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PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AFC : Dolphins Outbid 49ers for Emtman

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Associated Press

The Miami Dolphins signed defensive lineman Steve Emtman on Tuesday, outbidding San Francisco for the free agent waived by Indianapolis after three injury-plagued seasons.

“We are not making any formal announcement,” Dolphin spokesman Harvey Greene said late Tuesday night. “We are confirming the fact, but that is all we are saying at this point.”

ESPN reported that Emtman signed a five-year deal that could be worth $13 million.

The 49ers, who appeared to be the strongest competitor for Emtman, confirmed they were no longer in the running.

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The 49ers had offered Emtman a $200,000 base salary, plus a $100,000 signing bonus with the chance to earn up to $1.5 million in incentives.

San Francisco General Manager Dwight Clark said Miami matched the base pay and incentive package and overwhelmed Emtman with a $750,000 signing bonus.

Other details of Miami’s offer were not available.

“Apparently, [Dolphin assistant] Joe Greene called the kid and the kid said, ‘I really want to go to the 49ers and it would take something crazy to change my mind,’ ” Clark said. “It came down to the $750,000 signing bonus. Apparently, that was enough. They’re really trying to get [Coach Don] Shula that Super Bowl this year, aren’t they?”

Emtman, selected first overall by the Colts in the 1992 draft after his All-America career at Washington, has been hampered by two reconstructive knee surgeries. He appeared in 18 of a possible 48 games with the Colts.

“I’m fairly disappointed because I thought, if healthy, he could be unbelievable,” Clark said. “His workout for us was phenomenal. The question was just, ‘Can he stay healthy?’ ”

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Seattle Seahawk cornerback Nate Odomes will be lost for a second consecutive season after having reconstructive surgery on his right knee for the second time in 13 months.

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Odomes, 29, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice Sunday. It was the same ligament he tore while playing in a pickup basketball game last June in Georgia, forcing him to sit out the 1994 season.

Seahawk Coach Dennis Erickson said doctors haven’t ruled out Odomes’ return for next season, but it would be difficult emotionally for a player to come back from two such operations this late in his career.

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Ki-Jana Carter, the top overall pick in last spring’s NFL draft, has a mild strain in his right Achilles’ tendon and is expected to miss the Cincinnati Bengals’ intrasquad scrimmage Saturday.

“We’re going to keep him off the field for a week to 10 days,” trainer Paul Sparling said.

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Defensive tackle Tony Siragusa, who walked out of training camp when Indianapolis refused to negotiate a new contract, has been sent a letter warning him that if he doesn’t return he could be suspended for the season without pay. . . . Center Cory Raymer, the Washington Redskins’ second-round draft choice, agreed to a four-year deal for $2.087 million.

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