AFC East

The New England Patriots have a fine Lawyer and they want to retain him.

Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy wants to be paid like a top corner.(Allsport)

But to do so is going to cost them, because this Lawyer, after years of collecting the NFL's equivalent of rent money while his teammates have made huge strides up the Patriots' financial depth chart, wants a bigger piece of the action.

Patriots strong safety Lawyer Milloy was in Hawaii last weekend building his football portfolio as a two-time member of the AFC Pro Bowl team. Milloy has labored hard and long since being selected out of the University of Washington in the second round in the 1996 draft.

While the Patriots were opening up the purse strings to pay middle linebacker Ted Johnson, outside linebacker Chris Slade, defensive end Willie McGinest and cornerback Ty Law, Milloy waited patiently outside the bank vault.

Now his time has come.

Around the rest of the AFC East

• Indianapolis Colts tight end Ken Dilger will hit the jackpot because Colts general manager Bill Polian is an expert at what he does.
• Bill Parcells might not be on the New York Jets' sideline next season, but he is still calling the personnel shots, and fired a preemptive strike at the team's salary cap last week.
• It appears Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas, two of the few remaining links to the Buffalo Bills' successful past, have played their final game for the Bills.
• With the decisions that need to be made in Miami, it appears Jimmy Johnson has given Dave Wannstedt the keys to a haunted house.

AFC Central

The dilemma facing the Tennessee Titans on the eve of free agency in 2000 is keeping the team in tact for another run at the title next season.

The first task is holding on to right tackle Jon Runyan. Runyan will be one of the most sought-after players in this year's free agency crop and he could be worth $4 million a year or more to a team looking for tackle help.

If keeping Runyan is Priority 1, then Priority 1-A is retaining Neil O'Donnell, the backup quarterback for Steve McNair. O'Donnell started five games last season, going 4-1, and though he might get offers of more money to start elsewhere, O'Donnell says he wants to stay with the Titans -- if they treat him fairly, which they say they plan to do.

"I would like to stay in Nashville, definitely," O'Donnell said. "It doesn't get any easier moving your family. I'm not going to go somewhere just to start and get killed out there and say I'm a starter in the NFL. I've been a starter in the NFL for a long time. I don't think I have to prove anything."

Around the rest of the AFC Central

• Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin, coach of the AFC team, admitted while in Honolulu during practice for the Pro Bowl that his mind was still on the AFC Championship Game loss to Tennessee.
• The Cleveland Browns are finishing their homework and will be ready to make free-agent offers by mid-week. They plan to strike their targeted players quickly, team president Carmen Policy said.
• Middle linebacker, the last position they thought they would have to worry about in free agency and the draft, has suddenly become an area of concern for the Baltimore Ravens in light of the murder charges hanging over their star, Ray Lewis.
• Now that Tom Donahoe is out of the picture, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher can make his own decision on what to do with Kordell Stewart, the quarterback who is coming off two miserable seasons.
• Free agency begins Friday, but the trouble already has started for the Cincinnati Bengals.

AFC West

The Denver Broncos tried taking an S.O.S. -- Save Our Skin -- approach to their salary cap problems, but the league wanted nothing to do with their plan about softening the cap to allow them and other teams to be able to sign their own players with only a portion of the new contracts counting against the cap.

The Broncos' problems, which have them $15 million over the $62.5 million cap, are the result of many years of success culminating in back-to-back Super Bowl titles. They are in no position to be a big player in free agency this winter, and yet, despite their problems, they are in position to make some moves.

Around the rest of the AFC West

• The Kansas City Chiefs front office spent the start of a traumatic offseason trying to get their own free agents signed before the Feb. 11 start of all-out free agency.
• Jon Kitna, in his first full season as the Seattle Seahawks' starting quarterback, declined an opportunity to sign a four-year, $12 million contract last November, a move that may have backfired as Seattle collapsed to a 9-7 finish after an 8-2 start.
• The San Diego Chargers jumped from 5-11 in 1998 to 8-8 last season, their best finish since they went 8-8 in 1996. Now for their next trick: holding on to core players while patching holes in free agency.
• Unless something happens at the last second, Tim Brown's loyalty to the Oakland Raiders will end up like Al Davis' loyalty to the fans his team plays in front of.

