Mark Curnutte

Though Redskins officials say it was painful to lose the 25-year-old Bailey, one of the most respected players on the team and a shutdown corner, his relationship with the front office had soured along with his contract negotiations.

Getting the 22-year-old Portis, who rushed for 3,099 yards and 29 TDs during his first two seasons, is a major accomplishment. And at a price of $6 million a year, Portis will be $3 million a year cheaper if each plays out his contract.

Washington is smarting because it lost its second-round draft pick. The Redskins have only the fifth overall choice and a fifth-rounder remaining, but coach Joe Gibbs couldn't have run his offense with last season's weak stable of running backs, and he didn't want to rely on a rookie back.

TITANIC JOB: After being the most over the cap a couple of weeks ago - roughly $18 million - the Tennessee Titans got under the cap with several renegotiated contracts and just one roster cut, reserve guard Tom Ackerman.

And instead of locking up defensive end Jevon Kearse, who signed with the Eagles, the Titans signed Pro Bowl linebacker Keith Bulluck (five years) and tight end Erron Kinney (five years).

Bulluck, 26, got $36 million with a $12.5 million signing bonus. Tennessee GM Floyd Reese made no secret of his choice. He said Bulluck was younger and healthier than Kearse, making him a safer risk. Bulluck went to his first Pro Bowl this past season and has led the team in tackles each of the last two years.

JOCK TAX: States' income tax rates can be factors in where free agent players choose to sign. This from agent Pat Dye Jr.: Washington, Tennessee, Florida and Texas all have no state income tax, while California's rate on the highest tax bracket is 9.3 percent. On an $8 million signing bonus, that's a difference of $744,000, not to mention the yearly salary and the cost of living in San Diego and the Bay Area.

PLAYER, AGENT: Rich Moran, a guard for the Packers from 1985-93, has been a certified player agent since the mid-1990s. Now he has signed a breakthrough client, tackle-guard Shawn Andrews of Arkansas.

Andrews is probably the second highest-rated offensive lineman in the draft and is expected to go in the top 15-20 picks.

AFC NORTH: Ravens tailback Jamal Lewis, who pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he helped to arrange a major cocaine deal for a hometown friend in the summer of 2000, is not a kid from the wrong side of the tracks in Atlanta. Lewis grew up in a very comfortable setting in a middle-class neighborhood in Adamsville, about 5 miles from the notorious Bowen Homes projects, his father, John, said. Jamal's mother, Mary, was a warden at the Georgia Department of Corrections, and his father worked as a railroad conductor. "I might have given him too much," John said. "I spoiled him. (And) his choice of friends, yes, that disturbs me, but what can you say? These are the choices he makes."

• The Browns have not been and will not be major players in free agency. Nor will the organization overextend itself to keep its own unrestricted free agents. Punter Chris Gardocki signed a $6.5 million, five-year contract with Pittsburgh Saturday, and the Browns appear also to be letting go of offensive linemen Barry Stokes and Shaun O'Hara; cornerback Lewis Sanders; and defensive end Tyrone Rogers. D.S. Ping, agent for Stokes, said the Browns told him they were going in a different direction.

"I think they're going to the bottom," Ping said. "Until they get (a renegotiated contract for Tim) Couch done, they can't do squat."

• Steelers tailback Jerome Bettis agreed to accept a pay cut of nearly 80 percent and had one request for the team: He wanted to talk to coach Bill Cowher, but not about money. Bettis wanted a pledge that he would not lose the starting job this year before he had a chance to compete for it, as he did last year when Cowher, acting on a "gut decision" three weeks into training camp, decided to start Amos Zereoue. "Coach assured me I will get an opportunity," Bettis said. "Now, what I do with it is up to me, but the opportunity will be there and that's all I can ask of them."

Bettis, 32, expected to have to give up salary to return to the Steelers after rushing for less than 1,000 yards each of the past two seasons.

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Written from notes submitted by NFL beat writers.

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