POSTED 9:24 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:16 p.m. EDT, April 15, 2006

INDIAN RESERVATION LOOKING TO SCALP A FIRST-ROUNDER?

There's a rumor running rampant through agent circles regarding a first-round prospect in the NFL draft who is getting the screws put to him by, of all things, an Indian reservation.

We've heard from multiple agents that an Indian reservation hoping to start a sports agency bought the prospect's parents a house and began to make payments on it.  Once the prospect signed with a different agent, the Indians stopped making payments -- and are now threatening to go public.

We've also heard that said prospect has hired a lawyer to deal with the situation.

For now, the player will remain nameless in this space, since we don't know whether it's a wild rumor or whether it's true.  We'll leave it to the real journalists out there to run with this one.  You know, the guys with real resources and real legal departments and real insurance policies to cover real lawsuits.

Although the folks who made the improper payments would face no NFLPA-imposed discipline since they weren't licensed agents, there could be criminal liability under applicable state law.  But the ability to exact revenge on the prospect by disclosing the payments in the days leading up to the draft might justify any consequences the Indians could face.

For the prospect in question, the news -- if true -- is highly unlikely to affect his draft stock.  But it could possibly diminish his marketability in off-field pursuits, especially if the payments from the Indian reservation spark a broader inquiry that yields evidence of more extensive payments to the player.

We likely won't say anything more about this one, publicly or privately, until someone else reports on it.  And if we learn that the rumor is unfounded, we'll post that information here, too.

MORE REPORTS OF MONEY-MAKING BY PROSPECTS

While we're on the topic, we've also caught wind of the terms that another first-round prospect requested from the agents who were in the running to represent him.

Among other things, the player wanted a multi-million-dollar marketing guarantee, plus a payment of $500,000.

Marketing guarantees are technically permitted by the NFLPA.  Under such arrangements, the agent promises that the player will earn a certain amount of money from endorsement deals.  If the player fails to meet the threshold, the agent makes up the difference.

Cash payments, however, to the player or to any of the player's family members are strictly prohibited by NFLPA regulations.

We don't know whether, in the end, the requested terms were met.  We'll say nothing more about this one, either, unless and until we can get our hands on the paperwork setting forth the various demands.

CLARIFYING THE JOHNSON DEAL

We've gotten several questions from readers regarding the specific length of fullback Jeremi Johnson's contract with the Bengals.  There are various reports that he signed on Friday a six-year deal worth $7.5 million. 

Actually, Johnson inked on Friday a five-year, $7.5 million extension to the one-year, $712,000 tender he signed on Thursday.  He'll get nearly $1.7 million in new money in 2006.

A two-paragraph story seems too short, so we felt compelled to add this sentence.

SATURDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Agent Bus Cook says that the Titans are standing firm in their position that QB Steve McNair should work out somewhere else.

Bengals president Mike Brown is talking smack on the big-market teams:  “We do better with the market that has been given to us than Houston, Dallas and some other large-market teams, when you consider what we generate out of our market compared to what they generate out of theirs.”

Plenty of readers think that the new Vikings helmet will include the modified horn that appears on the team's new web site.

A race in honor of former NFL DB Pat Tillman raised $350,000 for the foundation established in his memory.

Former NFL DE Alonzo Spellman is ripping up the Arena League.

If WR Ricky Proehl retires, 37-year-old Jimmy Smith will be the oldest wideout in the NFL.

Former Michigan WR Braylon Edwards has given $500,000 to the university.

Former NFL lineman Esera Tuaolo has written a book regarding his experiences as a gay man in pro football; he says that at age nine he wanted an Easy Bake Oven.  (But if liking to cook means that a guy is gay, does that mean that Chef Boyardee prefers boys-and-dudes?) 

POSTED 11:16 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 12:32 p.m. EDT, April 15, 2006

PACMAN TIED TO DRUG DEALER?

The Nashville Tennesseean reports that one of nine suspected drug dealers arrested recently in and around Nashville has ties to Titans cornerback Pacman Jones.

Davidson County District Attorney Torry Johnson says that Jones is acquainted with Darryl Jerome Moore, an aspiring rap singer who previously has served time in California on drug charges.  A 2004 Cadillac XLR confiscated from Moore's apartment had the words "Pac Man" embroidered on the seat.  Police also seized a whopping 127 pounds of cocaine from the home of Moore's father. 

"Clearly, there is some connection between Mr. Jones and one of the arrested individuals, Mr. Moore," Johnson said.  "But I want to emphasize, he has not been charged. The investigation will continue, and we'll just have to see where it goes."

Predictably, Jones' agent and lawyer are defending their guy. 

"All I know, with regard to the car, is that he doesn't have ownership of the car," said attorney Roger May.  "I do not have any knowledge of the investigation at all.  Anything else would be pure speculation."

"It says Cadillac on the car, too," said agent Michael Huyghue.  "Maybe they should call the head of Cadillac."  (Memo to Mike:  You would be doing a better service to your client on this one if you'd keep your mouth shut.)

