Swann Gets Released by Cardinals

Eric Swann, when healthy one of the most dominant defensive linemen in football, was released Tuesday by the Arizona Cardinals.

The release was expected. Swann had requested it and the team was concerned about the salary cap--the release saves the team $3.5 million that General Manager Bob Ferguson will use to try to sign first-round draft pick Thomas Jones before camp begins July 21. Jones, a running back from Virginia, is the last unsigned player of the eight the Cardinals drafted in April.

Swann, who turns 30 in August, has played nine seasons in the NFL. Despite never having played college football, he was the Cardinals first-round selection in 1991 NFL draft.

But he had been sidelined for 21 games over the past three seasons because of injuries.

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The Tennessee Titans’ Eddie George moved closer to becoming the highest-paid running back in the NFL.

George’s agent, Lamont Smith, said he and the Titans made “substantial progress� Tuesday. George would become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

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Pittsburgh Steeler nose tackle Joel Steed retired because of knee problems and his impending release from the team.

Steed, 31, said he was “fortunate� to play his entire eight-year NFL career in Pittsburgh.

Steed was scheduled to make $3 million each of the next two seasons.

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The Miami Dolphins waived safety Calvin Jackson, 27, after six years with the team and signed third-round draft pick Arturo Freeman, 23, to a three-year, $929,000 contract, the team said. Freeman could replace Jackson. . . . The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed former Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton to a three-year contract. . . . The San Francisco 49ers are expected to name Peter L. Harris, a former toy company and video game executive, as their president and chief executive officer, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported.