Blake

"This is the day we've been waiting for about 10 days -- the start of free agency," Saints general manager Randy Mueller said.

Despite starting just one game last season, Horn, 28, ranked third on the Kansas City Chiefs with 35 catches for 586 yards and six touchdowns, all career highs.

"Joe Horn can serve our team in a number of ways," Saints general manager Randy Mueller said. "First and foremost, he brings tremendous speed to the wideout position, speed and quickness that will complement Jeff Blake's style, and secondly, he can return punts and kickoffs.

"He is extremely versatile and durable and will be a great fit with what we are trying to build here in New Orleans."

Horn replaced an injured Tamarick Vanover and returned nine kickoffs for 165 yards and one punt for 18 yards. In his first three seasons with the Chiefs, Horn totaled only 18 catches for 293 yards and one touchdown.

A CFL All-Star in 1995 with the Memphis Mad Dogs, Horn was signed by the Chiefs in 1996.

Blake started most of last season for Cincinnati after rookie Akili Smith was hurt and completed 55.3 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns with 14 interceptions.

The presence of Smith, the third overall pick in last year's draft, made Blake expendable in Cincinnati.

"I see this as a fresh start and a great opportunity," Blake said. "I'm very happy to be in a position where I don't have to look over my shoulder all the time. I can just relax and play here. My confidence is very high."

The signing was the first major move by the new administration of coach Jim Haslett and Mueller, who are trying to turn around a perennial loser.

"I think over the next week to 10 days we should be able to help the team," said Mueller, who joined the Saints from Seattle.

	NFL franchise players
	The following players, who would have been unrestricted free agents, were designated as franchise players:
	Player	Pos.	Team
	Tony Brackens	DE	Jacksonville
	Stephen Davis	RB	Washington
	Joey Galloway	WR	Seattle
	Norman Hand	DT	San Diego
	Mo Lewis	LB	N.Y. Jets
	Robert Porcher	DE	Detroit
	Simeon Rice	DE	Arizona
	Will Shields	G	Kansas City
	Richmond Webb	OT	Miami
	NOTE: Franchise players are offered one-year contracts for the average amount paid to the five highest-paid players at their positions. Teams retain the right to match other offers and would receive compensation if the player signs elsewhere.

New Orleans finished 3-13 last season, its seventh straight year without a winning record. Coach Mike Ditka and general manager Bill Kuharich were fired Jan. 5.

Rice, the greatest receiver in NFL history, could be forced out of San Francisco unless he makes financial concessions to help the 49ers gain maneuvering room within the salary cap.

"We would very much like to have Jerry back," 49ers coach Steve Mariucci said. "The question would be how do we work it out?"

Over the last three weeks, the 49ers restructured the contracts of 14 players, including quarterback Steve Young, in an effort to wipe out a $24 million cap overrun.

However, the 49ers still need more room under the cap to be able to take part in free agency and to pay their draft picks. San Francisco, which had its first losing season since 1982, heads into the April draft with the third overall pick.

Rice, 37, the NFL's career receiving leader, has a 2000 cap figure of $5.49 million that the 49ers very much want to reduce.

Last season, Rice didn't have the same type of production that has characterized his brilliant career but he still led the team with 67 receptions for 830 yards.

So far, Rice and his agent, Jim Steiner, have balked at the 49ers' insistence he lower his salary and try to make up for it through an incentive-based package. However, Rice has said in the past he would be willing to take a pay cut, though he never specified how much.

Also Friday, the 49ers signed cornerback Monty Montgomery to a one-year contract worth $385,000.

One of the most coveted free agents, Jacksonville running back James Stewart, visited Detroit on Friday as the Lions still search for a replacement for Barry Sanders.

Stewart, who rushed for 931 yards and 13 touchdowns with the Jaguars last season in place of injured Fred Taylor, will also visit Cleveland this weekend.

The Browns agreed to terms Friday with defensive tackle Darius Holland on a two-year contract.

The Browns also said they will bring in free agent defensive ends Orpheus Roye and Keith McKenzie for visits this weekend.

Cleveland had hoped to court Arizona's Simeon Rice and Jacksonville's Tony Brackens during the free-agent signing period that began Friday. But the star defensive ends were designated franchise players by their teams in the past three days.

The New York Jets designated linebacker Mo Lewis as a franchise player Friday. Lewis, an All-Pro in 1998, was third on the Jets with 89 tackles last season.

Lewis will receive a one-year salary of $4.2 million, equal to the average of the top five linebackers in the NFL. If Lewis, who was seeking $6 million a year, signs an offer sheet with another team, the Jets would have the option of matching the offer or receiving two first-round picks as compensation from his new team.

Dallas and Washington reportedly have expressed interest in Lewis.

In other moves, Jacksonville re-signed linebacker Lonnie Marts, Baltimore signed offensive lineman Damon Denson, and the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams re-signed tight end Ernie Conwell to a $3.9 million, three-year contract.

Conwell missed most of last season following reconstructive knee surgery, but did catch a pass in the 23-16 victory over Tennessee in the Super Bowl.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.