Buccaneers May Have Edge To Get Woodson

One of the greatest players in NFL history needs work and there are 11 teams interested in giving it to six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Rod Woodson.

Woodson, one of only five active players selected to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team in 1994, won’t be returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997. He’s 32, coming off knee surgery, and the Steelers already have moved on without him, signing Donnell Woolford in free agency and drafting Chad Scott this off-season.

So Woodson held a personal workout at Purdue last week, trying to drum up interest in a cash-tight league.

It was attended by 11 teams: Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Houston (Tennessee), Indianapolis, Kansas City, Jacksonville, Oakland, San Francisco and Tampa Bay.

The time seems right for Woodson to move from corner to safety. Several teams projected him as a safety coming out of college in 1987 because of his size (6-0, 200) and hitting ability. For the past 10 years, he has been one of the most physical corners in the game.

But Woodson has lost a step in coverage. When Ronnie Lott lost a step in the 1980s, he moved from corner to safety at San Francisco and continued attending Pro Bowls. Woodson knows that safety looms in his future. But he wants to play at least one more season at corner, if for no other reason than to prove Pittsburgh wrong for letting him go.

That would seem to rule out cornerback-heavy teams like Carolina (Eric Davis and Tyrone Poole), Chicago (Tom Carter and Walt Harris), Green Bay (Doug Evans and Craig Newsome) and Oakland (Terry McDaniel, Albert Lewis, Larry Brown).

Woodson also wants to play on grass, which would rule out Cincinnati and Indianapolis. He’d also like to play in a warm-weather locale, which would eliminate Kansas City and Memphis.

That leaves Jacksonville, San Francisco and Tampa Bay. All three teams have a vacancy at corner.

The Jaguars emerged as a Super Bowl contender in 1996, and the 49ers are perennial contenders. Signing with the Jaguars also would afford Woodson the chance to play against the Steelers twice this season.

But don’t rule out Tampa Bay. Head coach Tony Dungy was Woodson’s first defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh in 1987. Steelers-transplant and Woodson friend Hardy Nickerson plays middle linebacker for the Buccaneers, and two solid drafts under Dungy appear to have put the Bucs in playoff contention in 1997.

Miller fan

Count Detroit coach Bobby Ross among those who think the Cowboys pulled off a coup by signing free-agent wide receiver Anthony Miller. Ross coached Miller at San Diego from 1992-93 when he was developing into a Pro Bowl receiver and doesn’t buy the rap Miller picked up the last few seasons in Denver - a malcontent never satisfied with his workload.

“He always wanted the ball, which is what you want (in a receiver),” Ross said. “Some people have intimated that he had a selfishness about him, but I never saw that. Of course, we were always trying to get him the ball because we thought he was a special receiver.

“Now I haven’t coached him in three years, but I think he’s got a lot of football left. He takes good care of himself. He was always on time. I thought he was a pretty professional guy. I never had a problem with Anthony. I thought he was a great pickup for them.”

Turnover complete

Mike Ditka left the Chicago Bears after the 1992 season, but the Ditka era did not end until this off-season. That’s when the final three starters from the Ditka regime departed. Cornerback Donnell Woolford and center Jerry Fontenot left by choice, signing elsewhere in free agency. Safety Mark Carrier also had a choice, of sorts - he was cut by the Bears last week after refusing to take a pay cut.

Now the Bears are 100 percent a Dave Wannstedt team.

Sapp charged with possession

Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp, whose draft stock dropped two years ago because of drug use allegations, was charged Saturday with misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Sapp’s 1995 Mercedes was pulled over at 1:30 p.m. EDT, and officers smelled marijuana, according to a police report.

Officers searched the car and discovered 12.7 grams of marijuana under an armrest and in a backpack. The report did not say why officers pulled over the car or if Sapp was driving.

Sapp, 24, was charged with a misdemeanor and released after a notice to appear affidavit was signed at his vehicle. Paul Thomas Means, who was in the car, was also cited.

Oilers decision coming soon

June 24 will be the earliest the Oilers will learn for sure if they can leave Houston in time for the 1997-98 season, Harris County’s top official said.

County Judge Robert Eckels said county commissioners have delayed any decision on whether to accept Bud Adams’ latest settlement offer to see what Houston officials will do.

The Oilers are negotiating to play the 1997 and 1998 season in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis before starting the 1999 season in Nashville.

Under a court agreement, the Oilers must get city, county and Astrodome USA approval before the NFL team can get out of the final year of its 10-year contract to play in the Astrodome.

“We just want to make sure we work out the details with the city before we do anything,” Eckels said Friday.

Rams sign Small

In a move to bolster a thin receiving corps, the St. Louis Rams have agreed to terms with wide receiver Torrance Small.

Small averaged 46 catches for 579 yards the past three seasons with the New Orleans Saints but was cut 10 days ago in a salary-cap move. He agreed to a one-year, $500,000 deal with the Rams that includes a $100,000 signing bonus.

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