Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 2, 1993 TAG: 9303020130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PLAYERS FOR RIGHT PRICE
FREE AGENCY arrived in the National Football League on Monday, but there wasn't a mad scramble by teams to sign players because most were just trying to sort it all out.For Sale: Experienced professional football players. All sizes, shapes and positions available. Prices vary. Contact appropriate agents.
NFL teams received the names of 484 free agents Monday and began poring over the lists like kids in a toy store at Christmas time. Bring along a blank checkbook and a vivid imagination, and almost anything is possible.
Let's see. How would Karl Mecklenburg look on our defensive line? Or Phil Simms calling signals? Or Mark Clayton going out on pass patterns? Or Marcus Allen carrying the ball?
All are available, for the right price.
Too much age on that group? No problem. There are fancy, prime-of-their-career guys here, too.
For starters, the list includes a couple of second team All-Pro picks, defensive end Reggie White and safety Tim McDonald. Vinny Testaverde, Jim Harbaugh and Steve Beuerlein are among the quarterbacks up for grabs. How about plugging in Shane Conlan, a starter in three straight Super Bowls, at linebacker?
All of them are included on the roster of 298 unrestricted free agents, five-year veterans whose contracts have expired and who are free to sign with other clubs until July 15.
Another 140 are restricted free agents, who have completed three or four seasons and whose contracts have expired. They have received qualifying offers from their old clubs, but may negotiate with new teams until April 23. Their former teams have the right to match offers and retain the players, or they may receive draft choice compensation if the players sign elsewhere.
There are also 46 players who fall into other free agent categories, such as those who received no qualifying offer and no minimum tender offer from their old clubs.
How anxious are the clubs to get into this grab bag? "We've received a flurry of calls," said agent Ralph Cindrich, whose list of clients includes free agent running back Rod Bernstine. "We had one team call at 12:01 a.m. They got my answering service. They wanted to make sure we knew they were the first to call."
Cindrich was in Dallas with a number of other agents being briefed on details of the settlement that created free agency. "We have received a lot of paper," he said.
Mecklenburg is one of the more intriguing names on the list. He is 32 and made $1 million in Denver last season, where new coach Wade Phillips would love to have him back. Old coach Dan Reeves is in New York now with the Giants and might also be interested.
"I understand that Karl wants to test the market," Phillips said. "But I really believe he owes a lot to this club for being where he is now. I mean, he was a 12th-round pick. And the club has paid him well for a long time, which he has deserved. But if he had been somewhere else, those things might not have happened."
The lists were distributed after noon on Monday and there was no immediate impact. Time is on the side of the clubs. They have until July 15 to deal with the unrestricted free agents. Peter Schaffer, the agent for receiver Mark Jackson, another of Denver's eligibles, said he expects interest to grow slowly.
"I think what you're going to find is a domino effect," Schaffer said. "Right now, everybody thinks they're a few players away from the Super Bowl, provided they don't lose anybody. But when they do lose somebody, they're going to replace him and then that team will have to find a replacement.
"When one domino falls, then another will fall, and then another. . ."
The first domino could be White. A dominant defensive star, he is widely considered the most desirable player on the list.
Both he and McDonald were listed as "franchise" players by their teams, Philadelphia and Phoenix. Ordinarily, that would make them exempt from free agency, but both can reject that status because they were plaintiffs in a suit that led to the free agency settlement.
Also on Philadelphia's list of available players is quarterback Jim McMahon. His agent, Steve Zucker, said Monday he already had talked with some teams about his client. He declined to name names - except for one.
"I haven't talked with the Eagles at all," Zucker said.