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Wide receivers making the move

Johnnie Morton is the second all-time leading receiver in Lions history. Andy Lyons/ALLSPORT

By Bob Harris, Special to CNNSI.com

This year's free agent signing period is still ongoing, but some of the most important and interesting moves have already taken place.

That being the case, I’ll use this week’s column to examine some of the more interesting developments among the league’s unrestricted free agent wideouts:

Johnnie Morton: Signed with Chiefs on 3/29; $25.7M/7-yrs; $5.5M SB.
Kansas City Chiefs president Carl Peterson announced last Friday that his club had agreed to terms on a seven-year, $25.7 million contract with former Lion Morton. The deal – by far the biggest involving a free agent wideout this year, included a $5.5 million signing bonus.

"We're very pleased to have a wide receiver with Johnnie Morton's experience on our team," Peterson said while announcing the deal. "Besides his experienced leadership and winning attitude, he has been extremely durable through his career in Detroit. He is a player we have admired since he was a number one draft choice out of USC."

The 30-year old Morton was regarded by most teams as the best receiver still available in free agency. The eight-year veteran, who also visited with officials in Tampa Bay and St. Louis, settled on Kansas City during a meeting last Thursday and he instructed his agent to complete a contract with the Chiefs.

The deal all but guarantees the Chiefs will release veteran wideout Derrick Alexander after June 1, when the impact against their 2002 salary cap will be somewhat ameliorated.

"It's a tremendous offensive design and a great [coaching] staff," said Morton, who is likely to team with third-year veteran Sylvester Morris, still rehabilitating from knee surgery that cost him the entire 2001 season, in the starting lineup. "I just decided this is the place I wanted to be."

Detroit released Morton -- and immediately made him one of the most coveted veterans in this year's free agent pool -- in order to avoid paying him a $1 million roster bonus early last month.

A first-round choice of the Lions in the 1994 draft, Morton has posted 1,000-yard seasons if four of the last five years. He remains a very productive receiver, one who still has several solid years remaining in the league, and has 40-plus catches in seven straight campaigns.

For his career, Morton has played in 126 games and started 106 of them. He has 469 receptions for 6,499 yards and 35 touchdowns. Despite inconsistent play at the quarterback position for the Lions in 2001, he still managed to catch 77 passes for a career-best 1,154 yards.

Kansas City struggled at wide receiver last season, particularly after losing Morris to an injury in the summer, and was believed to be considering taking a wideout in the first round of the draft next month. It remains to be seen if the acquisition of Morton changes the team's draft plans.

Lions signees: Az-Zahir Hakim: Signed on March 7; $16M/5-yrs; $5.25M SB; Bill Schroeder: Signed on March 14; $6M/4-yrs; $2.5M SB and Germane Crowell: Re-signed on March 26; $7.5M/3-yrs; $1M SB.

In case you missed it, the Lions signed Morton's replacement -- former Packer Schroeder -- the same day they released Morton. They announced both moves just days after head coach Marty Mornhinweg insisted the team had no intention of cutting the former USC star.

Asked on March 11 if he intended to hand Morton the proverbial apple and a roadmap, Mornhinweg flatly stated: "Absolutely not. We wouldn't do that. We would like to re-sign Johnnie and extend him, those type of things. ..."

Those "type of things?"

Once again, I found myself wondering what Mornhinweg's most glaring weakness is: Is it the fact he simply doesn't seem to have what it takes to effectively serve as an NFL head coach? Or is it his almost comical inability to tell a believable lie?

And even as I pondered the question, Mornhinweg continued to make a pretty good case for the latter by saying: "At one end, you have we pay him the money Friday, and then he plays his contract. The other side of it is, we re-do his contract. You take it out for three or four years. There's conversation with his agent on that point."

The bottom line is this: Morton's release has to be based almost exclusively on the fact he would have counted for more than $5 million against this year's salary cap -- a total that included the above-mentioned million-dollar bonus.

