Redskins, Cowboys capture headlines at owners meetings

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As they would prefer, the Eagles arrived at the NFL owners meetings under the radar while two NFC East rivals filed a grievance to have a combined $46 million in salary cap penalties overturned.

Earlier this month, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys were fined by the league for front-loading contracts during the uncapped 2010 season. The Redskins were hit with a $36 million penalty, and the Cowboys took a $10 million blow. The penalties will be split evenly over the next two seasons.

"Within the confines of our collective bargaining agreement, we are trying to have a voice and a hearing in terms of our cap situation," said Stephen Jones, Dallas' director of player personnel.

The Redskins had no comment on the filing. The 30 other NFL owners are expected to be briefed on the grievance this week during the owners meetings.

Arbitrator Stephen Burbank will hear the grievance. It's unclear what will come of the complaint. Neither team is expected to file any legal action.

The NFL, with the NFL Players Association's blessing, decided March 12 that the Redskins and Cowboys endured cap hits in 2010 rather than spread them out during the length of the contracts, giving them unfair advantages.

New York Giants owner John Mara, chairman of the management council, which doled out the fines, said that the penalties could have been harsher.

"I thought the penalties imposed were proper," Mara said Sunday at the Breakers Hotel. "What they did was in violation of the spirit of the salary cap. They attempted to take advantage of a one-year loophole, and quite frankly, I think they're lucky they didn't lose draft picks."

The Eagles, along with 27 other teams, will receive an additional $1.6 million toward their cap space. The New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders are the only two teams that will not receive a portion of the money.

The Saints will be under intense scrutiny this week after NFL commissioner Roger Goodell punished coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis for their roles in covering up defensive coordinator Greg Williams' bounty program.

Payton will start serving a one-year suspension on April 1. Loomis will be banned from the Saints' first eight regular-season games. Williams, who left to become St. Louis' defensive coordinator earlier this year, is suspended indefinitely.

Despite their penalties, Payton and Loomis are expected to attend the meetings, according to ESPN. The topic of bounties and how to eliminate them certainly will be broached this week.

On the official docket, however, are rules proposals that dramatically would change the use of instant replay. The Buffalo Bills proposed scrapping the coaches' challenges, instead relying completely on a replay official in the booth to decide on calls.

There's also a proposal that would take the playoff overtime rules enacted last season and use them in the regular season as well. As it stands now, the team that scores first in overtime wins. But under the new system, both teams have possessions if the team that received the opening kickoff did not score a touchdown.

The Eagles' contingent at the meetings consists of owner Jeffrey Lurie, coach Andy Reid, team president Joe Banner, and general manager Howie Roseman.

Reid will sit down for a roundtable discussion on Wednesday. Surely, he will be asked about a Los Angeles Times report last week that said he threatened to walk away from the Eagles unless he was given more control over personnel. Reid already refuted the report in a statement, saying he already has final say on personnel matters.

Reid's team, though, is far from complete. The Eagles traded for middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans last week, but still have to address some areas of depth at running back, quarterback, safety, tackle, and linebacker.

The Eagles also have to solve their logjam at cornerback, with Asante Samuel, Nnamdi Asomugha, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie still on the roster. The 31-year-old Samuel is expected to be on the trading block.