Free Agency

The Ravens said he was a high free-agency priority. The Jacksonville Jaguars offered him more money. But in the end, defensive tackle James Jones said the Detroit Lions made him feel most wanted.Jones, who signed a four-year, $15.6 million contract this week with the Lions, a deal that included a $4.3 million bonus, said he would have loved to return to the franchise with which he has spent all but one year of his eight-year career.The problem, he said, came down to a failure to communicate.

Thirteen Orioles are eligible for free agency, and assistant general manager Kevin Malone says that the uncertainty surrounding those players might be affecting the club's performance.Scary?It could get even scarier if the Orioles don't make a quick recovery, and it appears they might be on their way now that they've won two straight games for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks.Still, players don't know if they'll be back. Malone and general manager Pat Gillick don't know if they'll be back. Yet they're all supposedly pulling toward one goal.

Creative accounting is out. Fiscal responsibility is in.That's the message from NFL executives as they warily prepare for the start of the free-agency signing period today for the fourth season since it was introduced in 1993.With the salary cap going up only from $40.7 million to $41.454 million and with many teams already saddled with expensive contracts from past years, most appear to be reluctant to pass out huge signing bonuses to free agents.There's also more emphasis on team chemistry and keeping a squad together.

Orioles right fielder Bobby Bonilla may not be a free agent after this year because of the players strike that cut short the 1994 season and cut into the 1995 season.According to the Repeater Rights clause in the expired Basic Agreement between players and owners -- the two sides still operate under these rules -- a player cannot file for free agency twice within five years of major-league service. Bonilla signed a five-year contract with the New York Mets as a free agent after the 1991 season, and had there been no work stoppage, he'd be eligible for free agency after this year.

Washington Redskins safety Brad Edwards got the benefits of free agency last night without even testing the free-agent waters.Edwards came to terms on a three-year, $2.55 million deal with the Redskins, according to a source close to the negotiations, and will sign today.That means Edwards will not be among the more than 300 players with five or more years of experience whose contracts have expired who will be eligible to sign with any team today when the new free agency period starts.When Edwards came from the Minnesota Vikings to the Redskins in 1990 as a Plan B free agent under the old system, he signed a three-year deal for $1 million, an average of $333,333 per year, so his new salary is a boost of more than 2 1/2 times over his old salary.

ASHBURN, Va. -- If money talks, Jack Kent Cooke's checkbook spoke volumes about the future of the NFL this week.The fact that the Washington Redskins owner was willing to spend more than $14 million to lock up Desmond Howard for four years and both Darrell Green and Jim Lachey for three years shows how concerned Cooke is about the possibility of free agency coming to the league.When you add in the $9 million for three years -- plus $3 million more for an option year -- thatquarterback Mark Rypien got, Cooke spent $26 million on four players.

One thing is predictable when the NFL owners and players get into a legal battle.When the verdict comes in, both sides will declare victory.That's what happened yesterday when a federal jury in Minneapolis ruled that the NFL's Plan B free agency system violates antitrust laws.The jury then awarded four of the eight players who sued a total of $543,000 -- tripled to $1.63 million under antitrust laws -- but didn't award the other four anything."We do not regard this as anything less than a huge, huge total victory," said Jeffrey Kessler, one of the players' attorneys.

One thing is predictable when the NFL owners and players get into a legal battle.When the verdict comes in, both sides will declare victory.That's what happened yesterday when a federal jury in Minneapolis ruled that the NFL's Plan B free agency system violates antitrust laws.The jury then awarded four of the eight players who sued a total of $543,000 -- tripled to $1.63 million under antitrust laws -- but didn't award the other four anything."We do not regard this as anything less than a huge, huge total victory," said Jeffrey Kessler, one of the players' attorneys.

CARLISLE, Pa. -- Upon further review, Ricky Sanders has reversed his decision to leave the Washington Redskins' training camp."I wasn't ready to sign. I just went home and thought about it," he said about his decision to leave Monday morning after verbally agreeing to a two-year contract estimated at $1.9 million.Sanders changed his mind faster than officials make some instant re- play reversals and was back on the field yesterday at 5:15 p.m. about halfway through the afternoon practice.

There's a court case beginning in Minneapolis where a judge and jury, in the best traditions of American jurisprudence, will attempt to separate right from wrong.Here in Baltimore, we are tempted to hope that wrong prevails.It could happen.It could happen that the eight players who have filed an antitrust suit in U.S. District Court against the NFL will lose.If they lose, we could win. By which I mean anyone who cares about bringing pro football back to Baltimore.Confused? Sure you are. It's supposed to be confusing; otherwise, there wouldn't be any need for lawyers.

