NFL

Redskins' offer to Coles being probed by league

NEW YORK -- The NFL is investigating the Redskins' offer sheet to Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles, intensifying the competition for free agents between the teams.

The Associated Press reported the NFL is looking into whether the Redskins broke rules by failing to promptly notify the league after reaching an agreement with Coles. He signed an offer sheet Wednesday that would pay him $35-million over seven years, including a $13-million signing bonus.

Redskins spokesman Karl Swanson said: "We're happy to have the NFL look into it. There is nothing improper."

The NFL and the Jets declined to comment.

The Jets have until 4 p.m. Wednesday to match the Redskins' offer. If the Jets don't, they will receive Washington's first-round pick in the April draft, No. 13 overall.

The investigation centers on a rule that requires the league to be notified as soon as an agreement is reached. In this case, Coles, a restricted free agent, agreed to the deal with Washington owner Dan Snyder on Sunday night.

Coles, a former Florida State standout, was at Redskins headquarters in Ashburn, Va., on Tuesday and was presented a team jersey with No. 80 on it. He said he was taking it home to his mother in Florida.

The Jets contend that by agreeing to the deal several days before signing the offer sheet, the Redskins essentially took Coles off the market before the deal had officially been concluded.

Swanson said the Redskins and Coles' agent, Roosevelt Barnes, might have agreed to contract parameters on Sunday night, but that no deal could have been in place until Coles took a physical Tuesday.

Seau gets wish for trade

Junior Seau appears to be on his way out of San Diego after more than a decade as the heart of the Chargers defense.

The 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker has been given permission to seek a trade. If that doesn't materialize, he probably will be released.

"We approached it on middle ground, where we'd involve Junior in the process of exploring a trade," Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said. "We sought to try to address what was in the best interests of both parties, to keep our options open. It's a difficult situation."

Seau said he has lobbied the team to release him so he can seek a free-agent deal.

"San Diego has always been my home and always will be," Seau said at a news conference Friday. "I just have to leave for six months as a professional athlete and entertain another community."

Seau, 34, was voted to the Pro Bowl last season but missed the game after surgery for an ankle injury that bothered him most of the season. He missed three games and part of another and was only the third-leading tackler on the team.

EAGLES: Linebacker Nate Wayne signed a four-year contract, four days after being released by the Packers. He was a three-year starter with Green Bay and led the defense with 132 tackles last season.

FALCONS: ESPN.com reported that punter Chris Mohr had been re-signed to a six-year contract worth $5.2-million, including a $600,000 signing bonus. Mohr, 36, had a 41.9-yard average last season.

PANTHERS: Top-shelf running back Stephen Davis officially joined the team when he signed a five-year contract. On the surface, it is worth $15.5-million, including a $2.5-million signing bonus. But it is full of incentives that could make it worth $36-million. The Redskins released Davis last month, saving $5.2-million under the salary cap.

MITCHELL HONORED: Bobby Mitchell thinks his decades in the Redskins' front office amounted to no more than an "internship" and showed how hard it is for black executives to advance in the NFL.

Fighting back tears, Mitchell received the first Paul "Tank" Younger award from the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a new group of coaches and executives promoting minority hiring in the league.

"I spent over 40 years with the Washington Redskins, and the best I could do was an internship," said Mitchell, the team's first black player in 1962. After retiring as a player, he worked in Washington's front office until retiring Jan. 31 as an assistant general manager.

"This alliance won't let that happen again," he said.

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