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Feb. 12, 2000 By Len Pasquarelli SportsLine Senior Writer |
Declaring himself "ready to help this team to a Super Bowl," defensive end
Bruce Smith, released two days ago by the Buffalo Bills for salary cap
considerations, on Saturday afternoon officially signed with the Washington Redskins. The contract with the Redskins was first reported Saturday morning by SportsLine, an hour before the club issued a press release.
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A certain future Hall of Fame player, Smith will sign a five-year deal worth $25 million. That includes a signing bonus of $4.25 million and base salaries of $500,000 and $3.75 million in the first two seasons of the contract. Smith will not play more than two more seasons and most likely just the 2000 campaign.
The Redskins worked all day Friday in negotiations with agent Leigh Steinberg and did a good job of keeping their discussions under wraps. Most observers assumed instead that Washington was busy attempting to complete a trade for Seattle wide receiver Joey Galloway, who instead was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys.
A club source said, however, that Smith became "a much higher" priority than Galloway early in the day and Redskins officials concentrated their efforts on landing him. League sources said that Washington outbid Miami and Arizona for Smith's services. There were eight teams involved at various times in the bidding for the star defensive end. It is believed the Washington offer was by far the best. The Lions, for instance, offered only $4 million on a two-year contract.
New defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes pushed hard for the acquisition of Smith. "He said that this was a guy we had to have, that Bruce could put us over the top," said Washington personnel director Vinny Cerrato. The relocation to Washington puts Smith back near his Norfolk, Va., birthplace, where he still has many family members and friends.
One of the most dominating defenders of his era, Smith has 171 career sacks, the second most in league history, behind Reggie White. He had seven sacks in 1999, his lowest total since getting just 1½ in 1991, when he missed all but five games because of injuries. But league sources agreed with the Skins' assessment that Smith still has at least one good season left in him.
"We watched the film and he could have had 14 sacks easy," Cerrato said. "And we feel like, if you put him with our tackles, Dan Wilkinson and Dana Stubblefield, he'll definitely be back in the double digits. And he'll make them better players, too." Said Carolina personnel director Jack Bushofsky: "Sure, you worry about his age, but he still has some juice left."
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| The Redskins believe Bruce Smith has at least five more good years in him.(AP) |
Smith entered the league as the first overall selection in the 1985 draft and spent his entire 15-year career with the Bills. That included four consecutive Super Bowl appearances (1990-93) and 11 trips to the Pro Bowl. But when the Bills became cap-strapped they asked him to restructure his contract for 2000 and he declined to take a significant reduction. Smith noted after being released on Thursday that the salary cap is "contributing to the demise of Hall of Famers' careers," and he reiterated that sentiment on Saturday.
"It's just a shame," Smith told SportsLine. "Never, ever did I think I would play in a uniform other than that of the Buffalo Bills. But that's how the game is now. So if I have to change uniforms, this is the one I wanted to change into. They have a good thing going here and I want to make it better. It's a team that's very close to the Super Bowl and maybe I'm that final piece of the puzzle. I sure like to think I am."