Mark Curnutte

The issue is George's contract. He is due to make a $4.25 million base salary this season and received a $1 million bonus earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Tennessee offered George a reworked deal that would pay him about $2.5 million for the season. The Titans will eventually need some additional salary cap space to sign their 13 draft picks, so George's future with the team is cloudy if the two sides can't agree on some compromise.

"I'm just trying to do my work," George said.

DIFFERENT WORLD: Seahawks first-round draft pick Marcus Tubbs left his asthma inhalers in Texas. So when the pollen kicked up at the Seattle's post-draft camp, Tubbs was out of luck and out of breath. The 320-pound defensive tackle sat out much of the camp as a result.

While he was out on the field, Tubbs had his hands full with Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson. "Until you get in there and mix it up with an NFL offensive lineman," Tubbs said later, "you really don't understand how strong they are."

WARNER SAGA: A series of events have taken place with the Rams that - despite coach Mike Martz's uncertainty - point to quarterback Kurt Warner's release in June.

First, the Rams signed 39-year-old quarterback Chris Chandler. Then, secondly, Martz told Marc Bulger that he was the starter and Warner that he could be cut after June 1. Third, though Martz backed off a little, he did say the likelihood of Warner's return depended on whether the Rams drafted a quarterback and whether Bulger was signed to a long-term deal. Fourth, the Rams drafted quarterback Jeff Smoker from Michigan State and signed Bulger through 2007.

When asked whether he could now say that Warner's days with the Rams were done, Martz said, "I can't," and he added that he would confer with Rams president John Shaw. Waiting until after June 1 to release Warner would allow the Rams to spread the salary cap hit into two parts: about $4.6 million this year, about $6.7 million in 2005.

WARNER SUITORS: The New York Giants have received permission to negotiate with Warner, but Chicago is not out of the running. Bears coach Lovie Smith, the former Rams defensive coordinator, is backing starting quarterback Rex Grossman in public but appears to be keeping close eye on Warner's situation.

Even though they inquired about Tim Couch last week, Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo continue to back Grossman. Angelo said if the pursuit or the presence of a proven No. 2 QB rattles Grossman, "then we have real problems."

The only other quarterbacks on the roster are Jonathan Quinn, draft choice Craig Krenzel, and newcomer Ryan Dinwiddie.

PERK: Washington coach Joe Gibbs has relinquished the parking space that has always been reserved for the head coach at Redskin Park. He will give the space to a player of the week as a reward.

NUMBERS GAME: Clinton Portis might be a star, but safety Ifeanyi Ohalete won't give up his No. 26 jersey to the Redskins' new No. 1 tailback. Portis has even considered challenging Ohalete to a boxing match for the right to the number, but for now the former Bronco is still wearing 35.

ROOKIE WELCOME: Oakland rookie left tackle Robert Gallery, all 6-foot-7 323 pounds of him, was involved in consecutive scuffles on the second day of practice with 6-5 defensive lineman Gerald Irons, a reserve last year.

Gallery basically flicked Irons off him. "Stuff happens," Gallery said, "but I'm not going to back down just because I'm a rookie. I'm fighting for a job just like everyone else, whether I'm the second (overall) pick or not."

AFC NORTH: The Ravens, who traded with Jacksonville for wide receiver Kevin Johnson, also tried unsuccessfully to get Jimmy Smith from the Jaguars after they drafted Reggie Williams.

The imminent release or trade of quarterback Tim Couch will leave only three Browns left from their original expansion season of 1999. In order of time served, they are: kicker Phil Dawson, cornerback Daylon McCutcheon and free safety Earl Little. "We're an endangered species," McCutcheon said.

Former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw ripped the Manning family for Eli's refusal to play for San Diego. Bradshaw had no thought of pulling a Manning-type power play before the 1970 draft, when he was taken No. 1 overall by the Steelers.

"My thought at that time was, `What greater challenge than to go to the worst team, the worst franchise in the NFL and turn this sucker around,' " Bradshaw said. "To me, that spoke volumes about the kind of person I was."

He didn't like what Manning, drafted by the Chargers but traded to the Giants, orchestrated with the help of his ex-NFL father, Archie.

"When you avoid something because your momma and your daddy and your agent say you shouldn't do it, that's not right," said Bradshaw, who endured a rocky first season but went on to win four Super Bowls a Hall of Fame career with the Steelers.

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Written from notes submitted by NFL beat writers.

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