It's understandable that fans wanted to see catching phenom Matt Wieters in an Orioles uniform on Opening Day, but it just wasn't sensible. What would you rather have had? A couple weeks of Wieters now as a rookie or a whole year of him when he is in his prime? I thought so. If Wieters were on the Opening Day roster, his service-time clock would have begun ticking. Assuming he remained on the club's 25-man roster or disabled list, Wieters would have been eligible for free agency after the 2014 season.

A season ago, it wasn't until a week into free agency that the Ravens signed their first player (special teams ace Brendon Ayanbadejo). Although the pace likely won't be as slow this year, the Ravens seem to be stressing patience again when looking to sign free agents other than their own. "We will be watching the market and watching who is signing, upgrading our board as time goes," general manager Ozzie Newsome said. Though four starters (linebackers Ray Lewis and Bart Scott, center Jason Brown and safety Jim Leonhard)

Can't imagine the Mariners are going to tender Erik Bedard a contract for next year, since they would be unable to cut his $7 million salary by more than 20 percent and he is eligible for free agency after the season. So, you can figure on his becoming a free agent in December and then trying to sign with somebody at who knows what price. Don't be surprised if his agent comes back to the Orioles with some kind of proposal. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

His contributions to Boston's first World Series title team in 86 years will forever link him to Red Sox Nation. He has spent more time with the Florida Marlins than with any other club. Yet Kevin Millar, the fun-loving, trash-talking, gear-grinding veteran first baseman, thinks of himself as an Oriole. He has been one since 2006. And, despite facing free agency this offseason, he wants to be an Oriole again in 2009. Like everything with Millar, that's not a secret. "Truthfully speaking, I want to be here," Millar said.

In 1987, with an NFL players strike looming, I recall standing in front of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and talking casually with John Spagnola, an Eagles tight end who was the team's player rep to the NFL Players Association. Club owners had announced that they were going ahead with the season using replacement players. It was a stunning tactic, and no one knew how such a move would be received. "We're about to find out who controls the game," said Spagnola, a Yale graduate. "The players who play the game or the guys who own the jocks and the socks."

1. Why haven't they done anything in free agency? This is deceiving because the Ravens have made some expensive moves. They just did them before free agency began. The club used up nearly $9.5 million of salary cap space by keeping linebacker Terrell Suggs (franchise tag) and guard Jason Brown (second-round tender as a restricted free agent). Suggs would have been one of the top five overall free agents this season, and Brown would have been among the top guards available. If the Ravens would have picked up someone of the caliber of these two players during free agency, it would feel like they made a big splash.

The themes of the stories in a newspaper's sports section in December tell you all you need to know about that city's NFL season. If the hometown team is rolling into the playoffs, the talk is about playing for home-field advantage, bye weeks and resting the stars. If it's a bubble team, then the stories try to figure out all the playoff scenarios and tiebreakers. But if your team is like the Ravens, then the attention turns to the offseason - namely the draft and free agency. We started looking at the draft last week and, as a result of Sunday's loss to Miami, the Ravens moved up in the draft pecking order - likely somewhere between the fifth and eighth positions.

Four months since winning the AFC North, the Ravens appear to be the clear favorite to capture the division again. After the moves made in free agency and the draft, the Ravens seemingly have not lost any ground to their chief division rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who finished five games behind the Ravens last season. The Ravens upgraded at running back (trading for Willis McGahee to replace Jamal Lewis), broke even on the offensive line (improving with guard Ben Grubbs after losing right tackle Tony Pashos)

The Ravens believe they upgraded at running back with Willis McGahee, but when assessing free agency so far, they have been dropped for a loss. The first wave of free agency has produced some unsettling changes: Career backup Jarret Johnson replaces All-Pro linebacker Adalius Thomas; Adam Terry, a natural left tackle, takes over for solid right tackle Tony Pashos; and McGahee steps in for the franchise's all-time leading rusher (Jamal Lewis), a move that has led to mixed emotions among the Ravens' fan base.

For several weeks, NFL front offices have been working off two scripts for free agency - one for a tight salary cap in the event there was no extension of the league's collective bargaining agreement, and another for a more generous cap with a new deal. So when team owners approved a six-year bargaining agreement extension Wednesday night, personnel staffs and coaches around the league heaved a sigh of relief. Instead of many teams having to purge their rosters and being hamstrung in trying to sign new talent, the new cap of $102 million per club - which is $7.5 million more than it would have been without the extension - will allow business as usual.