NFL Capsules: Three Dallas Cowboys sign heavy metal record deal

DALLAS - NFL offensive linemen bang heads all the time. A trio of Dallas Cowboys linemen are now professional head-bangers, too.

Leonard Davis, Marc Colombo and Cory Procter have signed a recording contract as part of a heavy metal band called Free Reign. Their debut album for Australia's Riot Entertainment will be released this fall.

Considering all three players weigh over 300 pounds, it only makes sense they are being referred to as "heavier than metal."

"Free Reign is a band with massive potential," Riot owner John Howarth said in a news release Tuesday. "There has been an enormous buzz surrounding them since they appeared on the scene a few months ago. Free Reign has already been flooded with endorsements. Their marketing potential is limitless. These guys are already huge sports stars, but they have shown they have the talent to diversify."

Guitarist Justin Chapman is the fourth member of the group. Their final gig of the offseason is Saturday at the House of Blues in Dallas.

Riot also has signed the group Fozzy, which includes professional wrestler Chris Jericho.

Jets' Rex Ryan acknowledges toughest foe: dyslexia 

NEW YORK - Words have always been Rex Ryan's biggest challenge.

Not so much saying them, of course. The New York Jets' loquacious rookie coach has no trouble speaking his mind. Reading and writing, though, have made Ryan cringe since grade school.

That's the effect dyslexia can have, even on the most confident of NFL coaches.

"It was really frustrating," Ryan told The Associated Press. "So much of school, you have to write, but I just struggled. I couldn't help it."

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability which affects people's abilities to read, spell, write and pronounce words. According to The International Dyslexia Association, perhaps as much as 15-20 percent of the population has symptoms of dyslexia.

Ryan, 46, knew something wasn't quite right while he was growing up, but he was diagnosed with dyslexia just a few years ago when his oldest son, Payton, was tested for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

"They gave me a test, too, and there were like 100 words, not real words, but letters just thrown out there," Ryan said. "It might've taken me, I don't know, maybe 15 minutes to read it out. They brought in my youngest son, who was maybe 10 or 12 at that time, and he read it in like a minute.

"The further we went along with it, the more I realized, 'Man, oh, man. I can see where I definitely had it.'"

It's a stunning admission by a man who has exuded so much confidence and bravado since becoming the Jets coach in January.

"It's probably pretty common for someone who has communication problems or issues to be very reserved, shy or laid back," said Jets safety Jim Leonhard, who played on Ryan's defense in Baltimore last season but only recently heard about the coach's dyslexia. "Rex is the total opposite. He's too competitive of a guy to let something like that slow him down."

That wasn't always the case. Ryan remembers the anxious moments when he was called upon to read in class and the page appeared nothing more than a muddled mess of letters. And there were all the miserable scores on spelling exams.

"It wasn't like they had spell check back in those days, so it was impossible," he said. "I was a terrible student."

It got so bad Ryan would often skip school unless floor hockey or softball games were planned.

"I never wanted to embarrass myself," he said.

Adding to Ryan's frustrations were the facts that his mother, Doris, has a doctorate in education and was a vice president of the University of New Brunswick in Canada, and his father, Buddy, was a two-time academic All-American before becoming one of the NFL's greatest defensive minds. Ryan's older brother, Jim, has an MBA and a law degree.

Even Ryan's twin brother, Rob, who is Cleveland's defensive coordinator, "was pretty decent, too," he said, laughing.

"I was like, 'What the heck's wrong with me?'"

Well, nothing when it comes to coaching. Ryan, whose Ravens defenses were among the league's best the last several years, believes his dyslexia might have even helped shape his approach.

"He's a fighter and a competitor," Leonhard said, "and you can tell he probably got some of that from having dyslexia and overcoming it."

Many coaches today use colors to code their playbooks and game plans, but it's something Ryan has been doing for as long as he can remember to make things easier to comprehend.

"We can go back as many years as you want to go and you'll see it that way," Ryan said.

One set of plays might be green, while another yellow, and so on - a colorful learning tool that amused Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, a former assistant under Ryan in Baltimore.

"It would drive him crazy," Ryan said. "He would say, 'Don't say that stands out! How can you read that better?' This was before I even knew I was dyslexic."

The Jets also help Ryan with TV and radio commercial spots by reading the copy to him and letting him repeat it before taping.

"If you talk to me, I can pick things up better than I can just off a white piece of paper and black letters," he said.

Still, being dyslexic isn't something normally associated with NFL head coaches. Ryan was open about it when he interviewed for the Jets job, as well as previous opportunities.

"I never wanted to paint a false picture of myself," he said, "because if I got that job, I wanted to be myself."

