Chad Ocho Cinco set to lose $250K from Cincinnati Bengals

At the current rate, receiver Chad Ocho Cinco will lose a lot of dinero from the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ocho Cinco

According to Ocho Cinco's contract, the five-time Pro Bowler will squander a workout bonus of $250,000 for not participating in this year's offseason program. Most players are required to take part in at least 80 to 90 percent of the voluntary program to earn workout bonuses. Ocho Cinco was absent through the first week of the Bengals' program, which began on March 30.

This is the second consecutive year Ocho Cinco has been a no-show for the Bengals. Last year he made numerous trade demands before showing up for mandatory sessions. The Bengals are unsure about Ocho Cinco's current motives, but his willingness to risk losing a quarter-million dollars could be another sign of unhappiness.

"I'm not worried about him," Bengals starting quarterback Carson Palmer said last week. "I'm worried about the guys we have here."

Ocho Cinco, 31, is coming off one of his worst pro seasons, in which he had only 53 catches for 540 yards and four touchdowns. He also was deactivated for a November game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for violating a team rule.

The Bengals finished 4-11-1 last season.

Judge rejects Michael Vick's plan to overcome bankruptcy

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Fallen NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy judge Friday that he became a changed man in prison and is determined to do all the right things upon his release from prison, including repaying his creditors with the millions he hopes to resume earning in professional football.

But after more than three hours of testimony in which Vick laid out what he called his "exit strategy," U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro rejected it. Santoro told Vick to draft a new Chapter 11 plan, one with a bit more certainty.

Santoro said there is no guarantee the league will have the 28-year-old player back, and suggested he start on a new plan by considering liquidating one or both of his Virginia homes and three cars he had planned to keep.

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A status hearing is set for April 28, but Santoro set no deadline for submission of a new plan.

Vick is pinning his hopes of emerging from financial ruin on returning to the NFL. He remains indefinitely suspended, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has not said whether he will reinstate Vick after his July release from the federal penitentiary in Kansas where he is serving a 23-month sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy.

Vick was being transferred back to the federal prison on Saturday, according to ESPN's Kelly Naqi.

Vick has about $210,000 but owes $1 million in fees from the bankruptcy case and about $3.7 million in legal bills -- some $13,700 a day since he filed for Chapter 11 protection in July.

Vick also faces at least $200,000 in annual living expenses if he keeps the Virginia homes and vehicles. His only guaranteed income is a $10-an-hour construction job that will be part of his probation when he is moved from federal prison to home confinement in May.

Vick's testimony -- his first extensive public account of his life since entering prison in November 2007 -- offered a glimpse of what he's likely to tell Goodell in his bid for reinstatement.

"I can't live like the old Mike Vick," he said Friday, speaking softly as many of his friends and family members listened in the courtroom.

One of his lawyers, Peter Ginsberg, asked Vick about a note he recently wrote in prison saying he was in good spirits.

"I'm happy where I am because I'm going in a totally different direction," Vick said.

He said his plans include marrying his fiancee next summer and working a $10-an-hour construction job as part of his probation until he can resume his football career.

Vick was the NFL's highest paid player after signing a 10-year, $140 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons. But Vick and the Falcons have parted ways, and it's unlikely he will be able to command anywhere near that kind of money if he is reinstated.

The average NFL salary last year was $1.85 million, according to the NFL Players Association. Vick's agent, Joel Segal, testified that he would try to negotiate a contract with a modest base salary and hefty incentives for playing time and starts. The minimum salary for a player with Vick's seven years of experience is $620,000.

Santoro asked Vick about the likelihood of Goodell lifting the suspension. He said he can only hope that "if I do the right thing -- if I keep showing I'm remorseful, show true remorse," the commissioner will give him a second chance. He also told the judge that he thinks he could play in the NFL another 10 to 12 years if reinstated.

Vick said he has accepted full responsibility for a "heinous" and irresponsible act. In addition to bankrolling the Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting operation, Vick has admitted helping kill some dogs that fared poorly in test fights.

In addition to a possible NFL salary if Goodell lifts the suspension, Vick has some other income prospects, his lawyers said. He has agreed to a television documentary deal that will pay him $600,000, and Ginsberg hinted of a possible book. He could be transferred to home confinement at his eastern Virginia home by late May, and Vick's agent has said that he hopes the player can return to the NFL by September.

