McAlister, Ravens Strike a Deal

Baltimore Raven cornerback Chris McAlister has signed a seven-year contract that will enable the team to keep the Pro Bowl player through 2010 and allow him to shed his unwanted tag as the Ravens’ franchise player.

McAlister and the Ravens reached an agreement Saturday afternoon, General Manager Ozzie Newsome said Sunday night before Baltimore played the Washington Redskins.

McAlister has been the team’s franchise player for two consecutive seasons. He made no secret of his displeasure over the designation and sat out most of training camp this summer as a protest -- even though he was assured of earning $7.1 million this year.

“Chris can go out and cover some of the better receivers in the league. He proved that last year and this year,” Newsome said.

“I think we’ve shown that you win with defense, and if you’re going to play good defense you’ve got to have good corners.”

The Ravens would not disclose the terms of the deal, and McAlister’s agent did not immediately return phone calls.

McAlister, 27, was drafted by the Ravens with the 10th overall pick in the 1999 draft. He earned a Pro Bowl berth for the first time last season after making three interceptions and batting away 16 passes.

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Denver’s 20-17 victory over Carolina not only featured a 101-yard interception return that didn’t go for a touchdown, it also featured a play reminiscent of the Orlando Brown-penalty flag incident of a few seasons ago.

Carolina’s Matt Willig got called for unsportsmanlike conduct when he picked up a flag and chucked it downfield after the Panthers were called for false start before a score-tying field-goal with 6 minutes 42 seconds left.

The 20 yards in penalties forced Carolina to punt and the Broncos, mostly behind Reuben Droughns, ran the rest of the time off the clock.

Willig said he got hit in “the eye area,” not unlike Brown, who was hit in the eye by an official’s flag in a game five seasons ago.

“It’s not too often that one player single-handedly costs a team a chance to win. That’s how I feel,” Willig said.

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Denver quarterback Jake Plummer wore a sticker on his helmet honoring former teammate Pat Tillman, even though he expects the NFL to fine him for it.

Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinal safety who walked away from the NFL to join the U.S. Army Rangers and fight in Afghanistan, was killed in action in April.

Plummer was warned of the fine before last week’s game and chose to remove the decal.

“That was a decision I made and I was upset” about it, he said.

Asked recently about Plummer’s sticker, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league’s long-standing policy prohibits personal messages on uniforms or helmets. Violators could face fines of $5,000.

“I’ll get fined,” Plummer said. “I’ll take my fine like a man.”

He said he would ask the NFL to give the fine money to the Pat Tillman Foundation, which was set up to honor him after his death.

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Sunday’s key injuries....

Miami kicker Olindo Mare was sidelined for the Dolphins’ fifth consecutive loss, 24-10 at New England, because of a right calf injury.

Two Dolphin quarterbacks also were injured. Jay Fiedler hurt his ribs and back on a sack and, two plays later, A.J. Feeley suffered a concussion when he threw a fourth-down incompletion and was hit by Rosevelt Colvin.

Pro Bowl linebacker Julian Peterson tore his left Achilles’ tendon late in the first quarter of San Francisco’s game against Arizona. He is out for the season. The 49ers also lost backup fullback Jasen Isom to a torn Achilles’ tendon.

St. Louis free safety Aeneas Williams left the Rams’ game against Seattle because of a pinched nerve in his neck.

Carolina running back DeShaun Foster left at Denver because of a broken collarbone.