Mcnair Shows Promise Vs. Dallas
Steve McNair, the Houston Oilers’ newly signed $28 million man, showed he indeed can air it out in a scrimmage against the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday night in Austin, Texas.
Given the green light to throw on most of his plays in the controlled scrimmage, McNair connected on several short passes, had a near-touchdown pass dropped and another throw in the end zone intercepted.
“I was trying to be patient and take what Dallas gave us,” said McNair, who was 5 for 10 for 35 yards, including a 13-yard pass on third-and-11.
“I went with the short pass first and then the deep ball,” he said. “I think I did that excellent, but I’ve got a lot of hard work ahead.”
Houston coach Jeff Fisher liked what he saw.
“I was excited. You saw some eyes wide open on the sideline,” Fisher said. “He threw the ball on target. He showed some mobility. He has a chance to play in this league.”
The Oilers were the only team to score on one of the five 12-play drives that each offense began at its own 30-yard line. With the third units on the field, former Pullman High star Will Furrer hit Todd McNair in the end zone with a 10-yard pass over the middle.
Before Steve McNair took the field, the most intense action of the evening was a fight during special teams drills. Several players took swings at each other after Houston’s Willie Gaston charged the Cowboys’ Alundis Brice.
With each team playing its first units for only one drive, the 14,128 fans who sat in 100-degree heat got just a brief look at star players such as Troy Aikman and Michael Irvin of the Cowboys.
Houston played quarterbacks Chris Chandler, Bucky Richardson, Furrer and Lee Williamson before putting in McNair, the former Alcorn State star who signed a seven-year contract on Tuesday.
McNair said the “jitterbugs” left his stomach after jogging on the field to warm cheers from a largely Cowboys crowd. McNair hit two short passes before going deep on a 50-yard lob dropped by Chris Sanders that would have put the Oilers in or near the end zone. McNair had another bomb intended for Sanders picked off by Brice.
49ers crank up Sanders talk
The San Francisco 49ers plan to offer free-agent cornerback Deion Sanders a five- or six-year contract that won’t cost him money for games missed because of baseball, team president Carmen Policy said Wednesday.
In the past, Sanders signed prorated contracts based on 16-game seasons - deals that pay him only for games played. Last year, Sanders signed a one-year, $1.134 million contract, but missed two games and lost 12.5 percent of his base pay.
That won’t happen this time around, Policy said. Sanders’ contract, he said, will not be prorated but will pay him in full, no matter how long he is detained by baseball.
Five hours of negotiations between the agent for top draft pick J.J. Stokes and 49ers executives failed to result in a contract agreement. San Francisco wants to wrap up the negotiations with Stokes so it can turn its attention to unsigned Pro Bowl defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield.
Boselli rips ESPN report
Rookie tackle Tony Boselli, the second pick in last April’s draft, called “totally bogus” a report on ESPN that his knee injury would sideline him for up to three months.
Boselli returned to camp late Monday after undergoing surgery on his left knee in Jacksonville on Friday. He has started his rehabilitation.
“That’s not close to being true,” Boselli said.
Arthroscopic surgery revealed Boselli’s kneecap had popped out and then back, causing some damage to cartilage. Boselli’s timetable for recovery was set at six to eight weeks.
“It’s six weeks. At the most, eight. I’m saying six. Three months is ridiculous,” Boselli said.
Casillas ailing
Tony Casillas, starting defensive tackle for the New York Jets, was put on the physically-unable-to-perform list.
Casillas, the former Falcon and Cowboy, has a sciatic condition in his chronically bad back. He is expected to miss up to two weeks of practice.
Offensive right tackle James Brown, meanwhile, signed a three-year deal. Brown, picked up on waivers from the Colts in 1992, started one game in 1993 and seven games last year.
Randle signs for $6.3 million
John Randle, who was to earn $1.25 million this season, the last of his current contract with the Vikings, signed a two-year extension for $6.3 million that includes a $2.3 million signing bonus.
His two-year average of $3.15 million for 1996-97 is believed to be just more than the $3 million the Seattle Seahawks pay tackle Cortez Kennedy.
Kennedy hurts knee
Third-year Falcons tackle Lincoln Kennedy, formerly of the University of Washington, sprained his left knee during practice in Suwanee, Ga.
Coach June Jones said Dr. Andrew Bishop, the team doctor who was at the practice, told him it looked like a sprain. The doctor planned a test today. Kennedy was taken off the field on a cart.
Around the league
The Eagles signed former Washington State running back Shaumbe Wright-Fair to a one-year contract. … Bengals rookie running back Ki-Jana Carter is sidelined for a week to 10 days because of a strained Achilles tendon in his right leg. … Packers guard Aaron Taylor, coming off knee surgery that wiped out his rookie season, got a scare when he injured his other knee during drills. After a pileup, Taylor stayed on the ground for about 10 minutes, eventually walking off the field with what coaches thought to be a minor injury. … Second-year Bills receiver Bucky Brooks is recovering from a knee injury suffered last October and is expected to replace free-agent defector Don Beebe as Buffalo’s fastest receiver.