"There are serious and respected people in the literary arts world working on Mr. Vick's behalf," he said. He later refused to elaborate when questioned by reporters.

Vick's attorneys want him to stay in Virginia until the April 28 hearing, but Santoro said he doesn't have the authority to authorize that. He said he'd consider requiring that Vick appear at that hearing. Vick had been staying at a regional jail in Virginia in the days before this week's hearing.

In court, lawyers also questioned Vick at length about his tangled finances. He said he gave advisers too much leeway in handling his money, acknowledging that he never balanced a checkbook or reconciled a bank statement, and he spent freely with debit and credit cards. He vowed not to make those mistakes again.

The judge commended Vick for wanting to take charge of his finances by himself, but said it had taken months of accountants, trustees and lawyers working to unravel his assets in the first place.

"No one is good at everything, but the fact, Mr. Vick, is you are perhaps extraordinary at your chosen profession, but that does not translate into financial sophistication," Santoro said.

He also commended Vick for wanting to provide for his children, fiancee and mother, who live in his two houses in Virginia, but suggested Vick buy a house more within his means.

"You can't be everything to everybody or you'll end up being nothing to nobody," Santoro said.

An attorney for Vick's former agent, who has a $4.6 million judgment against Vick, questioned him about improper withdrawals from a pension fund. The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit over the withdrawals last week but has already reached a settlement in which Vick will restore some of the money.

Vick admitted withdrawing $150,000 even after his lawyers had told him earlier withdrawals were improper.

"I did it out of desperation," Vick said.

Keion Carpenter, Vick's former college and pro teammate, said outside the courtroom that plenty of other NFL players have trouble managing their finances, although Vick's is an extreme case.

"As an athlete, we all suffer through these problems," he said. "It's a subject I hope the NFL will address so this stops."

Ginsberg said outside court that Vick was serious about getting his finances -- and his life -- back on track.

"He cares about what's going on," Ginsberg said. "He cares about making amends for what he's done. He cares about getting back to his family and to football."

Plaxico Burress declines questions while rooting on Michigan State at Final Four

DETROIT -- A day after being released by the New York Giants, embattled wide receiver Plaxico Burress made an appearance at the Final Four to cheer on his Michigan State Spartans.

Burress

Surrounded by his wife and several former college teammates, Buress laughed and mugged for pictures following the Spartans' semifinal victory over Connecticut.

Asked whether he thought he would play somewhere in 2009, Burress held out his arms to indicate he didn't know. He was also asked how he felt after being released Thursday.

"I feel great," he said.

Burress declined to answer several more questions before leaving Ford Field. His next court hearing is scheduled for June 15 in a Manhattan Criminal Court. He and attorney Benjamin Brafman are hoping to reach a plea agreement before that time.

Until his case is resolved, it's unlikely another team will sign him.

New York Giants release beleaguered receiver Plaxico Burress

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants released Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress on Friday, a little more than four months after the talented but troubled wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub.

Burress' four-year tenure with the Giants was highlighted by a game-winning touchdown catch in the Super Bowl against the previously undefeated New England Patriots in February 2008, but it was also dogged by fines and suspensions.

Burress' status has been uncertain since he shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 29 with an unlicensed gun he'd stuffed into his waistband. He faces a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for at least 3 years if convicted.

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Burress' case was adjourned on Tuesday while his attorneys and prosecutors worked on a possible plea agreement. He is due back in court on June 15.

The 31-year-old, who was suspended by the Giants for the final four weeks of the season for conduct detrimental to the team and fined after the shooting, also faces possible NFL sanctions for violating its personal conduct policy.

A senior Giants official told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio it had become clear in January that Burress didn't want to be in New York when agent Drew Rosenhaus sent an e-mail to the rest of the league saying Burress could be available in a trade.

The delay in ending the court case this week also appeared to play a role in the Giants' decision.

"I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out," general manager Jerry Reese said in announcing the decision. "We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico.

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"It wasn't to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise."

Benjamin Brafman, Burress' attorney, said he has not spoken to Burress since the move was announced.

"My own view as a lawyer and a Giants fan is that the team made a huge mistake," Brafman said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "He is a good man, a good football player and I only hope that with the benefit of hindsight the Giants don't ultimately regret this decision."

Rosenhaus did not immediately return a telephone message or e-mail to The AP.

