Cowboys’ Irvin Will Announce Retirement Today

The spinal injury that ended Michael Irvin’s 1999 season has forced the Dallas Cowboys’ receiver into retirement.

The announcement, which has been expected for months, will become official with a news conference today at Texas Stadium. It comes a month after longtime teammate Daryl Johnston also retired because of a neck injury and a week before Dallas opens training camp.

Great hands made Irvin one of the best receivers in NFL history and a loud mouth made him one of the game’s great showboats.

Irvin loved taunting opponents with an exaggerated first-down motion after a big catch. He made enough big catches that he was nicknamed “the Playmaker,” which he proudly had printed on his license plate.

Along with Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, Irvin led the Cowboys to three Super Bowl championships in a four-year span.

Irvin finished his 12-year career with 750 catches, tied for ninth in NFL history, for 11,904 yards, also ninth all-time. He holds nearly every major career or single-season receiving record in Cowboy history.

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Safety Tim McDonald, released five months ago by the San Francisco 49ers, retired after 13 NFL seasons.

McDonald, who played in the Pro Bowl six times, was released by the 49ers in February as the team struggled to get under the salary cap.

“I finally realized that there was just no way I could have given the type of energy and commitment that it takes. I realize that it is time to say ‘No’ to the abuse to my body and time to say ‘Yes’ to my family and other interests,” the former USC star said.

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Buffalo defensive end Marcellus Wiley, considered Bruce Smith’s successor on the right side, will miss training camp while he recovers from back surgery.

Doctors repaired a bulging disc in his lower back last weekend, and he will be sidelined at least four weeks.

Wiley hurt his back while working out on his own two weeks ago. He was expected to be released from hospital Monday and begin rehabilitation next week.

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The New York Jets signed first-round draft picks Shaun Ellis and John Abraham. Ellis, a defensive lineman from Tennessee, signed a five-year deal worth $8.175 million and Abraham, a linebacker from South Carolina, signed a five-year deal worth $7.055 million. . . . Third-round draft pick Lloyd Harrison, a cornerback, signed a four-year, $1.714-million contract with the Washington Redskins. . . . The Kansas City Chiefs signed tight end Rickey Brady to a two-year contract.