emmitt signed per jurecki 2:30 press conf.

[pinnacle]

I hope 2 things:

1. if we want guys like holliday or seau...emmitt needs to get on the phone with them immediately. He needs to help us get better players in here..this year and next year.

2. I hope emmitt shows up in az soon and gets busy with the offseason workout stuff. Although participation seems pretty good..we have a lot of young guys who need to see emmitt in the weight room working his ass off..I hope he does it.

 

[Cardinal Bob]

From Mort & Pasquarelli on ESPN.com......

Emmitt agrees to deal in principle with Cardinals

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Len Pasquarelli and Chris Mortensen
ESPN.com


For the first 13 years of his career, a road contest against the Arizona Cardinals was almost like a home game for Emmitt Smith. In his 14th NFL campaign, a matchup at Sun Devil Stadium will be a home game for the leading rusher in league history.

ESPN.com has learned through league sources that Smith, released by the Dallas Cowboys four weeks ago, has reached agreement in principle with the Cardinals on all major football aspects of a contract. There remain some marketing issues to still be addressed but both sides acknowledged that those elements of the deal are close to completion.

The Cardinals are expected to announce the agreement with Smith at a press conference late Wednesday afternoon. Smith will not be in attendance, but sources said an introduction of him to his new home city is tentatively set for Thursday, with the Wednesday acknowledgement a public relations bonanza for the media assembled in Phoenix at the annual league meetings.

"The (football) side of things is finished," said one source. "The other stuff is all part of the contract and that will be completely shortly."

Details of the contract were not available.

Smith, 33, visited with Cardinals officials two weeks ago and, at this point, Arizona appears the only opportunity available to him as a starter.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones told ESPN's Chris Mortensen he is "not surprised" by Smith's decision.

"I think it's a pretty good opportunity for him," Jones said. "But to me, he'll always have that star on the side of his helmet."

 

[MadCardDisease]

Originally posted by rtjim
KDUS says 2 years 6 mil.

Wow, that seems a bit high. I guess they got their man though.

 

[green machine]

Go

Originally posted by CatBoxBackFan
I'm with you,I need to get in my car and use that radio to hear 910. I'm off to do that. Green Machine try 620ktar.com they might air it

ESPN News is gonna show the press conference, I'm gonna watch that.

adam
________
Yamaha fjr1300 history

 

[Dback Jon]

From SI.com

Cardinals sign true star: Emmitt

Posted: Wednesday March 26, 2003 4:25 PM


By Don Banks, SI.com

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Cardinals have called a Wednesday afternoon news conference to announce the signing for Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher.

League sources confirmed that Smith, released by the Dallas Cowboys last month, is epxetced to arrive in Phoenix within hours. Contract terms were unavailable, but it is believed Smith, who will turn 34 in May, was seeking a two-year contract deal that would pay him between $2-3 million per year.

The Cardinals have been the only team in pursuit of Smith in recent weeks, and Arizona was considered Smith's most likely destination since the free agency period opened.

Smith, who had spent his entire 13-year career with the Cowboys, has talked about wanting to stretch his career rushing total of 17,119 to 20,000. Smith said he believes he can still be a featured back, despite failing to gain 1,000 yards last season for the first time since he was a rookie. He had 975, with only two 100-yard games and a paltry average of 3.8 yards per carry.

Defying critics who said he was too small and slow, Smith won rushing titles in 1991, '92, '93 and '95, and was the MVP of the '93 regular season and the Super Bowl that followed. Smith is third behind Jerry Rice and Walter Payton in yards from scrimmage and second to Rice in career touchdowns. He's one 100-yard rushing game from tying Payton for tops in that category.

Smith's crowning moment came Oct. 27, 2002, when he broke Payton's career rushing record of 16,726 yards during a game against Seattle at Texas Stadium.

