Weekend Cup O’Chiefs 2/28-3/1

As of the end of business Friday evening, the Chiefs had still not confirmed the acquisition of New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel.

The deal was acknowledged by Vrabel to the Boston Globe via text message late Friday afternoon. So, the fact that the deal has not been officially announced could mean nothing – just the Chiefs in their current information lockdown mode – or it could mean that something turned up in the physical exam that Vrabel took when he arrived in Kansas City on Friday.

As a soon to be 34-year old linebacker, who will play season No. 13 in 2009, Vrabel is not going to be a completely healthy specimen. There were rumors in Boston during the last part of the ’08 season that Vrabel was nursing a sore shoulder. He denied there were any problems at the time.  But the Boston Herald reported Friday night that “a source close to him revealed Vrabel may now need surgery to repair the problem.”

As long as he passes the club’s physical, why would Scott Pioli want a 34-year old linebacker and all his mileage? The obvious answer is he wants Vrabel to come in and establish the Patriots Way in the Chiefs locker room. This becomes even more obvious after Brian Waters very public unhappiness with the new leadership duo of Pioli and Todd Haley.

There’s no question Vrabel was one of the leaders of the Patriots and one of Bill Belichick’s favorite players.

“We’ve lost perhaps our best all-around football player. Defense, offense, special teams, Vrabes did it all,” linebacker Tedy Bruschi wrote to the Herald in an e-mail. “His intelligence and on-field adjustments cannot be replaced. This team has just changed immensely.”

Pioli/Haley want somebody who is going to establish the new way of doing things at Arrowhead. That’s going to be one of Vrabel’s jobs. He’s been known throughout his college and pro career as a guy who isn’t afraid to get into a teammate’s face if he feels there might be some slacking off or less than maximum effort.

“Mike’s a football player, I don’t know any other way to describe him,” Pioli told the Globe a few years ago. “Bill and I aren’t great numbers guys. We don’t get hung up on height-weight-speed. We want football players, because come Sunday at one o’clock, football players play football. What they did in the 40-yard dash one day in shorts, or in the vertical jump is not what the fans pay to see and not what we’re asking them to do.”

It’s never been just Vrabel’s play, but his demeanor and approach to the game that made him a favorite of Pioli and Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

“Mike is a pretty outspoken guy,” said linebacker Tully Banta-Cain, who broke in with the Patriots as a rookie, left in free agency for San Francisco and has just returned to New England. He told the Globe: You make a mistake, and he lets you know right away. And I think that was good for me, because I kind of keep things in. Now, I’m a little more vocal with the guys too.”

Vrabel was vocal in college as well. David Kennedy was the strength coach at Ohio State during Vrabel’s time there and talked about how Vrabel made sure players were in Columbus during the summer, training together. “He was my first real enforcer,” Kennedy said. “He held everybody accountable, every single player.”

His former teammate and roommate Luke Fickell said of Vrabel: “some of the things he did, he said things that some people thought shouldn’t be said. They helped the team, but they weren’t the kind of things that get you elected captain.”

As long as the doctors say he’s still put together well enough physical to continue his career, Vrabel will be leading the locker room charge.

THE BIG $WINNERS$ ON DAY ONE OF FREE AGENCY AND THE NEW NFL YEAR

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder cracked the checkbook open again and led the league charge into free agency in the first 24 hours of the signing period.

Snyder and the Skins grabbed the No. 1 trophy of this free agent season, in defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. He’s seven year, $100 million contract is the biggest defensive deal in the history of the game, surpassing the contract Jared Allen got last year when the Chiefs traded him to Minnesota. Haynesworth’s deal has $41 million in guaranteed money.

The Redskins also kept cornerback DeAngelo Hall with a six-year deal for $56 million that included $23 million in guaranteed money.

So the team that laid off quite a few employees several weeks ago, spent $156 million in less than 12 hours that included $64 million in guaranteed money on two players.

Two linebackers also scored big on Day One, as Bart Scott moved from Baltimore to the New York Jets on a six-year deal for $48 million, including $22 million in guaranteed dollars. Also Jonathan Vilma stayed in New Orleans, re-signing with the Saints on a five-year contract for $34 million with $17 million locked up.

The other big deal of the first day was center Jason Brown, who left Baltimore for St. Louis and a five-year, $37.5 million deal, with $20 million in guarantees.