Morton is not only one of the league's most dedicated players when it comes to training and nutrition, he's also spent a fair amount of time this offseason working on running techniques -- with a track coach hired at his own expense -- in an attempt to increase his speed.

He's also been one of the most productive offensive players in team history. In fact Morton, 30, currently ranks second on the Lions' career list with 469 career catches and 6,499 yards.

Which leads directly to my next question: If Mornhinweg and his partner in crime, team president Matt Millen, don't believe Morton is worth $5 million, what in the name of all that is holy and right led them to ex-Ram Hakim to a five-year, $16 million contract?

For that matter, what led them to believe Hakim, who has yet to rise above the rank of No. 3 man during his four-year NFL career, is capable of producing consistently as a starter this year? After all, you don't front a guy $5.25 million in cash unless you expect him to line up as a starter from day one.

I'm not saying Hakim can't meet those expectations. But the fact he's only made 11 appearances as an NFL starter -- most of them coming when the Rams opened games in multiple-receiver sets -- could easily result in a tough transition for the diminutive (5-10, 182-pound) former fourth-round draft pick.

Nor am I particularly comforted by Mornhinweg's insistence that Hakim's slight build won't make it easy for opposing defenders to jam him at the line of scrimmage. "I like big guys, but he's one of those smaller-stature men who defies odds," Mornhinweg said. "I really paid special attention to that in evaluating that. I looked at him in bump and run."

And what about his propensity towards laying the ball on the carpet?

Hakim, considered one of the league's most dangerous return specialists early in his career, fumbled the ball 21 times during his four-year tenure in St. Louis. The problem became serious enough for Rams head coach Mike Martz to pull Hakim off special teams duties late last season and during the team's playoff run earlier this year.

"That's something we talked about," said Mornhinweg, who still considers Desmond Howard as Detroit's return specialist.

On a more positive note, Hakim will provide the Lions with some much-needed speed on offense.

"The last time I was timed in the 40 was when I was coming out of college," Hakim, who went to San Diego State, told reporters last week. "My fastest time was 4.28 and they made me run again because they didn't believe it on their clock. So I ran it again and they wanted me to run the other way. They felt like I ran with the wind that time, which might have been true because the second time I ran it was a 4.31. So that wasn't too bad either. ..."

He's right. That's not bad.

But I'm not sure it's enough to fully cover the obvious weaknesses Mornhinweg and Millen ignored when they signed him last week.

As for Schroeder, the six-year veteran has pulled in 192 passes and 18 touchdowns over the last three seasons with Green Bay. He also finished the 2001 season ranked second in the NFL in average yards per catch at 17.3 while grabbing 53 passes for 918 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns.

A 1994 sixth-round draft pick out of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the 31-year old Schroeder spent two seasons on the Packers' practice squad and another on injured reserve with the New England Patriots before returning to Green Bay, where he played the last five years.

And before I forget. ... I should probably point out that team spokesman Bill Keenist, who officially announced Morton's release, stated at one point during that address: "We also believe this will aid in the potential to sign Johnnie to a longer term deal. [Millen and Mornhinweg] both indicated to Johnnie and his agent, David Dunn, that we still want him back."

Which prompted yet another question to come to mind: Why on earth would a classy, hard-workin' dude like Morton, who admitted to being "upset" by the team's actions Thursday night, want to continue working for a couple of rank amateurs like Millen and Mornhinweg anyhow?

With Morton and Herman Moore -- who recently restructured his contract but is still expected to be released after June 1 -- no longer in the mix, the Lions are likely to open the regular season with Hakim and Schroeder as their starting wideouts while Crowell, Bert Emanuel, Larry Foster and Scotty Anderson will battle for the third and fourth jobs.

The Lions re-signed the oft-injured Crowell to a three-year deal worth a reported $7.5 million last week. The contract, with just one year guaranteed, included a $1 million signing bonus and a $2 million roster bonus that can be exercised by the Lions before the second year of the contract.