Despite the struggles, Ryan was able to earn a master's degree in physical education from Eastern Kentucky. And then there's all he has achieved in the NFL.

"For the weaknesses I have with spelling and all those other things with being dyslexic, I have a lot of other strengths also," Ryan said. "I want people to know that you can have dyslexia and still reach your goals."

-- Dennis Waszak Jr.

Jets to wear corporate patch on practice jerseys 

NEW YORK - The New York Jets are taking advantage of a new NFL rule this summer that will allow them to place a corporate logo on their practice jerseys as a source of additional revenue.

The rule allows teams to sell sponsorships on their practice jerseys, and the patches can be no larger than 3½-by-4½ inches. The patch the Jets will wear starting in training camp features the logo of Atlantic Health, a New Jersey-based health care provider that owns naming rights on the team's training facility in Florham Park, N.J.

"In this climate, teams have to find ways to deliver additional value to their corporate sponsors because everyone is facing their own unique challenges," said Matt Higgins, the team's executive vice president of business operations. "It's an example of trying to go the extra mile to deliver value."

Terms of the deal - first reported by the Daily News last week - weren't disclosed, but Higgins confirmed Tuesday the Jets will earn extra revenue. Houston and Green Bay are among other teams exploring similar options.

"When we first did the agreement, we looked for ways to maximize (Atlantic Health's) exposure through impressions at the facility and through the media," Higgins said. "The original agreement contemplated that if the NFL ever changed the rules, they would have the ability to put their patch on our jerseys."

Sponsor logos are common in U.S. auto racing and golf events, but the NFL allows only one logo to be worn on a practice jersey. The Phoenix Mercury recently announced it will become the first WNBA team to put a sponsor's name on its jerseys.

"The NFL wants to be certain that the brand you're associating with meets the high standards of the league, so there are controls," Higgins said. "There's no desire to NASCAR-ize the jerseys, so there's only one allowed at a time."

The Jets are also working with the state of New Jersey, as well as New York and Connecticut, on developing instant lottery games that could reap an additional $1 million in revenue. Higgins said he expects the team to make an announcement within the next few weeks on the games that will feature a combination of significant cash prizes as well as unique Jets experiences, such as accompanying the team for a road game.

Higgins also said "sales are going very well" with the Jets' personal seat licenses. The team announced its PSL plan last August and held on online auction in October for 620 choice seats for the new stadium, which opens in 2010. The non-auctioned seats will cost season-ticket holders between $4,000 and $25,000, but spares 27,000 upper-level seats from the new fee.

"We're still in the process of going through our season-ticket holders year by year," Higgins said. "We're only up to 1985, so we still have a ways to go. We feel very confident that we're going to sell out the building."

-- Dennis Waszak Jr.

All Pro center in final month of recovery

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Not practicing this late in the offseason isn't easy for veteran center Kevin Mawae.

The 15-year veteran had surgery in January to repair a partially torn triceps tendon in his right arm, the one he uses to snap the ball. Now he's five months into a six-month recovery from major surgery.

"The doctors and trainers feel good about it," Mawae said Tuesday. "For me, it's a little boring because I have never been this late into the offseason rehabbing before. Mentally, I'm working through that, but we'll see."

The Titans got defensive end Jevon Kearse back on the field for individual drills Tuesday in Kearse's comeback from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. But Tennessee will wrap up its offseason Friday with the last of its organized team activities with Mawae still limited to watching his teammates work without him.

Mawae is coming off an All Pro and Pro Bowl season in which he anchored an offensive line that set a franchise record allowing only 12 sacks, which tied Denver for fewest sacks allowed in the NFL in 2008. Mawae was hurt Dec. 21 in a win against Pittsburgh and delayed surgery for the chance to take the field for a play in case the Titans had reached the Super Bowl.

Instead, the AFC's No. 1 seed lost a divisional playoff to Baltimore, so Mawae had surgery. Not the best timing for someone who turned 38 in January and is heading into the final year of his contract.

But Mawae, who also is president of the NFL Players Association, insists he's not worried about missing an offseason of on-field practice with his teammates.

"The thing that concerns me most is being conditioned properly and being ready for the start of training camp or whenever it's time for me to start," he said.

And when will that be? The Titans' first practice of training camp will be July 31 and their first preseason game is Aug. 9 against Buffalo in the Hall of Fame game.

Mawae isn't making any predictions.

"We're taking it as it comes. I'm only five months out this week since my operation. It's my recovery time. We'll see how things play out," he said.

That means Mawae has been busy working on recovering the strength in his right arm, redefining the triceps muscle and working on his conditioning. He said he has spent as much time in the Titans' offseason program this year as a year ago.

