Titans will pay $1M fee to keep McNair until 2007

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Tennessee Titans decided Thursday to pay a $1 million fee that will keep quarterback Steve McNair with the team this season but allow him to become a free agent after 2006.
The move means the Titans won't have to pay a $50 million option that would have extended McNair's contract through 2009, the quarterback's agent said Thursday. Still, McNair will take up more than a quarter of the team's salary cap space.
The future of the NFL's 2003 co-MVP had been in doubt with the Titans facing pressure to get under the cap by Thursday.
"What this amounts to is they decided to pay $1 million and not add three years to his contract, so this is his last year. At the end of this year, Steve will be a free agent," agent Bus Cook said.
In addition to the deal for McNair, the Titans released left tackle Brad Hopkins, a 13-year veteran, and gave right guard Benji Olsen a new four-year deal to help get under the salary cap.
Even with the deal, Cook said McNair's salary cap number for 2006 will be $23.4 million. The cap is $94.5 million.
McNair, who shared the MVP award with Peyton Manning of Indianapolis three years ago, started 15 games in 2005 and threw for 3,161 yards. He has a won-lost record of 81-59 in his career.
Special company
He also is one of only five NFL players to throw for 25,000 yards and run for 3,000 more, along with John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, Steve Young and Randall Cunningham. He has 27,141 yards passing in his career.
McNair is one of only two players from the team's days as the Houston Oilers. The other was Hopkins, who wasn't surprised when he got the word Wednesday he was being cut.
The Titans came into the week an estimated $18.7 million over the salary cap.
Mark Bartelstein, Hopkins' agent, didn't rule out his client returning to the team that drafted him in the first round in 1993. Hopkins ranks third in team history in games played with 194 and second in starts by an offensive lineman with 188, behind Bruce Matthews.
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