49ers release Dilfer
Published 10:27 pm Thursday, March 13, 2008
49ERS: San Francisco terminated quarterback Trent Dilfer’s contract Thursday, possibly signaling the end of the 14-year veteran’s career.
Dilfer started six games for the 49ers last season, passing for 1,166 yards with seven touchdowns, 12 interceptions and a 55.1 passer rating before incurring a season-ending concussion.
“Trent Dilfer is a true professional in every meaning of the word,” 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. “He is one of the most respected players in the league for good reason. Trent has provided great value to our team over the past two years in terms of his leadership, knowledge of the game and play on the field.”
Dilfer missed the 49ers’ final three games last season with the latest in a series of concussions, and the 49ers were unlikely to bring him back this year after third-stringer Shaun Hill performed well in two starts last December.
San Francisco also recently signed veteran quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan, a favorite of new offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who has said Alex Smith and Hill will compete for the starting job.
Dilfer, the sixth overall pick in 1994 by Tampa Bay, led the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory after the 2000 season, but was dropped by the club shortly afterward.
The Fresno State product has played for the Buccaneers (1994-99), Baltimore (2000), Seattle (2001-04), Cleveland (2005) and San Francisco. He started 113 games in his career, making the Pro Bowl in 1997.
LIONS: Detroit cut running back Kevin Jones and defensive end Kalimba Edwards. The 5-foot-11, 228-pound Jones missed the start and the end of last season with foot and knee injuries. He has played four pro seasons, all with Detroit. Jones has 750 career carries for 3,067 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also caught 141 passes for 1,006 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-6, 265-pound Edwards has spent his six NFL seasons with the Lions. He has 26 career sacks. The Lions also re-signed running back Tatum Bell to a one-year deal and signed restricted free-agent safety Kalvin Pearson to a three-year deal.
TEXANS: Houston signed free agent running back Chris Brown. Brown appeared in 12 games last season for the Tennessee Titans and finished with 462 yards rushing and five touchdowns. He was taken by the Titans in the third round of the 2003 draft and ran for 2,757 yards and 16 TDs in five seasons with Tennessee. He’ll join Ahman Green at running back with the Texans and his signing could mean the end of Ron Dayne’s tenure in Houston. Green is expected to be healthy this season after missing nine games in 2007. The Texans have not re-signed Dayne, an unrestricted free agent who led the team in rushing the last two seasons.
GIANTS: New York signed free-agent linebacker Danny Clark to a two-year contract Thursday. The 30-year-old Clark played four years for Jacksonville and also has played for Oakland, New Orleans and Houston.
BROWNS: Defensive back Gary Baxter, determined to become the first NFL player to make it back from two torn patellar tendons, signed a one-year free-agent contract with Cleveland.
Baxter’s amazing comeback fell a little short last season. He defied doctors’ predictions his career was over by returning to the practice field in July. However, he never regained the strength in his knees, which he injured while defending a pass against Denver in 2006.
The Browns finally placed him on injured reserve on Oct. 23, one day before the one-year anniversary of his knee operations and also the same date in which he underwent surgery to repair a torn chest muscle in 2005, an injury that sidelined him for 11 games.
The 29-year-old Baxter has played in just eight games with the Browns, who signed him to a six-year, $30 million free agent deal in March 2005. The club restructured his contract last year, which made him a free agent at the end of the 2007 season.
Associated Press
