Watters Extends His Regrets, Sort Of

Ricky Watters, who angered Eagles fans by declining to go after a pass over the middle - and then explained he didn’t want to get hit - reversed field Tuesday and apologized for his lack of effort during the game and his comments afterward.

“All I can do is say I was wrong,” he said after calling a press conference at Veterans Stadium one day after the Philadelphia’s 21-6 loss to Tampa Bay.

Watters’ debut Sunday with the Eagles was abysmal - 37 yards on 17 carries, 34 yards on five catches and two fumbles - and his post-game comments didn’t help.

“Right here, I just want to say to my teammates, to the coaches, to the fans, everybody, that I am sorry. I am very sorry because I was out of line and out of character. That’s not me.”

Watters, the former San Francisco 49ers star who signed a $9.6 million, three-year contract with the Eagles in the off-season, is known for controversial remarks, and his words and antics occasionally annoyed his 49er teammates.

He said no one told him to apologize, and no one scripted the apology for him.

“I know what everybody might be thinking, that my agent wrote something for me to say, or (Eagles coach) Ray Rhodes told me to say something … but these are just a few notes I jogged down myself to make sure I don’t miss anything,” he said.

Watters spent about 20 minutes trying to explain his actions, including his admitted unwillingness to make a catch over the middle late in the game because he might have suffered a concussion. He took only a few questions before he walked away.

Cowboys’ Smith may miss season

The Dallas Cowboys need Deion Sanders more than ever. Kevin Smith, their best cornerback, is gone, apparently for the season.

“I was dreaming of how much fun it could have been having Kevin and Deion on the two corners,” Dallas coach Barry Switzer said. “It could have been fun. Kevin is one of the top five corners in the NFL. And he was great on the special teams, too.”

Smith damaged his Achilles tendon without being touched in Monday night’s 35-0 victory over the New York Giants. He was injured chasing a deep pass late in the first half.

“There was no contact and it didn’t look like the turf caused it,” Switzer said. “You could see Kevin running along and all of a sudden he looked around like, ‘Who hit me?’ Nobody touched him. It was just torque stress while he was running at full speed.”

The injury makes the pursuit of Sanders critical for Dallas. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Sanders will sign with the Cowboys sometime today.

“Deion means much more to us now,” Switzer said.

Seahawks make moves

The Seattle Seahawks released cornerback Dion Lambert and signed free-agent cornerback Selwyn Jones, Cleveland’s seventh-round draft choice in 1992.

Lambert started the final game of the 1994 season for the Seahawks at free safety and played two of four exhibition games for Seattle this year. He was inactive for Seattle’s regular-season opener, a 34-10 loss to Kansas City on Sunday in Seattle.

Jones was released by New Orleans Aug. 29 after playing in five games with one start for the Saints last season. He was on injured reserve with Cleveland in ‘92 and played in 11 games with two starts for the Browns in ‘93. The Browns cut him last season and he was claimed on waivers by New Orleans.