The decision to release Burress might lead the Giants to look for a deep-threat receiver in the draft later this month. The only player currently on the roster who might fill that role is Mario Manningham, a second-year player out of Michigan who did little in an injury-plagued rookie season. Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon have shown the ability to be a deep threat on occasion, but neither is as consistent as Burress at stretching a defense.

"It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved," Giants two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "[I'm] not surprised. He is a tremendous talent, and you never want to let a guy like that go for nothing, but I think the uncertainty of the court forced their hand."

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Plaxico Burress and Eli Manning slay the mighty Patriots with a TD in the final moments of Super Bowl XLII.

A little more than a week ago, Umenyiora predicted that Burress would reach a plea agreement and not get jail time.

However, the prosecution's reported desire to require Burress serve some jail time as part of any deal seemingly ended his chances of playing for the Giants next season.

Burress caught 344 passes with the Giants, which places him 12th on the franchise's career list, one catch ahead of Earnest Gray and three behind Aaron Thomas. Burress had 3,681 receiving yards and caught 33 touchdown passes for the Giants.

The Giants talked briefly with the Cleveland Browns recently about a trade for veteran receiver Braylon Edwards.

Those talks either might heat up again with the release of Burress, or New York might discuss a trade with Arizona for Anquan Boldin, who was unhappy with the NFC champion Cardinals late in the season.

Burress' Giants teammates had been supportive about his possible return. The Giants lost four of their final five games after Burress was suspended and placed on the non-football injury list, meaning he also could not appear in the playoffs.

The Giants finished 12-5, losing at home in the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles. New York lost four of its final five games without Burress, who provided the Giants with their lone deep threat.

"Plaxico's contribution to our championship season in 2007 can never be underestimated or undervalued," coach Tom Coughlin said. "He displayed tremendous determination throughout that season. Having said that, I have always been as concerned about Plaxico as a man as I have been about him as a player, and my hope is that everything that has happened over the past several months represents a turning point.

"He is a young man with a family who has a whole lifetime ahead of him, and I personally wish him and his family well."

The Giants signed Burress to a five-year, $35 million contract extension in September. The team failed to pay a $1 million signing bonus after the shooting and the NFL Players Association filed a grievance on the player's behalf.

The grievance, which contests whether teams can withhold guaranteed salaries and bonus money from players because of off-the-field conduct, was heard earlier this week by an arbitrator, Stephen Burbank at the University of Pennsylvania law school. His ruling is expected within a week.

Negotiations between the Giants and Burress on the bonus apparently had been going well, but Burress refused to compromise on the amount he would get back. Burress wanted all of it returned while Rosenhaus, his agent, wanted to compromise. That forced the hearing, another reason the Giants concluded that they were getting nowhere with Burress.

"It was another indication to us that the player did not want to be here, did not want to be with the Giants," the team source told Paolantonio.

Asked about Tuesday's events, when Burress' preliminary hearing on gun charges was put off another 60 days, the source said nothing specific about how the adjournment impacted the team's decision but said it was another indication "Plaxico was not dealing in the real world and doesn't want to go halfway on anything."

The Giants just decided to move on, the source said.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN's Jeremy Schaap the Giants last week offered Burress a contract for this season that would have enabled him to recoup during the 2009 season the money he lost from the 2008 season.

The deal would have been weighed heavily with incentives, rewarding performance on the field, and given him a fair chance to make back all the lost money during time he might have been going to trial in New York. But he turned it down against advice of advisers, the sources said.

When asked by Schaap, a Giants source would not deny it.

Burress had caught a pass in 115 consecutive games, including 56 with the Giants, until he was shut out at Arizona on Nov. 23, his last game before the shooting incident. Burress started but left that game after one series with a hamstring injury and did not return.

Burress' 23 postseason catches with the Giants leave him fifth on the team's career list and his 310 postseason yards place him third. He caught 35 passes for 454 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games last season.

His last Giants reception was an 11-yarder late in the second quarter in a victory over Baltimore on Nov. 16.

Burress joined the Giants as an unrestricted free agent in March 2005.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is in bankruptcy court

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A lawyer for suspended NFL star Michael Vick told a bankruptcy court Thursday that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback has lined up a $10-an-hour construction job for when he gets out of prison.

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Vick, 28, appeared in court for the first time in his bankruptcy case to explain to a judge how he plans to emerge from his financial problems. Before the hearing began, he turned around to wave and smile at family members sitting in the courtroom. He is expected to testify before the proceeding wraps up Friday.

