Cards sign Heap, trade Hightower to 'Skins for Holliday, pick

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The off-field frenzy has not let up for the Arizona Cardinals.

The team, revamping its roster in a bid to return to the top in the NFC West after a 5-11 season a year ago, started Sunday by signing two-time All-Pro tight end Todd Heap and wrapped up the afternoon by trading running back Tim Hightower to the Washington Redskins for 14-year NFL defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday and an undisclosed draft pick.

The team also re-signed free agent guard Deuce Lutui after he failed a physical with the Cincinnati Bengals for being overweight.

At sunset, the Cardinals welcomed first-round draft pick Patrick Peterson at a training camp news conference. The LSU cornerback, who reached a contract deal on Saturday, is set to practice on Monday.

It will be a homecoming for Heap, who grew up in Mesa, Ariz., and starred at Arizona State. Heap was released by the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday after 10 seasons with the Ravens.

The question will be how much Heap has left in him, but if the end of last season is any indication, the answer would be quite a bit.

Heap is the Ravens' career leader in receiving touchdowns and is second in receptions and receiving yards. Last season, Heap had 40 catches for 599 yards and five touchdowns. He caught a franchise postseason record 10 passes for 108 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Heap's 467 career receptions rank fifth among tight ends and his 41 touchdown catches are fourth among those to play the position.

"I'm just really excited about how he fits in and what we're going to be able to do with him," coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "You know a large part of this next couple of weeks is seeing what his strengths are in our offense, but when you just think about some of our receivers and combining Todd Heap with them and trying to create some mismatch, you get pretty excited about that."

The hard-running Hightower had played all three of his seasons with Arizona after making the team as a fifth-round pick out of Richmond.

"We had an opportunity arise. After a lot of consideration, we thought it was probably in the best interest of both -- the club and Tim -- that we go in that direction," Whisenhunt said.

The 6-foot-4, 338-pound Lutui signed a one-year deal with Arizona after his free agent contract with Cincinnati fell apart. Weight is not an uncommon problem for Lutui, who had to earn his job back after coming in out of a shape after an ill-advised holdout a year ago.

Since the Cardinals already had signed his potential replacement in free agent Floyd Womack, who played all 16 games for the Cleveland Browns last season, Whisenhunt made it clear there is not much room for error for Lutui.

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"We love Deuce. He's a good football player. He's a guy we tried to get obviously when the free agency period started but he comes back to us now in a position when he's got some things to prove," the coach said. "Sometimes it's meant to be. Deuce has got an opportunity to come here, but he's going to have to earn what he gets on the football field. When he does it right and his weight's not an issue, he's a good football player. Hopefully Deuce understands that now."

There was so much activity that Peterson's return failed to get the usual top billing that a first-round pick, a man some believe was the best player in the draft, usually would receive.

With the Cardinals willing to trade cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as part of the deal to bring in quarterback Kevin Kolb, there is even more pressure on Peterson to make an impact from the get-go.

Asked what he was looking forward to most, Peterson smiled and said, "making interceptions."

"Making plays and hopefully getting the offense back in good field position," he said, "getting Kolb and Larry Fitzgerald and those guys in good field position so we can put points on the board."

The personnel moves overshadowed the team's second practice, a ragged affair.

"We've got a long ways to go," Whisenhunt said. "A lot of the little things you're seeing -- guys lining up offsides, missing the count, being in the wrong place -- a lot of the things you see early in the offseason that you get your players more comfortable with, now you're going to have to fight through. But the energy is good, the enthusiasm's good. We'll see as we proceed what kind of players we've got."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Vikings, McNabb work out contract to seal trade with 'Skins

Donovan McNabb's arrival in Minnesota has been a rumored scenario for at least five years, ever since Brad Childress left the Philadelphia Eagles to take over the Vikings in 2006.

