Archives for February 28, 2009

‘The Bills have needs at both positions after releasing left guard Derrick Dockery on Thursday, and after electing not to re-sign starting center Duke Preston and backup Melvin Fowler this offseason. Listed at 6-foot-5, 301 pounds, Hangartner appeared in 16 games, including eight starts last season.’

‘Hangartner appeared in 16 games, making eight starts at center and guard during the 2008 season with Carolina. In 2008, Hangartner was part of a Panthers offensive line that helped set team records for rushing yards (2,437) and fewest sacks allowed in a single season (20).’

‘Buffalo and Detroit had agreed to a trade Thursday with Detroit willing to pick up the rest of Dockery’s 7-year, $49 million contract and to guarantee the 2009 and 2010 portions of that deal. However, the Bills failed to file the necessary paperwork with the NFL Management Council by the 4 p.m. dealine, according to a league source, and, rather than pay Dockery $4.5 million for this year, the Bills allowed him to become a free agent. The Lions were still willing to pick up the remainder of the deal with the two guaranteed years and Dockery, who spent today in Detroit, was close to accepting their deal. However, tonight he decided to take the Skins’ deal, which will pay im $3.5 million less over the duraton of the deal.’

‘"Trent is still a young guy and I’m going to help him out with his preparation. I’m going to be his eyes when he’s on the field and I’m looking forward to that relationship.”‘

‘Fitzpatrick, 6-foot-2, started 12 games for Cincinnati this year after starter Carson Palmer went out with an elbow injury. He went 4-7-1 as a starter, although the Bengals were 4-3-1 the second half of the season. Fitzpatrick completed 59.4 percent of his passes with eight TDs and nine interceptions. He has good mobility and ran 60 times for 304 yards.’

‘”We’re excited to have Ryan join our team and feel he will add to our quarterback corps,” said chief operating officer Russ Brandon. “Over the course of Ryan’s career he has been a very productive player and certainly brings many positives to our organization.”‘

‘Like Edgerson, I was always upset with the way the merger was handled, mainly because the AFL lost its identity. But that didn’t happen until after the first four Super Bowls, which were the only ”real” Super Bowls. That’s because those were Super Bowls involving only NFL champions and AFL champions.’

‘The other strange part of the experience is that Dockery didn’t lose much money by being released by the Bills, In fact, he had some financial gains. The Bills paid him $18.5 million during his first two years in Buffalo. Those first two years very pretty much guaranteed. The Redskins ended up guaranteeing $8 million of his new contract, something he wasn’t expected to have in the remaining five years of his Bills deal.’

‘In winning his final three starts, Fitzpatrick finished the season with 1,905 yards passing with eight touchdowns and nine interceptions. He spent his first two seasons with St. Louis before being traded to Cincinnati, and has 2,682 yards passing with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 19 career games, including 15 starts.’

‘Fitzpatrick started 12 games for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2008 after Carson Palmer went down with an injury. The Harvard product threw for 1,905 yards, eight touchdowns and nine interceptions in 13 total appearances.’

‘”I think it’s helped me a lot in my career to play behind Marc Bulger and Carson Palmer,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’ve been able to see how they approach the game, and in doing that I’ve been able to help them out. I think that’s what I’m going to bring here. Trent is still a young guy and I’m going to help him out with his preparation. I’m going to be his eyes when he’s on the field and I’m looking forward to that relationship.”‘