Vikings Reward Carter
Wide receiver Cris Carter had the most receptions in the history of the NFL last season, and signed a three-year contract extension that will make him the highestpaid player in the history of the Minnesota Vikings.
Carter’s extension, which goes into effect for the 1996 season, is for $9.7 million, including a $2.7 million signing bonus. Combined with the $1.7 million he is scheduled to make this season, his total package for the next four years is $11.4 million, far outdistancing the five-year, $8.5 million contract Chris Doleman signed in 1991.
“The Vikings believed in me when no one else did,” Carter said. “I think they went ahead and did something they didn’t have to do. They went beyond the call of duty and locked me up. I think they really stepped up, and I think we’re ready to go to that next level.”< If the Bears leave Chicago for the suburbs, Mayor Richard Daley intends to bring another NFL team to the city.
But Daley said he doesn’t think the Bears will move, despite reports that say the Chicago Bears have come up with three locations for a new stadium, all in the suburbs.
Bears president Michael McCaskey has long criticized Soldier Field, saying the old stadium cannot be upgraded to attract new fans. The Bears’ lease with the city, which owns Soldier Field, expires after the 1999 season.
Keith McCants, a defensive end who split time with Houston and Arizona last season, has signed a one-year contract with the Rams.
McCants was an unrestricted free agent who has played five NFL seasons. He had 19 tackles, one sack and a 46-yard interception touchdown return for the Cardinals.
Buffalo free-agent linebacker Darryl Talley agreed to a two-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
Talley, 34, became the sixth NFL veteran to join the Falcons in the offseason. A 12-year NFL veteran, Talley led the Bills in tackles four of the past five seasons. He had 124 in 1994.
Linebacker Andre Collins, the Washington Redskins’ leading tackler in 1994, was released.
Collins, Washington’s top pick in 1990 out of Penn State, led the team with a career-high 170 tackles and had four interceptions last season, two for touchdowns.
The Redskins signed former Buffalo linebacker Marvcus Patton and former Dallas linebacker Matt Vanderbeek during the off-season.
One month after NFL owners voted to block the Rams’ proposed move to St. Louis, they will gather again in Dallas today to reconsider the issue in a special meeting called by commissioner Paul Tagliabue. The Rams have sweetened the deal by several million dollars.