Is Deion Done In Dallas?
Deion Sanders wants to play for a team that has a chance to win a Super Bowl and says his days with the Dallas Cowboys likely are over.
Sanders, an 11-year veteran, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Monday's editions he has no regrets about his five-year stay in Dallas, which included a Super Bowl title in 1995.
"I had a wonderful time," Sanders said. "I wanted some more wins. I wanted more Super Bowls. But it was good. I understood I was a hired gun. I've still got some bullets. It's not my fault the gun doesn't shoot like it used to."
The team was expected to cut Sanders, 32, on June 2 because of his $12.7 million price tag for 2000.
Cowboys officials also are disappointed by Sanders' decision to play baseball again. Sanders will report to the Cincinnati Reds next week for spring training.
Sanders, whose Dallas career included four Pro Bowl selections, was limping around his Plano home Sunday rather than playing in the latest bowl with his all-star peers.
While Sanders says he's happy for new Cowboys coach Dave Campo and new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, he said he thinks his days in Dallas are done.
"It doesn't look good," Sanders said.
The Cowboys did not return a telephone call Monday from The Associated Press.
Last month, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones backed off a previous statement that he'd like to see the animated defender-punt returner in a Dallas uniform for the rest of his career. Jones said then that a solution might come this spring.
Sanders returned from career-threatening toe surgery last year to play in the team's final 14 regular-season games. Surgeons last month also repaired a medial meniscus tear on Sanders' right knee. The player had a cast on his ankle after it was sprained in a Christmas Eve loss to New Orleans.
The departure of Sanders to play baseball would leave Dallas thin at cornerback. The two top corners behind Sanders, Kevin Smith and Kevin Mathis, have missed 21 games combined over the past two seasons.
Sanders, who signed with the Cowboys as a free agent five years ago, agreed with the team on a $51.5 million, five-year contract last offseason.
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