"You will hear from Mr. Vick his future intentions, how he's going to change the way he lives his life," his lawyer, Michael Blumenthal, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro.

Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting ring, and his bankruptcy plan is based on the goal of returning to a professional football career. He briefly left a federal prison in Kansas to attend the hearing. He's scheduled to be released from custody in July, but could be sent to home confinement in late May.

An agent for Vick said during court testimony that he hoped Vick could be back in the NFL by September.

Joel Segal testified as part of the hearing to assess Vick's bankruptcy plan.

Vick, once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, plans to work 40 hours a week for $10 an hour at one of W.M. Jordan Co.'s 40 commercial construction jobs, John Robert Lawson said.

If Vick is allowed to return, Segal said he would try to negotiate a one- or two-year contract that would include incentives for playing time and a starting position.

Vick, once one of the NFL's highest-paid players, plans to work 40 hours a week for $10 an hour at one of W.M. Jordan Co.'s 40 commercial construction jobs, said John Robert Lawson. His father, Robert Lawson, helped start the Newport News company.

Lawson, 57, said that he has known Vick for more than 10 years and that they have been involved in charitable work together. He said Vick's representatives approached him when the former hometown hero was turned away by other employers.

"I believe all of us make mistakes, and once you've fulfilled your commitment and paid the price, you should be given a second chance," Lawson said in a telephone interview.

"He's not a bad person. He made some bad choices," Lawson said.

Details about the brutality of Vick's dogfighting enterprise enraged the public and helped destroy his finances, which court records show were already in serious disarray because of lavish spending and poor investments.

Earlier this week Vick and the Falcons agreed that he would pay back $6.5 million of his Atlanta contract, moving him closer to cutting ties with a team that doesn't want him.

But how and when Vick might begin a professional comeback isn't clear. Vick was suspended indefinitely after his 2007 indictment, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said he will review Vick's status after he is released.

A committee representing most of Vick's unsecured creditors has endorsed his Chapter 11 plan because the alternative -- a Chapter 7 liquidation of his assets -- would not provide them any portion of his future earnings. But some other parties, including a former agent who won a $4.6 million judgment against Vick, opposed the plan.

Under his bankruptcy plan, Vick would keep the first $750,000 of his salary, and creditors would get part of any additional earnings.

Most objections to Vick's bankruptcy plan have been resolved, Blumenthal said.

Among them is the U.S. Labor Department's complaint that Vick improperly spent $1.3 million from the pension plan of one of his companies, MV7, a celebrity marketing company. A settlement calls for Vick to waive his participation in the pension plan and restore some of the money.

Vick is eligible for transfer to home confinement with electronic monitoring about May 21. That would allow him to serve the last two months of his sentence at his Hampton home in eastern Virginia, one of two houses he would be allowed to keep under his bankruptcy plan.

As a six-year NFL veteran, Vick would be in line for a veterans' minimum salary of $620,000.

Chicago Bears acquire Jay Cutler from Denver Broncos for Kyle Orton, picks

The Chicago Bears acquired disgruntled Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler in a trade on Thursday afternoon, giving up quarterback Kyle Orton and first-round picks in 2009 (18th overall) and 2010, along with a third-round pick (84th overall) in 2009 to do it.

Jay Cutler#6 QB
Denver Broncos

2008 STATS

Att616Comp384Yds4457TD25Int18Rat86.0

To complete the trade, the Broncos had to give back a fifth-round pick (140th overall) in 2009. That pick was acquired by the Broncos from the Seattle Seahawks in a trade for wide receiver Keary Colbert.

The Bears beat out the Redskins, Buccaneers, Lions, Titans and other teams to land the 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback. The Broncos had made it clear they were asking for at least two first-round choices.

Kyle Orton#18 QB
Chicago Bears

2008 STATS

Att465Comp272Yds2812TD18Int12Rat79.6

Cutler had asked to be traded when he found out first-year Denver coach Josh McDaniels tried to acquire Matt Cassel in a trade with the Patriots.

"I don't have any concerns," Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. "[Coach Lovie Smith] and I talked about that. We did, like a lot of people who were interested in Jay, a lot of work going back to not just when he was with Denver [but] but going back to his days at Vanderbilt."

Angelo said area scout Rex Hogan lives in the Nashville area and developed a "great rapport" with Cutler coming out of Vanderbilt in 2006.