"The wait and see part is what's going to happen over the next six to eight weeks," he said.

Mawae has missed each of the Titans' last two playoff games because of an injury. A strained calf muscle kept him out of a wild-card loss at San Diego after the 2007 season, and Leroy Harris replaced him against Baltimore. Harris was a fourth-round pick in 2007 out of N.C. State and has gotten all of the work with the first-team offensive line this offseason.

The offensive line is a strength of the Titans, and Mawae's return from injury means that all five starters will be back. Right guard Jake Scott was the only addition a year ago as a free agent signee, and Mawae said that familiarity will help him pick up where they left off.

"We didn't change the system. The communication's not going to change. ... All the same codes, same calls, things like that. It's a matter of getting back in there and timing, things like that, with myself," he said.

Notes: Receiver Paul Williams aggravated a groin muscle early Tuesday, and coach Jeff Fisher said he likely will be held out of the final two sessions this week. Rookie receiver Kenny Britt had to have his right hamstring massaged early and was backed down. Fisher said they don't want a setback with their No. 1 draft pick. ... The offense struggled with lots of drops Tuesday, and cornerback Vincent Fuller had two interceptions with one on the sideline against Vince Young. Asked about the drops, Fisher said he thought receiver Lavelle Hawkins "forgot to bring his hands to practice."

-- Teresa M. Walker

Titans running back: Nothing good has come in yet

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Chris Johnson is using his Twitter account seeking touchdown celebration suggestions because the Tennessee running back wants to top the antics of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.

"I'm trying," Johnson said Tuesday. "I need help. I'm pretty sure they have somebody to help them, so I'm thinking hard now."

Johnson isn't new to TD celebrations. He drew a $10,000 fine from the NFL last October for celebrating a 66-yard TD run in Kansas City by banging on drums in the end zone - and wasn't happy being fined for trying to have fun. He tweeted last Friday asking for help and also alerted his followers to "pay close attention to what i have in store."

This is the running back who was the only rookie voted to the Pro Bowl in 2008, and he wasn't happy at finishing a distant second to Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He and teammate LenDale White called themselves Smash and Dash last season, but Johnson also has tweeted that he wants to be called Every Coaches' Dream.

Johnson complimented the variety of celebrations by Ochocinco, the Cincinnati receiver once known as Chad Johnson.

"I just got to come up with something that can beat the drums," the running back said.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher's stance on celebrations is simple. He wants his players to act like they've been in the end zone before.

"I'm not expecting him to do anything that will cost the team a penalty nor any of his teammates," Fisher said.

Johnson has gotten about 20 replies to his request, but none of the suggestions are something he plans to try. With Nashville being nicknamed Music City for its country music industry, he thinks someone should be able to come up with something different.

"They're used to good entertainment," he said.

And should any fan that provides the perfect inspiration be expected to help pay any fine?

No. Johnson plans to handle that.

"If it's better than T.O. or Ochocinco, I'll pay the fine," Johnson said.

-- Teresa M. Walker

Titans agree to terms with 2 draft picks

NASHVILLE, TENN. - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms Tuesday with sixth-round draft pick cornerback Jason McCourty and seventh-round offensive lineman Ryan Durand.

McCourty was the 203rd pick overall from Rutgers where he was a three-year starter and a captain as a senior. He also finished second in the Big East as a senior, averaging 26.2 yards per kickoff return.

Durand was a three-year starter at Syracuse and the 239th pick overall. He started 35 of 42 games at right guard.

The Titans have agreed to terms with three of their 11 draft picks.

Lions' Sims: "We're switching our swagger around" 

ALLEN PARK, Mich. - New coach. New front office. New players.

The new-look Detroit Lions gathered Tuesday for a mandatory minicamp, hoping to take another step toward respectability and away from their woeful place in NFL history as the first 0-16 team.

Linebacker Ernie Sims said the 2008 season is out of sight and mind.

"It's out of my head," Sims said. "Last year is over with and we're focusing on the new year with a totally new team. We're switching our swagger around."

First-year coach Jim Schwartz relayed a message he shared during a team meeting, kicking off the three-day minicamp.

"Patience is no longer a virtue. Indoctrination is over," Schwartz recalled telling the team. "There are new schemes. There's new philosophies. There's new coaches. There's whole new dynamics. A significant number of players on the team are new.

"We need to get past it now and we need to start seeing results on the field."

Schwartz, though, was quick to say that it will be months before a starter is named at any position, including quarterback. That's just how Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 pick overall in the draft, and former Pro Bowl QB Daunte Culpepper like it.

