pakowitz

Houston plans to stick with the No. 3 selection in the first round. Speculation that the Texans might trade with Cincinnati for the No. 1 pick in order to leap No. 2 Detroit and select Michigan State wide receiver Charlie Rogers is being linked to the Bengals, who are trying to scare Detroit into making a deal. . . . The Texans are no longer considering Arizona State defensive end Terrell Suggs at No. 3. Their top targets are Miami wide receiver Andre Johnson or Kansas State cornerback Terence Newman. . . . Oakland is considering using its second first-round draft pick on Miami running Willis McGahee. . . . Look for the Steelers to release tight end Mark Bruener after June 1. . . . According to a survey of league personnel directors by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Buffalo, Jacksonville, New England and Oakland were the big winners in free agency. . . . At the NFL owners meetings two weeks ago, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan revealed he had watched the videotape of Oakland's Super Bowl XXXVII loss to Tampa Bay at least 10 times, searching for ways to beat the AFC West champion Raiders. . . . All 19 college prospects scheduled to visit the Chiefs for pre-draft interviews play defense.

AUDIBLE: "Bill has what he wants right now. That is full reign over that football team. He doesn't have to worry about, in some people's mind, an icon player like myself getting in the way. He can crack that whip as hard as he wants right now, and nobody can say anything. That right there was the main reason why I had to part from the Cowboys and allow him and the Cowboys to do what they felt they needed to do in order to get that team whipped into shape for where they want to go." -- Cardinals running back Emmitt Smith on his former team and Cowboys coach Bill Parcells.