Childress is long gone now, but another former Eagles assistant -- new Vikings coach Leslie Frazier -- helped make those rumors a reality Wednesday, just in time for McNabb to help bridge the gap from Brett Favre to rookie Christian Ponder.

The Vikings acquired McNabb from the Redskins for a sixth-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional sixth-rounder in 2013, two people with knowledge of the transaction told The Associated Press.

In order to make the trade happen, McNabb had to agree to re-work the five-year, $78 million contract he signed with the Redskins because the Vikings didn't have enough salary-cap room for him with the way the deal is structured. NFL Network insider Michael Lombardi confirmed that a restructured deal was in place, but the terms weren't immediately available.

McNabb gives the Vikings a veteran quarterback while they groom Ponder, who was drafted 12th overall out of Florida State in April, to be the team's long-term answer at the position. The original preference for Frazier and the Vikings was to have Ponder start Week 1 in San Diego, with a capable veteran backup there just in case.

But that was before the NFL lockout prevented players from working out with coaches all summer and put Ponder behind schedule in his development. That made it more important for the Vikings to add an accomplished, experienced quarterback they believe can win games with a roster full of veterans while Ponder gets up to speed.

From the sounds of it, Ponder isn't conceding anything just yet.

"Excited to have McNabb join," Ponder wrote Wednesday morning on Twitter. "Will learn a lot from a Pro Bowler. But that doesn't mean I'm not still fighting to start week 1!"

The trade ends a tumultuous one-year run in Washington for McNabb. The 12-year veteran was benched twice last season and threw 14 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions in 13 games. He completed 58 percent of his passes for 3,377 yards, and his agent, Fletcher Smith, publicly sparred with coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

The NFL free agency cycle is in full effect, with teams and players agreeing to terms fast as training camps open. Get the latest on all the news right here.

Even before the deal was completed, some Redskins players already were treating McNabb's departure as a foregone conclusion. The writing has been on the wall for some time in Washington, and news of the discussions with the Vikings only served to validate that feeling.

"You see a guy that's been a Pro Bowler six times," Redskins linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. "He was going to come in and really help us win more games, but it didn't work out. Relationships broke down, and now he's not here, but you can't really focus on that. You've got to continue to move forward."

Childress coached McNabb in Philadelphia from 1999 to 2005 before leaving to become the coach in Minnesota. From the minute Childress arrived in the Twin Cities, it was assumed that McNabb would one day join him in purple.

But McNabb stayed put with the Eagles, and the Vikings coaxed Favre out of retirement -- twice. Favre led the Vikings to the NFC title game after the 2009 season, but he had a disastrous, injury- and scandal-plagued campaign in 2010 as Minnesota sunk to the bottom of the NFC North.

When Frazier took over as the full-time head coach in January, he said it was time for the team to end its penchant for bringing in retreads and past-their-prime veterans and develop a young quarterback from the start.

The Vikings surprised many when they drafted Ponder so early in the first round and immediately said he would compete for the starting job right away.

Ponder was billed as the most NFL-ready quarterback in the 2011 class, but not being able to work with new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and most of his teammates at various minicamps and organized team activities throughout the summer makes it a bigger challenge for him to be ready to start Sept. 11 in San Diego.

Ponder said last week during a workout at the University of Minnesota that he still was aiming to be the starter from Day 1.

"That's what I'm pushing for," he said. "That's what I'm hoping for. So we'll see what happens."

Bringing in McNabb does show veterans such as Adrian Peterson, Antoine Winfield, Jared Allen and Kevin Williams that the team is still in a "win now" mode, and it was unclear Wednesday night just how the pecking order at quarterback will play out.

"I would have loved to have him back here," Alexander said. "But things just didn't turn out the right way, and he'll go on and eventually be a Hall of Famer."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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'Skins, longtime Packer Jenkins reportedly eyeing each other

The Washington Redskins will have multiple roster holes to fill once the NFL lockout ends and free agency begins, but they already might have a willing partner to help overhaul their defensive line.

