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Don't Kearse White's return Adding retiree would not be a freaky thing for Titans
Posted: Monday June 26, 2000 02:34 PM
The debate is on about whether Reggie White should play again. I know this about the NFL: If there's a chance a guy can still rush the passer, more than one team will want him. Just two years ago, White led the NFC with 16 sacks. If he winds up in Tennessee, head coach Jeff Fisher will use him wisely. Heck, White won't even be the oldest guy on the team. Bruce Matthews just finished his 17th season and is still going strong. And who knows, the year off may have done Reggie some good. Darrell Green just signed a contract extension that could take him to his 44th birthday. Sounds unlikely, but according to some Redskins players I spoke with, Green is still the fastest guy on the team. Vinny Testaverde is just a year younger than White and is coming off a serious injury, yet no one says he's too old to return. Bruce Smith is two years younger than White and he got a multiyear deal from Washington. People around the league feel Smith is going to help the Redskins defense. Why wouldn't White do the same for the Titans? With Jevon Kearse on the other side, he's not going to be double-teamed, that's for sure. The more I think about this, the more I like the idea.
NFL Europe: Overseas valueI've always seen great value in the NFL Europe. There is no substitute for experience, and as one pro personnel director said to me last week, "Where else can young players get 500 snaps of real football?" Case in point: The Tennessee Titans sent Kevin Daft to Scotland this spring and he finished the 10-game season as the highest-rated quarterback in the league. Even though his team didn't win the World Bowl on Sunday, Daft had the chance to run a successful two-minute drill down the field and set up a game-tying field goal. Not one backup QB in the States got that kind of quality work in a high-pressured environment in the past six months. Several NFL teams have their hands tied because of salary-cap problems and count on this league to develop young players for the future. I'm sure Jerry Jones will be pleased by the performance of cornerback Duane Hawthorne overseas. He's considered one of the better defensive backs in NFL Europe. He could end up being a quality backup or nickelback for the Cowboys this fall now that Deion Sanders is a Redskin.
Covering the futureBefore the free-agency period started in February, the Jets signed young cornerback Marcus Coleman to a five-year, $20 million deal. Since Coleman only had had a few starts, a few eyebrows were raised around the league. A few months later this looks like a bargain for the Jets.Thomas Smith left Buffalo as a free agent and signed a five-year, $22.5 million with the Bears. Sanders got a seven-year, $55 million contract from the Redskins. Last week, Sam Madison got an eight-year, $54 million extension from the Dolphins. Madison has been the most productive corner in the league the last two years with 15 interceptions. Madison is a lot younger than Sanders and should be able to play out his whole contract. Still, more than $50 million for a corner is hard to understand when you have to pay an entire team under a salary cap. What will Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey get in a couple of years, $80 million for eight years? It's not out of the realm of possibility. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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