<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Wednesday, 03/08/06Jets, Bucs, Falcons eye veteran tackleBy JIM WYATTStaff WriterTackle Brad Hopkins, released by the Titans last week, is already getting interest from other teams around the league.Hopkins is scheduled to visit the Jets today, and has trips scheduled for Tampa Bay and Atlanta later in the week."I think (Brad) just wants to get into where he is going to be. We are certainly going to keep the Titans abreast to what is going on, and we'll see what happens,'' agent Mark Bartelstein said. "It is hard to find great left tackles, so (the interest) doesn't really surprise me.''The Titans released Hopkins after he declined to accept the team's contract proposal. Hopkins was scheduled to earn $5.75 million combined in base salary and roster bonus in 2006, and the Titans offered him the league minimum for a player with his experience ($770,000).Hopkins played in 194 games for the Titans from 1993-2005, including 188 starts. The Titans have said they're interested in re-signing Hopkins at a cheaper price if he's still available later in free agency."We have not severed the relationship with Brad. Brad wanted the opportunity to go out and look around,'' Titans General Manager Floyd Reese said last week. "If he can find a place that he feels good about financially and from a football standpoint, whether playtime or whatever, then he may not be here. If he can't find that, if he can't find something that suits him, then he may be back.''Minimum for Henry: Running back Travis Henry's new deal with the Titans has him scheduled to make the league minimum in 2006, according to figures from the NFL Players Association.In re-working his deal last week, Henry's scheduled base salary of $1 million for '06 was reduced to $545,000 in '06. He's scheduled to earn base salaries of $708,000 in '07, $871,000 in '08 and $1.03 million in '09.Henry rushed for just 335 yards on 88 carries last season, his first year with the Titans.He also missed six games, including four because of an NFL suspension. Tennessee traded a third-round pick to Buffalo for Henry last July.http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.../603080419/1027</div>
He isn't done by any stretch of the imagination. He's lost a step from a couple years back, but is still a good LT. The only reason we released him was because of his huge cap hit. His hit was going to be something like $14 million through prorated signing bonus money, his 2006 salary and a roster bonus. Another factor in his release is Michael Roos, who we drafted last year and started at RT this year. The guy is a monster and I hope he can become a cornerstone tackle for us like Hopkins has been.I think he would be a good pickup for about the same amount of salary he was going to get with us, we just couldn't afford the salary in addition to the prorated signing bonus and the roster bonus.
