Aside from Denver, Plummer is also being mentioned as a possible match for several other teams, including Carolina, Chicago and Dallas.

Bears GM Jerry Angelo said the team is "going to look at anybody with experience first, as much and probably more than the style of offense that they're from. You're buying a little bit of what a guy can be, figuring that when he gets to the next spot, it's going to happen. It's a hunch, but it's a hunch with history."

John Mullin of the Chicago Tribune says Plummer and Pittsburgh's Kordell Stewart, both of whom are expected to be released, fit Angelo's criteria. So does Tampa Bay backup Shaun King, an unrestricted free agent not yet in the class of Plummer and Stewart as a passer.

The most sought-after receiver will be Buffalo's Peerless Price. He has blossomed in the shadow of Bills go-to receiver Eric Moulds, and it will be expensive for Buffalo to keep him.

The Buffalo News reports there are some in the organization who are lobbying Bills GM Tom Donahoe to use either the "franchise" or "transition" tag on Price. If Buffalo places its franchise tag on Price, the Bills would be obligated to pay him $5.01 million for the 2003 season -- the average salary of the league's top five receivers -- but they would prevent him from leaving Buffalo. If the Bills place the transition tag on Price, they would be obligated to pay him $4.53 million for the '03 season -- the average salary of the league's top 10 receivers -- but they would secure the right of first refusal.

Price's agent, Tim McGee, told the Washington Post that his client would also talk to the Redskins about joining them.

Gene Frenette of The Florida Times-Union notes since Jacksonville will be $10-15 million under the salary cap going into free agency, it's conceivable the Jaguars could go after Price or linebackers Takeo Spikes and Rosevelt Colvin.

Defensively, Philadelphia's Hugh Douglas is the biggest name on the unrestricted list, but again the Eagles have the option to place a tag on him.

Mike Bruton of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the Eagles will continue to retain their core players as they have in the last several years. "I can't say what we're going after," says head coach Andy Reid, always one to hold his cards close. "You know I can't do that. It's such a competitive business. You want to keep as much in house as you possibly can. We've been pretty good with that over the years, and we're going to keep on with that."

Douglas and agent Drew Rosenhaus are also holding their cards to their chests. "I'm not going to comment," says Douglas when asked whether the Eagles have approached him about a new contract. "No comment." Douglas earned a base salary of $4.3 million last season, the ninth-highest salary among the league's defensive ends.

Green Bay's defensive line played a large part in the team's porous run defense, which ranked 31st in the NFL by allowing 4.84 yards per carry -- the team's second worst in the 70 years the stat has been kept. On the flip side, Green Bay generated a formidable pass rush, ranking eighth in sacks per pass play (one every 13.3).

The Packers' defensive line also helped them tie for the league lead with a plus-17 turnover differential. Of Green Bay's 24 forced fumbles, the defensive line forced 13, and of the 21 fumbles the Packers recovered, defensive linemen had eight.

After three years of inconsistency that included a four-game suspension under the NFL's substance abuse policy in 2001, Cletidus Hunt became consistently solid, and at times, simply dominant, says Rob Reischel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Hunt was third on the team with 5 1/2 sacks and had 9 1/2 tackles for loss, the most by a Packers lineman since 1994.

With Hunt set to hit the free-agent market, he could be in line for a mega deal. Defensive end Vonnie Holliday was hoping to make his contract year his best, too. But that didn't happen. He missed four games after tearing a pectoral muscle and two more after tearing knee cartilage. His six sacks were second on the team, but five came against Buffalo on Dec. 22. Somebody might take a chance on Holliday in free agency, due to his character and consistency through his five-year career. But a blockbuster deal is less likely than it was a year ago. With salary cap issues looming, the Packers can probably only afford Holliday or Hunt.

The salary cap will also have an effect on how teams approach their players' free agency.

The Washington Times reports that because linebacker LaVar Arrington reached certain incentives in his contract, his salary escalates to $9.7 million in 2003. Factoring signing bonus, Arrington alone will count $12.7 million against a cap that should be set at about $73.9 million. Offensive tackle Chris Samuels will count about $7.4 million against the cap, and assuming the Redskins release running back Stephen Davis and safety Sam Shade and make offers to their nine restricted free agents, Washington's top 51 players could consume about $70 million. The remaining $3.9 million would go toward signing players whose contracts have expired, like defensive tackle Daryl Gardener, draft picks, then free agents.

Mike Chappell of The Indianapolis Star says the Colts' top priorities are linebacker Mike Peterson, center Jeff Saturday and defensive lineman Brad Scioli. Addressing them and seeing what the free-agent market has to offer are critical, but the key to most personnel transactions will be to address Peyton Manning's contract. He will count in excess of $15 million in 2003, the final year of his contract.

 

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