Pickens, Titans Agree to Five-Year Contract

Wide receiver Carl Pickens has agreed to a five-year deal with the AFC champion Tennessee Titans.

“We are delighted to add a player of Carl’s caliber to the roster,” Titan General Manager Floyd Reese said Wednesday. “You always look for playmakers on both offense and defense and Carl definitely qualifies as a playmaker.”

Reese did not reveal the financial terms of the deal.

Pickens will sign the contract today, Reese said, because the two-time all-pro had to fly home to pack for training camp.

Pickens negotiated with the Titans by himself for two days. Asked early Wednesday if he would have anyone look over a new contract, Pickens said he knows what to look for after eight years in the NFL.

“This is my third time going through this situation,” said Pickens, who signed a five-year, $23-million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals last year.

Pickens starred at the University of Tennessee in the early 1990s and has friends in Nashville.

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Carolina rookie Deon Grant, vying to be the Panthers’ starting free safety, was lost for the season when he fractured his left hip during practice.

Panther Coach George Seifert said there was “a minimal chance” the injury could threaten Grant’s career.

“It certainly doesn’t sound like he’ll play again this year,” Seifert said.

Grant, a second-round pick from Tennessee, was injured after losing his balance and sticking out his left leg to stop himself.

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Defensive end Phillip Daniels was forced off the Chicago Bears’ practice field for the second consecutive day because of a migraine headache.

“Your head starts thumping and it’s just hard to stand up. Your vision is blurred. I couldn’t see for a while,” said Daniels, who signed a five-year $25-million free-agent contract after playing four seasons with Seattle.

Daniels said it is a common for him to get headaches during the early days of practice when contact drills begin. He experienced the headaches during training camp with the Seahawks and said they usually last four days, leave and then don’t return.

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First-round draft pick Rob Morris signed a five-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts and was headed to training camp, the team announced. Morris, a linebacker from Brigham Young, received a $5.6-million deal, including a $2.5-million signing bonus.

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The Baltimore Ravens are perplexed and more than a bit angry over the holdout of first-round pick Travis Taylor, who missed a third consecutive day of practice.

Taylor, a wide receiver from Florida, was the 10th pick in the NFL draft. The Ravens have offered him a deal that falls somewhere between the five-year, $7.86-million contract signed by No. 9 pick Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears and the five-year, $7.14-million pact that Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne received from the New York Giants as the 11th choice.

Taylor’s agents, Steve Weinberg and David Canter, are looking for more.

“We’ve reached the point at which there is a deal on the table, and no deal will get better than what’s on the table,” Raven president David Modell said.

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O.J. Simpson won’t attend a reunion of NFL hall of famers this weekend in Canton, Ohio, reportedly because he is too busy moving to Florida.

Simpson never responded to an invitation sent to all 136 living inductees and the Hall of Fame left his name off the guest list, Joe Horrigan, a spokesman for the Hall of Fame, said.

Simpson told USA Today he is preoccupied with his move from Los Angeles to Miami.