Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 11, 1994 TAG: 9405110111
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Another former Washington Redskin has beaten a path to Cleveland.
Mark Rypien signed a two-year, $1.95 million deal with the Browns on Tuesday, accepting a spot as the backup to Cleveland quarterback Vinny Testaverde.
Rypien will receive $800,000 in base salary this year, along with a $350,000 signing bonus. The team has a 1995 option for $800,000. Because signing bonuses are prorated against the NFL's $34.608 million per-team salary cap, Rypien will count $975,000 against Cleveland's cap each season. He is the second former Redskin in a week to sign with the Browns; free-agent running back Earnest Byner accepted a two-year, $1.5 million deal Friday.
The Browns' deal, monetarily, is quite similar to what the Redskins had been willing to offer Rypien in April. Washington cut its Super Bowl XXVI Most Valuable Player on April 13, after Rypien declined to take a pay cut of more than $2 million - from his scheduled 1994 salary of $3 million to $700,000. The club offered as much as $1 million in salary with an additional $500,000 possible in incentives, but Rypien asked for his release to pursue other offers.
Rypien acknowledged this in a telephone interview Tuesday from the Browns' practice facility, but he said there still was a difference between the two offers.
``I got into [free agency] so late, I didn't get a chance to get out there and bid for a starting job,'' he said. ``So the difference was that one [proposal] was for a starter and the other was for a backup. I would just be in there until the young guy [first-round draft pick Heath Shuler] was ready in Washington, and that's not a great future for a guy like me. It just wasn't acceptable. I completely understood what they wanted, but it just wasn't acceptable.''
After being cut, Rypien visited the Detroit Lions and had discussions with several other teams. Kansas City, Tampa Bay, the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants had expressed the strongest interest, but other players got those jobs. The Buccaneers dropped out after Trent Dilfer fell into their laps as the sixth pick in the draft. The Rams signed Chris Chandler last week to back up Chris Miller.
Rypien told agent Ken Staninger last week to cancel some other visits set up for this month and to concentrate on the Browns.
``I told him, `Let's get the ball rolling,''' Rypien said. ``Having Rod [Dowhower, Washington's former offensive coordinator who is now Cleveland's backfield coach] here, and having had the chance to play against Bill [Belichik, the Browns' head coach] when he was in New York for years, plus meeting Mr. [Art] Modell [the Browns' owner], they're just good people.''
Sources said Rypien, 31, accepted the $1.15 million from Cleveland for 1994 after originally turning it down late last week and asking for $1.25 million. But the deal was consummated late Monday evening with no change in Cleveland's proposal, after a little more than two weeks of negotiations.
``I think he liked it here,'' said Mike Lombardi, the Browns' director of player personnel. ``I think he believes we've got a chance to be a decent football team. He always had the option of sitting out and waiting. But the feeling we got from Mark was pretty good. We're in a pretty good situation.''
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB