Titans' offer sheet worth about $10.5M for Fowler

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Titans' offer sheet worth about $10.5M for Fowler

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Just one day after the Philadelphia Eagles announced they had reached agreement with Dallas Cowboys linebacker Ryan Fowler on a restricted free agent offer sheet, a move reported by several media outlets including ESPN.com, the veteran defender changed his mind on Monday.

Fowler instead will sign an offer sheet with the Tennessee Titans, the other team that had been vying for his services.

So certain were the Eagles on Sunday that they had an agreement with Fowler that they dispatched an e-mail to national reporters. And Fowler's agent, Alan Herman, told several media outlets that his client planned to sign the Eagles' offer sheet, a deal that was to become official on Monday morning.

There was no immediate explanation for the change of heart. Because the offer sheet paperwork was never officially signed and filed with the league office, which is not open on Sunday, the Eagles apparently have no recourse in the matter.

The four-year offer sheet is worth about $10.5 million and will pay Fowler, who has principally been a special teams performer for the Cowboys, $4 million in 2007, between bonuses and base salary. Those terms are believed to be similar to the deal Philadelphia offered.

Dallas will have seven days in which to match the offer sheet or pass on it.

Should the Cowboys match it, they will assume the terms of the deal that the Titans negotiated with Fowler, a three-year veteran. If Dallas does not match the offer sheet, Fowler will move on to the Titans.

But because Fowler entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent from Duke in 2004, and Dallas made him the lowest qualifying offer for a restricted free agent, a one-year deal at $850,000, the Cowboys would receive no compensation if he departed under the offer sheet.

In three seasons, Fowler has appeared in 32 games and started just three contests. He has 49 tackles from scrimmage, two forced fumbles and one recovery. For the most part, Fowler served as a backup inside linebacker in the Dallas 3-4 scheme. On special teams, he posted 28 tackles and had one forced fumble.

The Tennessee coaches feel that Fowler can challenge for the starting job at middle linebacker.

Securing the services of restricted free agents historically has proven a difficult undertaking with the current system. In the 14 previous years of free agency, only 55 restricted free agents changed teams. Four restricted free agents changed teams in 2006.

So far this year, one restricted free agent, wide receiver Wes Welker, has switched teams. But that move, with Welker going from Miami to New England, came after the Patriots signed him to an offer sheet, and then the two teams subsequently agreed to a trade.

The Pittsburgh Steelers last week signed San Francisco punter Andy Lee to a restricted free agent offer sheet, but the 49ers quickly matched it. Cleveland last week signed Cincinnati defensive tackle Shaun Smith to an offer sheet and the Bengals are still deliberating over whether to match it.