"The more competition you have, the better players are going to be," Stafford said.

Culpepper said his goal is to be the division-winning QB in Detroit.

The Lions seemed to give themselves a chance to be much more competitive in the NFC North, making major changes after last year's debacle. A day after Detroit's winless season, coach Rod Marinelli was fired and executives Tom Lewand and Martin Mayhew were promoted as the leaders of the front office.

The Lions reshaped the team by adding veterans such as linebackers Larry Foote and Julian Peterson, receivers Bryant Johnson and Ronald Curry, offensive tackle Jon Jansen and defensive tackle Grady Jackson. Detroit drafted Stafford with the No. 1 pick, tight end Brandon Pettigrew 20th overall and safety Louis Delmas in the second round.

Culpepper said the many moves makes it easier to move forward.

"The main thing is that everybody has to understand that last year is over and it's all about the now," Culpepper said. "It's all about 2009."

The Lions have even changed the locker room by switching assigned stalls for the players. Offensive tackle Jeff Backus was moved from the spot he's had for years to the opposite side of the locker room and receiver Calvin Johnson now gets dressed in a new area.

That has only aided the quest to forget about the 0-16 season.

"It's definitely a different mindset because we have a bunch of new players, who have brought a new energy," Johnson said. "I'm looking forward to playing with these guys."

Running back Kevin Smith, one of the holdovers, said the players are approaching the upcoming season as a new start.

"This is the 2009 Lions, not the '08 Lions or the Lions that won it in '57," Smith said.

The Lions have put together a hungry bunch of players. Jansen, for example, joined the franchise soon after the Washington Redskins cut him.

"There are a lot of guys who want to prove a point," he said. "I want to prove that I'm not done. A lot of guys want to prove that last year wasn't them."

-- Larry Lage

Pack's Jennings next in line for new contract? 

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay Packers generally take care of their own, and wide receiver Greg Jennings might be the next player to receive a long-term contract extension from the team.

Speaking to reporters after the Packers' Tuesday minicamp practice, Jennings sought to downplay his comment to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper that he and the team were "pretty close" to a deal. Still, Jennings acknowledged that an agreement might be on the way.

"It could be," Jennings said. "And it could not be."

For all the grief Packers general manager Ted Thompson has received from fans for not being more active in free agency, he has consistently worked to sign his players to long-term deals before they hit the open market.

And his next target could be Jennings, a relatively unknown second-round pick out of Western Michigan in 2006 who has blossomed into one of the NFL's most dangerous receivers. Jennings' current contract runs through the end of this season and is scheduled to pay him $535,000.

Jennings hasn't skipped the voluntary portion of the Packers' offseason program in an attempt to force the team's hand - a fairly common negotiating strategy in the NFL.

"I've got one year on my contract left," Jennings said. "Until next year, until that year's up, then I'm in a contract situation. But other than that, I'm going to play ball. Regardless of if we get a deal done or not, this is me being honest, I'm going to play ball. I'm not the holdout type of a guy."

On the field, Jennings said business issues don't bother him.

"I'm just trying to practice and perform at a high level, regardless of whether a deal is done or not," Jennings said. "Honestly, that's me."

Jennings said he envisioned himself taking a leadership role on the team early in his career, despite coming in unheralded.

"I'm not trying to be 'the' leader," Jennings said. "I feel like the quarterback is the leader, but there are other guys that play leadership roles. I want to be looked upon as a leader - and a positive one at that."

Jennings' decision to participate in the offseason program while his agent and the team work on a new contract has won him points with coaches and teammates.

"He's been professional about it, I think," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. "The team has shown that they're going to take care of the guys for the most part. He's a guy who has been here a lot. His wife had their second child, so he's been doing some of the family stuff as well, being a father. But for the most part, he's had good attendance here this offseason."

Jennings' approach stands in contrast to safety Nick Collins, who skipped most of the team's voluntary offseason practices. Collins showed up for the mandatory minicamp Monday and made it clear to reporters that he wouldn't rule out a training camp holdout.

"I've talked to a few guys, Nick in particular," Jennings said. "But you know, every situation is a little different. Everyone goes about it a little differently. Some people give different advice than others."

Collins' deal also is up at the end of this season, along with several other key players: pass rusher Aaron Kampman, defensive lineman Ryan Pickett and offensive linemen Chad Clifton, Daryn Colledge, Jason Spitz and Tony Moll.

For now, Jennings says he's remaining patient.

"It's not hard to be patient," Jennings said. "I've waited this long. There's no sense in me rushing things now. Good things come to those who wait."

