Free Agent

Cory Redding became the first Ravens' free agent to find a new home today as the veteran defensive end agreed to a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts. The deal was first reported by ESPN. In Indianapolis, Redding will reunite with Chuck Pagano, the Colts' head coach who was the Ravens' defensive coordinator this past season. Pagano is installing a 3-4 hybrid defense in Indianapolis, and it was expected that the he would go after a couple of his former players that have flourished in the system.

Still looking to add wide receiver depth and a veteran returner, the Ravens met Sunday with former Houston Texan Jacoby Jones. Jones, who caught 31 balls for 512 yards and also served as Houston's primary punt returner, was released by the Texas last week. He was due to make $3 million next season in the second year of a three-year pact. He also was made more expendable when Houston drafted receivers in the third and fourth round, selecting Ohio State's DeVier Posey and Michigan State's Keshawn Martin.

Ravens officials made it clear at this week's NFL meetings that their primary focus over the next month is not what remains on the free-agent market. With 12 selections in next month's draft, the organization is busy evaluating college players who will help replenish a roster that has been hit hard by free agency, releases and retirements. But with a little over $7 million of remaining salary-cap space, the Ravens are still looking to add a couple of free agents, hoping to find a couple of bargains that will help fill some holes.

The Ravens' decision to replace quarterback Trent Dilfer with Elvis Grbac after Dilfer steered the team to its only Super Bowl title was arguably one of the biggest follies in franchise history. And according to Adam Rank of NFL.com, Grbac was one of the biggest free-agent quarterback busts in NFL history, too. In a list published yesterday on NFL.com , Rank ranked the Ravens' acquisition of Grbac in 2001 as the second worst free-agent quarterback signing in league history.

At the NFL Scouting Combine late last month, Ravens coach John Harbaugh acknowledged something that was probably pretty obvious to anybody even remotely familiar with the team's salary cap situation. “I don't see us spending high numbers on a wide receiver,” Harbaugh. “We just don't have the cap room. It wouldn't be a smart way to distribute the money.” The first day of free agency came and went yesterday and the Ravens - as expected - remained on the sidelines.

Happy Black Friday. It's the biggest shopping day of the year and at this hour, you're likely either running through the aisle of a department store to snag that $99 high-definition TV or you're at home laughing at the thought of it. First off, some full disclosure here. I was among the masses who spent the early morning hours chasing doorbusters and trying to get a leg up on holiday shopping. Part of it is to get some deals - or at least the idea of them - and the other part is the experience.

Rico Wallace has already made history. Now it's just a matter of making the team. When the Meade alum signed with the Carolina Panthers as an undrafted free agent on Sunday, he became the first ever from his college, Division III Shenandoah University, to do so. The wide receiver is one of at least five former high school players from the Baltimore area who have signed with NFL teams following last weekend's draft. Despite coming from a small school, Wallace impressed scouts by running a 4.53-second 40-yard dash at James Madison University's Pro Day after making 67 catches for 1,241 yards and 14 touchdowns in his senior year at Shenandoah.

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.

Joe Saunders' offseason has been spent golfing, working out, entertaining at his Arizona home and being a father to his 2-year-old and 4-year-old girls. He can't say he hasn't thought about where he'll be reporting to spring training in six weeks, but the free agent knows he'll be pitching somewhere. And that's fine for now. “I'm a pretty patient kind of guy. I've always been that kind of guy, to really wait and see how it all plays out,” said Saunders, who was 3-3 with a 3.63 ERA in seven regular season starts with the Orioles after being acquired from Arizona in August.

A little more than two weeks before he hits the open market and is allowed to sign with another team, outside linebacker Paul Kruger's mindset remains the same as it was in the hours that followed the Ravens' 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII . "There's no reason to want to go to anywhere else," said Kruger, the Ravens' sack leader this past year and, starting March 12, one of the top free agent pass rushers available....