Smith visited the Cardinals on March 12-13, and said, "It's been a wonderful visit. It feels like I'm being recruited all over again." It's believed that Carolina and Tampa Bay also had limited interest in Smith, but only at the NFL veteran minimum. The Panthers eventually turned their attention to Stephen Davis, who signed with Carolina after being released by Washington.

"From a personal standpoint, I want nothing but the best for Emmitt and his family, of course," said Dallas owner Jerry Jones, "but in my mind, I'll always see the star on Emmitt's helmet.

"I know after he finishes his career, there will be a means for him to contribute again to the Dallas organization."

Asked if this brought home the reality that Smith is no longer a Cowboy, Jones said: "It was not unexpected. I knew he wanted to carry the ball, so from that standpoint it was something we were prepared for."

Smith still count $4.9 million against the Cowboy's salary cap next season. Had Dallas waited until June 1, Smith would've counted $2.8 million against the 2003 cap, with the remaining $2.1 million hitting in 2004.

 

[green machine]

Go

EspnNews just said it was 7-8 Million for two years. That would be way too much money.
________
PM

 

[Card Trader]

One interesting note, if Emmitt gains even 1 yard while a Cardinal before retiring, in the record book next to all-time leading rusher it will say E. Smith - Cardinals

 

[rtjim]

KDUS says clauses could take it to 7-8 mil.

 

[Ryanwb]

Originally posted by rtjim
KDUS says clauses could take it to 7-8 mil.

What? A contract with bells and whistles?

 

[MadCardDisease]

Official Cardinal Press release

Cards Land NFL's All-Time Rushing Leader Emmitt Smith
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 26, 2003

Tempe, Arizona-Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading
rusher who has amassed 4 rushing titles, 3 Super Bowl
rings, 8 Pro Bowl selections, and league (1993) and
Super Bowl (XXVIII) most-valuable-player awards, has
agreed to the terms of a two-year contract with the
Arizona Cardinals after 13 seasons with the Dallas
Cowboys.

Smith, 33, finished the 2002 season with 17,162 career
yards on 4,052 attempts, eclipsing Walter Payton's 18
year-old NFL rushing mark against Seattle on Oct. 27.
The only player in NFL history to rush for over 17,000
yards (Payton, 16,726), he also is just the third
player to accumulate more than 20,000 career yards from
scrimmage (Payton, Oakland Raider Jerry Rice). Smith
eclipsed the 4.000 career rushing attempt mark last
year to become the only player in NFL history to carry
the ball at least 4,000 times in a career. In addition,
Smith is the league's all-time career rushing touchdown
leader with 153 and stands second in NFL history in
total touchdowns with 164, trailing the all-time
leader, Rice, by 39.

The first player in NFL history to post five
consecutive seasons with over 1,400 yards rushing,
Smith and Jim Brown are the only players with seven
straight 10-touchdown seasons to begin careers. With
1,021 yards rushing in 2001, Smith became the first
player in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in 11
consecutive seasons and the first to post 11 1,000-yard
rushing seasons in a career. With an NFL-record 25
rushing touchdowns in 1995, Smith scored 100 career
touchdowns in just six seasons, the fastest anyone in
league history has reached the mark (he tied Brown's
NFL record by scoring 100 touchdowns in just 93 career
games). Smith's 153 career rushing touchdowns in 201
games give him a 0.76 touchdown-per-game average,
second behind Brown's 0.90 for tops among the all-time
rushing touchdown scorers (Marshall Faulk is next on
the list at 0.64).

Smith's 25 career scores against his new team, the
Cardinals, is the third best total by a player against
an opponent since 1970, followed by his 24 scores
against Washington and 22 against the N.Y. Giants.
During his career with Dallas, the Cowboys posted a
99-26 mark (91-24 in the regular season) when he
carried the ball 20 or more times and 64-19 (57-19 in
regular season) when he rushed for 100 yards.

