Law Still on the Market

By Mark Maske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 2, 2006 5:03 PM

The lone marquee player still available on the NFL's free agent market is cornerback Ty Law, who was released by the New York Jets after one season.

Law had at least five teams interested in him before the draft, including his former club, the New England Patriots. He also was being pursued by the Seattle Seahawks, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs.

Law didn't sign with a team before the draft because, like other clients of agents Kevin and Carl Poston, he was seeking a contract far more lucrative than what any club was willing to offer him. Law took a chance by waiting until after the draft to sign, given that he was risking losing suitors who might have chosen a cornerback over the weekend and dropped out of the bidding for Law.

That might be the case with the Seahawks, as the defending NFC champions used their first-round pick on University of Miami cornerback Kelly Jennings. But mostly, Law did well. None of the other teams chasing him before the draft selected a cornerback before the fifth round. The Browns and Chiefs each used a fifth-round choice on a cornerback. The Patriots got a cornerback in the seventh round, and the Titans didn't draft a single player at the position. This might have been a rare case in which a player enhanced his bargaining position by waiting.

Colts Plan RB By Committee

The Indianapolis Colts, after losing tailback Edgerrin James in free agency, say they intend to split carries next season between holdover Dominic Rhodes and first-round draft choice Joseph Addai of LSU.

"You'd expect him [Addai] to play some but not have to carry the whole load," Colts President Bill Polian said, according to the Associated Press. "We've been spoiled here. We see this as a two-man position now."

Rhodes ran for 1,104 yards as a rookie in 2001 but played little in the last four seasons as James's understudy, amassing only 529 yards. He likely will head into training camp as the projected starter.

Bush Wants No. 5

Tailback Reggie Bush, selected second overall in the draft by the New Orleans Saints after being passed over by the Houston Texans, is requesting that the NFL allow him to wear the jersey number -- 5 -- that he wore in college at USC. Under league rules, a running back is supposed to wear a number between 20 and 49. . . .

The St. Louis Rams signed John David Washington, a running back from Division II Morehouse College and the son of actor Denzel Washington, as an undrafted free agent.

Washington ran for a school-record 1,198 yards last season. He was the school's career rushing leader and set a single-game school rushing record with 242 yards.

The brother-in-law of the Rams' new coach, Scott Linehan, is actor Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the movie "The Passion of Christ" and is in a film with Denzel Washington that's scheduled to be released next year. Linehan, though, told reporters Monday that he didn't know who John David Washington's father was until after the Rams began discussions about him. . . .

Soon after the Pittsburgh Steelers traded up in the first round Saturday to select Ohio State wide receiver Santonio Holmes, the newest member of the defending Super Bowl champions got a phone call from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"He told me he is very excited that I was picked by the Steelers and he is looking forward to working with me," Holmes said during his introductory news conference Monday in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers have a vacancy in their starting lineup at receiver after losing Antwaan Randle El in free agency, but Roethlisberger and Holmes won't have much time to develop their on-the-field chemistry in offseason workouts. Under NFL rules, a rookie can participate in one minicamp after the draft but then can't take part in any further offseason practices with his team until after his school's graduation. Because Ohio State's graduation ceremony is unusually late, in mid-June, Holmes will be prohibited from participating in most of the Steelers' practices prior to the opening of training camp.

And He Borrowed a Cup of Sugar

Mike Holmgren drafted his neighbor.

USC fullback David Kirtman was a fifth-round draft choice by Seattle on Sunday, and his family's property in Mercer Island, Wash., is about 25 yards from that of Holmgren, the Seahawks' coach. Kirtman's father, Louis, is a retired Levi Strauss executive who once played high school football against Holmgren, and Holmgren purchased his home from Louis Kirtman's best friend. Yet Holmgren never had met David Kirtman, joking to reporters on draft day that he doesn't go around the neighborhood to borrow sugar.

Holmgren also had an unusual experience Sunday with Ohio State guard Rob Sims, a fourth-round pick. When Holmgren called Sims on the player's cell phone to inform him the Seahawks were about to select him, he told Sims to make sure he heard his name called on television. Sims replied that he was in church. Holmgren apologized, but Sims said the call was welcome nevertheless. . . .

Holmgren and the Seahawks continue to discuss a possible extension of Holmgren's contract, which expires after next season. Holmgren has not decided whether he wants to continue coaching beyond next season or whether he wants to remain with the Seahawks, with the possible alternative of going to a team with which he could serve as the general manager. He once had the GM duties in Seattle but was forced to surrender them. . . .

Detroit signed free agent cornerback Jamar Fletcher, formerly with San Diego. The Lions also released linebacker Nate Wayne. . . . Houston signed free agent offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam, most recently with Jacksonville. . . . Green Bay released veteran linebacker Robert Thomas. . . .

The Patriots might try to talk Doug Flutie out of retiring to spend another season in New England as backup quarterback. Recent reports have had Flutie, 43, leaning toward retirement, but club officials might be wary of relying on the untested Matt Cassel behind starter Tom Brady.

L.A. Talk

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) reportedly is scheduled to meet with a group of NFL team owners today in Dallas as the league ponders putting a franchise or two back in the Los Angeles market in the coming years.

An 11-owner committee is to hear presentations from representatives of the two prospective stadium sites the league has under consideration, the Coliseum and a site in Anaheim, Calif. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue is pushing the owners to pick a stadium site during their next full meeting later this month in Denver.

Los Angeles has been without an NFL franchise since the Rams and Raiders left after the 1994 season. . . .

The San Diego city council decided Monday to allow the Chargers to search for a new stadium site within San Diego County.

Under the terms of their lease, which runs through the 2008 season, the Chargers are prohibited from negotiating with other cities about a possible relocation before January.

The team could be one of the top candidates to be moved to Los Angeles if it does not get a new stadium in San Diego. . . .

Now that the draft is over, several teams are contemplating possible front-office restructurings. In Houston, the status of General Manager Charley Casserly has been unclear for weeks amid reports that he might be headed to work for the NFL office. The Houston Chronicle reported today that Casserly and Texans owner Robert McNair plan to meet next week to discuss Casserly's future.

Dolphins Invite Vick to Rookie Camp

Former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick has been invited to attend Miami's rookie minicamp this weekend on a tryout basis. The Dolphins have not signed Vick, who was undrafted last weekend, to a contract. He entered the draft after being dismissed from the Hokies program by school officials following a series of legal and disciplinary problems.