For Emmitt, it's all in the Cards
By Charean Williams
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
PHOENIX - Emmitt Smith might be a Cowboy forever, but he is an Arizona Cardinal for at least next season.
The NFL's all-time leading rusher agreed to a two-year deal that will pay him between $7 million and $8 million, according to a source, and includes marketing obligations. Smith, who did not return phone calls seeking comment, will be introduced at a 12:30 p.m. CST news conference at the Cardinals' facility today.
"The bottom line is that we're not only getting a partner on the field, but there's a partnership off the field as well," Cardinals vice president Rod Graves said. "But the most important thing for us is we're getting a quality person who not only signifies performance, but leadership, and is a great football player. He's going to mean a great deal to our football team."
Smith was given his familiar No. 22, which had belonged to cornerback Duane Starks, and the starting job, which had belonged to Marcel Shipp. The Cardinals (5-11) ranked 15th in rushing last season, with Shipp gaining a team-high 834 yards on 188 carries. Smith rushed 254 times for 975 yards last season, his lowest yardage total since his rookie season of 1990.
"It goes without saying that when you add a player of his stature to your football team, it elevates a lot of things," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "I was fortunate early in my NFL career to be on a football team that had three Hall of Famers, including the man [Walter Payton] who Emmitt eclipsed for the rushing title. ... Emmitt Smith is the type of football player and the type of individual who embodies the fiber and the fabric of the National Football League. What he has done speaks reams about what he is. I think there's something that he still has to add both on the football field and off the football field, which is a very huge part of the National Football League today."
The Cowboys released Smith, who would have counted $9.8 million against their 2003 salary cap, on Feb. 27. By releasing him before June 1, he counts $4.9 million against the Cowboys' cap. Smith, who will be 34 in May, rushed for 17,162 yards in his 13 seasons with the Cowboys, passing Payton as the all-time leading rusher Oct. 27 against Seattle.
Smith had said that he never talked with new coach Bill Parcells about his future. And Parcells said Wednesday, in his first public comments on Smith since his release, that it was Smith and owner Jerry Jones' decision to let Smith become an unrestricted free agent.
"I think it would have been fine with me either way," said Parcells, who was in Phoenix for the NFL owners' meetings. "But certainly you have to look at the future of the franchise and at each position and make a determination of, well, is the player that's currently there what you're going to build with? I think probably now is as good a time as any to try to move on."
Jones, who counts Smith among his all-time favorite players, will have to endure Smith's likely finishing his career in Arizona. Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman, the other two-thirds of the team's so-called Triplets, started and ended their careers in Dallas.
"From a personal standpoint, I want what is best for him," Jones said of Smith. "It was not unexpected. I knew he wanted to carry the ball. ... But in my mind, he'll always be a Dallas Cowboy, and as I look on into the future, I want him to always ultimately be associated with the Cowboys."
Smith said in February that he wanted to continue his career elsewhere, but, as it turned out, he didn't have many options. Carolina signed free agent Stephen Davis. Oakland re-signed free agent Tyrone Wheatley. Tampa Bay, after Michael Pittman rushed for 124 yards in the Super Bowl, turned a cold shoulder. And Kansas City wasn't interested in Smith as a backup to Priest Holmes.
"You can always make an Emmitt fit, because he probably has something left in him," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said Wednesday. "It's just when you do that, then you don't develop the young kids. I've always felt my second running back should make a contribution to special teams, and it would be disrespectful to ask Emmitt Smith to cover kickoffs and punts."
Arizona, however, found a fit with Smith. He will be a leader and a draw for a team that, since moving from St. Louis for the 1988 season, has had only three 1,000-yard rushers and has averaged only 5.6 victories and 46,313 fans at Sun Devil Stadium. The Cardinals will host the Cowboys in their first exhibition game and will travel to Dallas during the regular season.
"I think our national image is probably enhanced to whatever degree you might consider it, because we have gone out to sign Emmitt, a free-agent running back, or as he referred to it at dinner [on his recent visit], an unemployed running back," Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill said. "Well, he's no longer unemployed."
Spin move
Emmitt Smith has had a quick transformation from Cowboy to Cardinal:
Feb. 27: Waived by Cowboys
March 13: Tours Arizona facilities
March 17: Receives multiyear contract offer
Wednesday: Agrees to two-year deal
Today: Introductory news conference at 12:30 p.m.
