Dallas Cowboys Make A Good Move While The Bears A Bad One

Seven-time Pro Bowl inside linebacker Zach Thomas has reached a contract agreement in principle with the Dallas Cowboys, team and league sources told ESPN.com on Saturday morning.

Saturday night, Thomas' agent, Drew Rosenhaus confirmed the deal.

"It is going to be signed in the next couple of days," Rosenhaus was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.

The deal includes a $1 million base salary, a $1 million signing bonus and a $1 million incentive-based bonus based on playing time that Rosenhaus said should be easily attained.

Thomas, 34, who was released by the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago, following a 2007 season in which he was limited to just five appearances, chose the deal from the Cowboys over contract proposals from the New England Patriots and the New Orleans Saints.

A 12-year veteran, and one of only three players in modern NFL history to register 100-plus tackles in each of his first 10 seasons in the league, Thomas was released by the new Miami football regime on Feb. 14 after a celebrated stint with the Dolphins.

Meanwhile, for reasons I have no idea what they were thinking.....

Rex Grossman has signed a one-year deal to remain as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.

Grossman

Grossman wanted to stay with the Bears, and Bears general manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith wanted to give him one more chance to stay as their starting quarterback. On Saturday, each side worked out a deal in order for the relationship to continue.

"It's still a great opportunity for him [in Chicago]," his agent, Eugene Parker, told ESPN.com.

Under terms of the deal, Grossman will have a $3 million base salary. He can make close to $2 million in incentives as long as he's the starting quarterback.

Several players on the Bears offense were pushing for Grossman to return as quarterback.

His best season was in 2006 when he started 16 games, passed for 3,193 yards, threw 23 touchdown passes and helped to take the Bears to the Super Bowl. He struggled in 2007 and started only seven games.

During the second half of last season, Smith used Brian Griese and Kyle Orton as starters. Grossman's signing, though, should resolve the Bears quarterback situation.

A first-round choice in the 2003 draft, Grossman has appeared in 32 games, with 30 starts, during his tenure with the Bears. The former Florida star has completed 489 of 900 passes for 5,907 yards, with 31 touchdown passes, 33 interceptions and an efficiency rating of 70.9. Ouch.

Maybe the Bears were thinking about how they could find ways to lose more games than they could win and how they could drive all their fans crazy as they watch Grossman throw interception after interception with an occasional touchdown to make fans believe as if he was the real deal.

Zach Thomas To Join The New England Patriots?

In a previous article I wrote called Bill Parcells Went Too Far In Releasing Zach Thomas,
I said "Watch the New England Patriots gobble this guy up. They don't care about age, they just care about being the best. After all, they did pick up Junior Seau at one point last season."

Well, sure enough, I was right. Always looking to turn another team's castoffs into their stars, those sneaky New England Patriots offered newly released and longtime Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas a contract Monday, according to a published report.

Why did they offer Zach Thomas a contract? Because he is one of the best and of course only the best play on the Patriots, regardless of age. Of course, we all know where the best gets you.....

Thomas made New England the first destination on his offseason tour of free agency stops.

"We had a great visit in New England," Thomas' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told The Miami Herald in a text message Monday evening. "They offered him a contract and we will continue negotiations."

Next up for Thomas is a stop in New Orleans to visit with the Saints. On Wednesday, Thomas is expected to meet with the Cowboys.

Thomas, 34, was released by the Dolphins on Feb. 14 after playing in only five games in 2007. He missed most of last season because of concussions and migraines and was placed on injured reserve against his wishes in December because of nagging migraines, an after-effect of an Oct. 21 car crash.

Thomas' age doesn't appear to be an issue for the Patriots. Current New England linebacker Junior Seau is 39 while Tedy Bruschi is three months older than Thomas. Both Seau and Bruschi are free agents.

Thomas, a seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker and one of the most popular and productive players ever to wear a Dolphins uniform, was the 154th player chosen in the 1996 draft out of Texas Tech.

Thomas led the Dolphins in tackles 10 times during his 12-year stay in South Florida and is the franchise's all-time leader in that category by a wide margin. His 168 games is the most by any Miami defensive player.

Thomas was remarkably durable in his first 11 seasons, missing only 13 games, and recorded a career-best 165 tackles in 2006 -- an indication he wasn't exactly slowing down.

Bill Parcells Went Too Far In Releasing Zach Thomas

In Bill Parcells' tyrannical rage to revamp the Miami Dolphins, Zach Thomas, who has more tackles than any linebacker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was released by the Miami Dolphins on Thursday afternoon.

A fifth-round pick in 1996, Thomas has spent 11 seasons with the Dolphins, recording more than 1,500 tackles. "Zach Thomas has been a great player on this team for many years," Ireland said. "And because of the type of player and the kind of person that Zach is, this was not an easy decision." But Thomas' age and salary worked against him as the Dolphins begin a major rebuilding process with Parcells running the front office and Tony Sparano taking over as coach. Thomas will turn 35 in September and was scheduled to make $5.65 million in base salary in 2008.

"In addition to his numerous accomplishments on the field, he was a leader off of it as well," Ireland said. "We want to thank Zach for everything he has done for the Dolphins organization and the South Florida community."

I'm sorry, but I thought releasing Trent Green was a terrible idea. Granted, he isn't a spectacular quarterback as he used to be, but he's the best they have with the most experience. I mean, c'mon, do you really want a guy like Cleo Lemon leading your team?

As bad as releasing Trent Green was to me, releasing Zach Thomas was even worse. The idea is to create the BEST team possible right? So why release Zach Thomas, who has MORE TACKLES THAN ANY LINEBACKER IN THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME? Wouldn't that qualify as THE BEST, which is how you would want your team to ultimately turn out to be. This makes no sense.

Thomas has been selected to seven Pro Bowls and is one of only three players to record 100 tackles in each of his first 10 seasons.

Watch the New England Patriots gobble this guy up. They don't care about age, they just care about being the best. After all, they did pick up Junior Seau at one point last season.