There is mutual interest between the Redskins and defensive end Cullen Jenkins, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation.

Jenkins, who will become an unrestricted free agent after the lockout is lifted, is coming off a strong seventh season with the Green Bay Packers. He compiled seven sacks in just 11 games, eight of them starts.

Washington certainly could use help along its defensive line as it moves past the Albert Haynesworth era. The Redskins were one of the NFL's worst defensive teams a season ago, finishing 31st overall in total yards allowed per game. They used the draft to begin the re-tooling process of the line, selecting Clemson defensive end Jarvis Jenkins in the second round and West Virginia nose tackle Chris Neild in the seventh.

Jenkins, the younger brother of three-time All-Pro nose tackle Kris Jenkins, will be 30 when the new season is scheduled to begin in September. He has spent his entire career with the Packers since they signed the undrafted player out of Central Michigan in 2003.

NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora also has mentioned in recent NFL.com chats that Jenkins would be a good fit for the Redskins.

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Skins DE Holliday: Haslett's Haynesworth remarks on the money

Vonnie Holliday thinks defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has a point about his teammate, Albert Haynesworth.

Speaking on the "LaVar Arrington Show with Chad Dukes," on Washington's 106.7 the Fan Monday, Holliday said Haslett's depiction of Haynesworth's behavior was on the money. But Holliday, a defensive end who started two games for the Redskins last season, also said the team's coaches could have done more to discourage Haynesworth's antics at meetings.

The Washington Redskins have been looking for more from defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth since they signed him to a $100 million contract in 2009. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)

In an interview with a St. Louis radio station last week, Haslett described Haynesworth as a lazy player who either has trouble listening to -- or just plain ignores -- his coaches .

"He can do almost anything he wants. He doesn’t want to do anything. To me that’s the issue," Haslett said. "He’s one of those guys you walk in a meeting and you tell him, ‘Put down the phone.’ The next day you have to tell him to put down the phone. The next day, you tell him to put down the phone.

"You tell him, 'Don’t read the newspaper in meetings.' The next day you have to tell him the same thing. It doesn’t stick; it’s an every-day thing."

Holliday said Haynesworth's behavior frustrated the Redskins' veterans.

"Short of getting into a fight with Big Al (Haynesworth), you can’t tell him what to do," Holliday said. "As frank as coach Haslett was on the radio station about what transpired throughout the course of last year with Albert I thought there was a missed opportunity there for coaches.

"Maybe this is something that was just instilled in me early in my career -- you just don’t take your phone to a meeting. If a phone rings in a meeting it is an issue. It is a problem. You are going to get cursed out, fussed out and fined. Any number of things are going to happen to you by your coach. I’m terrified.

"These younger guys it is not the same. It’s not looked at as the same. Unfortunately Albert ... some of the stuff that coach Haslett is talking about, having a phone in the meeting, it was just not addressed. Coming up, you’re telling a guy, 'Hey don’t bring your phone to a meeting. You can’t do that.' I mean, the way we get through to these guys is to fine them and that just never happened throughout the year."

Holliday said Haynesworth's ability to dominate on the field, which rarely has manifest itself in Washington since he set an NFL record with $41 million guaranteed as part of a seven-year, $100 contract in 2009, makes his actions even more frustrating.

"First of all, I’m not in it to be an Albert Haynesworth basher," Holliday said. "Yes, some of the on-the-field antics, some of the stuff in the meeting rooms have been disappointing ... (If ) You’ve been a dominating player that we all know that this guy could be. We have no issues.

Holliday said that was not the case with Haynesworth.

"I know that can be frustrating for a new defensive line coach coming in. A new defensive coordinator. Seeing what this guy is capable of doing and then it just not playing out on the field. It was certainly frustrating for me.

