensive staff of former coach Tony
Dungy to their contracts, which doesn't sit well with guys like line coach
Rod Marinelli, who is missing out on the chance to be the coordinator in
Indianapolis. But the Bucs are looking at offensive staffers as well.
ESPN.com has learned the Bucs have spoken to a pair of offensive line
coaches, Hudson Houck (Dallas) and Bill Muir (New York Jets) about
relocating. Houck will not have his contract renewed by the Cowboys, who are
likely to replace him with Cincinnati tight ends aide Frank Verducci. Muir
had an unusual contract, one that permitted him to opt out of the deal after
one season, ostensibly so he could rejoin Bill Parcells at some point. Even
though Parcells isn't coming out of retirement, Muir opted out of his deal
and is now a free agent. Both Houck and Muir are regarded as top-shelf line
coaches.
Although he is philosophically opposed to surrendering draft choices as
compensation for getting Jon Gruden out of the final year of his Oakland
Raiders contract, the suspicion is that Rich McKay might at least explore
the price of doing business with Al Davis. The impetus for a possible deal
is coming from the Glazer family, who are still embarrassed by firing Tony Dungy and then seeing Bill Parcells back out of a deal. McKay told some league
people he might take a run at Gruden. Once he finds out that Davis is
looking for a pair of first-round choices as compensation, that could end
the flirtation.
By the way, McKay isn't the only team official who figures to get a big
raise because of his candidacy to run the Atlanta Falcons football operation. The
latest beneficiary is Denver personnel chief Ted Sundquist, who was promoted
to general manager this week. It's no happenstance that he got the bump
after the Falcons targeted him as candidate for their general manager post.
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Look for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins to bid for Bledsoe on the trade market. One darkhorse team (quit giggling) is the Cincinnati Bengals. |
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Sources close to Drew Bledsoe told ESPN.com that the New England Patriots quarterback
will definitely not bite his tongue if he is relegated to a backup role
again. In fact, Bledsoe won't allow things to get to that point again. The
nine-year veteran has mostly said the right things this week, publicly at
least, and played the role of the gracious No. 2 quarterback. But there was
a team meeting here in which Bledsoe, who will not be on the Patriots' list
of unprotected players for the expansion draft, wasn't so mild-mannered. In
fact, he told offensive coordinator Charlie Weis that he "could blow the lid
off this whole (situation)" if he so desired, but did not want to damage New
England's shot for an upset victory. Look for the Chicago Bears and the
Washington Redskins to bid for Bledsoe on the trade market. One darkhorse
team (quit giggling) is the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bengals quarterback Akili Smith, the team's first-round bust from the draft
class of 1999, is rehabilitating so slowly from last month's hamstring
surgery that he will likely miss all of the team's mini-camps this spring.
The Bengals remain confident Smith will be ready for camp in July, but there
are no guarantees. If he is healthy, Smith might actually have a legitimate
chance to unseat starter Jon Kitna, who suffered through his typical
stretches of inconsistency in 2001.
Although he remains in the hunt, it's more likely that Norv Turner will not
land the Tampa Bay head coach position, and that means he will become
offensive coordinator on Dave Wannstedt's Miami Dolphins staff. And that, of
course, means more rumors about Troy Aikman ending his one-year hiatus from
the field and returning to the game. But sources close to Aikman say that,
while he has not totally abandoned the notion of a comeback, he is leaning
more toward continuing in the television booth. Those sources say that
Aikman is still having plenty of trouble with his back, a problem that
forced his departure from the Cowboys nearly as much as his concussion woes
and the desire by owner Jerry Jones to create salary cap room. Lots of
play-by-play announcers and analysts broadcast games standing up but
apparently Aikman has no choice, since his back often stiffens up if he sits
for too long. Aikman enjoys his role as an analyst, he and his wife are now
expecting their second child, and the Dolphins don't really have the kind of
power running game he could complement. The bottom line is that un-retiring
doesn't look nearly as good to Aikman as it did about a month ago.
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| Fiedler |
On the subject of the Miami quarterback situation, there are rumblings that
new Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier could have some interest in Dolphins
incumbent quarterback Jay Fiedler. It seems that Spurrier coached Fiedler in
a college all-star game and feels he possesses the mental acumen, and also
the thick skin, required of his quarterbacks. Miami officials want Fiedler
back in 2002 and, toward that end, have begun discussions with agent Brian
Levy. There is, however, a price beyond which the Dolphins won't go to keep
the inconsistent Fiedler, and that "drop-dead point" might not approach the
$5 million per year Fiedler and Levy are said to be seeking.
The alleged "mutual decision" by the Cleveland Browns and strength coach
Tim Jorgensen to part ways was a lot more one-sided than team officials will
admit. Coach Butch Davis felt that the team, which led the league in players
on injured reserve each of the last two seasons, simply was not well
conditioned or physically tough enough. The irony is that, while Jorgensen
was with the Falcons, the team usually ranked among the
least injured in the league. It won't be overly surprising if Davis elevates
assistant strength coach Rob Phillips, who was with him two years at the
University of Miami, to the top job.
Some of the Philadelphia Eagles defenders are quietly second-guessing coordinator
Jim Johnson for his game plan in the NFC championship contest. By one
player's count, Johnson called 11 blitzes on 67 snaps and didn't exert much
pressure at all on St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner.
The early indication is that new San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer would
like to get a bigger quarterback but will go with Doug Flutie if an upgrade
is too expensive. Schottenheimer is eyeing Redskins running backs coach Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator and Tennessee Titans linebackers coach
Gunther Cunningham as defensive coordinator. Cunningham worked for
Schottenheimer in Kansas City and succeeded him as head coach there.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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