Free Agent

NFL teams didn't do much more than window shop yesterday when the free-agency signing period opened for almost 300 unrestricted free-agent players.With more than 200 agents in Dallas for a seminar conducted by the NFL Players Association on the intricacies of the new system, the teams kept busy checking the list and leaving messages for agents. The Phoenix Cardinals, who are expected to be aggressive in the market, starting leaving messages at 12:01 a.m.Jimmy Sexton, the agent for the most coveted free agent, Reggie White of the Philadelphia Eagles, was at the meeting, so he wasn't available.

The Baltimore Orioles will spend what it takes to acquire at least two cornerstone players for the 1992 season. You read it here first, but it is up to you whether to believe it.Several well-placed sources, none of whom has any more control over the Orioles purse strings than you do and whose very existence is even in question, are pretty certain of this, which means that it probably will happen unless someone actually sits down and calculates how much...

Free-agent pitcher Matt White and first baseman Travis Lee were the Orioles' guests yesterday for Game 1 of the American League Division Series.White was the seventh pick by the San Francisco Giants in the June draft, but became a free agent when he was not tendered a contract within 15 days of being drafted.Lee was the second overall pick by the Minnesota Twins.White said eight to 10 teams have contacted him so far.White is from Waynesboro, Pa., and said he became interested in the Orioles because he watched them growing up."

The Orioles are almost done contacting free agents, and now the club is waiting for tomorrow's vote on a collective bargaining agreement before it proceeds with off-season activities, assistant general manager Kevin Malone said yesterday.If the major-league owners approve the collective bargaining agreement, it would affect the free-agent status of numerous players. The Orioles would lose their repeater rights to Jesse Orosco, Eddie Murray and Bobby Bonilla, and all three players would become unrestricted free agents.

Free agent Bubby Brister signed a one-year contract yesterday with the Philadelphia Eagles to back up starting quarterback Randall Cunningham.The Eagles needed a successor to Jim McMahon, who left Philadelphia and signed a free-agent contract with the Minnesota Vikings.The 6-foot-3, 207-pound quarter back played six games for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, starting the last four regular-season games after Neil O'Donnell was injured.* BEARS: Defensive end Richard Dent, Chicago's career sack leader and the Most Valuable Player in the 1986 Super Bowl, could become a free agent after this season.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- When Brian Williams joined the Orioles as a free agent in January, it was with the understanding that he would compete for a spot in the rotation. But four weeks into spring training, he doesn't believe the club has any intention of using him that way.Williams has become pretty good at reading the signs.The same thing happened to him last season. And the one before that. He yearns to be a starter, but can't escape the long arm of the bullpen.Williams appeared in his second exhibition game yesterday, entering in the sixth inning of the Orioles' 8-5 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The departure of nearly a dozen free agents has made this off-season difficult for the Orioles. But next off-season is shaping up to be a doozy.Not only do the Orioles have to re-sign potential free agents Cal Ripken and Brady Anderson between now and then, but also a chasm has developed in early talks with ace pitcher Mike Mussina.The Orioles have had cursory talks with Mussina's agent, Arn Tellem, and are thinking along the lines of a two-year extension at $5 million a year, plus a $5 million option for a third year.

Keith Jackson was unpacking his bags in Miami yesterday and Ferrell Edmunds was getting ready to pack his.Jackson, the biggest prize in Judge David Doty's NFL free-agent derby, signed a four-year, $6 million deal with the Miami Dolphins.He was one of four holdouts who was released from the NFL's free agency restrictions Thursday by Doty in the wake of a verdict by a federal jury Sept. 10 that the NFL's Plan B free agency violates the antitrust laws.Two of the other three, Garin Veris and Webster Slaughter, also switched teams.

What kind of priority are the Ravens putting on finding a wide receiver? It's a question that Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome will surely get this afternoon when he meets with reporters on the second full day of the NFL scouting combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. While much of today's focus will be on quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, who are tentatively scheduled to meet with the media today, wide receivers will also interview, both with reporters and interested teams.

Talented young cornerbacks are at a premium in what has become a pass-happy NFL, but the Ravens feel like they have three of them. And Thursday, they made sure their most accomplished cover man will stay in a Ravens uniform for a long time. Fulfilling one of their offseason priorities, the Ravens reached agreement on a six-year, $50 million deal with Lardarius Webb, who emerged as a shutdown cornerback during the team's run to the AFC championship game last season. Webb, 26, will be in Baltimore next week to take a physical and sign the contract, which includes a $10 million signing bonus and $20 million guaranteed.