Ravens Trade for McGahee; Lewis to Browns

Running back Willis McGahee was traded to the Baltimore Ravens by Buffalo for three draft choices Thursday, a day after Jamal Lewis signed with Cleveland.

The Bills will get third- and seventh-round picks this year and a third next year.

McGahee, with whom the Bills had become dissatisfied, is to travel to Baltimore to meet with team officials later in the day. The Ravens expected him to take a physical either late Thursday or on Friday.


McGahee had one year left on his five-year contract with Buffalo, and had been seeking an extension.

"This is a runner who can make people miss and has the explosion and speed to take it the distance," Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "He also has the power and size to run inside. He's a viable receiver out of the backfield and is a good pass blocker, not something every back can do.

"He also plays physical and with toughness, which are things we pride ourselves on here."

Lewis, whose productivity had been declining, was released last week by the Ravens.

McGahee will take over as the No. 1, ahead of sparingly used backup Mike Anderson and Musa Smith, who has primarily been used on special teams.

The Bills were not immediately available for comment.

Buffalo's first-round pick out of Miami in 2003, McGahee is coming off a down season in which he finished with a career-low 990 yards rushing, but led the team with six touchdowns rushing in 14 starts.

In 2005, he had 1,247 yards rushing and five touchdowns in 15 starts. He established himself as the Bills starter in 2004 with 1,128 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns in 11 starts. That performance led the team to trade former starter Travis Henry to Tennessee the following summer.


McGahee sat out his rookie season recovering from major knee surgery.

The Bills are now left searching for a starting running back to play in front of a revamped offensive line that features two new starters — guard Derrick Dockery and tackle Langston Walker — signed on the first day of free agency last week.

Third-stringer Shaud Williams is the only experienced running back currently on the team's depth chart.

The Bills have expressed interest in at least two free agents, meeting this week with Chris Brown, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, and Dominic Rhodes, a member of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts.

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Jamal Lewis will have to find another team for his personal patsy. The former 2,000-yard rusher joined the Cleveland Browns on Wednesday night, agreeing to a one-year deal with the club he set an NFL single-game rushing record against.

In 2003, Lewis torched the Browns for 295 yards on the ground. He rushed for 2,066 yards, the second-highest total in league history, that year, and was the league's offensive player of the year.

The free agent was released last week in a salary-cap move by Baltimore, which elected not to pay its career rushing leader a $5 million roster bonus. He'll now try to boost the Browns, who were last in the league in rushing in 2006.

With the 27-year-old Lewis on board, the Browns must decide what to do with incumbent Reuben Droughns. They owe Droughns a $1.75 million roster bonus later this month.

Slowed by injuries, Droughns rushed for just 758 yards last season after gaining 1,232 yards in 2005 — the first Cleveland back to eclipse 1,000 yards since 1985.

In other moves:

_Green Bay released 36-year-old fullback William Henderson, leaving Brett Favre as the only member of the 1996 Super Bowl championship team still playing for the Packers.

_New Orleans agreed to terms on a one-year contract with tight end Eric Johnson, and veteran cornerback Fred Thomas agreed to a pay cut.

Johnson, with the San Francisco 49ers the last six years, missed three games in 2006 because of a strained knee and finished with 34 catches for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He also missed two of the last four seasons with a broken collarbone in 2003 and a torn foot muscle in 2005. In 2004, however, Johnson had a team-leading 82 catches for 825 yards, including a pair of touchdowns.

_Houston signed journeyman linebacker Danny Clark, who has played with Jacksonville, Oakland and New Orleans.

_Baltimore released 350-pound guard Edwin Mulitalo, who missed most of last season with a torn triceps. "When you release a player like Edwin, it gives you pause," coach Brian Billick said of the 32-year-old eight-year starter. "This is the cold side of the business. All he did was everything we asked him to do and more. He was always an example to his teammates as to how a professional should conduct himself."

_Washington released kicker John Hall, a 10-year veteran who missed most of last season with a leg injury.

_Pittsburgh re-signed running back Najeh Davenport, who backed up Willie Parker after being signed last September. The former Packer rushed for 220 yards on 80 carries.

_Atlanta signed cornerback Lewis Sanders, who started seven games for Houston last season.

_Jean-Phillipe Darche, a long snapper who spent seven years in Seattle, signed with Kansas City.

_Denver was looking for a tight end to boost its offense, and got the best available in Daniel Graham. He agreed to a five-year, $30 million deal that includes $15 million in guaranteed money.

New England drafted Graham 21st overall in 2002. He caught 120 passes for 1,393 yards and 17 touchdowns with the Patriots, but recently was primarily a blocker.

_St. Louis signed former Miami Dolphins TE Randy McMichael to a 3-year contract.