TRADE ACTIVITY IS FAST AND FURIOUS ON DAY ONE

Generally the NFL is not a league that sees a lot of trades, but the first day of the 2009 NFL year saw quite a few deals, including the one that sent Vrabel from the Patriots to the Chiefs that has not been announced yet.

Quarterback Sage Rosenfels went from Houston to Minnesota for a fourth-round draft choice. Once the deal was done, the Vikings kicked loose veteran quarterback Gus Frerotte.

Tampa Bay picked up tight end Kellen Winslow (right) from Cleveland for undisclosed picks, which reportedly includes a second-round choice this year and another selection in the 2010 NFL Draft.

One more big trade on the day was waiting to be finalized between the Jets and Philadelphia, as the Eagles were sending cornerback Lito Sheppard up the Jersey Turnpike in return for a fifth-round pick in ’09 and a conditional choice in the ’10 Draft.

OTHER SIGNINGS AND MOVES OF NOTE

BEARS – signed tackle Frank Omiyale (Carolina).

BENGALS – re-signed safety Chris Crocker to a four-year, $10 million deal with $3.5 million guaranteed.

BILLS – signed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (Cincinnati).

BRONCOS – agreed to contracts with RBs Correll Buckhalter (Philadelphia) and J.J. Arrington (Arizona). Signed long snapper Lonnie Paxton (New England). Signed wide receiver Jabar Gaffney (New England) and safety Reynaldo Hill (Miami). Late Friday night, they signed S Brian Dawkins (Philadelphia).

49ERS – re-signed LB Takeo Spikes. Signed FB Moran Norris.

JAGUARS – signed S Sean Considine (Philadelphia).

JETS – re-signed G Brandon Moore.

LIONS – signed RB Maurice Morris (Seattle) to a three-year, $7 million deal.

RAVENS – signed CB Domonique Foxworth (Atlanta).

REDSKINS – To create salary cap room, Washington released CB Shawn Springs. They also signed G Derrick Dockery, recently released by Buffalo, to a five-year, $26 million contract, with $8.2 million in guaranteed dollars.

STEELERS – re-signed G Chris Kemoeatu to a five-year, $20 million deal.

TITANS – re-signed QB Kerry Collins to a two-year, $15 million contract with guaranteed money of $8.5 million. Re-signed DB Vincent Fuller

VIKINGS – re-signed TE Jim Kleinsasser.

WINNERS/LOSERS AFTER DAY ONE … YOU DECIDE

WASHINGTON added Haynesworth, kept Hall and re-added Dockery. On paper, the moves certainly helped the defense, while providing little extra help to QB Jason Campbell and the offense. The Redskins say they are out of money now. We’ll see.

DENVER used a lot of their available cap space by adding a receiver, two running backs and a safety. They are supposedly in the running to sign former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, who arrives in the Rockies on Saturday. Oh, and they also got a long snapper. Defense is the problem in Denver and they’ve added two veteran safeties in Hill and Dawkins. The Broncos were certainly the most active team in the AFC West.

NEW YORK JETS were very busy, just as they were last year when a flurry of free agent signings ended up out of the playoffs. LB Bart Scott was a big pickup and will help the defense, as will CB Lito Sheppard when deal is finalized with the Eagles. Re-signing guard Brandon Moore and FB Tony Richardson will be helpful to the offense.

BALTIMORE goes down as the big loser after Day One, with Scott leaving the defense and C-G Jason Brown going to St. Louis. They must now re-sign LB Ray Lewis, who isn’t very happy with the team right now.

SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …

February 28

Deep snapper Jean-Philippe Darche was born on February 28, 1975 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Darche has played nine seasons in the league, including the last two years (2007-08) and 23 games with the Chiefs. He finished up last season on the injured-reserve list after suffering a knee injury.

On February 28, 1949, OT Jim Nicholson was born in Honolulu. He played six seasons in the league and with the Chiefs (1974-79) over 72 games, with 62 starting assignments.

March 1

Born on March 1, 1946 in Trenton, New Jersey was Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Elvin Bethea. He played 16 seasons with the Houston Oilers (1968-83), appearing in 210 regular season games. Team totals had him at 105 career sacks including 16 during the 1973 season. Bethea played in eight Pro Bowls. He joined the Hall as part of the class of 2003.