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Sunday, March 14, 2004

Law wants to leave Pats, calls team's offer an 'insult'



Enquirer news services

BOSTON - Patriots cornerback Ty Law wants to leave the team after playing a key role in the team's drive toward a Super Bowl championship.

"Right now, it's not about money," Law told The Boston Globe. "That bridge is burned. I no longer want to be a Patriot. I can't even see myself putting on that uniform again, that's how bad I feel about playing here."

Law, battling with the team over a contract extension, said he had "irreconcilable differences" with the club and told coach Bill Belichick and vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli he wanted to play elsewhere.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James had no comment to The Associated Press on Saturday.

Law, who last month called the Patriots' four-year, $26 million offer "an insult" and "a slap in the face," said this week he thought discussions would continue until the Patriots informed his agent, Carl Poston, of their plans to carry Law's $10 million salary cap figure for this year, the penultimate of a seven-year, $51 million contract that included a then-record $14.2 million bonus.

"They told me they didn't want to insult Ty anymore, so they're not going to submit any more offers," Poston said.

Talks of a new deal began when Law visited Belichick at his Gillette Stadium office upon returning from the Pro Bowl. Law, 30, wanted to discuss his uncertain future. That was the first of two meetings with Belichick. Law said he also has spoken with Belichick and Pioli by phone regarding a new deal. But when Poston made Pioli a seven-year, $63 million counteroffer that included $20 million to sign and $28 million over the first three years, Pioli, according to accounts, responded with something to effect of: "We can't do that. Save the paper."

"They told me one thing and did another," Law said. "They said we were going to talk. All of a sudden, negotiations are off. We're just going to keep it the way it is for this year. No. It ain't going to be for this year. I don't want no 'just for this year.' I don't want no years at all, actually. I don't want a contract extension anymore because I no longer want to be a New England Patriot. I'm drop-dead serious about not wanting to be a part of this organization anymore."

This is not the first time Law has asked to be let go. Law said he asked Belichick to place him on the 2002 expansion list, which was due days after New England's Super Bowl XXXVI victory.

Law is due to earn $6.15 million in salary and a $1 million reporting bonus this year, and $8.75 million in salary plus another $1 million reporting bonus next season, when he counts more than $12.5 million toward the cap. Trading Law or releasing him before June 1 would come with a cap hit of $5.4 million, or the remaining prorated portion of his signing bonus. If the Patriots cut him after June 1, the cap hit this year would be $2.7 million, and the $2.7 million acceleration would be applied to the 2005 cap. So eager is Law to sever ties with New England that he has offered to buy out the final years of his contract.

RAIDERS: Former All-Pro linebacker Dwayne Rudd signed with Oakland on Saturday, joining his third team in three seasons.

Rudd played 16 games last season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who released him last month. He began his career with four seasons in Minnesota, earning All-Pro honors in 1998, before playing two seasons in Cleveland.

He gained infamy with the Browns in 2002 when he took off his helmet and threw it to celebrate what he thought was a sack that ended a victory over Kansas City. But the game wasn't over, and Rudd was penalized, setting up the Chiefs' winning field goal.

Rudd was a first-round draft choice by the Vikings in 1997. He could start for the Raiders, who signed linebacker Danny Clark away from Jacksonville on Friday.

BUCCANEERS: Tampa Bay signed punter Josh Bidwell on Saturday, four days after losing free agent Tom Tupa to Washington.

Bidwell, a fourth-round pick by Green Bay in 1999, averaged 41.1 yards a kick in five seasons with the Packers. He averaged 41.7 yards last season.

Bidwell, a testicular cancer survivor, missed his entire rookie season after being diagnosed with the disease.

CHIEFS: Kansas City signed free agent tackle Chris Bober to a five-year deal Saturday.

Bober played four seasons with the New York Giants, where he made 32 starts. Last season, he started 11 games at center before moving back to right tackle for five starts.

He originally joined the Giants as a rookie free agent in 2000.




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