The Associated Press

IRVING, Texas - Antonio Bryant and Quincy Morgan are switching teams in a trade of receivers and former second-round draft picks hoping for fresh starts in new places.

Bryant stayed with the Dallas Cowboys even after throwing a sweaty jersey onto coach Bill Parcells' face during a workout in June. But he was traded Tuesday to the Cleveland Browns for Morgan, who is from the Dallas area.

"I feel like I should be a lot farther along in this game playing-wise and doing things on the field than I was in Dallas," Bryant said Tuesday night. "That's a situation I just want to put behind me. ... I want to be part of something new, something fresh."

While saying he learned a lot from Parcells, Bryant wouldn't elaborate on his relationship with the coach.

Both receivers have shown flashes of becoming NFL stars since they were drafted, Morgan from Kansas State in 2001, a year before Bryant left Pittsburgh after his junior season.

Bryant caught 44 passes for 733 yards and six touchdowns while starting 15 games as a rookie in 2002, before Parcells arrived.

After he started just five times last season, with 39 catches for 559 yards and two TDs, Bryant's outburst with Parcells came because he was upset about the amount of time he got behind Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn, receivers who had played for the coach before rejoining him in Dallas.

Bryant was removed by security from the practice and didn't rejoin the team until training camp. He has 16 catches for 266 yards this season, and had just one for 22 yards in Sunday's loss to Pittsburgh.

"Certainly, the effort was there on everybody's part to make it work and really fit," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "Quincy maybe has a better chance, his temperament might have a better chance of fitting in ... a better fit right now for what we want to do."

Morgan, who would have been a free agent at the end of the season, agreed to a contract extension through 2005 before the trade was completed. Bryant is already signed through next year.

"It's one of the few trades that I've ever seen that it's really a win-win for everybody," Cleveland coach Butch Davis said.

MORE DEALS: Veteran receivers Jerry Rice and Keenan McCardell also switched teams.

Rice, the leading receiver in NFL history, went from Oakland to Seattle.

McCardell, a 34-year-old who had been holding out, was sent from Tampa Bay to San Diego.

The 42-year-old Rice, who was openly unhappy in Oakland, went to the Seahawks for a seventh-round draft pick.

He had gone without a catch in three of five games this season, including Sunday's 31-3 loss to Denver when he didn't even get a pass thrown his way. His NFL-record streak of 274 games with a reception ended in Week 2 against Buffalo.

In Seattle, he will rejoin coach Mike Holmgren, who was his offensive coordinator in San Francisco at the height of his career and play again in the West Coast offense. Until this season, he had been in that system his entire career - with the 49ers and then Raiders.

McCardell, who led the Bucs last season with 84 catches for 1,174 yards and eight touchdowns, was sent to San Diego for third- and sixth-round draft picks next season.

Reche Caldwell, the Chargers' leading wide receiver, hurt his right knee Sunday in a 21-20 loss to Atlanta and will miss the rest of the season with a torn ligament in his right knee.

"I have been working hard every day to stay in peak physical condition, and I am prepared to come in and make an immediate contribution," said McCardell, who began his career with Cleveland and also has played for Jacksonville.

RAMS REBOUND: Move over, Reggie Jackson. Mike Martz is the NFL's version of Mr. October.

The St. Louis Rams have won three straight since a 1-2 start after a 28-21 victory over Tampa Bay Monday night. They are 3-0 in October this season, 3-0 last October and 18-4 in the month since 1999.

Martz took over as offensive coordinator that Super Bowl-winning season and became head coach the following year.

This season's October rejuvenation has moved the Rams (4-2) into first place in the NFC West, with a game at winless Miami up next.

After a sluggish September that ended with a 28-25 overtime loss at home to New Orleans - when St. Louis surrendered a three-point lead in the final 23 seconds - the Rams suddenly look like the team that has made the playoffs four of the last five seasons.

"We're getting some momentum going, and we're getting better every week," Martz said.

RAVENS: Baltimore has signed wide receiver Patrick Johnson to his second stint with the team.

Johnson spent four seasons with the Ravens after being drafted in the second round in 1998. The seven-year veteran has yet to play a down in the NFL this season after breaking his hand during the preseason and receiving an injury waiver from the Bengals.

He also has played for the Jaguars and Redskins. Johnson appeared in all 16 games for Washington last year and had 15 receptions for 170 yards.

COLTS: Mike Vanderjagt wanted to play against Oakland but didn't have a choice.

The Indianapolis Colts coaches held their Pro Bowl kicker out of the Raiders game Oct. 10 as a precaution a week after he strained the hamstring in his kicking leg.

Vanderjagt believes the long break has given him a fresher right leg, and he hopes the results start showing up Sunday against Jacksonville.

"I feel great. I'll probably be very fresh and the ball, coming off my foot, will probably have a little more pop to it," he said.

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