Packers Ink Maryland

April 20, 2000 / 6:59 PM EDT / CBS/AP

The Green Bay Packers' defense has a new big man in the middle.

Defensive tackle Russell Maryland signed a three-year, $8.3 million contract with the Packers on Thursday. Maryland immediately becomes the focal point of Green Bay's rebuilding efforts on a defense that floundered last season after Reggie White's retirement.

Maryland, 31, the first overall pick in the 1991 draft, spent the last four seasons with the Oakland Raiders after helping the Dallas Cowboys win three Super Bowl titles.

He was released by Oakland on March 31 in a cost-cutting move, and Packers GM Ron Wolf began pursuing Maryland the player generally considered the best veteran defensive lineman in the free-agent pool.

"Russell Maryland is a player we feel very strongly about, even more so than some other players we pursued," Wolf said. "He's a perfect fit for this team and a perfect fit for our new defensive look."

Green Bay's efforts to sign Seattle defensive tackle Sam Adams failed last weekend when Adams signed with Baltimore just hours before the draft. That's when the Packers went all-out after Maryland.

Coach Mike Sherman flew to Oakland earlier this week to meet with Maryland, and Packers contract negotiator Andrew Brandt traveled to Los Angeles to jump-start negotiations with Maryland's agent, Leigh Steinberg.

"The Packers were tremendous recruiters," Steinberg said. "Coach Sherman met Russell face-to-face, and he was very effective."

The contract includes a $1.75 million signing bonus, and the yearly salaries are heavily weighted toward the third year to help the Packers fit the deal under the salary cap.

Maryland will receive $750,000 this season, $1.4 million in 2001 and $3.5 million in 2002, along with a possible third-year bonus of nearly $1 million. The deal also contains incentives for reaching certain marks in playing time.

Maryland will be the starting nose tackle in new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell's revamped scheme. The deal also further reduces the chance that Gilbert Brown, the massive keystone of the Packers' defense during their consecutive Super Bowl trips, will return to Green Bay.

Brown's play slipped drastically in the last two seasons as his weight ballooned. He is currently tryin to lose weight at a health clinic, but he hasn't attracted any suitors as a free agent.

Wolf said last week the Packers might welcome back Brown at the NFL minimum salary of $440,000 even if they signed Maryland.

Brown's inability to stuff the run as he had done in years past was one of the reasons the Packers slumped to an 8-8 record last season and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. Green Bay's defense finished 22nd in rushing yards allowed and 29th in sacks.

Wolf had intended to draft a defensive lineman Saturday, but tight end Mark Chmura's arrest amid accusations of sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl as well as concerns about his comeback from a neck injury complicated matters.

With defensive linemen Corey Simon and Shaun Ellis already gone, Wolf selected tight end Bubba Franks with the 14th overall pick in the draft. Wolf didn't pick a defensive lineman until the third round, when he grabbed Nebraska nose guard Steve Warren.

The Arizona Cardinals were believed to be the only other serious contender for Maryland. Most teams were already too overextended to accommodate Maryland.

Maryland, a Chicago native who operates a charitable organization in his hometown, had expressed a desire to return to the Midwest. His presence bolsters a defensive line that was mediocre last season even before Keith McKenzie and Vaughn Booker left as free agents.

Maryland joins returnees Santana Dotson, Vonnie Holliday, Billy Lyon and Cletidus Hunt on the line, along with draft picks Warren and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. In addition, the Packers already had signed John Thierry and acquired David Bowens from Denver to bolster the line.