The Nfl

Rison Expectations

The Andre Rison Era at Cleveland Stadium opened Sunday with a very surprising performance by Rison: two receptions for 18 yards, one drop, one sideline tiff with quarterback Vinny Testaverde and one humble postgame interview. In 103 offensive plays over eight quarters this season, Rison has four catches for 32 yards—meager numbers considering the five-year, $17.1 million contract he signed with the Browns in March. But the Rison who spoke in the locker room after Sunday's 22-6 defeat of the Buccaneers wasn't the arrogant Rison of old. "As long as we win, that's why I'm here," he said. "For me, winning takes away the personal goals. I've got stats I could pile up for days, but I haven't been to a Super Bowl."

With the Browns leading 19-0 in the third quarter, Testaverde underthrew Rison on a third-and-three from the Tampa Bay 37. When they got to the sideline, Testaverde lit into Rison, kicking a cooler for emphasis. Rison yapped back. As Rison explained afterward, Testaverde thought that Rison had run too deep a route; Rison disagreed. "We'll see who was right on the film," he said pleasantly in the locker room. "But you know what the important thing is? It shows the relationship we've built. We can disagree, and we're fine."

The attention paid to Rison by the Bucs left half the field open for Derrick Alexander and Keenan McCardell, who together caught nine passes for 171 yards.

Dallas Dollars

Now that the Cowboys have signed Deion Sanders (for $35 million over seven years, including a $13 million signing bonus) the nucleus of this team should remain largely intact for the next couple of seasons. If Dallas signs linebacker Darrin Smith, who is holding out in a salary dispute, that would leave defensive back Darren Woodson as the only significant possible free-agent defection at the end of this season.

But by having signed his key players to long-term deals and then adding Sanders's megabucks to the mix, Dallas owner Jerry Jones will face a salary-cap squeeze in 1996. The Cowboys will spend $30.3 million on their 15 most important signed players next year. Since the salary cap should be right around $40 million in '96, that will leave only $10 million for 38 players. And while two of Jones's Big Three—quarterback Troy Aikman and wide receiver Michael Irvin—should be content with their current deals, look for the third, three-time NFL rushing champion Emmitt Smith, who is only 26, to seek to have Jones redo his contract if he has another stellar year.

Beyond '96, Sanders's status will have a lot to do with Jones's ability to deal with the cap. Sanders's $13 million signing bonus is prorated over seven years. If he suffers a career-ending injury or decides to quit the game before his contract expires, the entire unpaid portion of his bonus would be counted against the Dallas cap the following year.

Here's how that Dallas nucleus shapes up on Jones's ledger sheet:

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]