Notables
• Will wear same No. 22 jersey
• Will play the Cowboys in the preseason and in Dallas in the regular season.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/5493722.htm
By Charean Williams
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
PHOENIX - Emmitt Smith might be a Cowboy forever, but he is an Arizona Cardinal for at least next season.
The NFL's all-time leading rusher agreed to a two-year deal that will pay him between $7 million and $8 million, according to a source, and includes marketing obligations. Smith, who did not return phone calls seeking comment, will be introduced at a 12:30 p.m. CST news conference at the Cardinals' facility today.
"The bottom line is that we're not only getting a partner on the field, but there's a partnership off the field as well," Cardinals vice president Rod Graves said. "But the most important thing for us is we're getting a quality person who not only signifies performance, but leadership, and is a great football player. He's going to mean a great deal to our football team."
Smith was given his familiar No. 22, which had belonged to cornerback Duane Starks, and the starting job, which had belonged to Marcel Shipp. The Cardinals (5-11) ranked 15th in rushing last season, with Shipp gaining a team-high 834 yards on 188 carries. Smith rushed 254 times for 975 yards last season, his lowest yardage total since his rookie season of 1990.
"It goes without saying that when you add a player of his stature to your football team, it elevates a lot of things," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "I was fortunate early in my NFL career to be on a football team that had three Hall of Famers, including the man [Walter Payton] who Emmitt eclipsed for the rushing title. ... Emmitt Smith is the type of football player and the type of individual who embodies the fiber and the fabric of the National Football League. What he has done speaks reams about what he is. I think there's something that he still has to add both on the football field and off the football field, which is a very huge part of the National Football League today."
The Cowboys released Smith, who would have counted $9.8 million against their 2003 salary cap, on Feb. 27. By releasing him before June 1, he counts $4.9 million against the Cowboys' cap. Smith, who will be 34 in May, rushed for 17,162 yards in his 13 seasons with the Cowboys, passing Payton as the all-time leading rusher Oct. 27 against Seattle.
Smith had said that he never talked with new coach Bill Parcells about his future. And Parcells said Wednesday, in his first public comments on Smith since his release, that it was Smith and owner Jerry Jones' decision to let Smith become an unrestricted free agent.
"I think it would have been fine with me either way," said Parcells, who was in Phoenix for the NFL owners' meetings. "But certainly you have to look at the future of the franchise and at each position and make a determination of, well, is the player that's currently there what you're going to build with? I think probably now is as good a time as any to try to move on."
Jones, who counts Smith among his all-time favorite players, will have to endure Smith's likely finishing his career in Arizona. Michael Irvin and Troy Aikman, the other two-thirds of the team's so-called Triplets, started and ended their careers in Dallas.
"From a personal standpoint, I want what is best for him," Jones said of Smith. "It was not unexpected. I knew he wanted to carry the ball. ... But in my mind, he'll always be a Dallas Cowboy, and as I look on into the future, I want him to always ultimately be associated with the Cowboys."
Smith said in February that he wanted to continue his career elsewhere, but, as it turned out, he didn't have many options. Carolina signed free agent Stephen Davis. Oakland re-signed free agent Tyrone Wheatley. Tampa Bay, after Michael Pittman rushed for 124 yards in the Super Bowl, turned a cold shoulder. And Kansas City wasn't interested in Smith as a backup to Priest Holmes.
"You can always make an Emmitt fit, because he probably has something left in him," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said Wednesday. "It's just when you do that, then you don't develop the young kids. I've always felt my second running back should make a contribution to special teams, and it would be disrespectful to ask Emmitt Smith to cover kickoffs and punts."
Arizona, however, found a fit with Smith. He will be a leader and a draw for a team that, since moving from St. Louis for the 1988 season, has had only three 1,000-yard rushers and has averaged only 5.6 victories and 46,313 fans at Sun Devil Stadium. The Cardinals will host the Cowboys in their first exhibition game and will travel to Dallas during the regular season.
"I think our national image is probably enhanced to whatever degree you might consider it, because we have gone out to sign Emmitt, a free-agent running back, or as he referred to it at dinner [on his recent visit], an unemployed running back," Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill said. "Well, he's no longer unemployed."
Spin move
Emmitt Smith has had a quick transformation from Cowboy to Cardinal:
Feb. 27: Waived by Cowboys
March 13: Tours Arizona facilities
March 17: Receives multiyear contract offer
Wednesday: Agrees to two-year deal
Today: Introductory news conference at 12:30 p.m.
Notables
• Will wear same No. 22 jersey
• Will play the Cowboys in the preseason and in Dallas in the regular season.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/5493722.htm