"We felt that [Cutler] is a very good person, a good leader," Angelo said. "He had some things that happened in Denver. We recognized those, but we treated them as just speed bumps, part of the growing process. He's highly competitive, he's highly emotional. That just comes with the territory."

Although Cutler is 17-20 as a starter, he's been victimized by dismal defenses in Denver, and he was an impressive 13-1 when the Broncos held opponents to 21 points or fewer.

Last year, Cutler threw for a franchise record 4,526 yards, 25 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. In his 37-game career in Denver, he completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 9,024 yards, 54 TDs and 37 interceptions.

Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, upon hearing that Cutler was now his teammate, was stunned by the news.

"I guess the Bears felt like we needed another quarterback, so they made a move," Urlacher told the Chicago Tribune. "They gave up a lot. Cutler must be pretty good."

"I guess we got better as a team," Urlacher added, according to the newspaper. "You get a quarterback who is a Pro Bowl guy. But I will say this: I think Kyle Orton is a good quarterback. He's a great teammate. I hope he does really well in Denver."

Cutler is scheduled to travel to Chicago, where he must pass a physical exam before the trade becomes official. He could not be immediately reached for comment. But Bus Cook, Cutler's agent, told ESPN that Cutler is pleased that the team he followed while growing up in northern Indiana had acquired him.

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"I know Jay's choices would have been Chicago and Tennessee simply because that's where he grew up and went to school,'' Cook said. "It's unfortunate from one standpoint, but once it got to the point where a trade had to happen, it couldn't have turned out better for Jay, and I think the Broncos got a great compensation package for him.''

Cook said the Bears have not made Cutler any promises about renegotiating his contract. "That wasn't what this was about,'' Cook said. "This was not about a new deal. It was never mentioned to Denver, never suggested, and that wasn't part of this. It was a matter of some personalities that weren't going to get along too well. It was not about a new contract.''

On Tuesday, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen released a statement saying both he and McDaniels had been unable to get Cutler to call them back during the past 10 days. Cutler also had been staying away from the offseason program.

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As a result, the Broncos decided to trade Cutler, whom they were convinced "no longer has any desire to play for the Denver Broncos."

According to NFL senior analyst Chris Mortensen, however, Cutler replied, "No," in a text message when asked whether Bowlen had directly tried to contact him.

Cook said the Broncos first got in touch with him on Tuesday.

"The perception that they've been burning the phone lines the last 10 days is wrong," Cook said. "In fact, the other day, I asked Jay if he had heard from them and he said, 'No.' I didn't hear from them until yesterday [Tuesday] morning when [GM] Brian Xanders called me and said that Mr. Bowlen needs to speak with Jay now. I told him all I can do is leave Jay a message.

"I didn't reach Jay directly -- I don't know what he was doing -- but I left a message. Then Brian called at the end of the day and asked me if I had heard from him. I hadn't. I heard from Jay when he called to tell me he just saw on TV he was being traded. They can spin it the way they want to spin it."

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The Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears.

Urlacher, for his part, does not view Cutler as an incoming troublemaker.

"I would be ticked off, too, if someone was trying to trade me and didn't tell me about it," he told the Tribune. "I don't think Jay is going to be an issue. We have a pretty good locker room, so I'm not worried about that. [Linebacker] Hunter [Hillenmeyer] knows him. And [Cutler] seems like a pretty good guy. I've never met him but I've heard good things about him. I'm not worried about him fitting in."

At first, McDaniels had faith he could repair the strained relationship with his temperamental quarterback -- if only he could get him to call him back. On Tuesday, he became convinced that just wasn't going to happen.

Cutler is halfway through the six-year, $48 million contract he signed as the 11th overall pick out of Vanderbilt in the 2006 draft.

Report: B.J. Raji of Boston College failed NFL combine drug test

NEW YORK -- Former Boston College lineman B.J. Raji, who is considered the top defensive tackle eligible for this month's NFL draft, reportedly failed a drug test at the NFL combine.

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Watch DL B.J. Raji work out during the 2009 NFL Combine.

The report, which did not identify the drug, was published on SI.com and attributed to unidentified NFL team sources. The Web site reported that Raji's name will be on a list of players who tested positive.

Raji, rated fourth on Todd McShay's projected list and No. 5 on Mel Kiper's most recent Big Board on ESPN.com, missed the 2007 college season with academic problems.

SI.com reported that NFL scouts had been told that Raji also tested positive for marijuana during his time at BC.