Crowell was the Lions' second-round pick in the 1998 draft. He had 81 receptions for 1,338 yards with seven touchdowns in 1999.

In the two seasons since, Crowell has been slowed by foot and knee injuries. He had a broken foot in 2000 and a torn patella tendon last season. As a result, he has started just 11 games the last two seasons and had 56 catches for 719 yards and five touchdowns.

Tim Dwight: Re-signed with Chargers on Feb. 24; $15M/5-yrs; $5M SB.
Dwight's playmaking ability impressed the Chargers so much that they've given the wide receiver-punt returner a $15 million, five-year contract even though he's not a starter. The deal includes a $5 million signing bonus, and Dwight can make an additional $1 million per season in incentives.

"It's definitely a precedent-setting deal, for a guy who's never been a starter to get paid like a starter," agent Jack Bechta. "Historically, the Chargers have not paid large signing bonuses. This is definitely in the large category. It shows how committed they are."

According to San Diego general manager John Butler, Dwight, who served as the team's third receiver last season, will be given the chance to compete for a starting job this year.

"I think everybody had the chance to see what excitement he brought to our team last year," Butler said. "The chance of a big play is there all the time."

Dwight, who missed six games last year with a collapsed lung, had 25 catches for 406 yards, an average of 16.2 yards. He returned 24 punts for 271 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown return in a season-opening win over Washington, the first time he touched the ball as a Charger. He also scored on a reverse the next week at Dallas.

"Any time a guy can touch the ball and have a chance to go all the way is big," said Butler, who's trying to turn around a team that's lost 26 of 32 games the last two seasons. San Diego was 5-11 last year and lost its final nine games, costing head coach Mike Riley his job.

When Butler traded the first pick in last April's draft to Atlanta, he insisted he get Dwight as part of the deal because he's a double threat. While the Falcons took Michael Vick, the Chargers ended up with Dwight and the fifth pick, which they used on running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who rushed for a Chargers rookie-record 1,236 yards.

Dwight was prepared to go to free agency, but Bechta had promised Butler that he'd give the Chargers every chance to sign him.

Dwight met last week with new coach Marty Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and liked what he heard. Schottenheimer didn't promise Dwight that he'd be a starter, but promised him the chance to compete for a starter's job, Bechta said.

Dwight most likely will compete for the job opposite Curtis Conway. Jeff Graham was the other starter last year, but there's a good chance he won't be brought back.

"You have to first get paid as a No. 1 or No. 2 to compete for that job," Bechta said. "You want him to be paid as a playmaker, not what he's done over the last few years, because it's not in his control how much he's on the field."

Bechta said Dwight, a fifth-year pro who has yet to play all 16 games in a season, is fully healed from his collapsed lung.

Patrick Johnson: Signed with Jaguars on March 18; $525K/1-yr; $50K SB.
As Florida Times-Union staffer Bart Hubbuch noted, if veteran wide receiver Keenan McCardell’s fate wasn't already chiseled into stone, it certainly was when Jacksonville signed Johnson away from the Ravens late last month.

The 5-10, 180-pound Johnson – a world-class sprinter during his collegiate career at Oregon -- was a second-round pick by Baltimore in 1998. Johnson, however, has never lived up to his potential in large part because of injuries. Johnson missed the final 12 games last year because of a fractured clavicle.

Despite the fact Jacksonville only offered him a one-year, minimum deal, they apparently still plan to line him up opposite Jimmy Smith – a role that has been filled nicely by McCardell the past six years. But in an interview with the team's official Web site, the ex-Brown confirmed that the Jaguars have told him they will not restructure his contract. McCardell added that he will not take a pay cut to stay.

McCardell, who currently represents a $5.3 million hit against this year’s cap, has responded to recent questions regarding his unwillingness to take a pay cut by asking a question of his own: "Has my play diminished?"

