Ozzie Newsome drew an imaginary line in the dirt beyond which he would not go in pursuit of free agents Doug Evans and Yancey Thigpen last winter.
When negotiations took Evans and Thigpen well past that line, Newsome, vice president of player personnel for the Ravens, retreated posthaste to explore other options.
It was the smartest thing Newsome did in the off-season.
Since signing a five-year, $21 million contract to play wide receiver for the Tennessee Oilers in February, Thigpen has labored with foot, groin and knee injuries. He has 20 catches and only two touchdowns and hasn't played since Week 6.
Evans, a cornerback who signed a five-year, $22.5 million deal with the Carolina Panthers, has not fared much better. He dislocated his left thumb in Week 4, severely sprained his collarbone in Week 10 and went on injured reserve Nov. 10. When he was on the field, he surrendered a ghastly six touchdown passes.
The cost of free-agent reinforcements went up dramatically in 1998, especially on the defensive line. Free-agent production, meanwhile, has gone down. Much of the league-wide underachieving is injury-related, but not all.
The Washington Redskins, for instance, handed out signing bonuses totaling $13 million to defensive tackles Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson to restore their run defense. (Wilkinson was acquired in trade after being tagged Cincinnati's franchise player.) The result? In a season when the Redskins expected to reach the playoffs, they rank 28th against the run and have won two games.
Looking to improve their pass rush, the Jacksonville Jaguars gave linebacker Bryce Paup a five-year, $21.876 million contract. But Paup, who led the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks in 1995 with the Buffalo Bills, has spent more time dropping into pass coverage than blitzing the quarterback. Result? He has 3 1/2 sacks in 11 games.
Desperate at cornerback and wide receiver because they were losing Antonio Langham and Derrick Alexander to free agency, the Ravens were negotiating with Evans and Thigpen. By the time the bidding reached $4 million a year, they dropped out.
"You have to value what that player is worth to you," Newsome said. "If you pay top dollar for Evans, he's got to be [the equivalent of] Deion Sanders. That's what they're paying Deion. Same thing with Thigpen. You have to say he's in a class with Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Herman Moore. If you don't feel like a guy will impact you that way "
You look elsewhere.
The Ravens did and came away better for it. They gave former All-Pro cornerback Rod Woodson a four-year, $11.5 million deal. He has five interceptions, two for touchdowns.
At wide receiver, the Ravens opted for promising rookie Patrick Johnson with a second-round draft pick. Thigpen still may be a good signing for the Oilers, but Johnson's speed made him one of the draft's most attractive receivers.
"It's hard to really examine the true impact of a guy changing teams until the second or third year," Newsome said. "History has shown the first year they all struggle or come up with some type of injury. The second and third year, they have a better understanding of the system they're in and have a bigger impact."
Free-agent payouts were reaching record levels this off-season in large part because of a 26 percent hike in the salary cap, from $41.45 million per team in 1997 to $52.388 million in 1998. The laws of supply and demand didn't hurt, either.
No less than four teams used the franchise tag to retain rights to defensive linemen. In addition to Wilkinson, other free agents so restricted were end Joe Johnson in New Orleans and tackles Tim Bowens in Miami and Dan Williams in Kansas City.
When defensive linemen Eric Swann (Arizona), Ted Washington (Buffalo), Warren Sapp (Tampa Bay) and John Randle (Minnesota) got between $5 million and $6 million-a-year contracts to stay with their respective teams, the lid was off the market.
Stubblefield got a six-year, $36 million deal to leave the San Francisco 49ers. Defensive end Gabe Wilkins got five years and $20 million to bolt Green Bay for the 49ers. Defensive tackle Chester McGlockton, virtually run out of Oakland, signed a five-year, $30 million contract with Kansas City.
Then defensive tackle Sean Gilbert, who sat out 1997 as Washington's franchise player, joined Carolina for a seven-year, $46.5 million deal that also cost the Panthers two first-round draft picks.
All of the defensive linemen who changed teams have had problems in their new cities. All four have reputations as players who take plays off.
Wilkins had a lingering knee injury from last season and has played only three games for the 49ers. Gilbert was a tackle in the Redskins' 4-3 defense, but became an end in Carolina's 3-4. That switch and a thumb injury have helped hold Gilbert to three sacks. McGlockton had back surgery in September and by the time he joined the team, the Chiefs' season was lost.
