Home >  Sports >  Steelers

Safety says no to Steelers for better offer in Arizona

Thursday, March 13, 2003

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Another free agent sent the message loud and clear to those doing the bidding throughout the NFL: It's the money, stupid.

	More Steelers Coverage: Bob Smizik

Dexter Jackson was set to become a Steelers safety Monday night, then turned around and signed yesterday with the downtrodden Arizona Cardinals for one reason only.

"They went to numbers we never imagined they'd go," said Peter Schaffer, his agent.

The Cardinals, who were 5-11 last season and have made the playoffs once in the past 20 years, landed Jackson after increasing their offer by $2 million the past two days.

Jackson, the Super Bowl MVP for Tampa Bay, will earn $14 million on a five-year contract that includes $5 million this year, counting his $2.75 million signing bonus.

The Steelers would not budge off a five-year, $12 million offer with a $2.75 million signing bonus.

"He was all set to go to Pittsburgh," Schaffer said. "They did a great job and they're a great organization. He had great things to say about them. But Arizona's offer was too good for him to pass up. It makes him the second-highest paid free safety in the league. He's set financially for life."

It leaves the Steelers unsettled at safety. They had Houston free safety Eric Brown in for a visit, but they have shown little interest in him. There are few options left. Sammy Knight, an unrestricted free agent from New Orleans, has been a big-play man who has drawn little interest on the market. He doesn't have the speed of Jackson, but he's more of a pure strong safety and might be worth a look.

New England put the franchise tag on Tebucky Jones and wants to trade him for a first-round pick, something the Steelers would not do.

The other options would be to put second-year man Chris Hope at strong safety, draft a safety or acquire a cornerback and move one of their starting cornerbacks, Dewayne Washington or Chad Scott, to safety. Hope was a first-day draft choice last year, taken on the third round from Florida State. He is a strong safety.

The Steelers have not made an offer to Lee Flowers, their starting strong safety, and he will likely sign elsewhere as a free agent.

They created room under their salary cap Tuesday in order to sign Jackson by restructuring the contract of defensive Aaron Smith. That puts them $1,384,000 under the cap. Schaffer is the agent for Smith and Jackson. The Steelers planned to restructure guard Alan Faneca's contract to save another $1,416,000 under the cap. They still likely will do that.

NOTES -- Arizona, impatient waiting for Kordell Stewart to decide on its offer, signed quarterback Jeff Blake yesterday to become its starter. Blake, who visited the Steelers last week, will earn $7.5 million over three years with a $1.5 million signing bonus and salaries of $2 million annually. That leaves Stewart with an offer from Chicago. It also apparently whittles the Steelers' backup choices to Charlie Batch or Gus Frerotte.