SIDELINES : Redskins’ Manley Won’t Try to Sign With CFL, Agent Says

Dexter Manley’s attorney said today he told NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue his client was dropping attempts to get out of his Washington Redskins contract and sign with a Canadian team.

The defensive end was banned from playing in the NFL because he violated substance-abuse rules, but Manley hopes to be reinstated on Nov. 18--the first anniversary of his suspension.

“Dexter wants to exert all his energies on his recovery,” said his attorney, Bob Woolf. “I told the commissioner that at the present time there is no thought of his going to Canada.”

Manley, who has admitted using cocaine, said earlier this summer he hoped for reinstatement before the one-year anniversary. Failing that, he said, he hoped to play in Canada, where the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hold his negotiating rights.

But the Canadian league honors NFL contracts and suspensions, and Manley still would have six weeks left on his contract if he is reinstated.

Manley is working as a volunteer at the John Lucas New Spirit drug treatment center in Houston.