McNown Signs $22-Million Deal

Rookie quarterback Cade McNown signed a seven-year contract with the Chicago Bears on Monday, ending his holdout 10 days after the team opened training camp.

Tom Condon, McNown’s agent, said the deal could be worth $22 million with incentives and a $6.1-million signing bonus.

McNown arrived Monday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill., where Condon had been meeting earlier in the day with Bear negotiator Jim Miller. Bear officials said McNown left Monday evening for training camp in Platteville, Wis.

“I’m fired up to get to Platteville and get started on trying to make an impact this year,” said McNown, a left-hander from UCLA who was the 12th pick overall last spring in the NFL draft. “Once I get up there, I’m just going to have to jump in wherever they are and just spend some time in the film room and with the coaches just kind of getting to where I need to be.”

The contract includes a clause giving McNown the option to void the last two years of the deal. Voidable years had been a sticking point in the negotiations.

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Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis had surgery on his left knee, but is expected back for the season opener.

Bettis, who re-injured his left knee during private preseason workouts nearly two weeks ago in St. Louis, felt some discomfort in the knee Monday morning after a hard workout the previous day.

An MRI test performed in Pittsburgh revealed a tear in the lateral meniscus cartilage. Bettis later had arthroscopic surgery at a Pittsburgh hospital.

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Running back Rashaan Salaam, attempting a comeback with the Oakland Raiders, says an addiction to marijuana made him withdrawn, caused him to fumble and nearly ended his career.

“I wasn’t the kind of person I was,” he told ESPN. “I wasn’t outgoing like I was. I was just to myself. All I wanted to do was go home and do what I wanted to do.”

Salaam, who won the Heisman Trophy at Colorado in 1994, was plagued by fumbles with the Bears, losing 14 in 31 games. He thinks the fumbles were related to marijuana. “It probably had me out there lackadaisical instead of being out there 100%,” he said.

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Wide receiver Robert Brooks announced his retirement after seven injury-plagued seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He said his knees, back and hamstrings could no longer withstand the punishment of pro football.

Brooks retires as the Packer career leader in postseason catches and receiving yards. He is the seventh-leading receiver in the club’s 80-year history.

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Andre Reed, Buffalo’s leading career receiver, ended his one-day holdout after working out a contract extension with team owner Ralph Wilson.

The new deal sweetened the pot considerably for Reed, who got a $1.8-million signing bonus and a three-year deal that includes a one-year extension.

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New York Jet Coach Bill Parcells announced that he has re-signed veteran Keith Byars, the team’s starting fullback last season, to a one-year contract.