Yes, because O'Connell and Gutierrez are not as good as MATT CASSEL.

Pats are freeing up cap money to get a big defensive free agent.

T.O. has been C.U.T.

Stallworth involved in fatal accident

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth hit and killed a pedestrian with his Bentley Saturday morning on a busy causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach, police said.

Stallworth was headed toward the beach when he hit a 49-year-old man around 7 a.m., said Miami Beach police spokesman Juan Sanchez. The unidentified pedestrian was taken to a nearby trauma center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. He was near a crosswalk but it's not clear if he was crossing legally.

Stallworth was cooperating and no charges have been filed, Sanchez said. Officers drew his blood to test for drugs or alcohol, which is routine, but police said it was too early to tell if Stallworth was impaired or violating traffic laws. Police would not say where he was coming from or where he was headed.

A message seeking comment was left on the voicemail of his agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

Stallworth signed a seven-year, $35 million contract with the Browns as a free agent before last season but hardly played because he was hurt. He was due a $4.75 million signing bonus Friday.

He previously played for the New England Patriots.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3980182

Cutler says he can't trust McDaniels

Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler said Sunday night that he will not report to the team's first meeting on Monday and has formally asked to be traded. He confirmed that a Saturday meeting with first-year coach Josh McDaniels ended badly from his perspective while McDaniels offered another viewpoint on Sunday night.

"I went in there with every intention of solving the issue, being a Bronco, moving forward as a Bronco," Cutler said. "We weren't in there but about 20 minutes, [McDaniels] did most of the talking and as far as I'm concerned, he made it clear he wants his own guy. He admitted he wanted Matt Cassel because he said he has raised him up from the ground as a quarterback. He said he wasn't sorry about it. He made it clear that he could still entertain trading me because, as he put it, he'll do whatever he feels is in the best interest of the organization.

"At the end of the meeting, he wasn't like, 'Jay, I want you as our quarterback, you're our guy.' It felt like the opposite. He basically said that I needed to tell him if we can't work this out, to let him know," Cutler added. "I thought he was antagonizing me and that was disappointing because I was ready to move on, committed as a Bronco. Really, I figured we'd hash things out, shake hands, laugh a little and move forward. What happened [Saturday] was the last thing I expected. If I didn't think it could be fixed, I never would have come back to Denver. It was painfully obvious to me and Bus [Cook, his agent] it's not something they want to fix."

Consequently, Cutler instructed Cook, who also attended the meeting, to formally request a trade. The quarterback said he left town late Sunday and would skip McDaniels' first team meeting on Monday as they begin their offseason program.

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen told the Denver Post on Sunday that he was disappointed with how Cutler has handled the situation. In a telephone interview with ESPN, McDaniels was reluctantly expansive on the story.

"I realy have wanted to avoided a he-said, she-said thing but it's only fair for us to present the Bronco side of the story rather than let things get taken out of context," McDaniels said. "There's been a pattern here for the past two weeks the way things [have been represented] in our communications. I don't think anythng that happened [Saturday] was out of the ordinary. At the end of the meeting, Jay said he had thought about things quite a bit and requested a few more hours to mull things over. He said he wanted to talk to Bus on how to proceed. He was gonna call me on my cell phone and that never happened. Instead, Bus called [GM] Brian [Xanders].

"Again, I think that's been a pattern. I couldn't get [Cutler] to talk to me for two weeks or to talk to Mr. Bowlen. Then when he came here this weekend, we couldn't get a one-on-one meeting, just me and him alone. He wanted Bus in there, so I had Brian sit in, too. And it was the four of us. There wasn't any yelling, none of that. I can't believe we get to a totally different [interpretation].

"It's an unfortunate set of circumstances that has cropped up, a potential distraction and we've done our best to limit that. The main message I want to get out is that we're excited to start our offseason program [Monday]. It's an exciting time for us."

Cutler won't be present at the team meeting.

"I certainly went back there, expecting I'd be there [Monday] but not now," Cutler said. "It's not mandatory. I'll attend every mandatory mini-camp and training camp but that's it. Really, it's best for me to move on. As coach said, he needs every eye in the meeting room to be on him and not me."

As McDaniels pointed out, Cutler had a completely different expectation when he left their private meeting on Saturday.

Cutler said: "You know, even after the meeting, I hung around town, kind of expecting him to call me and say, 'Hey, let's just me and you get away and have lunch or a cup of coffee' and mend things, but that didn't happen. So, I get it, really, it's a business. I'm disappointed beause I love being a Bronco but I think it's run its course."

Cutler denied recent reports that he had asked to be traded when the Broncos fired offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates.

"Yes, I was upset when they let Jeremy go because Mr. Bowlen had assured me when Mike [Shanahan] was fired that the offense wouldn't change because [it] was the second-ranked offense in football," Cutler said. "But I didn't push for a trade then."

McDaniels and Cutler agreed on at least one element of the controversy, knocking down a Sunday report on NFL Network that the coach had criticized the quarterback's play in 2008.

"That just isn't true," McDaniels said. "Not a word has been said about that."

Cutler added: "Josh has never said anything negative to me about my play or anything else, for that matter."

McDaniels admitted that the team got involved in trade discussions for Cassel, who instead was dealt to the Kansas City Chiefs. However, he said any perception Cutler felt that the team could still trade him was misleading.

"That's what we have communicated ever since the deal with Cassel didn't happen," McDaniels said. "Other teams have called but we're not interested in getting draft picks for Jay. I never made a statement [Saturday] that 'you can be traded at any time.' They asked a question and I told them it was the time of year when people inquire about your team. Your job, as a head coach and general manager, is to listen and not bypass any opportunity to help your team improve. I think most people [in the NFL] feel the same way. You make smart, educated decisions that are best for your football team."