The 32-year-old McCardell went on to say that head coach Tom Coughlin told him in February that the Jaguars plan to release him after June 1, a move that will allow the team to cut more than $3 million off this year's cap number.

"They gave me a release to talk about a trade, but that's not going to happen because all of the amortization would go on the [Jaguars] cap," he said.

McCardell caught 93 passes for 1,110 yards and six touchdowns last year.

"It's not good enough for them so it's time to move on. From what I understand, they think I'm too slow. I'll just continue to catch a lot of balls [with a new team]," he said.

Of the fans, he said: "I can't do anything but love the fans. I give them the utmost respect because they give me the utmost respect."

Donald Hayes: Signed with Patriots on March 12; $4M/2-yrs; $1M SB.
The Patriots addressed their lack of size at wide receiver by signing Hayes to a deal early last month. At 6-4 and 218 pounds, Hayes should provide quarterback Tom Brady with a bigger target than current starters Troy Brown and David Patten. Both Brown and Patten are on the smaller side, standing about 5-10 and weighing about 190 pounds each. The Patriots tried to use a big receiver -- Torrance Small -- last season, but the experiment didn't work out.

Hayes has been durable the past two seasons, missing only one game. He's a former Wisconsin teammate of Tony Simmons, who played for the Patriots for parts of three seasons.

Hayes said he spoke briefly to Simmons about coming to New England and said, "Tony told me only positive things."

"We had a plan for Donald," said his agent, Rick Smith. "We hand-picked where we felt Donald would be the best fit. We knew the Patriots were looking for a big receiver, and with Donald's speed he seems to fit their needs. We felt the Patriots did a great job showing Donald where he fit in their offense when he visited up there. We feel it'll be a good situation."

Hayes said he's thrilled at the chance to go from worst to first, Panthers to Patriots.

"Most definitely it's a dream come true," said Hayes. "When I visited New England and just saw how professional everybody was, I knew it would be the right fit. I think I can do a lot of things for them -- possession and I have the speed to get down the field. It's a new part of my career that I'm really looking forward to."

Hayes said he was impressed with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis' presentation. Weis coached a tall receiver in Keyshawn Johnson in New York, and Hayes is expected to be used in a similar fashion.

"He's got some ideas when it comes to how to utilize me best," said Hayes. "They were all well-prepared. It was a good setting for football, and with the new stadium going up it should be the best facility to play at."

Hayes thinks it will be good for him to be exposed to tough corners like Ty Law and Otis Smith in practice.

"The tougher they are the better it makes you." said Hayes. "I'm looking forward to meeting with all of them up there."

It's also worth noting that team officials could address their overall lack of speed on the outside in this month's draft. The list of speed receivers they're said to be considering includes: Tennessee's Donte Stallworth, Hawaii's Ashley Lelie, Virginia Tech's Andre Davis and Florida's Reche Caldwell. .

Qadry Ismail: Signed with Colts on March 18; $4M/3-yrs; $1.25M SB.
Ismail was released as part of the Ravens' ongoing payroll restructuring but found a good home with Indianapolis.

The Colts have long been in the market for a solid No. 2 man to complement Marvin Harrison and may have found just that in Ismail, a fellow former Syracuse standout. In three years with the Ravens, the 31-year-old Ismail has caught 18 touchdown passes while averaging 63 receptions and 949 yards per season.

The Ravens were forced to shed several veteran players from their roster in salary cap moves, and among those released were Ismail, quarterback Elvis Grbac and tight end Shannon Sharpe.

The Colts will be the fifth different stop for Ismail, who also has played for Minnesota, Miami and New Orleans. He has appeared in 123 games and has 309 receptions for 4,675 yards and 30 touchdowns

The combination of QB Peyton Manning, Ismail and Harrison could be hard on opposing secondaries this fall. If nothing else, Ismail should fit right in with Manning and Harrison, who are known for their intense offseason workout regimen.

