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One day after agreeing to a five-year contract to stay with the Buffalo Bills, a deal reported on Friday night by SportsLine, offensive guard and unrestricted free agent Dusty Zeigler on Saturday night reneged on the accord and instead signed with the New York Giants.

The unexpected reversal, which leaves the Bills perilously thin along the offensive line, rendered Buffalo officials stunned and apoplectic. General manager John Butler, who could not be reached by SportsLine for comment, was said by other club officials to be bordering on ballistic.

"You name it and we'd already agreed to it," said one Bills management official. "It isn't like there were a lot of issues hanging out there, loose ends waiting to be tied up. He gave his word and we have our word. To our way of thinking, that's an agreement. It always has been in our eyes. I guess it's come to the point now where a person's word doesn't mean what it used to."

Neither the player nor agent Neil Schwartz could be immediately reached.

The contract had not yet been signed and, in fact, the salary cap-strapped Bills had dragged their heels in bringing Zeigler to Buffalo for a physical exam. Apparently, the understanding was that the contract would be signed and filed with the league offices after Buffalo created room under the salary cap for the transaction. One source close to the negotiations said Zeigler had actually agreed in principle to the contract three days ago and then grew weary waiting for the Bills to finalize it.

Since the contract was never filed with the league, it is doubtful the Bills have any recourse.

His five-year agreement with Buffalo would have paid Zeigler about $8 million and included a signing bonus of $2 million. The deal with the Giants is also for five years, but is worth about $9.5 million, with a signing bonus of $1.9 million.

Zeigler, 26, was considered one of the better young linemen in the unrestricted free agent pool. With Pro Bowl guard Ruben Brown likely headed elsewhere, and the salary cap-strapped Bills helpless to stop his exit, retaining Zeigler became a priority for Butler. The four-year veteran would likely have started at guard for the Bills, but sources told SportsLine late Saturday that he was not a lock to win a position on the first unit.

With the Giants, he already is penciled in as the starting center. Incumbent Brian Williams was released by New York on the eve of the free agent signing period.

A former Notre Dame star, Zeigler entered the league as the Bills' sixth-round pick in the 1996 draft. After a shaky rookie season, when the Bills actually considered cutting him and he played in only two games, Zeigler moved into the starting lineup in 1997 and had been there ever since.

Zeigler started 29 games at center 1997-98, then moved to right guard in 1999 and started 14 games at the new position. In a playoff defeat at Tennessee, he actually played 3½ quarters at left tackle after starter John Fina was injured, and performed well. It is uncertain if Zeigler will play left or right guard in 2000.

For his career, Zeigler has played in 46 games, with 44 starts.