[wooclosmercob]

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...5/31price.html
Falcons cut Price
Wide receiver was entering third year of $37.5M deal

By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/30/05

Flowery Branch -- For the Falcons, the Price was wrong.

After months of speculation, the team released wide receiver Peerless Price Tuesday morning, parting with a once highly productive player who failed to live up to lofty expectations and a $37 million contract ($10 million signing bonus) after being acquired from the Buffalo Bills for a first-round draft pick in 2003.
Price was told before practice and sped out of the parking lot at team headquarters in his BMW just as the team was beginning to stretch for the day's drills.

"I hate y'all," Price said to an AJC photographer, before hustling into his car without further comment.

The waiving of Price enables him to catch on with another team before the start of the season. The Tennessee Titans and the Philadelphia Eagles, the Falcons' season-opening opponent, are thin at wide receiver and could be first in line to give Price a chance.

As for the Falcons, the biggest question looming has been answered. Now, the team has to find a fifth receiver, which could come either through picking up a veteran who has been released by another team - the Cincinnati Bengals waived former first-round pick Peter Warrick Tuesday - or by signing a player already in camp.

Rookie free agents Cole Magner, Romby Bryant and arena leaguer Will Pettis have impressed the coaching staff. The Falcons will save $2 million in salary this season by cutting Price but they will take a $5.7 million hit against the cap next year because his salary-cap figure accelerates. The financial stake with such a move was a key reason the team did not release him earlier this year.

However, the signs of his possible departure have been in the works for months. Following 64 and 45 catch seasons and with the coaching staff expressing concerns with his blocking in the run game, the Falcons selected wide receivers Michael Jenkins and Roddy White in the first round of the past two drafts.

This summer, they publicly declared Price's starting job open for competition then challenged him over offseason drills. They also kept an eye on his behavior, from how he addressed teammates and coaches to how he handled the often-critical media.

Price passed on all counts but was still demoted behind Jenkins when training camp opened. Price never openly complained and was praised for his hard work in practice. In the end, though, he was not deemed a right fit.