Rejuvenated Edmonds Returns To Nfl

Bobby Joe Edmonds, the former Seattle Seahawks star kick returner, is making a comeback with Tampa Bay.

Edmonds went to the Pro Bowl after his rookie season in 1986 but saw his career go downhill because of injuries and alcohol abuse following his mother’s death.

“It really is amazing when you look at the odds once you get out of the game to get back in,” said Edmonds, 30, who has been selling real estate in Seattle. Edmonds, put on waivers in 1990, is trying out as a kickoff and punt returner.

“This may be a first to be out this long and come back” he said. “But I’ve always known I could still perform. It was just a matter of the right situation and timing.”

Edmonds calls it simply “a miracle just to be here.” But the miracle actually began to take shape on the first day of 1993, when Edmonds swore off alcohol after a pattern of abuse that began shortly after his mother’s death in a car crash in 1977. “I started drinking when I was 13,” Edmonds says. “I tried to escape the reality through alcohol.”

Slaughter joins Chiefs

At River Falls, Wis., the Kansas City Chiefs bolstered their receiving corps by signing Webster Slaughter, who turned down more money to play for former coach Marty Schottenheimer.

Slaughter, 30, signed a three-year contract, the financial terms of which were not announced.

Slaughter played for Schottenheimer in Cleveland from his first season in 1986 until Schottenheimer left for Kansas City in 1989.

“The main attraction is a good team - a team I think can win the AFC and Coach Schottenheimer,” said Slaughter, adding that he rejected an offer for more money from Green Bay.

Before Slaughter’s arrival at training camp Wednesday, the Chiefs’ oldest receivers were Willie Davis and Wesley Carroll, both 27 years old and entering their fourth year in the league.

Davis is the starter on one side. The top candidates for the other starting spot are Lake Dawson, a second-year player, and Victor Bailey, who is beginning his third season after spending two years in Philadelphia.

Murray’s aim off

Eddie Murray joined Washington on Wednesday - and promptly fizzled.

The supposed savior of the Redskins’ kicking game missed his first three field goals on his first full day of practice with his new team at Frostburg, Md.

Three attempts is all a kicker usually gets during the Redskins’ regular field goal drill. But after three balls went wide left - including a shanked kick that left some Redskins shaking their heads over their new 38-year-old teammate - Murray took No. 4 and drilled a 39-yarder straight through the uprights.

But coach, I’m OK

At Madison, N.J., Tyrone Wheatley, the Giants’ 17th pick in the 1995 draft, worked out for the first time since signing a $5.2 million, five-year contract and promptly joined the team’s long list of injured.

The running back from Michigan pulled a buttocks muscle during his first sprints. But after treatment, he returned for the afternoon workouts.

The Giants have been hit by a rash of injuries, including a severe bruise to Dave Brown’s right elbow that will keep him sidelined for about two weeks.

Testaverde still hospitalized

At Berea, Ohio, Cleveland’s quarterback depth chart grew shorter as Vinny Testaverde remained hospitalized for an allergic reaction.

Neither the team nor the Cleveland Clinic, where Testaverde was taken Tuesday night, would comment on his condition. The Browns issued a brief statement saying the reaction was caused by “either medication he was given to treat his (lower leg) infection or something he ate.”

Haley undergoes tests

Defensive end Charles Haley was in California undergoing magnetic resonance imaging tests for soreness in his lower back.

Team spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the tests were negative, and the testing was done as a precaution. Haley had back surgery for a ruptured disk in the 1993 off-season.

“He’ll be ready when we go to the Meadowlands” for the season opener against the New York Giants on Sept. 4, said coach Barry Switzer.

Saint marches in lawyer

At La Crosse, Wis., at least one of the New Orleans Saints questioned about a woman’s claim that she was raped by several players has hired a lawyer, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The district attorney’s office is investigating a complaint filed by a Minneapolis-St. Paul woman who said she was raped by several players in their training camp dormitory early Sunday morning.

Saints coach Jim Mora said his own investigation and questioning of his players convinced him nothing illegal happened.

“I want the law to find out the truth,” Mora said. “I’m 99 percent sure I know the truth.”

The woman, who has not been identified, was lured to the players’ dormitory for a party, according to Lori Peterson, a Minneapolis attorney representing the woman.

Personnel move

Colts starting cornerback Ray Buchanan may return punts, a job now held by rookie Ben Bronson.

Bronson fielded the only punt in a 34-21 loss to Cincinnati in the first preseason game last week. But special teams coach Hank Kuhlmann said that Buchanan, who led the team with eight interceptions last year, will “definitely be a part of it.”

Buchanan has been working with Bronson and the rest of the return corps in camp. He isn’t expected to see much, if any, return action during exhibitions, but could be used parttime in the regular season.

More signings

At Suwanee, Ga., Falcons No. 1 draft pick Devin Bush passed his physical and signed a four-year contract reportedly worth almost $3.5 million.

The former Florida State safety started practice Wednesday.