NFL

Around the NFC

By Times wire
Published August 1, 2005

CARDINALS: Receiver Anquan Boldin agreed to a contract extension that would keep him in Arizona through 2010. The six-year, $23.5-million contract includes signing bonuses of $5-million this year and again in 2006. "We're headed in the right direction, I think," he said. "You know, we're taking care of players better, taking care of business on the field, getting in good guys through free agency. Like I said, I think the organization has turned around for the better."

Also, second-round draft pick J.J. Arrington, a running back from Cal, agreed to terms.

FALCONS: First-round draft pick Roddy White signed a deal after missing six days of camp. White, a receiver from Alabama-Birmingham, signed for $7.35-million over five years with $4.47-million in bonus guarantees.

GIANTS: Wide receiver Plaxico Burress participated in both practices a day after leaving the field with a hyperextended right knee. Burress, signed as an unrestricted free agent in the offseason for $25-million over six years, had a scare when he fell after going up for a ball in Saturday's morning workout. He returned in time for the afternoon session.

49ERS: The team signed offensive lineman Paul Zukauskas, who spent the past four seasons with Cleveland.

PANTHERS: The team will honor the late Sam Mills by retiring his No.51 at halftime of its Aug. 13 preseason game. Mills died April 18 after a nearly two-year battle with cancer. Mills, a five-time Pro Bowl player with the Saints and Panthers, played three seasons in Carolina then joined the coaching staff. He is the only player in Carolina's Hall of Honor and is the first Panther to have his number retired. There is also a statue of him outside of the Panthers' stadium.

REDSKINS: Smiling and congenial in the few seconds that reporters saw him, safety Sean Taylor reported to camp, ending an offseason in which he snubbed his coaches and got arrested in Florida. He said he would speak at length today, when the team holds its first practices. He is facing a felony charge of aggravated assault with a firearm and a misdemeanor charge of simple battery stemming from a June 1 confrontation near his Miami home. His trial is set Sept.12.

SEAHAWKS: Second-round draft pick Lofa Tatupu signed, leaving first-round selection Chris Spencer as the team's only unsigned rookie. Tatupu is a linebacker out of USC.

VIKINGS: ESPN.com reported that wide receiver Troy Williamson, the first of the team's two first-round picks, agreed to terms. Williamson, a receiver out of South Carolina, was the seventh overall pick.

[Last modified August 1, 2005, 00:59:12]