Sharper signs with Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings signed veteran safety Darren Sharper to a four-year contract on Saturday.
Sharper, cut by the Green Bay Packers in a cost-cutting move earlier this week, started at free safety the last six seasons and ranks fifth in team history with 36 interceptions. He led the team with four interceptions last year and scored three defensive touchdowns.
“Darren is very excited to be going to Minnesota,” agent Joel Segal told The Associated Press.
The Packers tried to get Sharper to restructure his deal, but he balked at a pay cut, hoping he could make more on the open market than the approximately $2 million Green Bay was offering for 2005.
The Vikings were only too happy to have him fall into their laps.
“He’s a great playmaker and has been a nemesis of ours for years,” Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski said. “He’s an outstanding leader and will be a tremendous addition to our defense.”
Segal wouldn’t comment on the terms of the deal, only saying Sharper received “a significant signing bonus.”
The signing was the latest move in a busy week for the Vikings, who also signed cornerback Fred Smoot to a six-year deal and resigned tight end Jermaine Wiggins.
Free agent receiver Plaxico Burress also visited the Vikings this week, but left without a contract.
Lions agree to terms with Garcia
The Detroit Lions and Jeff Garcia agreed to terms on a one-year contract, reuniting the quarterback with coach Steve Mariucci.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Garcia was released by the Cleveland Browns on Feb. 22 after a tumultuous season. He went 144 of 253 for 1,731 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 10 starts.
Browns set to release Brown
Injury-plagued defensive end Courtney Brown will be released Monday by the Cleveland Browns if the club is unable to restructure the former No. 1 overall draft pick’s contract.
Brown, who missed the final 14 games last season after undergoing foot surgery, is due a $2.5 million roster bonus on Tuesday.
The Browns may still re-sign Brown, who has missed 33 games with injuries the past four seasons.
Raiders sign DE Burgess
The Oakland Raiders signed free agent defensive end Derrick Burgess.
Burgess started 11 games for Philadelphia last season and had 10 tackles and three sacks during the Eagles’ playoff run.
Burgess, 6-foot-2 and 265 pounds, has played in 29 regular-season games with 15 starts, recording 96 tackles – 53 solos – and 8 1/2 sacks. He missed the last four games last season with various injuries before returning for the playoffs.
Favre speaks at benefit
Packers quarterback Brett Favre decided earlier this week to return for at least one more NFL season, and he addressed the move in a brief press conference Saturday evening with his wife, Deanna, before the Brett Favre Fourward Foundation’s Faith Hill concert at the Grand Casino Biloxi in Biloxi, Miss.
“I think I can go back and give everything back to this game,” Favre said.
Favre was considering retirement after a series of family tragedies, including the deaths of his father, Irvin Favre, and Deanna’s brother, 24-year-old Casey Tynes. Deanna Favre also had been treated for breast cancer, but once she gave her blessing to her husband’s return, the die seems to have been cast.
“It really hits home, regardless of how much money you make, how much you’re on TV,” Brett Favre said. “No one is immune to cancer. One of the biggest reasons I was close to walking away also was one of the biggest reasons I decided to come back.”
The Favres said that proceeds from the concert would be donated to breast cancer patients who cannot afford treatment for the disease.