Saints now have new DE Wilkerson

Now the No. 97 New Orleans Saints jersey is ready to be worn by someone new from Tampa Bay. On the past Tuesday night, former Buccaneers defensive end Jimmy Wilkerson signed a one-year contract worth $2 million with the Saints, adding some more depth to the team’s defensive line that causes concerns going into the preseason.

The Saints were believed to make a good choice in adding Wilkerson. The defensive end recorded 46 tackles, 6 sacks, and forced 2 fumbles for a very underwhelming defense during last season with the Buccaneers despite an ACL injury that was suffered late last year. Spending his first five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, Wilkerson has his best seasons with the Buccaneers with 11 of his 12 career sacks being made during the past two seasons. The seven-year veteran became a restricted free agent this offseason and had been considering several offers including the one made by Buccaneers. After having a visit with Saints recently, he made the decision to join the last year’s Super Bowl champion team.

Coupled with recent signing of former Chicago Bears defensive end Alex Brown, the addition of Wilkerson made the Saints more confident with the position of defensive end. It may also affect the team’s choice in the first round of the draft and team is likely to use their first pick to draft a player for another position on the defensive line.

Colts plan to start contract talk with Manning after draft

The Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay recently told reporters that the team is planning to start negotiations on a new contract with star quarterback Peyton Manning after the draft, with the purpose to make Manning the highest-paid quarterback in the league.

"We know Peyton’s going to be paid, along with (New England quarterback Tom) Brady, at the top of the league," Irsay said. "But it’s really important to make sure we get a deal that for the next four, five, six years works for the franchise."

Manning had surgery March 2 to relieve pain in his neck and he is expected to wear back his No. 18 Colts jersey in time to participate fully in the team’s offseason program that begins on April 12. Besides, safety Bob Sanders and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez are also expected to return from injury in time for training camp.

RB Tomlinson joined Jets with a two-year contract

The overtime visit to the New York indeed indicated something and has made it unsurprising when free agent running back LaDainian Tomlinson signed a two-year contract with the New York Jets. Thus the aging star found a new job while the Jets had another boost to their rushing offense that already ranks top in the NFL.

“He wanted to go to a team that he thought had a chance to compete for the championship,” Tomlinson’s agent, Tom Condon told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “He wanted to go somewhere where he had a chance to have a significant role, and so with the Jets he also was going to be very familiar with the offensive system.”

The Jets made it to the AFC Championship game last season before ending the playoffs with a 17-30 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. With the potential to be a Super Bowl Champion indeed, the Jets attracted Tomlinson with their sincerity and efforts to go after him on free agent market despite his age. The 2006 NFL MVP is turning 31 years old and finished last season with career low production, but he still ranks eighth on the NFL’s career rushing list with 12,490 yards. If not a starter, Tomlinson would be a great backup to Jets’ second-year running back Shonn Greene after putting on Jets jersey.

Bengals DT Johnson will stay in Cincinnati for another four years

At the end of the old one-year contract, veteran defensive tackle Tank Johnson was happily given the chance to play for the Cincinnati Bengals for another four years. A four-year contract has been signed between the two sides.


Taking off the Dallas Cowboys jerseys, Johnson was traded to the Bengals before the 2009 season. Despite a case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot that limited his mobility and caused a lot of pain, he still managed to star 13 games last season and tied for the team lead with 10 tackles in a playoff loss to the New York Jets.

Finishing fourth overall in defense and seventh against run last season, the Bengals believe that one season for the improvement in their run defense was Johnson, who played an important part in the team’s line rotation.

A three-year contract brought free agent tackle Green to Bills

A night after free agent offensive tackle Cornell Green visited to the Buffalo Bills, he was convinced to sign a three-year contract with the team, becoming the free agent who was signed by the Bills since the free agency began on Friday.

The 6-foot-6 and 315 pounds Green said the team has offered him starting job at right tackle, making him the replacement to Brad Butler who retired last month. Green is believed to be able to fit in that position as he had been a starting right tackle in the Oakland Raiders jersey for the last three seasons.

“I’m glad to have an opportunity to play over here. There’s a proud history of tradition here,” said Green during a teleconference call shortly after signing his contract. “I had opportunities to visit a couple of more teams, but at the end of the day, man, Buffalo made me feel real comfortable.”

Green’s signing is considered a start for restructure of the team under rookie general manager Buddy Nix and new Coach Chan Gailey, who are determined to improve a team that was young and riddled with injuries last season.

Finally, it’s the Giants who obtained safety Rolle

The Pro Bowl safety Antrel Rolle will be in the New York Giants jersey for the 2010 season as he has signed a five-year, $37 million contract with the Giants on the first day of free agency, one day after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals, also made an offer to retain the safety but was refused.


“I’m ecstatic,” the 27-year-old Rolle said. “Words can’t really express how I feel now. I had five great years with the Cardinals organization. But I felt it was time for a change. The Giants are a first-class organization all the way. There are great opportunities for me, and I am excited to be working with the players I’ll be working with. I think the sky’s going to be the limit as to what we can do.”

Spending all of his first five seasons only with the Cardinals, Rolle has played in 68 regular season games with 59 starts with career totals of 337 tackles, 12 interceptions, 36 passes defended, three forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks. He has also returned four interceptions for touchdowns. His joining filled in time the Giants’ hole at the position after Kenny Phillips was placed on IR with a serious knee injury early last season.