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HOT TOPIC
The many Bills who ride motorcycles for pleasure expressed concern for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was seriously injured when his bike collided with a car near an intersection in downtown Pittsburgh.
They also expressed dismay over why the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl wasn't wearing a helmet, something Roethlisberger said he would now do, if and when he climbs back aboard a two-wheel machine. Pennsylvania repealed its mandatory helmet law for adults in 2003.
"It happens. The sad part is that he didn't have a helmet on," linebacker Takeo Spikes said.
Spikes owns a bike similar to Roethlisberger's mangled Suzuki Hayabusa, a street-legal machine that's among the fastest on the market.
"You should wear one. Rule or not, it's safety first," Spikes said. "I could care less about a team, it's about my life and my family."
Free safety Troy Vincent, who like Roethlisberger is a resident of Pennsylvania and doesn't have to wear a helmet by law when he rides his motorcycles, said he'd never hit the streets unprotected.
"It's unfortunate," said Vincent, president of the NFL players union. "He (Roethlisberger) had been warned many times by family members, teammates, coaches, and it happened. I know we emphasize it to the player reps, 'Tell the guys to make wise decisions.' You don't want to tell a guy what he can and can't do. All you can say is, 'Take advantage of this window of (earning) opportunity and be smart.' We can all get hurt driving a car, but those other things -- riding a motorcycle, hang gliding, skiing -- just take some precautionary measures to at least be safer."
Unlike the NHL, NBA and Major League Baseball, where contracts are guaranteed and clubs protect their investments by including a long list of off-field activities that are banned for players, the NFL's standard contract is a lot less specific.
It prohibits activities that "may involve significant risk of personal injury." But since these contracts are not guaranteed beyond the signing bonus, the clause seems to have little weight, leaving teams to count on players to use common sense.
That doesn't always prevail.
Since 1997, at least nine NFL players have been involved in motorcycle accidents. Three had to sit out the season recovering from their injuries -- Cleveland tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr., in 2005, New York Jets cornerback Jamie Henderson in 2004, and Green Bay defensive lineman Jermaine Smith in 1998.
Vincent said the issue of forfeiting signing bonus money if a player is injured in a thrill-seeking off-field activity wasn't addressed in the last round of labor talks. It mostly centered on teams recouping money if a player, like Terrell Owens, is suspended. But Roethlisberger's accident could force the NFL's standard contract to contain language covering such issues. Certainly, teams can write it into a contract for an individual player and the union has no problem with that, Vincent said.
"It could, from club to club," Vincent said. "It's a quarterback now. Other instances it happened, and it's 'OK, be careful.' But here's a young QB. Now maybe all the new QB contracts may have something in them, and then it goes to wideouts, and running backs, you're high-priced guys."
According to a Scripps Howard News Service study, motorcycle deaths in the United States have nearly doubled in a decade, to 4,000 annually, because more states have allowed riders to go without helmets.
Vincent, 35, a father of three, hasn't ridden in several years because his wife grew too worried about his safety.
"It wasn't because of football I chose to get off the bike, it was because of my wife and children," he said. "It was like, 'Every time you get on that thing honey, I'm feeling a bit (scared) and it's not so much you, it's the other people around you on the road.' Because of the way my wife felt, she -- I call my bike a she -- she collects a lot of dust now."
PLAYER NOTES
--LG Bennie Anderson, cut by the Bills after one season, quickly signed with the rival Miami Dolphins where he'll be reunited with former Bills head coach Mike Mularkey, now Miami's offensive coordinator. It's a peculiar move. Buffalo's offense was horrible last season, finishing 28th in yards and 30th in the red zone where Mularkey showed little confidence in his line by often electing to pass the ball inside the opponent's 20-yard line rather than grind things out. Anderson, plagued by penalty problems, was one of Buffalo's most inconsistent performers.
--FS Troy Vincent on coach Dick Jauron: "In my 14 years, I'm seeing and hearing things that you're not accustomed to hearing. Usually it's two-a-day practices and all of that stuff. This coach is allowing players to be men. That's not this era. But you've got a guy who has seen it and done it the other way, and now is really fine with doing it his way. I'm sure as a coach, he's motivated and if he's going to do down, he's going to go down doing it his way."