"I'm the type of receiver who likes to have a lot of communication with my quarterback," Ismail said. "I'm the type of receiver that likes to look at a lot of little details and exploit defenses and Peyton is a quarterback who does that well."

As Indianapolis Star-News beat writer Mike Chappell recently noted, Harrison has been to the past three Pro Bowls while totaling 326 receptions, 4,600 yards and 41 touchdowns, despite the lack of a reliable No. 2 wide receiver to attract some of the defensive focus. In 2001, Jerome Pathon missed 12 games with ligament damage to his right foot. Injuries also limited the availability and effectiveness of veteran Terrence Wilkins and rookie Reggie Wayne.

Wayne should be at full strength for this season, but Pathon currently remains an unrestricted free agent. Also, Wilkins is a restricted free agent and has visited Miami and St. Louis.

Florida/Redskins connection: Jacquez Green: Signed on March 16; $4.3M/3-yrs and Reidel Anthony: Signed on March 1; $525K/1-yr.
The Skins pried Green away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a three-year deal worth $4.3 million. Washington Post staffer Mark Maske noted that Green might have been better off -- at least from a financial standpoint -- signing with another team. But apparently the opportunity to work with Redskins' head coach Steve Spurrier, who coached him at Florida, was more appealing than a few additional bucks.

Green, considered by some observers to be the prototypical wideout for Spurrier's scheme, is the third former Gators wide receiver to be signed by the Redskins, following Anthony and Chris Doering. The Redskins also acquired former Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel in a trade with the Houston Texans.

Green adds some much-needed quickness to a Redskin receiving corps that also includes Rod Gardner, Kevin Lockett, Justin Skaggs and Derrius Thompson (a restricted free agent).

The Skins are also likely to select a wideout within the first two rounds of this month’s draft. Spurrier was on hand at Tennessee when Stallworth dazzled scouts with a time of 4.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

The Redskins had the NFL's 30th-ranked passing offense last season under Schottenheimer.

Asked about the club's wide receiver situation, Spurrier recently said: "We like guys who can separate and get open. Last year, they liked bigger guys who could get their body in front of the defender, like a rebound. We like guys who can get open. I think they tried to get open last year."

If nothing else, the 5-9, 168-pound Green, who is expected to start opposite Gardner this year, is a viable deep threat and will help stretch the field and force defenses to back off the line of scrimmage, which should create creases for tailback Stephen Davis.

In his four NFL seasons, Green has appeared in 56 games and has 38 starts. Over the past three years, he averaged a dozen starting assignments. Green has 157 receptions for 2,217 yards and seven touchdowns. His best season was in 1999, when he posted 56 catches for 791 yards.

By the way, Green was reportedly the talk of Washington's first mini-camp workout last week while Anthony, currently bothered by a sore hip flexor, came up short. According to TSN columnist Dan Pompei, Green was clearly the team's fastest receiver; he caught the ball well and was able to execute the offense of his old college coach with no problem.

Rob Moore: Signed with Broncos on March 18; $775K/1-yr; $25K SB.
Moore, a 12-year veteran who ranks among the top 20 pass-catchers in NFL history despite not having played a down the past two seasons, becomes the latest in a long series of candidates who have tried to the Broncos' need for a solid third receiver. And by signing with Denver, Moore, who was released by the Cardinals late in February, also became the latest NFL veteran to take advantage of a new rule that offers teams a salary-cap break if they sign longtime veteran to minimum-salary contracts. Because of that rule, Moore's one-year, $775,000 contract will only count $450,000 against this year's salary cap.

According to Broncos’ officials, a healthy Moore should be capable of playing productively in their offensive system working as the No. 3 man behind starting receivers Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey.

The former Syracuse star, however, has not played in a regular-season game since 1999. Moore suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Arizona's 2000 preseason opener against the Vikings in Minnesota. He struggled through a series of hamstring injuries in 2001 and finished the year on injured reserve.