"To be honest, this is a guy that if he plays at the level that we know he can play at, will raise the level of play for everybody around him. It’s unfortunate that it has not played out. I don’t know what’s going to happen moving forward but after these comments made by coach (Haslett), you’ve got to think how this guy is going to go back into that locker room and listen to coach and do anything short of what happened last year."

Haynesworth fell out of favor with new coach Mike Shanahan in 2010 and repeatedly clashed over workout routines and playing time. The Redskins suspended Haynesworth for the final four games of the season for "conduct detrimental to the team."

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'Skins coaches say their views not reflected in NFLCA brief

The NFL Coaches Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, supporting the players' effort to have the lockout lifted.

The first official response from the league's coaching fraternity came Thursday.

The Washington Redskins' coaches released a joint statement to NFL.com and NFL Network, dotted with 17 signatures from staff members, throwing support behind the owners, not the players.

"We stand united with our ownership, and the brief does not reflect our thoughts on the matter," the letter reads. "We, like everyone else, are hopeful that we can return to playing football. We look forward to a new CBA, and welcoming back our players as soon as possible."

According to a team source, a large part of the problem the coaches had with the brief was that they weren't consulted with it first. Head coach Mike Shanahan didn't sign the letter because he's also vice president of football operations, which makes him management.

The NFLCA did reach out to Kirk Olivadotti, the Redskins' former representative, but Olivadotti left the team earlier in the offseason to coach at the University of Georgia. The NFLCA's brief didn't have names attached to it.

"It's not something you need names to do," NFLCA director Larry Kennan said. "We are, by definition, a friend of the court, and we're telling the court we're doing this because we'd like the lockout to end. It was never a requirement to put names on it."

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Banged-up 'Skins beat Titans in OT; injured Young storms out after confrontation

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Vince Young is hurt and in trouble with coach Jeff Fisher for his latest meltdown. Meanwhile, Donovan McNabb is back in good standing with Mike Shanahan and the Washington Redskins.

McNabb was 30 of 50 for 376 yards with a touchdown pass, and Graham Gano kicked a 48-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, with 8:17 left in overtime as the Redskins beat the Tennessee Titans 19-16 in overtime Sunday.

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The win kept the injury-riddled Redskins' playoff hopes alive as they rebounded from an ugly home loss.

Washington (5-5) snapped a two-game skid and bounced back from a 59-28 loss to Philadelphia on Monday night.

They did it by taking advantage of the Titans self-destructing so badly on their home field that fans booed repeatedly.

But after Gano's game-winning kick, all the attention turned to Young who tossed his shoulder pads and No. 10 jersey up into the stands. Young talked with Fisher, dressed quickly and walked past reporters and even brushed off a teammate who tried to talk to him before he stormed out of the stadium.

Fisher said Young may need season-ending surgery for a torn flexor tendon in his right thumb. After three straight losses, Fisher selected rookie Rusty Smith to be his starting quarterback when the Titans (5-5) visit Houston on Sunday.

"He threw half his uniform in the stands. I think clearly that is no way to respond, and so we have some things that we have to sort out with him," Fisher said of Young. "He may need surgery. And if that's the case, he's done for the year."

Even if Young doesn't need surgery, he's not Fisher's starter anymore. Not after the latest actions of a quarterback who lost his job in 2008 following an injury in the season opener and a meltdown where he had family worried he might hurt himself a day later. Young got his job back last season after an 0-6 start.

"I am very disappointed. I think his teammates are disappointed," Fisher said. "You know, there is going to be frustration in losses. There is going to be times when you have to dig deep and fight and turn to one another. I don't think you run, and so I am disappointed."

No one knows if Young was upset over the injury, the loss or not returning to the game. He banged his hand on a helmet late in the third quarter on a 37-yard pass to Nate Washington. He went to the locker room, and trainers tried retaping his thumb several times and he even used a glove. He tossed the ball with Randy Moss, testing whether he could return.

One pass nearly hit the kicking net behind the bench.

