Ronnie Lott, left unprotected by the San Francisco 49ers despite being an All-Pro last season, has signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Raiders as a Plan B free agent.
Lott said yesterday at a news conference that the contract is not guaranteed and that he'll move from free safety to strong safety with the Raiders.
Drafted as a cornerback by the 49ers with the eighth overall selection in 1981, Lott switched to free safety in 1985.
"I've always been committed to winning," Lott said. "If that means playing strong safety, if that means playing cornerback, if that means bringing water to my head coach, that's what I'm going to do."
zTC Lott, 31, has been one of the National Football League's premier defensive players for the past 10 years and was a starter on four Super Bowl championship teams with the 49ers.
Lott was sidelined late last season when he strained both knees, and it was feared he had damaged ligaments. But he returned to the lineup during the playoffs and he was one of the dominant defensive players for the National Football Conference in his ninth Pro Bowl, where he showed no effects of the knee injuries.
Lott earned $800,000 in his final year with the 49ers and was scheduled to make $1 million in 1991. It is believed he'll earn slightly more than $1 million per year with the Raiders.
* CFL: The Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League have offered a multimillion-dollar contract to Notre Dame's Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, according to a report in The Boston Globe.
Ismail is negotiating with the New England Patriots, who own the No. 1 choice in the National Football League draft, which will be April 21. He is seeking a contract worth more than $15 million over at least five years.