NFC East

The Arizona Cardinals find themselves in a tenuous situation this week that could result in the loss of free agent defensive end Simeon Rice.

The NFLPA has filed a grievance against the Cardinals this week that claims the club circumvented the collective bargaining agreement. The Cardinals used their franchise tag on receiver Rob Moore last year. A week later, they signed him to a multi-year deal.

The NFLPA says the deal was pre-arranged. If the grievance is upheld, the Cardinals would not be able to put the franchise tag on Rice. That would mean big money for Rice, who finished second in the NFL with 16½ sacks in 1999.

Around the rest of the NFC East

• Deion Sanders was unimpressed by the Dallas Cowboys' offseason moves to improve their offense, and is almost certain to leave as a free agent commanding near $10 million per season.
• Washington Redskins running back Stephen Davis was one of the NFL's best players this season. Now, he wants to be paid like it.
• The New York Giants are tired of being snug against the salary cap. They're making plans to create room under the $62.2 million cap by restructuring the contracts of several veterans.
• Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, who played on the offensive line, knows that's one of the quickest ways to improve an offense. And he plans to address the Eagles' line deficiencies in the offseason.

NFC Central

After firing offensive coordinator Mike Shula, at the urging of the front office, Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy is looking for a replacement who will pump some life into the Bucs' passing game.

Dungy fired Shula last week while the Bucs coaching staff was in Honolulu for the Pro Bowl. Though Dungy said the decision was his, there were several reports from the Tampa Bay area that Dungy didn't want to fire Shula and that the decision either came from ownership or general manager Rich McKay.

Among the top candidates Dungy is considering is Al Saunders, the St. Louis Rams' receivers coach; Jeff Tedford, offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon; Bruce Arians, quarterbacks coach for the Indianapolis Colts; Mike Heimerdinger, receivers coach for the Denver Broncos; and Rich Olson, quarterbacks coach for the Washington Redskins.

Around the rest of the NFC Central

• All signs suggest that Minnesota Vikings coach Dennis Green won't try to re-sign quarterback Jeff George and will ask guard Randall McDaniel to retire.
• The Green Bay Packers probably don't have the salary-cap room to sign a big-ticket free agent, but will be looking for help along their defensive line.
• The Chicago Bears have more than $20 million in salary-cap room and are in position to pursue at least two top-flight free agents this offseason.
• Detroit's main order of business this offseason will be to once and for all replace Barry Sanders at halfback, and neither Ron Rivers nor Greg Hill will be that man.

NFC West

The San Francisco 49ers arguably have the greatest offseason challenges to confront, having started the offseason a reported $24 million over the salary cap.

It's unlikely they will find a way to keep both wide receiver Jerry Rice and quarterback Steve Young. Both have decent trade value, but both have the love and support of 49ers fans, who figure to be extremely upset if either or both are let go.

According to the San Francisco Examiner, the organization is negotiating restructuring the contracts of Young and Rice.

Around the rest of the NFC West

• Unrestricted free agent cornerback Todd Lyght wants to finish his career with the St. Louis Rams, but he isn't keen on the idea of them considering slapping a transition player tag on him.
• Heading into free agency, the Atlanta Falcons had the daunting situation of seven starters eligible for unrestricted free agency, including nearly all the team's defensive front.
• The Carolina Panther have already avoided a big mess by signing receiver Muhsin Muhammad to a long-term deal, but still have several key decisions ahead.
• The New Orleans Saints, a team badly in need of help at every position but running back, have a serious decision to make regarding their top unrestricted free agent, cornerback Ashley Ambrose.