FOOTBALL Northcutt files case with NFL

The wide receiver's agent claims the Browns did not bargain in good faith.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wide receiver Dennis Northcutt has filed a grievance against the Cleveland Browns, the team he has been trying to leave since his agent failed to meet a deadline to make him a free agent.
Browns spokesman Todd Stewart confirmed Friday that Northcutt's agent, Jerome Stanley, filed the grievance.
Stanley claims the Browns did not bargain with Northcutt in good faith. The agent also claims the team breached Northcutt's contract.
The Browns deny the claims.
Northcutt's right to free agency was nullified when Stanley missed a Feb. 19 deadline to void the last three years of his contract. The Browns gave Stanley permission to seek a trade, but he has been frustrated by their reluctance to trade with division rival Baltimore Ravens.
The same thing occurred with another wide receiver, Terrell Owens, whose agent failed to nullify the final years of his contract with San Francisco on time.
The 49ers then traded him to Baltimore and Owens filed a grievance.
The case was finally settled with Owens being declared a free agent and signing with Philadelphia. The Eagles sent defensive end Brandon Whiting to San Francisco and compensated the Ravens with a fifth-round draft choice.
Trade
The Cincinnati Bengals obtained cornerback Deltha O'Neal from the Denver Broncos in a trade that involved a swap of first-round draft picks.
The trade allows Denver to move up to the No. 17 overall selection in the first round, while the Bengals received the Broncos' No. 24 overall slot in the first round. Cincinnati also received the Broncos' fourth round pick at No. 117 overall.
O'Neal gives the Bengals a potential starting cornerback to pair with Tory James, as Bengals coach Marvin Lewis continues to rebuild the defense in preparing for his second season in Cincinnati. The Bengals were 8-8 last year.
O'Neal also will get the opportunity to return punts and kickoffs along with Bengals receivers Peter Warrick and Patrick Johnson, Lewis said. In his four seasons in Denver, O'Neal had 128 punt returns for 1,325 yards (a 10.4-yard average) and two touchdowns.
Lewis wouldn't say if he is still pursuing Denard Walker, a cornerback waived last week by the Minnesota Vikings.
O'Neal signed a five-year contract with Cincinnati to run through the 2008 season. He had been entering the final season of his contract with the Broncos, who made him their first-round selection in 2000.
He has 15 career interceptions in 61 games, including 36 starts. His nine interceptions and 60 tackles in 2001 got him into the Pro Bowl.
Asked why the Broncos had given up on him, O'Neal told reporters: "I probably was having a terrible season."
"It's just business. Mike Shanahan and I were always friends," he said of the Denver coach. "I'm moving on."
Lewis is overhauling the Bengals' roster. Since Cincinnati's season finale on Dec. 28, 10 members of the 53-man roster are no longer with the team. That includes former cornerbacks Jeff Burris and Artrell Hawkins, whose contracts were terminated.
The Bengals have explored a trade of disgruntled running back Corey Dillon, who was largely replaced last season by Rudi Johnson. Lewis also has promoted Carson Palmer, the Bengals' No. 1 draft pick last year, to the starter at quarterback for this fall.
Last month, the Bengals agreed to terms on a three-year contract with free-agent offensive lineman Bobbie Williams, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles.
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