LB Larry Foote says Lions offered him a contract
By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer 48 minutes ago
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DETROIT (AP)—Larry Foote says the Detroit Lions have made him a contract offer and the linebacker’s first choice is to sign with his hometown team.
Foote said Tuesday night he met “everybody” at Lions headquarters in Allen Park, Mich., earlier in the day and that his agent, Ken Kremer, was working on completing a deal.
“They offered me something,” Foote said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I’m going to be wrestling with it tonight because they’re going back and forth with my agent as we speak. Playing in Detroit is definitely my first choice, but we’ll see how it goes.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers released Foote on Monday, a move expected because he asked to be traded or cut. He started every game for them the past five seasons, including their Super Bowl victories last season and after the 2005 season, but was unhappy coming off the field on passing downs.
The native of Detroit and former Michigan star said a lot of teams have expressed interest in him, including Arizona, Kansas City and Indianapolis.
If he joins the Lions, he would become the middle linebacker they desperately need coming off the first 0-16 season in NFL history.
Foote was due to make $2.885 million in the final season of his contract, but the Steelers no longer owe him the money.
With Lawrence Timmons ready to start, Foote told the Steelers last week he wanted to be dealt or cut. Pittsburgh released Foote after failing to find a team willing to part with a draft pick for him.
Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said Foote was a big part of the team’s success, but the salary cap made the decision inevitable.
Foote, a fourth-round draft pick in 2002, had 14 1/2 sacks and three interceptions over the last five years with Pittsburgh after mostly being used on special teams in his first two seasons.
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