The Tennesseean tried to reach Jones.  On their first attempt to call his cell phone, the reporter was told that Jones was unavailable, and that the reporter should call back later.  On the second try, the reporter was told that it was the wrong number. 

Stay tuned on this one.  Jones has had several brushes with the law over the past year, but has been exonerated of all charges.  Our guess is that the prosecutors will explore carefully his connection, if any, to Moore -- and that if there's any way they think they can make something stick, they'll definitely try.

DENZEL'S SON HOPING TO LAND IN THE NFL

One of the little-known facts regarding this year's crop of draft-eligible players is that the pool includes the offspring of a two-time Oscar winner.

Running back John David Washington, the son of actor Denzel Washington, has been training in Florida for the past several weeks, with an eye toward running again for scouts on April 22.  John David Washington attended the UCLA pro day workout without any formal training in running the 40 and generated a number in the high 4.6 range.  He has since been working with a trainer, and he expects to post a number in the low 4.5s the next time around.

Washington, a four-year starter at Morehouse, was named in 2005 to the first-team all-SIAC conference squad.  As a sophomore in 2003, Washington broke the school's 25-year-old single-game rushing record with 241 yards on 33 carries.

Morehouse is in the same conference as Tuskegee, which has produced several NFL draft picks in recent years.  Most notably, cornerback Drayton Florence was selected in the second round by the Chargers in 2003.

Denzel Washington's latest film, Inside Man, was directed by Spike Lee, who also went to Morehouse.  In 2000, Washington starred in one of our all-time favorites, Remember the Titans, a football flick that also featured the dude from Scrubs, the hilarious Randy from My Name is Earl, and the guy who looks like Nick Sorensen of the Jaguars.

SAINTS GENUINELY INTERESTED IN LEINART

Although our initial reaction to the news that quarterback Matt Leinart will be visiting the Saints was that Leinart's people are merely trying to coax the Titans to trade up in order to get him, a league source tells us that the Saints genuinely are interested in Leinart, and could select him with the No. 2 overall pick.

New Saints coach Sean Payton, we're told, regards Leinart as a legitimate franchise quarterback.  And many guys around the league believe that, if a team can get a franchise quarterback at the top of the draft, the team should jump on him.

Of course, whether the guy actually pans out remains to be seen.  Over the years, the success rate of first-round signal-callers is 50 percent, at best. 

Most people assumed that the Saints would not draft a quarterback at No. 2, since New Orleans signed quarterback Drew Brees last month to a big-money, multi-year deal.  But a $12 million option bonus that comes due next March could make the Brees deal a one-year, $10 million arrangement, especially if he's unable to fully and adequately recover for a shoulder injury.

Leinart also is an attractive option for the franchise, if the Saints are sold and moved to Los Angeles.  We've recently heard that, despite all of the warm and fuzzies of late between the NFL and New Orleans, the Saints could be gone as soon as 2007.

SATURDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

We're hearing that the Giants yanked the RFA tender of DT Kenderick Allen because he wasn't participating in the offseason program.

Unforunately, the cache of DJ Dirty Sanchez's myspace.com page is now dead.

USC RB LenDale White and USC S Darnell Bing will visit the Steelers next week.

Rams RB Marshall Faulk hasn't decided whether to return for 2006, and he hasn't been cleared to participate in offseason workouts after having both knees 'scoped.

Rams TE Brandon Manumaleuna isn't participating in the team's voluntary offseason program (and new Rams head coach Scott Linehan hasn't learned yet that the NFLPA won't say anything if he suggests publicly that the sessions aren't really voluntary).

Drew Rosenhaus left Chicago on Friday without an extension for Bears LB Lance Briggs.

The Cardinals are sticking to their recent trend of not bringing in any prospective draft picks for visits.  (They claim that they get all of the information that they need in Indy at the combine, but it's hard not to chalk this one up to the reputed cheapness of the Bidwills.)

The Cards remain interested in WR Az Hakim.

The Cards are trying to dampen expectations that they'll draft a quarterback in round (which of course means that it's exactly what they're looking to do).

The Packers have signed WR Leo Bookman.

The participating of WR Tyrone Calico in Tennessee's offseason program has been "a little inconsistent," according to coach Jeff Fisher.

The Vikings plan to poke around the knee of Florida State CB Antonio Cromartie.

Chargers LB Donnie Edwards reportedly can be had for a second-round draft pick.  (Hell, if G.M. A.J. Smith is gonna dream, he might as well make it a first-rounder.)

DT John McCargo, who's stock could be rising, is visiting the Ravens on Monday.

Minnesota V.P. of player personnel Fran Foley will assess the employees of the personnel department and the scouting staff after the draft.

The Titans currently aren't interested in bringing back LB Rocky Calmus.

The agent for CB Ty Law says that he hopes to get a visit to the Titans.

Two of the biggest new arrivals to Tennessee -- WR David Givens and S Chris Hope -- won't be wearing their old numbers.

Viriginia RB Wali Lundy will visit the Eagles.

Browns WR Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow might have to get a room soon.

Chargers G.M. A.J. Smith says that his team won't draft a kicker, a punter, or a running back.

LB A.J. Hawk visited the Titans on Friday.