--Bills' top draft picks Donte Whitner and Ashton Youboty were eager participants in the club's mandatory camp. The two rookies took part in one OTA after the draft but by NFL and NCAA rules couldn't participate in any other activities with the Bills until their college exams were finished. "I was just waiting patiently," Whitner said. "I felt I knew everything and knew what I could do. Hopefully I'll just have to refine some things to be ready to play."
--Defensive line coach Bill Kollar is recuperating after back surgery but he's expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
As expected, the Bills did not name a starting quarterback heading into training camp at the conclusion of their off-season workouts.
When they reconvene at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, N.Y., on July 28, J.P. Losman, Kelly Holcomb and Craig Nall will ratchet up their battle for the starting job.
Coach Dick Jauron said spring drills provided him the chance to formulate an opinion on each, but not enough to name one a starter. He needs to see how each quarterback performs under fire through at least a couple of preseason games.
"We're going to wait and see how it plays out," Jauron said. "We like the competition. We think competition is healthy, and they're still competing. I think they've all done pretty well at times, and at times they've looked bad, which quarterbacks will tend to do. We've got time in front of us and we're going to use it, and we're going to use training camp to make any decision on those guys."
Jauron said he won't set a timetable on picking his starting QB but sooner would be nicer than later.
FRANCHISE PLAYER: CB Nate Clements (tendered at $7.226M; re-signed).
TRANSITION PLAYER: None.
UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
--QB Shane Matthews (not tendered June 1).
--OG Lawrence Smith (not tendered as ERFA).
RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: None.
EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS FREE AGENTS: None.
PLAYERS RE-SIGNED
--WR Sam Aiken: RFA; terms unknown, had been tendered at $721,600.
--CB Nate Clement: FFA; $7.226M/1 yr.
--DE Ryan Denney: UFA; 4 yrs, terms unknown.
--CB Jabari Greer: ERFA; $425,000/1 yr.
--LB Mario Haggan: RFA; terms unknown, had been tendered at $721,600.
--OT Greg Jerman: UFA; $1.27M/2 yrs, SB unknown.
--OT Jason Peters: ERFA; $425,000/1 yr.
--WR Josh Reed: UFA; $10M/4 yrs, $2M SB.
--LS Mike Schneck: UFA; terms unknown.
--WR Jonathan Smith: ERFA; $425,000/1 yr.
--LB Josh Stamer: Potential RFA; terms unknown.
--RB Shaud Williams: ERFA; $425,000/1 yr.
PLAYERS ACQUIRED
--S Matt Bowen: FA Redskins; $2M/2 yrs, $300,000 SB.
--WR Andre' Davis: UFA Patriots; $1.3M/1 yr, $500,000 SB.
--C Melvin Fowler: UFA Vikings; $7.2M/3 yrs, SB unknown.
--OT Aaron Gibson: FA; terms unknown.
--OT Matt Morgan: Not tendered as ERFA by Rams; terms unknown.
--QB Craig Nall: UFA Packers; $4.27M/3 yrs, $1.3M SB; 2006 cap: $1.033M.
--WR Peerless Price: FA; $10.3M/4 yrs, $1.8M SB/$500,000 RB '07-09; 2006 cap: $1.25M.
--G Tutan Reyes: UFA Panthers; terms unknown.
--TE Robert Royal: UFA Redskins; $10M/5 yrs, $2.5M SB.
--RB Anthony Thomas: UFA Saints; terms unknown.
--CB Kiwaukee Thomas: UFA Dolphins; terms unknown.
--DT Larry Tripplett: UFA Colts; $18M/5 yrs, $5.5M SB.
--LB Courtney Watson: Trade Saints.
PLAYERS LOST
--DT Sam Adams (released).
--OG Bennie Anderson (released).
--DT Justin Bannan: UFA Ravens; $8M/4 yrs, $3M SB.
--TE Mark Campbell (released).
--DT Ron Edwards: UFA Chiefs; 1 yr, terms unknown.
--S Tim Euhus: Traded Saints.
--S Lawyer Milloy (released).
--WR Eric Moulds: Traded Texans.
--C Trey Teague: UFA Jets; 2 yrs, terms unknown.
--OT Mike Williams (released).
MEDICAL WATCH: No updates.
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