Ravens Want Sanders in Secondary

The Baltimore Ravens are excited about the prospect of having Deion Sanders come out of retirement and be a part of their defensive backfield.

The question is: Will he take them up on their offer?

The Ravens have told Sanders that if he wants to end his retirement of three years, he would be welcome to join the team. Sanders is working out at his Dallas home in an effort to determine if his 37-year-old body can take the punishment of playing in the NFL.

“He’s obviously doing his due diligence to see if this is something he really wants to do,” Raven Coach Brian Billick said Wednesday. “Certainly we’d love to have him in, and when we get to that point, he’ll be in.”

Raven safety Corey Fuller, a good friend of Sanders, isn’t so sure that Sanders is ready to put on a helmet and shoulder pads for the first time since 2000, when he was a member of the Washington Redskins. Sanders formally announced his retirement the day before the Redskins opened camp in 2001.

“I talk to him every day,” Fuller said. “I know what he’s going to do.

“The man said he’s not coming,” he said. “He’s got four kids.”

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A group of NFL executives met in Los Angeles on Wednesday with representatives from the Rose Bowl and Carson who are pitching their stadium concepts.

Although the backers of the Carson plan were not on the original agenda, the league executives called them early Wednesday and arranged a meeting later in the day with Carson Mayor Jim Dear and his economic-development team.

On Tuesday, the league received a response to the term sheet it presented the Coliseum Commission regarding the concept of a new stadium on that site.

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Running back Skip Hicks was cut by the Cincinnati Bengals. The former UCLA standout played for Washington from 1998 to 2000 and for Tennessee in 2001.

Hicks was on Carolina’s roster in 2002, and did not play in the NFL after being waived by the Panthers before last season started.

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Strong safety Reggie Tongue of the New York Jets returned to practice after sitting out 25 sessions in a row because of a strained left calf sustained on the second day of training camp.

Tongue is not expected to play in Saturday night’s exhibition game against the Colts in Indianapolis.

Coach Herman Edwards said receiver Wayne Chrebet will sit out his second game in a row because of a quadriceps injury.

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Arizona Cardinal defensive tackle Kenny King needs surgery on his right wrist and probably will be sidelined for the season. He injured wrist tendons that already had been surgically repaired once this year.

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Rookie running back Bruce Perry of the Philadelphia Eagles underwent reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder.

Perry separated the shoulder during Friday’s exhibition game against New England.