Before those injuries, Moore was one of the NFL's premier receivers, posting three 1,000-yard seasons.

Moore, 33, has played in 153 games and started 147 of them. He has 628 catches for 9,368 yards and 71 touchdowns. He began his career with the New York Jets in 1990, as a first-round draft pick, but was traded to the Cardinals in 1995.

Keith Poole: Signed with Buccaneers on 3/23; $650K/1-yr.
As reported by the Pro Sports Xchange, Poole could prove to be a steal. The former Saint and Bronco has the speed to be a deep threat, but it's his ability to get open and haul in any catchable pass that makes him special.

Considered a very good route runner, Poole -- who isn't enough or strong enough to play underneath in traffic -- was signed to fill the hole that opened at third receiver in Tampa when Green and Anthony signed with Washington. If Poole stays healthy, which has proved to be quite a challenge, he could make some noise.

Bobby Engram: Re-signed with Seahawks on March 28; $575K/1-yr; $25K SB.
The former Bear signed a one-year, $750,000 to remain a Seahawk last week after the NFL voided his previous deal with Seattle because it contained improper conditions.

Trent Dilfer, who will open camp as Seattle's starting QB this summer, recently told reporters that Engram helped him win his first two starts as a Seahawk last year and crediting the veteran wideout for having enough experience to be in the right place at the right time.

It's also worth noting that in four games Dilfer started last year, Engram caught 10 passes compared to the 19 he caught in 12 games started by Matt Hasselbeck.

Chris Sanders: Signed with Browns on 3/28; $650K/1-yr.
Sanders, who appeared in four games for Tennessee last season and recorded five receptions for 74 yards before being sidelined for the final 12 games with an injured disc in his back, told reporters upon arrival in Cleveland that his back is fine and that he's 100 percent.

"I am excited to go and help Cleveland,” the former Ohio State star explained. “They want to win. From Butch Davis you can tell that he is determined to win and that is what I liked about the whole organization."

He also had a chance to re-sign with the Titans for the minimum salary.

"It wasn't really a money issue, it was about a team saying, 'Chris is my guy' and that is what it boiled down to," Sanders said. "I am hoping they will want to come back and do a long term [contract], and if the Titans want to come back and do a long term, we'll wait and see."

Sanders' agent, Vann McElroy, said the Browns liked two things about Sanders, "his veteran leadership and his speed."

Sanders (6-1, 188), a deep threat when healthy, has 177 receptions for 3,285 yards and 17 TDs. He ranks as the Titans eighth all-time leading receiver.

In 2000, Sanders caught 33 passes for 536 yards and no TDs. During his rookie year in 1995, he caught a career-high nine touchdown passes.

Jake Reed: Signed with Saints on 3/12; $775K/1-yr; $25K SB.
The Saints signed Reed to an undisclosed contract early last month, bringing him back to New Orleans along with his half-brother, cornerback Dale Carter. Reed spent 2000 with the Saints, the only season of his 11-year career not in Minnesota.

Reed, who was slowed by injuries during his last stint in New Orleans, came on a little harder upon his return to Minnesota last season and the Saints might have to count on him for significant playing time if they are unable to re-sign Willie Jackson.

Michael Bates: Signed with Panthers on March 26; $650K/1-yr.
According to Charlotte Observer beat writer Pat Yasinskas, Bates will fill a reduced role from his previous stint in Carolina. Bates is projected as the second kickoff returner behind second-year pro Steve Smith. But Bates could regain his old role if Smith earns more time as a receiver. Otherwise, Bates will work primarily as a coverage man -- a job he excels at.

There you have it. ... For now. Check back next week for a look at the latest developments among the league's tight ends.

Bob Harris is Editor and Webmaster of the TFL Report and Senior Editor for Fantasy Sports Publications.

 

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