Post by CAChiefsFan on Mar 8, 2005 8:57:46 GMT -5
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
The free-agency scoreboard — now reading Opponents 3, Kansas City 0 — is becoming increasingly grim for the Chiefs.
They lost a pair of free-agent targets Monday with cornerback Samari Rolle signing with Baltimore and safety Dwight Smith with New Orleans. Rolle and Smith joined linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who last week re-signed with Philadelphia, in spurning the Chiefs.
With the loss of Rolle, the only cornerback to visit Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs are no closer to filling their need for a starting corner than when free agency began last Wednesday.
They may turn to Washington's Fred Smoot, the only remaining free agent on their priority cornerback list. Rolle and Ken Lucas signed elsewhere, and Patrick Surtain is under contract with Miami.
The Chiefs may also visit with former New England corner Ty Law this week.
“When you lose a guy you thought you had a chance to sign, it's always disappointing,” Chiefs coach thingy Vermeil said. “Free agency is always frustrating. You always go through periods of disappointment. You don't go thinking you're going to sign every player who comes to visit. It just doesn't happen that way.”
Rolle, a former Pro Bowler with Tennessee, visited with the Chiefs on Thursday. He made enough progress the following day on a contract for Vermeil to say the sides were “close” to a deal.
The Chiefs then became increasingly concerned by the results of Rolle's physical exam that showed a narrowing of the spinal column.
Rolle passed the physical, making him eligible for a contract, but the Chiefs were nervous about giving a hefty contract to a player with his condition.
Rolle received a reported signing bonus of $11 million and a six-year deal worth about $30 million.
At a news conference in Baltimore, Rolle suggested the Chiefs became concerned about his condition only after learning he would sign with the Ravens.
“It's the same thing I was born with,” Rolle said of his spinal condition. “I guess they might have heard I was coming up here or something like that, but when I was (in Kansas City), it never came up. But it's funny, I'm coming up here and that's all you hear. I was getting calls about my spine this morning, and you know, I don't worry about those things. This is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm happy we chose here.”
Rolle missed all of two games and part of another in 2001 because of a sore neck. Otherwise, the condition never caused him to miss a game in seven seasons in Tennessee.
“That is not a concern,” Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “I have a lot of trust in (trainer) Bill Tessendorf and the staff and the doctors that we have. They did their due diligence. They came back with a report and a grade that basically said that they had no problem with him signing a contract with us. He has already been cleared, medically, from our doctors' standpoint. They are the professionals, and we listen to those people.”
Two other free agents who visited with the Chiefs last week, linebackers Ed Hartwell of Baltimore and Kendrell Bell of Pittsburgh, remain unsigned.
The Kansas City Star
The free-agency scoreboard — now reading Opponents 3, Kansas City 0 — is becoming increasingly grim for the Chiefs.
They lost a pair of free-agent targets Monday with cornerback Samari Rolle signing with Baltimore and safety Dwight Smith with New Orleans. Rolle and Smith joined linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who last week re-signed with Philadelphia, in spurning the Chiefs.
With the loss of Rolle, the only cornerback to visit Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs are no closer to filling their need for a starting corner than when free agency began last Wednesday.
They may turn to Washington's Fred Smoot, the only remaining free agent on their priority cornerback list. Rolle and Ken Lucas signed elsewhere, and Patrick Surtain is under contract with Miami.
The Chiefs may also visit with former New England corner Ty Law this week.
“When you lose a guy you thought you had a chance to sign, it's always disappointing,” Chiefs coach thingy Vermeil said. “Free agency is always frustrating. You always go through periods of disappointment. You don't go thinking you're going to sign every player who comes to visit. It just doesn't happen that way.”
Rolle, a former Pro Bowler with Tennessee, visited with the Chiefs on Thursday. He made enough progress the following day on a contract for Vermeil to say the sides were “close” to a deal.
The Chiefs then became increasingly concerned by the results of Rolle's physical exam that showed a narrowing of the spinal column.
Rolle passed the physical, making him eligible for a contract, but the Chiefs were nervous about giving a hefty contract to a player with his condition.
Rolle received a reported signing bonus of $11 million and a six-year deal worth about $30 million.
At a news conference in Baltimore, Rolle suggested the Chiefs became concerned about his condition only after learning he would sign with the Ravens.
“It's the same thing I was born with,” Rolle said of his spinal condition. “I guess they might have heard I was coming up here or something like that, but when I was (in Kansas City), it never came up. But it's funny, I'm coming up here and that's all you hear. I was getting calls about my spine this morning, and you know, I don't worry about those things. This is where I'm supposed to be, and I'm happy we chose here.”
Rolle missed all of two games and part of another in 2001 because of a sore neck. Otherwise, the condition never caused him to miss a game in seven seasons in Tennessee.
“That is not a concern,” Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome said. “I have a lot of trust in (trainer) Bill Tessendorf and the staff and the doctors that we have. They did their due diligence. They came back with a report and a grade that basically said that they had no problem with him signing a contract with us. He has already been cleared, medically, from our doctors' standpoint. They are the professionals, and we listen to those people.”
Two other free agents who visited with the Chiefs last week, linebackers Ed Hartwell of Baltimore and Kendrell Bell of Pittsburgh, remain unsigned.
