In the words of NFL Players Association counsel Jeffrey Kessler, punter Todd Sauerbrun is now a ldquo;free man. rdquo; A special master yesterday ruled against the Patriots, asserting the team improperly filed the clause that would have secured first-refusal rights. The case was heard in Boston by Stephen Burbank, a visiting law professor at Harvard.
After finishing last season with the Patriots as an emergency replacement, Sauerbrun signed a reported one-year, 820,000 contract with the Broncos April 3. He stated publicly he wanted to return to Denver and compete for a job, but the Pats matched the offer.
Sauerbrun is now free to sign with anyone.
The Rocky Mountain News reported on its Web site last night that Sauerbrun is soon expected to sign with the Broncos, for whom he punted in 2005.
ldquo;The ruling was the Patriots rsquo; right of first refusal was void. The Patriots did not follow the procedures clearly specified in the collective bargaining agreement, rdquo; Kessler said yesterday.
ldquo;So the Patriots will have to find another punter, I rsquo;m afraid. Todd can come back to them if they want to outbid the market. That rsquo;s always a possibility, but right now, he rsquo;s a free man.
rdquo;
The Pats currently have three punters under contract, most notably veteran Josh Miller, who was put on injured reserve last November after undergoing shoulder surgery. He had been the team rsquo;s mainstay the past three seasons. Also vying for the job will be practice squad signees Danny Baugher and Tom Malone.
The agent of cornerback Tory James anticipates a formal announcement of his client rsquo;s signing with the club will come tomorrow, though he said there are still a few language issues to be resolved before the one-year 1.35 million dealbecomes official . .
.
Louisville running back Michael Bush was in for a visit yesterday. The 6-foot-1, 243-pound back broke his leg last season, and underwent a second surgery a month ago to place a larger rod in his leg to promote further healing.
He wasn rsquo;t at the combine, nor was he able to participate at pro day.
ldquo;He said it was a good visit, and he enjoyed it, rdquo; agent Todd France said of Bush, who had been projected as one of the top backs in the draft before the injury. ldquo;There was a red flag of concern by some teams.
We rsquo;re trying to eliminate that, we rsquo;re trying to get the negative perception that he rsquo;s hurt out of the way.
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