FanHouse Nfl Free Agency

A couple of months ago, the list of Steelers free agents after the 2009 season looked downright frightening. But slowly and surely, Pittsburgh is whittling down its collection of potential departures.

First the Steelers re-signed left tackle Max Starks to a four-year extension, now there's word that they are working on a long-term deal with free safety Ryan Clark. The news comes from the NFL Network's Jason La Canfora (as relayed by Pro Football Talk).

A little more than four months have passed since Terrell Suggs expressed his desire for a long-term contract, telling the Ravens in February, "If you want me on your team, then do something about it."

Baltimore responded by slapping the franchise tag on Suggs. Since then, no one's seen or heard much from Suggs -- he skipped all of the Ravens' offseason activities. But the talented defensive star finally broke his silence in an an interview with Mike Duffy of BaltimoreRavens.com:

"I feel like we're getting close," Suggs said.

This is great news for the Ravens. Not just because Suggs is a key component in their stout defense, but also because Baltimore signing him to a multi-year contract would almost certainly help the team finally land another wide receiver.

The saga of Julius Peppers, the Carolina Panthers' disgruntled defensive end, faded quickly into the background (thanks, Messrs. Favre and Cutler!) as the football loving world moved away from the NFL Draft and closer to training camp.

But Wednesday, seemingly out of nowhere, the Panthers announced that Peppers had -- finally -- agreed to sign his offer sheet and remain a Panther for at least the next season, barring any very surprising transactions. From the good folks at ITP:

Mike Brown was drafted out of Nebraska in the second round of the 2000 draft by the Chicago Bears. Since then, he's been in Chicago, mixing in solid safety play with lots of injury issues. One thing no one would dispute: When he's on the field, Mike Brown is a very good NFL player.

Earlier this offseason, the Bears cut ties with Brown --his contract had expired and they decided not to re-up -- after exactly 100 games of service. According to a report from KansasCity.com, the Chiefs have decided to sign the safety. He'll likely compete with Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page for a shot to start in the Kansas City secondary. At the very least, he adds plenty of depth and experience.

You simply won't believe this, but it's a day that ends in "y" and there's another Brett Favre/Vikings rumor! It's amazing right? Wrong. It's called "standard operating procedure."

But I guess this one has some meat: a source has informed WCCO's Mark Rosen that, confirming a previous report, Favre and the team have agreed to a deal and that Favre will be at Vikings training camp (they even have a fake Sports Illustrated cover with Favre as a Viking to back it up!).

After two straight offseasons of scrambling to keep Max Starks in a Steelers uniform, Pittsburgh has locked in the veteran offensive tackle for a while.

Starks, who was transitioned tagged in 2008 and franchise tagged in February, agreed to a four-year extension with the Steelers. Financial terms were not immediately available, but at least one report said Starks' new deal was worth $26.3 million, with $10 million guaranteed.

Word on the street earlier today was that Brett Favre and the Vikings had, GASP, already signed a contract. It was shocking, spicy, etc., and properly panned by Ryan Wilson: it doesn't really matter whether there's a deal in place or not, because at no point in the next six months will we stop talking about Favre.

Seriously, he can even say "I'm retiring 4eva" and it won't matter, because he's said that before. But, it's at least worth mentioning that Mike Florio's scoop was quickly denied this evening by everyone's favorite sports agent, Bus Cook.

If there are two phrases/names/things that are relevant to all things important in the world's culture right now, it's pretty obviously: "J.P. Losman" and "United Football League." No, no. Seriously. That's because today, Losman transplanted Tim Rattay as the most relevant non-ex-felon to potentially hop to the new league.

But, all sarcasm aside, this is kind of a big deal from a football fan's perspective simply because Losman is a pretty huge name when it comes to the UFL. Again. Seriously.

It's pretty well established that Plaxico Burress is a pain in the ass to deal with. The Giants were willing to put up with it until Plax accidentally blew a hole in his thigh at a Manhattan night club last November (when, ironically, he was supposed to be rehabbing a tweaked hammy).

The team released him earlier this year and now Burress, while awaiting his legal fate, is lobbying other teams for a job. In most other professions, guys who shoot themselves -- intentionally or otherwise -- are automatically ruled out as potential employees. It's a sensible rule and one no reasonable person would question.

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Michael Vick is now free, both legally and professionally. He got out of the joint last month, and yesterday, the Falcons, the team that selected him with the first-overall pick in 2000, released him.

Even before Atlanta made it official, much of the talk this offseason (when we weren't discussing the implications of another Brett Favre fake retirement) has been about where Vick might play in 2009. Plenty of teams have issued "Yeah, we're not interested" statements, but athleticism trumps off-field troubles and there's a good chance Vick is playing somewhere next season, even if it's not at quarterback.