Buyer beware: Sapp warns teams about free-agent safety Huff

Michael Huff will become an unrestricted free agent once the NFL lockout is lifted, but former Oakland Raiders teammate Warren Sapp believes interested teams should think long and hard before signing the safety.

Sapp, now an NFL Network analyst, didn't hold back Tuesday when asked on a Dallas radio show if the Cowboys should court Huff, who played high football in the area and at the University of Texas.

"Michael Huff leaves something to be desired," Sapp said on KESN-FM's "Ben and Skin Show," via The Dallas Morning News. "I watched Huff for two years not pick a pass off in practice. I seen him make a couple plays lately. I'd really be interested to see his tape and watch his last couple of years because his first two make you want to throw up watching him practice.”

Huff was the seventh overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, but Sapp painted the picture of an entitled young player who didn't exert the proper effort to reach his full potential.

"I went so far with Michael Huff, and you can ask him this, that my last day in Oakland, I waited in the parking lot for Michael Huff," said Sapp, who played for the Raiders from 2004 to 2007. "I waited in the parking lot because I wanted to talk to the young man because he made me want to throw up watching him practice. I mean, the scout team would complete ball, after ball, after ball. I'm like, 'You're not going to make one play? I mean, you're not even going to put your hand on it and knock it down?' "

Despite his perceived shortcomings, Huff was named to The Associated Press' All-Pro second team last season. He finished with a career-high 94 tackles, two forced fumbles, seven passes defensed and three interceptions. The 28-year-old has never missed a game in his NFL career.

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Free-agent Benson sends message at Bengals' workout

CINCINNATI -- By carrying the ball in the rain with his former Bengals teammates, running back Cedric Benson sent the front office another reminder that he wants to be the centerpiece of Cincinnati's new offense.

The free agent joined his former teammates for a voluntary workout Wednesday at the University of Cincinnati, acting much more like someone who's ready to lead rather than leave. Benson has topped the team in rushing each of the last three seasons, but didn't receive a contract extension.

During the NFL's lockout, free agents can't negotiate or sign with teams. The 28-year-old running back from Texas not only wants to stay, but he's ready to become one of the leaders in an offense undergoing dramatic change.

"I've been very passive the past three years, maybe just because I had to," said Benson, who revived his career in Cincinnati after tough times in Chicago. "I'm not saying I'm a totally different person or that I'd be crazy vocal or nothing like that, but I'd be a little more expressive on work ethic and passion for the game just because that's how I am."

The Bengals plummeted to 4-12 last season, when reality-show hosts Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco became the faces of an offense that had a lot of self-promotion but not nearly enough production. The defending AFC North champions put the focus on their look-at-me receivers and ended up in last place.

The T.Ocho show has been canceled, and quarterback Carson Palmer -- the face of the franchise since 2004 -- likely isn't coming back. While the NFL and its players try to resolve their labor dispute, Benson is trying to remind the front office that he's ready for a much bigger part in a new-look offense.

"Cedric wants to be more than the guy who gets the ball in the backfield," quarterback Jordan Palmer, Carson's younger brother, said after a morning workout in the rain. "He wants to be a leader. He wants to be the identity of the team and the franchise, and I'm all for that."

He attracted the attention of his former teammates by flying in from Texas to join them for several voluntary workouts.

"To have a guy like Cedric out here -- unsigned, showing his leadership by being here -- that's tremendous," offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said.

Benson was the focal point of the offense when the Bengals won the division in 2009 and then lost to the Jets in the first round of the playoffs. The Bengals decided to emphasize the passing game last season, a move that backfired. Benson thought it was a mistake to de-emphasize the running game.

"The Top 100: Players of 2011" countdown continues on NFL Network on Sunday, June 19 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a reaction show after players Nos. 21-30 are revealed.

Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski was fired after the season. Replacement Jay Gruden is bringing in a new scheme, one that's more West Coast-style. The Bengals drafted TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in the second round as Carson Palmer's eventual replacement.

With the quarterback position in flux, the Bengals need a dependable running back to carry the load.

"You have an offensive coordinator who's coming in and saying that we're having a running identity," Jordan Palmer said. "And you have an uncertain quarterback situation, which is going to mean more carries. That's a green light for him. I know he wants to be here. He's close with these guys.

"I think he's one of the best running backs in the league, and he's going to be primed to have the best year of his career. I want him here more than anybody."

Benson likes the changes so far.

"Change can be good," he said. "Considering the way things went a year ago, it's time for change. I think it's going to be a good look."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Smith confident in place with 49ers despite free-agent status

Alex Smith is leading throwing sessions in the San Francisco 49ers' players-only workouts -- a completely normal development if not for the business of the quarterback technically being a free agent.

It's just another unusual aspect of a very strange NFL offseason.

Smith will be an unrestricted free agent once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached, but new 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh's public and private comments about the quarterback have left the six-year veteran comfortable that he'll be in San Francisco next season.

"I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't for the relationship there, to be honest with you," Smith told the Bay Area News Group on Wednesday. "For the feeling I got from Harbaugh, the offensive coaching staff, from every time I've been in there, from before the lockout, from when the lockout ended that day and a half. ... But I have such a good feeling. I feel they've been up front about everything they've told me."

Harbaugh has been so vocal in his support of Smith that the NFL reportedly told the 49ers to stop talking about the quarterback or any free agents during the lockout.

"I laughed when the article came out that they told Harbaugh to stop talking about me," Smith said.

Smith said it felt good to read about Harbaugh's positive thoughts on him.

"You know, this is the first for me, to have an offensive head coach, especially someone who played the position and really knows what it's like to sit back in the pocket and all the different things that can impact your play," Smith said.

Smith told The Sacramento Bee that plans are in the works for a minicamp-style practice involving the 49ers' offensive players. Smith said the session would begin "shortly" and that the 49ers could have a number of them throughout the summer, depending on the status of the work stoppage.

"Becoming familiar with the terminology, the formations, the motions, the concepts -- things like that," Smith said when asked to describe the goal of the workouts. "So that whenever this (lockout) ends, you're not having to re-learn that."

Harbaugh might have great faith in Smith, but that doesn't mean the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick has a long future as San Francisco's signal-caller. The team drafted Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft in April.

Is it strange to have Smith's future replacement stand next to him during these workouts?

"No question," he said. "Oh, it's new. I guess I've slowly dealt with it, though. I don't think I've had a year without competition really in the last four years, though."

Smith spoke about the circle of life for an NFL quarterback, thinking back to when he was the hotshot from draft day.

"It did remind me a lot of when I came in, and Tim Rattay, to be honest with you," Smith said, referencing the quarterback whom he replaced in the 49ers' starting lineup. "... And I did think back about how good Tim was. How easy it would be to be bitter and to be an ass. Those guys did it the right way with me, and I'm going to do the same thing."

Kaepernick might be the future, but it appears that Smith remains the present in San Francisco. But he's not assuming he's the No. 1 guy just yet.

"I don't really view it like that," Smith said. "You're going to get into camp, and anywhere you go, the best guy's going to play. I mean, that's the way it's going to be. That's the way I view it. I know he (Harbaugh) said that, but for me, this is going to be wide open, and I'm going in with that mentality."

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