Friday, July 11
Rookie vies for top spot with Bennett sidelined
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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
~ ~ ~ Around the league
With precious little remaining in free agency, the Detroit Lions could suddenly be in the market for a veteran defensive tackle, just two weeks before the start of camp. ESPN.com has learned that stalwart Luther Elliss suffered a pectoral injury late this week, that Lions officials are concerned about it, and that they have started to snoop around for potential tackle reinforcements. Though Elliss' skills have diminished, as evidenced by reduced numbers over the last two seasons, losing the classy, eight-year veteran would be a blow. Like many teams, Detroit doesn't have much interior depth, and the only experienced backup is Kelvin Pritchett. A 12-year veteran, Pritchett played surprisingly well as a spot tackle in '02, but he is 33 years old now and strictly a part-timer. Remember, the Lions were so disenchanted with two-year veteran Shaun Rogers, and with his ongoing weight problems, that they attempted to trade him this offseason. The irony is that Elliss, one of the league's truly good guys, took a $2.7 million reduction in overall compensation two months ago to avoid being a post-June 1 salary cap casualty. He has already collected a $1 million roster bonus. Ellis isn't the dominating force he once was, and he's got just 12 sacks in the past five seasons, after combining for 15 sacks in 1996-97. But if the pectoral injury is serious, and early word is that it could be, the Lions could be hard-pressed to locate a viable replacement.
* * * The veteran tackles still in free agency include Henry Ford, Bernard Whittington, Bernard Holsey, James Cannida, Chester McGlockton, Sean Gilbert and Darius Holland. A pretty picked-over group, to be sure, and Whittington and Ford are already being courted by other teams. * * *
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http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasqu...n/1579317.html
~ ~ we (the jets) signed McGlockton (personally, i would have signed ford). anyway,
DT anyone ? ? ~ ~ ~
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