AFC East

Being wanted is not enough for New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis.

Mo Lewis might miss a big payday as the Jets' franchise player.(Allsport)

The day before free agency commenced, the Jets dragged the franchise player coat out of the closet and draped it over Lewis' cold shoulders. The nine-year pro out of Georgia was hoping to shop his services to the highest bidder, but the Jets kept him away from free agency with the "franchise player" tag.

Lewis was so outraged when the Jets saddled him with the franchise tag that he fired his agent, Ralph Cindrich. Cindrich, who had been talking to the Jets about a multi-year contract but couldn't finalize a deal, was the third agent Lewis has fired in less than a year.

Around the rest of the AFC East:

• The New England Patriots shelled out megabucks to retain the services of All-Pro strong safety Lawyer Milloy, but severely compromised their offense in the process.
• The Miami Dolphins have three quarterbacks in the fold, but their eyes are searching elsewhere for Dan Marino's replacement.
• Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson obviously has strong feelings towards three future Hall of Fame players cut last week, but said their passing into Buffalo folklore was inevitable.
• Since being released by the Bills last week, Andre Reed has made it public he would like to be reunited with former Buffalo general manager Bill Polian with the Indianapolis Colts.

AFC Central

It won't show up on the transaction wire as a trade, but it's a swap the Tennessee Titans were happy to make.

Tennessee mourned the loss of right tackle Jon Runyan for less than a week before quickly turning around and dishing out $48 million to land a pair of prized free agents. The Titans filled Runyan's spot with St. Louis right tackle Fred Miller, and bolstered their linebacker corps by signing Dallas linebacker Randall Godfrey.

Miller was the story of Super Bowl week after committing six false starts and a holding penalty in a regular-season meeting against the Titans. Ironically, it was the same fans that rattled Miller at Adelphia Stadium that helped convince him to switch camps.

"It just makes it a fun place to come play football," Miller said. "Tennessee fans are great fans and are probably one of the loudest in the National Football League."

Around the rest of the AFC Central:

• The Jacksonville Jaguars acted quickly in free agency in 2000, just as they did last year. The only difference was this time, instead of snatching players from other teams, they were busy tying up their own.
• Free agency for the Pittsburgh Steelers means only one thing -- a chance for good players to leave for greener pastures.
• After losing Kimo von Oelhoffen, the Cincinnati Bengals jumped quickly to sign help along the defensive line.
• Free agency is not going as smoothly as the Cleveland Browns hoped it would, to say the least. Less than a week into the frenzy, they still have not improved themselves at running back or tight end.
• A big sigh of relief was heard around the Baltimore Ravens when defensive end Rob Burnett agreed to a $14 million deal to keep him in a Ravens uniform for four more seasons.

AFC West

The San Diego Chargers put the fullcourt press on free-agent cornerback DeRon Jenkins of Baltimore, who visited San Diego and toured the club's facilities.

Jenkins, a four-year veteran, told secondary coach Rod Perry he hopes to make a decision about his future by the weekend. He received a preliminary contract offer from the Chargers before leaving town.

Jenkins, 5-feet-11, 190 pounds, started 15 games last season for the Ravens. He did not have an interception and has just two in his career.

Around the rest of the AFC West:

• Steve Young in a Denver Broncos uniform? It could happen if the San Francisco quarterback decides to void his contract and play for another team.
• While the Kansas City Chiefs have followed their formula of bypassing the first-round of free agency, the untimely death of linebacker Derrick Thomas has preoccupied the attention of general manager Carl Peterson and coach Gunther Cunningham.
• The Oakland Raiders beat the free agency deadline by retaining four of their own free agents -- wide receiver Tim Brown, guard Steve Wisniewski, linebacker Greg Biekert and backup quarterback Bobby Hoying.
• Free agency hasn't been kind to the Seattle Seahawks, who were forced to trade Joey Galloway and lost their leading sack man to free agency last week.

NFC East

The Dallas Cowboys coaching staff wanted to keep Randall Godfrey.

Boy, did they want to keep him. That's all they talked about whether it was coach Dave Campo, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer or linebackers coach George Edwards. But owner Jerry Jones wasn't prepared to give the five-year contract worth an average of about $5 million that Godfrey was seeking.

Tennessee was more than willing to meet his demands. The Titans signed Godfrey on Wednesday to a contract reported by SportsLine's Len Pasquarelli to be for five years and $24 million with a $5 million signing bonus.

Around the rest of the NFC East:

• Jon Runyan said it was going to take a lot to get him out of Tennessee. Apparently, the $30 million package the right tackle got from the Philadelphia Eagles was enough.
• Make no mistake about it, the Washington Redskins like tight end Stephen Alexander. But that doesn't mean they aren't interested in getting him some help.
• The Arizona Cardinals don't want defensive end Simeon Rice to leave without getting something in return. So they're reportedly considering signing Rice and then trading him, according to the Arizona Republic.
• The New York Giants want to keep left tackle Roman Oben, a they have offered him a five-year, $15 million contract to prove it.

NFC Central

Quarterback Randall Cunningham stunned the Minnesota Vikings late last week when he refused to take a pay cut not long after he said he was open to the idea to help the Vikings with their salary cap.

Both Cunningham and defensive tackle John Randle rebuffed the Vikings' attempts to trim cap room by restructuring their contracts. The Vikings asked Cunningham, who probably won't be their starting quarterback next season, to reduce his $4.5 million salary for 2000 to about $1 million.

"I just didn't feel in my heart that I wanted to do it," Cunningham told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. "I didn't feel it right to do anything at this time."

Around the rest of the NFC Central:

• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could be in danger of losing five-time Pro Bowl linebacker Hardy Nickerson in the free-agent market.
• The Detroit Lions believe they finally got their franchise running back to replace Barry Sanders this week when they signed James Stewart of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• The Chicago Bears went into the offseason with more than $20 million in salary-cap room, though they've now used up a big chunk of that on Phillip Daniels, Thomas Smith and receiver Marcus Robinson.
• The Green Bay Packers probably will lose three free-agent defensive linemen. The first to go was defensive end Vaughn Booker, and end Keith McKenzie and defensive tackle Gilbert Brown are also expected to be headed out of town.

NFC West

St. Louis Rams tight end Ernie Conwell spent most of the Rams' Super Bowl season trying to come back from a serious knee injury that ended his season early in 1998.

Conwell, who began playing in games again, albeit sparingly, in December, is considered rehabbed. So much so that on the eve of free agency, the Rams locked him up through the 2002 season with a three-year, $3.9 million contract. The deal included a $1.25 million signing bonus.

Conwell probably could have gotten more money on the open market but wanted to return to St. Louis. He was expected to be one of the top four or five tight ends available in the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, but said relationships matter more to him than money.

Around the rest of the NFC West:

• New Orleans Saints general manager Randy Mueller labeled Jeff Blake's signing the first of a few steps needed to piece together a revamped squad. "The thing on everybody's mind -- players, agents, fans -- was what are you going to do about a quarterback?" Mueller said. "We don't have to answer that question anymore."
• Due to the salary-cap mess the San Francisco 49ers have gotten themselves into, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice could be on his way out of town.
• After struggling to get under the $62.2 million salary cap on time, the Carolina Panthers didn't figure to be a big spender in free agency this offseason. That changed Wednesday when SportsLine's Len Pasquarelli reported the Panthers signed Atlanta defensive end Chuck Smith to a five-year deal worth more than $20 million..
• In the Atlanta Falcons' biggest move in free agency since coach Dan Reeves took over in 1997, Atlanta has signed cornerback Ashley Ambrose to a five-year contract.