Fisher said Young never came to him and told him he wanted to go back in.

"I was told he was obviously a little upset after," Fisher said.

Titans safety Michael Griffin, who played with Young in college at Texas, ran after the quarterback while wearing just his shorts with his ankles still taped. He returned to the locker room shaking his head. He refused to comment at first on Young.

"What's going on right now, that's between him and Coach Fisher. I'm behind him 110 percent. You know change has been made. That's up in the air. You never know what would've been the outcome. Rusty came in, threw a great deep ball," Griffin said.

"It doesn't matter who's playing. We all need to stick around and work together as a team."

Washington's win came on a day when at least seven Redskins went to the sideline with injuries, including Clinton Portis with a re-injured groin. The Redskins came in with three starters sidelined due to injuries, and Portis lasted only five carries before re-injuring his groin. At least seven Redskins were hurt, though some returned.

"I don't think I've ever had that many guys go down and a team stay together and keep on fighting and find a way to win," Shanahan said.

Washington wound up outgaining Tennessee 465-373. Shanahan joked he guessed they don't have to talk about McNabb's two-minute work anymore just two games after the veteran was benched at the end of a loss to Detroit.

"I think he did a great job at the half. Even though we missed (the field) goal, I think he did a heck of a job to get us into that position. He did a great job in both situations," Shanahan said.

Chris Johnson ran for 130 yards, and Young was 12 of 16 for 165 yards before he left. Fans weren't happy with the play-calling that seemed to ignore Randy Moss, the 13-year veteran making his debut on Tennessee's home field after the Titans picked him up off waivers on Nov. 3. Moss finished without a catch.

Fans booed the Titans often and heavily at times during the game. Young fumbled at the Tennessee 12 on the opening series, and the Titans settled for field goals on two other trips inside the Washington 20.

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But most of the boos seemed directed at the play-calling that targeted Moss only three times, not counting a pass interference where he pushed DeAngelo Hall to make a catch. Fans at one point chanted "Randy, Randy."

Young apparently thought the booing was directed at him late in the first half when the Titans went three-and-out after Will Witherspoon's interception. He waved his arms -- as if egging them on.

Notes: Marc Mariani had an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown, the Titans' second-longest in franchise history. ... Rob Bironas kicked three field goals and set a franchise record by making a field goal in his 20th straight game. ... The Redskins beat an AFC South team for the first time since Week 4 of 2006. They had lost four straight to the AFC South. ... This was the Redskins' third overtime game this season, and they have won two such games for the second time in team history and first since 2007.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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McNabb move shows Shanahan, 'Skins still learning each other

ASHBURN, Va. -- Just when the Washington Redskins were starting to get a decent feel for life under coach Mike Shanahan, along came his benching of Donovan McNabb, a move so baffling that even players admitted they couldn't figure it out.

"I thought McNabb was hurt," linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. "I would never expect in a million years that he would be taken out of a game, being who he is and what he's done and his resume. You just don't see that. You wouldn't see a Tom Brady coming off the field. It was surprising, shocking, but (Shanahan) had his reasons for doing it."

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Had Jim Zorn pulled such a move -- yanking a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback for unimpressive Rex Grossman in the final two minutes with the game on the line against a one-win Detroit Lions team -- Redskins owner Dan Snyder probably would have moved even more quickly to hire a consultant out of Bingo-calling retirement to oversee the head coach's work.

But Shanahan has more cachet, more power, more room for error than the coach who was fired after last year's 4-12 season. Two Super Bowl titles with the Denver Broncos gives Shanahan plenty of leeway in the rebuilding process, and it turns out he might need it. As the McNabb episode shows, the Redskins are still in the getting-to-know-you stage with the demanding coach who likes to control everything.

"We've only been with the guy for six, eight months," Alexander said, "so you've still got to learn his personality, what he likes, what he does, what's the method of his madness -- because we haven't seen the results quite yet from it. But once you start being successful with a guy like that, you understand what he's doing, you become more comfortable and you understand, 'OK, this is why he's doing this.'"