Notes: Defensive lineman Johnny Jolly left Tuesday morning's practice, and returned wearing an ice pack on his right thigh. ... Cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Will Blackmon were present Tuesday after being excused from Monday's practice. ... Safety Anthony Smith sat out Tuesday morning's practice. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday that Smith had a groin injury.

-- Chris Jenkins

Steelers' OT Starks signs 4-year contract

PITTSBURGH - Offensive tackle Max Starks has signed a four-year contract that keeps him with the Pittsburgh Steelers through the 2012 season and frees up several million dollars in salary cap room for the team.

Starks, the starting left tackle, was designated as the Steelers' franchise player on Feb. 20 - less than three weeks after they won the Super Bowl - and he initially accepted a 2009 salary of $8.45 million.

Instead, the new contract is expected to pay him a signing bonus of slightly more than that amount but reduce his annual salary, creating additional salary cap room for a team that was up against the cap most of last season. The signing bonus, for cap purposes, is spread out over the length of the contract.

By agreeing to the four-year contract, Starks no longer carries the franchise player tag.

Starks, 27, gains long-term stability with the new deal and avoids having to negotiate with the Steelers on a yearly basis. Last year, Starks was tagged as the Steelers' transition player and was paid $6.9 million, a large sum for a player who began the season as a backup but became a starter again after Marvel Smith missed most of the season with a back problem.

"We were very fortunate to have him," Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said. "A transition on a backup probably didn't make a lot of sense, but we didn't feel like we would have been as good a team without him. We wanted to do a long-term deal (in 2008) but we couldn't get it done."

The 6-foot-8, 345-pound Starks, the starting right tackle when the Steelers won the Super Bowl during the 2005 season, was a third-round pick out of Florida in 2004. He made 30 consecutive starts at right tackle from 2005-06 and has started 15 regular season games at left tackle the past two seasons. He started the Steelers' final 11 regular season games and their three playoff games last season.

Now that Smith and former starting guard Kendall Simmons are no longer with the team, Starks has the longest tenure of any of the Steelers' offensive linemen. Simmons was released in February after sustaining a season-ending Achilles' injury four games into the season. Smith signed with the 49ers.

-- Alan Robinson

Chiefs to retire number of Derrick Thomas

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Chiefs will retire the number of the late Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas during a ceremony Dec. 6.

Thomas' family will also be presented his Pro Football Hall of Fame ring at halftime of the Chiefs' game against Denver at Arrowhead Stadium.

It's fitting that the ceremony will take place as Kansas City faces an AFC West rival whose Hall of Fame quarterback Thomas frequently bedeviled. Thomas sacked Broncos passer John Elway 14 times at Arrowhead.

Thomas wore No. 58 during his 11 seasons with the Chiefs. He died in February 2000 of injuries from a car accident. He'll be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.

Cornerback Fernando Bryant to retire

PITTSBURGH - Fernando Bryant, a cornerback and former first-round draft pick who played 10 NFL seasons with the Jaguars, Lions and Steelers, is retiring.

Bryant started 109 of the 112 NFL games he played, making seven interceptions and recovering nine fumbles.

Bryant, from Alabama, was the No. 26 overall pick by Jacksonville in 1999 and played five seasons with the Jaguars before signing with the Lions as a free agent in 2004.

The 32-year-old Bryant was cut by the Patriots in training camp last year but signed with Pittsburgh on Nov. 11, playing in two regular season games. He was not activated for any of the Super Bowl champion Steelers' playoff games.

Bryant signed a one-year contract with the Steelers in March after starting cornerback Bryant McFadden left to play for Arizona.

Bucs sign 2 more draft picks

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have reached contract agreements with two more draft picks, signing fourth-round selection Kyle Moore and seventh-rounder E.J. Biggers to four-year deals.

Moore is being counted on to add depth at defensive end after leading Southern California with five sacks last season. Biggers is a cornerback who had seven interceptions for Western Michigan.

The deals Tuesday leave the Bucs with two unsigned draft picks - first-rounder Josh Freeman and third-rounder Roy Miller.

Chiefs, K Succop agree to terms

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City Chiefs have signed kicker Ryan Succop, one of the team's three seventh-round draft picks.

Succop, taken with the 256th overall pick in last month's NFL draft, played 50 games in four seasons at South Carolina, hitting 71 percent of his field goals with a long of 55 yards. He hit 66 percent his senior season and converted all 30 of his PATs.

The 6-foot-2 Succop worked out with the Chiefs during offseason practices and is expected to compete with second-year kicker Connor Barth for the starting job.

Succop is the first of Kansas City's eight 2009 draft picks to sign. Terms of Tuesday's deal were not disclosed.