NFL according to me

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) -- Jets cornerback Donnie Abraham has decided to retire.

Abraham thought about retiring after the season ended, but participated in offseason training activities to figure out whether he really wanted to give up the sport. He made his decision earlier this week, and informed the team.

As a result, the Jets traded for Cowboys cornerback Pete Hunter on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Abraham, who started every game last season, spent the last three years with the Jets after starting his career with Tampa Bay. In nine NFL seasons, he had 447 tackles, 94 passes defensed and 38 interceptions -- three returned for touchdowns.

Man impersonates Big Ben, St. Pierre to get dates

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Police have flagged a man for an illegal quarterback sneak.

Authorities said Brian Jackson, 31, dated two women by pretending to be Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Brian St. Pierre.

Jackson, arrested Friday, was charged with harassment for allegedly continuing to contact both women after they learned of the ruses. He was also charged with criminal mischief for allegedly ruining a Steelers jersey owned by one of the women's neighbors when he signed his worthless rendition of Roethlisberger's autograph on it. The jersey was worth $75 before it was signed, police said.

Jackson and his attorney, Paul Boas, declined comment after he was arraigned in Pittsburgh City Court and released on an unsecured bond Friday. Boas again declined comment when reached at his office. Jackson faces a preliminary hearing July 25.

The team didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

In one of the scams, Jackson arrived at the woman's home on July 6, gave her an autographed football and pretended to be Roethlisberger, signing the neighbor's jersey, authorities said.

When she got home from their date that night, the neighbor brought her a newspaper article and told her that the man wasn't Roethlisberger.

Allegheny County police said Jackson pretended to be St. Pierre, the third-string quarterback, when he met a woman last September. She told police that during the three weeks they were in contact, Jackson often talked of his "teammates" and offered to autograph footballs for neighborhood kids. Jackson also told the woman to watch Steelers games so she could see him when he went into the game, police said.

When the woman did watch a Steelers game, she saw the real Brian St. Pierre on the screen and realized that Jackson was an impostor, police said. Jackson tried to explain to the woman that he looked "different" on TV, but she asked him not to contact her, police said.

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Southern California defensive tackle Manuel Wright was chosen by the Miami Dolphins on Thursday in the fifth round of the NFL's supplemental draft.

Wright, who was entering his junior season, was the only player chosen in the draft. He was eligible because he is three years out of high school.

As a sophomore last season, the 6-foot-6, 290-pound Wright backed up Shaun Cody and Mike Patterson. Patterson was taken by Philadelphia late in the first round of the regular draft last April, and Cody went early in the second to Detroit. Playing in 11 games, two of them starts, Wright had 23 tackles, including six for a loss, and recovered two fumbles.

He had been expected to start for Southern Cal this season, but had academic problems and finally declared for the supplemental draft.

"Based on Manny's performance in the classroom, we've been prepared for this for a while," Trojans coach Pete Carroll said when Wright declared for the draft.

Nearly all 32 teams were interested, but the Eagles and Miami, which sent five scouts to his workout in Los Angeles, seemed to be most impressed.

The Dolphins, who need help on the defensive line, made no secret of their interest.

"I don't think the difficulty is evaluating him as a football player," new coach Nick Saban said last month.

"I think the evaluation is, he played behind two really good players that were both drafted, and to find out if he has the right stuff to be a consistent performer -- which is questioned sometimes when a guy hasn't played as much and he's a young player coming out. But that's all part of the evaluation as well."

Wright was one of nine players in the supplemental draft. By using a fifth-round choice to take him, the Dolphins forfeit their fifth-rounder next spring.

Niners send Engleberger to Denver for Middlebrooks

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- The San Francisco 49ers acquired cornerback Willie Middlebrooks from the Denver Broncos on Friday for defensive end John Engelberger.

The deal swaps two young defensive players who had fallen out of favor on their original teams.

Middlebrooks, the Broncos' first-round selection in 2001, was a disappointment in Denver, never earning a regular starting job in four seasons. He will join Ahmed Plummer and Shawntae Spencer in the 49ers' improved defensive secondary.

"It's my hope that he would at least be a third ... corner for us," 49ers coach Mike Nolan said. "We're hoping he competes for the second, even the first spot. We haven't had a lot of durability at the position, as well as continuity."

Middlebrooks faces misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault and harassment in the Denver suburb of Aurora, stemming from an alleged fight with a female friend early on New Year's Day. A trial is scheduled for Oct. 11, but Nolan said the 49ers had no qualms about Middlebrooks' character.

"He certainly made a bad choice in the one incident, but he certainly had no [negative] record prior to that," Nolan said.

Engelberger, a second-round draft pick in 2000, led the 49ers with six sacks last season, but was thought to be too small to play defensive end in San Francisco's new 3-4 scheme. Free agent Marques Douglas was signed in April to take Engelberger's starting job, and Engelberger missed the 49ers' minicamps with a wrist injury.

"We're in need of some depth in the secondary, and we do have a couple of extras where Engelberger was playing," Nolan said.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are close to completing a trade for disgruntled Bills running back Travis Henry, a move that would provide insurance for injured starter Fred Taylor.

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said a deal for Henry could be completed "in the next few days or week." Henry demanded a trade after losing his starting job last season to Willis McGahee.

"The fact that we have an opportunity to acquire a running back of this kind of talent is something we have to look at so we're looking at it," Del Rio told the team's Web site. "This may or may not happen, but we're protecting our interests, and any time we think we can acquire somebody who can help us, we're going to do that."

Taylor, who underwent knee surgery in January, will be limited when training camp opens July 29.

Del Rio said Taylor will practice just once a day in shorts for at least the first week of camp. Taylor will be held out of an intrasquad scrimmage Aug. 5, but Del Rio hopes Taylor can practice in pads the week leading up to the preseason opener against Miami on Aug. 13.

"We'll monitor him during that first week," Del Rio said. "We want to see his strength continue to improve."

Taylor has been sidelined all offseason after the surgery to repair two partially torn ligaments in his left knee. He was hurt Dec. 19 against Green Bay and missed the final two games of the season.

Henry, who ran for 3,849 yards and 27 touchdowns in four seasons with the Bills, had a career-low 326 yards rushing last year.

The Jaguars, Tennessee and Seattle have shown interest in Henry. The deal has been delayed because the Bills want at least a third-round pick and Jaguars want to sign Henry to a contract extension. He is in the final year of his current contract.

"The thing that makes Henry attractive is he's proved he can do it," Del Rio said.