The century mark has been an underlying theme in his
rushing success, having rushed for 100 yards in 153 of
301 games dating to high school (45 of 49 at Escambia
High School, 25 of 34 at the University of Florida, and
83 of 281 as a pro). His 45 100-yard games in high
school remain a national record, and in NFL annals,
Smith's 76 regular-season 100-yard rushing games ties
him with Barry Sanders for second all-time behind
Payton (77). In addition, Smith has rushed for over 100
yards against 22 of the 31 other NFL teams.

Overall, Smith has started 201 of 199 regular season
games, started 17 postseason contests, and has missed
just seven games in 13 seasons. He is one of only seven
NFL players who have amassed over 9,000 career rushing
yards and 400 career receptions and ranks fourth on the
league's all-time combined yardage list with 20,174
yards.

Smith also has accumulated several NFL postseason
records, including rushing touchdowns (19), consecutive
games with a rushing touchdown (nine), and 100-yard
rushing games (seven). His 1,586 yards rushing ranks
first on the NFL postseason list and he shares the
total playoff touchdown mark of 21 with Thurman Thomas.

The newest Cardinal will be introduced to Arizona at a
press conference tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at the team's
south Tempe training facility.

 

[rtjim]

It sounded like that but we wont know until it is offical there is a lot of speculation going on right now.

 

[azsports]

PHOENIX - Emmitt Smith (news) reached an agreement to join the Arizona Cardinals (news) on Wednesday.



The Cardinals called an afternoon news conference to announce the deal, NFL spokesman Joe Browne said. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.


The NFL's leading career rusher was released Feb. 27 by Dallas in a salary-cap move agreed to by the Cowboys and Smith. The Cardinals were the only team the 33-year-old Smith visited.

 

[Ryanwb]

This is a huge move for the organization. Finally!

 

[TruColor]

Originally posted by Lex
Whenever I hear the name of Emmitt's agent, (Eugene Parker) I get the runs.

Oh now, c'mon...Eugene had one heck of a sweet jumper for Purdue in the '70s...I grew up watching him play with Walter Jordan, Wayne Walls, Jerry Sichting and Joe Barry Carroll...

 

[Stronso]

Per Mac

at the press conference ES will start and wear 22. 2yr deal at 7-8 million.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Wow Incentive Clauses????

Contract extensions....incentive clauses...

What the hell has happened to the Cardinals front office???

I thought that Rod Sterling was dead...but this certainly seems like the twilight zone.

 

[azdeftone]

It would be a huge mistake if they paid him the report 8 mil for 2 years????? Freakin bafoons if they did do that!!!

 

[Goldfield]

2 year 7-8 mill alittle pricy imo...

 

[Chris_Sanders]

At least no one can say

They were just going to sit on their free agent cash.

 

[justAndy]

smith yds per carry last year...

3.8? so what? Compare Dallas' O-Line to ours - Smith should gain 4+ behind our hogs. With a decent armed QB and a couple speedy recievers, defenses won't be able to stack the box. In any case, it gives us depth at the position...

 

[Red Air Force]

That would be an awfully big contract, but it will not prevent us from signing anyone this year or next, which is all I care about.

Look, the front office needed to spend some money to get to the cap, and basicly there just aren't many people left to give it to.

Good job Graves.

 

[Dback Jon]

If it is 7-8 million with incentives (i.e. the only way to get to the 3.5 per year is if he rushes for 1250 yards and scores 20 TDs, then fine.
But, even at $3.5 million a year, it will probably pay for it self in ticket sales.

The Cards need a three year boost heading into the new stadiums - this is a big part of that.

 

[SweetD]

I would agree 2yrs 7-8mil WOW! if that includes extra spiffs I am down but a straight 3.5-4mil a year no way he was worth that.

 

[rtjim]

Hey 2nd and 5 or 6 is always better than 2nd and 10 - 12

 

[Ed B]

We overpaid, but like another poster already said, with our cap space it isn't like it prevents any other signings.