Tuesday, March 16, 1999
Agent: Ball, Bengals 'about there'
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Bengals didn't get a verbal commitment from Vikings nose tackle Jerry Ball on Monday, but agent Jeff Durand said the sides “are about there.” The deal was close enough that Durand asked for the dates and requirements of mini-camp and training camp.
The agent for Rams cornerback Ryan McNeil said Monday that his client would consider a visit to Cincinnati on Friday, but Brian Ransom knows there is a similar $3 million-a-year deal on the table for the Bengals' own Ashley Ambrose.
Ransom won't have to worry about the money being gone. Ambrose has told the Bengals a hundred times he won't re-sign at that figure. The Ambrose camp is mum on what two teams are interested, mainly because they have to cut players to make room under the salary cap.
EXTRA PICKS: The NFL released its compensatory draft picks awarded to teams who lost and signed free agents last season.
For losing linebackers Andre Collins, Gerald Dixon and Ricardo McDonald and adding defensive end Michael Bankston and cornerback Thomas Randolph, the Bengals got an extra seventh-round choice, the 247th pick in the draft. They got another one — the 251st — for having one of the four worst records in the league at 3-13.
Arizona and Green Bay have the most extra picks with four.
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