LaVar back as Big Blue possibility

BY RALPH VACCHIANO
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
*LaVar Arrington has reopened talks with Giants, but team says
linebacker needs to drop his asking price. *

The Giants are back in the LaVar Arrington chase, and this time it
appears the ex-Redskins linebacker may be serious about striking a deal.

Arrington will arrive in town for his second visit with the team this
morning, according to an associate of his agent, and has even agreed to
undergo a physical - something he declined to do when he first visited
the Giants on March 11-12. That's an important concession for the
27-year-old free agent because of league-wide concerns about the health
of his surgically repaired right knee.

The associate, Kyle Harden, said Arrington's hope is to eliminate any
health concerns the Giants might have and jump-start their stalled
negotiations. He added that Arrington intends to sign with someone
before the April 29 NFL draft - possibly even in the next few days.

That timetable could benefit the Giants - who signed linebacker Brandon
Short yesterday to return to the team after two years playing for
Carolina - because Harden said they are the only team Arrington is
planning to visit before the draft. According to league sources, his
only choices are the Giants, Jaguars, Dolphins and Packers. So far none
of those teams has been willing to meet his asking price of seven years,
$54 million with $18million guaranteed.

Yesterday, Harden did not give any indication that Arrington's asking
price will go down. "The team that gets LaVar is getting a three-time
Pro Bowler," he said. "LaVar is looking for a fair-market deal."

He'll have to look elsewhere if his price doesn't drop, however, because
the Giants are comfortable with finding their starting weakside
linebacker somewhere in the draft. If they do, their interest in
Arrington would disappear, which was obviously a factor in his decision
to take a physical for the team.

If Arrington passes the physical, a Giants source said they would be
willing to re-open negotiations if his price is reasonable. Harden said
talks between Arrington's agent, Kevin Poston, and Giants assistant GM
Kevin Abrams have been "going back and forth" for several weeks, though
a Giants source said there had been no serious discussions since early
March.

Meanwhile, the addition of Short, who played for the Giants from
2000-03, should have no impact on their pursuit of Arrington. Short, who
plays the strong side, was added mostly for depth. Carolina released
Short in early March.

*Originally published on April 20, 2006*


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