Cutler feels like McDaniels lost his credibility with him when he initially denied to the quarterback that the Broncos tried to acquire Cassel only to admit it later.

"Before this trade for Cassel thing ever came up, in the two weeks or so I had spent with McDaniels, he was basically telling me that he came to Denver because he wanted to coach me and that we needed to trust each other," Cutler said. "He's never been critical to me. But trust now? How can I trust him now?"

He also explained that his house being put up for sale was "nothing more than a coincidence."

"I had already shown my house privately to some interested buyers a couple of months ago," Cutler said. "I've really been looking to buy 40 to 70 acres of land there."

As for ignoring phone calls from McDaniels and Bowlen, Cutler said: "Josh and I have exchanged text messages. We had a conference call. And if Pat wanted to speak to me, why didn't he come to the meeting on Saturday?"

Cook said that as an agent he was "totally in shock" that it has gotten so ugly.

"I would have bet my house going into Saturday's meeting that everyone would be shaking hands and smiling," Cook said. "I thought it was going to get worked out. But it was very clear to me that Jay Cutler is not their choice to be quarterback of that team."

Yet Cook admitted that when he called Xanders to request a trade on Saturday night, the team's general manager said it wasn't going to happen and that "Jay should show up Monday."

That wasn't going to happen, either.

Patriots appear primed to make a deal with Panthers for Peppers

The trade that sent Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel to the Kansas City Chiefs appears to be only the first phase of some major wheeling and dealing by the New England Patriots this offseason.

The second phase, NFL sources say, is likely to involve a trade that would send Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers to the Patriots in exchange for the second-round pick (34th overall) they received from the Chiefs on Feb. 28.

Patriots' offseason moves
Acquired:
TE Chris Baker
LB Tully Banta-Cain
CB Leigh Bodden
WR Joey Galloway
LS Nathan Hodel
C Al Johnson
WR Greg Lewis
CB Shawn Springs
RB Fred Taylor

Retained:
LB Eric Alexander
OT Wesley Britt
P Chris Hanson
G Russ Hochstein
S James Sanders
S Ray Ventrone
S Tank Williams
DL Mike Wright

Departed:
QB Matt Cassel
FB Heath Evans
WR Jabar Gaffney
LB Larry Izzo
WR C.J. Jones
RB LaMont Jordan
LS Lonie Paxton
LB Darrell Robertson
LB Mike Vrabel

According to league sources, the Patriots and Panthers are hoping to complete the deal at some point between the March 22-25 NFL owners meetings and the start of the draft on April 25.

Peppers, on whom the Panthers have placed a franchise tag that assures him of a one-year contract worth $16.68 million, would be converted to outside linebacker in New England's 3-4 defense.

The Patriots already were looking ahead to the possibility of acquiring Peppers when they shipped Cassel and Vrabel to Kansas City, NFL sources say, because they wanted to clear the salary-cap space necessary to sign Peppers to a new contract that would put him among the higher-paid defensive players in the league. After signing Cassel to a one-year, franchise-tag tender contract worth $14.65 million, New England had nearly $30 million in cap money devoted to two quarterbacks (including $14.62 million for Tom Brady).

Once the Patriots were convinced that Brady would be fully recovered from the season-ending knee injury he suffered last year, they were comfortable with trading his replacement to the Chiefs and putting the wheels in motion to bolster a defense that has gotten particularly old at linebacker. Vrabel and fellow linebacker Tedy Bruschi are well into the twilight of their respective careers.

NFL sources say the Panthers would welcome the chance to unload Peppers for a second-round draft pick, even though it would be well below his market value, because it would be less costly than signing a first-rounder. The Panthers already have made some belt-tightening financial moves within their front office.

This, in part, could help answer the lingering question of why the Patriots were willing to take only a second-round pick for Cassel and Vrabel rather than possibly go for a higher choice as part of a three-way deal involving the Denver Broncos, who were ready to give up Jay Cutler for Cassel. Without an additional second-round pick, the Patriots might not be able to pursue Peppers.

League sources also point out that the Panthers don't have a first-round choice after trading it to the Philadelphia Eagles and aren't scheduled to draft until 59th overall (near the bottom of the second round). The 34th spot would give Carolina the second pick of the second round and a chance to land a player with a first-round rating who was pushed down to that spot for whatever reason.

Also, according to NFL sources, there is a third phase to the Patriots' offseason strategy. They would like to further beef up their linebacking corps by adding an inside linebacker in the draft. They are known to believe that USC's Rey Maualuga would be a great fit for their scheme, especially when paired with Jerod Mayo, their 2008 first-round pick who was the NFL's top defensive rookie. However, some early projections suggest it might be a long shot for Maualuga to be available for the Patriots with the 23rd overall pick.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick is known for making excellent decisions when it comes to acquiring players, but at least one NFL player-personnel evaluator questions whether Peppers would be a good fit in New England.

"This is a guy who totally went on strike two years ago because he wasn't happy with his contract," said the player personnel source, who requested anonymity. "He's also very long (in the torso), which is not ideal for a 3-4 outside linebacker. And he can't drop into coverage. He's very stiff.

"But one of the things (the Patriots) are looking at is the fact that, in passing situations, they can have Peppers up front with (Richard) Seymour and (Jarvis) Green. That makes it easier for them to take (nose tackle Vince) Wilfork out of the game in (passing situations) and just play him on running downs."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3983805

The Patriots have just torn the Bronco's apart