If free agency is a land-mine venture, some teams have learned to navigate it better than others. The Pittsburgh Steelers have lost 35 free agents since the system was instituted in 1993, but remain highly competitive. This season, they have re-signed four of their key defensive players (nose tackle Joel Steed and linebackers Levon Kirkland, Jason Gildon and Earl Holmes) and are working on cornerback Carnell Lake.
"Sometimes it comes down to a situation where you can't keep everybody," said Tom Donahoe, the Steelers' director of football operations. "We tried to identify players that were part of the corps that we wanted to keep here and approached them about extensions."
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers haven't gone deep into free agency. Instead, they've extended the contracts of 10 starters since the start of the 1997 season. And Minnesota achieved a major coup by re-signing tackle Todd Steussie, running back Robert Smith and Randle this year. The Vikings have the best record in the NFC to show for it, too.
The Green Bay Packers haven't been as fortunate. In the last two years, they've lost valuable contributors like kick returner Desmond Howard, wide receiver Andre Rison and safety Eugene Robinson along with Evans and Wilkins. Those losses led to diminished depth.
General manager Ron Wolf insisted after Sunday's loss at Minnesota that the Packers were not victimized by free agency. He said cornerback Tyrone Williams and rookie defensive end Vonnie Holliday were playing better than either Evans or Wilkins.
"If the teams that signed [those two] could send them back to us and not suffer any economic consequences, believe me, they'd do it," Wolf said after the game.
Clearly, though, the best solution to free agency is to re-sign your best players.
"I think that's what the trend is going to be," Newsome said. "You're better off keeping your players because you know them, you know their strengths and weaknesses, and you know what buttons to push to get them to excel."
Busting the free-agent market
There was an expensive run on defensive linemen in free agency last off-season. Not many of them panned out, though. Here is a look at some of the best buys and worst buys of 1998:
10 best signings
Player, team, Contract, Skinny
1. RB Curtis Martin, Jets, 6 years, $36 million, Expensive, but he's a marquee player.
2. FS Eugene Robinson, Falcons, 2 years, $3.55 million, Proven winner stabilized secondary.
3. CB Rod Woodson, Ravens, 4 years, $11.5 million, A force with 5 INTs, 2 TDs.
4. LB Darrin Smith, Seahawks, 4 years, $11.4 million, Revived his career as big-play man.
5. LB Robert Jones, Dolphins, 1 year, $375,000, Rams castoff having great year.
6. QB Vinny Testaverde, Jets, 1 year, $1.5 million, Where would they be without him?
7. RB Natrone Means, Chargers, 6 years, $19.1 million, Had 883 yards when broke left foot.
8. FS Brock Marion, Dolphins, 3 years, $8.25 million, 6th free safety Jimmy Johnson has tried.
9. C Kevin Mawae, Jets, 5 years, $17 million, Anchors team's former weak spot.
10. DT Mike Wells, Bears, 5 years, $11 million, Was a lot cheaper than Stubblefield.
10 worst signings
1. DE Chester McGlockton, Chiefs, 5 years, $30 million, Led Chiefs to last place.
2. DT Dana Stubblefield, Redskins, 6 years, $36 million, Redskins still can't stop run.
3. DE Gabe Wilkins, 49ers, 5 years, $20 million, Has 3 tackles in 3 games.
4. DE Sean Gilbert, Panthers, 7 years, $46.5 million, Can't meet these expectations.
5. CB Doug Evans, Panthers, 5 years, $22.5 million, Gave up 7 TD passes, went on IR.
6. CB Antonio Langham, 49ers, 5 years, $17 million, Gave up 6 TD passes, got hurt.
7. QB Neil O'Donnell, Bengals, 4 years, $17.2 million, Lost job 2nd straight November.
8. WR Yancey Thigpen, Oilers, 5 years, $21 million, Injured, no impact.
9. WR Derrick Alexander, Chiefs, 5 years, $17.5 million, Hurt most of the season.
10. LB Bryce Paup, Jaguars, 5 years, $21.8 million, Pass rusher who doesn't rush passer.
Pub Date: 11/27/98