Added guard Artis Hicks: "There's going to be a feeling-out process. It's going to be pretty much for the length of the season, and we're still going through that."

Some of the more practical directives were understood from the start. Don't dare show up late for a meeting. Learn your playbook. Look sharp in practice. Any violation is met with the infamous Shanahan glare.

"There have been times at practice where I might have missed a guy, and I look back and he's just giving me that look," Hicks said. "He don't have to say much. That look says it all. You can look in his eyes, and that's all you need."

If some of Shanahan's words and deeds have raised eyebrows, that's to be expected. After all, he spent 14 years with the Broncos, an eternity in the coaching business and more than long enough for Shanahan to firmly establish his way of doing things for everyone inside the locker room and throughout the community at large. Bumps in the road were inevitable with a change of venue.

Shanahan started well in his first major test of wills, refusing to budge in a standoff against disgruntled defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth. Even the players had called Haynesworth selfish, so they more than understood when Shanahan made the two-time All-Pro pass a conditioning test and work his way up from second string.

Shanahan also put his players on notice that he's monitoring their words. He had a chat with Chris Cooley after the tight end mentioned on the radio something about Haynesworth working with the scout team in practice, a strategic no-no in the eyes of the coach. When the media reported something in a way Shanahan didn't like leading into the first game of the season, he didn't pull reporters aside for a constructive chat to sort out the problem -- he lectured them twice in three days, on the record with cameras rolling, about the need to preserve the team's "competitive advantage."

"I don't want to be called upstairs and talked to," fullback Mike Sellers said. "You've got to watch what you say. We joke about it. 'Now, watch what you say.' It's just one of those things. You've really got to tread lightly."

And it doesn't seem to matter if you're an undrafted rookie or the high-paid Haynesworth.

"You want to be on your Ps and Qs," Alexander said. "And you don't want to be a guy that's caught in his doghouse. He wants it a certain way, and if you don't give it to him, he'll find somebody else and he really doesn't care who you are. You can see that in meetings, how he talks to people. He's the same way from top to bottom. He expects a certain level of professionalism."

Despite the early hiccups, things were starting to hum along as the weeks passed. The Redskins have made it to 4-4 at the bye, equaling their number of wins from last season, despite major problems along the offensive line and at receiver, plus a defense that creates turnovers but gives up lots of yards. Players have credited Shanahan for creating an atmosphere of belief that they can win the close, ugly games they would often lose under Zorn.

But pulling McNabb? It's a head-scratcher that could divide the locker room, outrage the fans and alienate the quarterback for whom Shanahan gave up two draft picks. Shanahan then made things worse by giving inconsistent explanations for the benching. Shanahan's son, the offensive coordinator, gave a version that was flat-out contradicted by McNabb.

Perhaps it's just a matter of a coach being new in town and not yet fully understood. Shanahan, for what it's worth, believes he is on the right track, at least with his players.

"I think all the players have a good feel of what we want as an organization," Shanahan said. "What we're trying to do on the football field and off, the standard at which we practice and which we play at, and I like the direction we're going."

Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, who once turned around a losing franchise as coach of the New Orleans Saints, said it takes a while to shift a team culture.

"You don't just turn the football team around, you've got to turn the whole organization around," Haslett said. "Because there's a lot of people in that organization, including secretaries, administrative people, people in the building that are negative because you've been losing so many years. So you've either got to get rid of the people that are the negatives, and I'm talking about everybody, and you've got to start over and bring people in that want to build a winner -- or you've got to change people. The whole organization has to feel that they're part of winning.

"When I first went to New Orleans, you didn't want to be out in public because you knew you weren't very good. When we left, I felt they had a great feeling about themselves: 'Hey, this is a good football team.' They felt proud about being out in the community. That's in the process we're in right now."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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