Pittsburgh Steelers 08/21/2008 5:34 PMESPN.com reports LB James Farrior was rewarded by the Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday with a five-year, $18.25 million contract. The deal included a $5 million signing bonus. Farrior's agent, Ralph Cindrich, said Thursday the contract is meant to keep the 12-year veteran with the team until he retires. The bulk of the contract is for the first three seasons, valued at $12.6 million, including $10 million in the first two years. "That's the game plan, to finish out my career here," Farrior said. "The Steelers have been good to me, and I have put all my heart and soul into this, so I'll just try to close it out."Read more
St. Louis Rams 08/21/2008 5:25 PMThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports his 27-day holdout over, it was back to work today for Rams running back Steven Jackson. He flew to St. Louis last night, and he was in uniform, on the practice field and working out with the Rams this morning. Jackson signed a six-year deal that will max out at just under $44 million, but the final two years will void out based on Jackson's performance. If that's the case, the four-year deal will be worth just under $30 million.Read more
Miami Dolphins 08/18/2008 8:21 AMThe Palm Beach Post reports WR Ted Ginn Jr. gained 39 yards on his first two catches Saturday night in the Dolphins' 19-14 exhibition win over Jacksonville - 1 yard more than he gained in last year's four exhibition games combined. And it was more receiving yards than he had in 13 of 16 regular-season games in 2007, his rookie season. After catching one pass for 10 yards in the exhibition opener against Tampa Bay, Ginn got "more at-bats" Saturday, as coach Tony Sparano vowed he would last week during training camp. Ginn caught four passes for 58 yards in one half of play Saturday, and Sparano was pleased with the way Ginn played "faster." "He knows he still has a long way to go," Sparano said. But "it's good for Ted. He went out there and competed at a high level."Read more
Cincinnati Bengals 08/18/2008 8:17 AMThe Dayton Daily News reports the Cincinnati Bengals set out over the course of the off-season to improve a team defense that finished the 2007 season ranked 27th overall. However, only time will tell if the team is able to accomplish what they set out to achieve. One of the key areas on defense that the team wanted to address heavily was the defensive tackle position, which they did. The Bengals drafted rookie defensive tackles Pat Sims and Matt Shirley as reinforcement to help secure a D-line that surrendered 118 yards per game on the ground. The club took their aggressive approach a step further when they extended the contract of third-year defensive tackle Domata Peko, who is the anchor of the revamped D-line.Read more
