Rice wants to catch on with another club.

Jerry Rice has a million reasons to agree on a new contract with a new team before being released by the 49ers, which may keep his name off the early list of June 1 salary-cap casualties.

As they did with Steve Young, the 49ers are willing to pay Rice $1 million to retire as a 49er. Rice's preference is to play a couple of more seasons, but he needs to lock into a bid from suitors Oakland, Seattle and Detroit before saying goodbye to the 49ers' going-away gift. Bidding intensifies this week.

Good Luckett?
Referee Phil Luckett bounced back from two controversies in 1998 – a Thanksgiving Day coin toss in Detroit and a goal-line play in which Vinny Testaverde's helmet was mistaken for a football – to grade out the last two seasons as one of the league's best officials. Professionally satisfied and wanting to invest more of his week with family, Luckett, according to the NFL, has decided on his own to be a back judge this season instead of a referee.

Titans prepared for Peyton
Titans coach Jeff Fisher stacks his roster to counter the best teams in his division, but he won't have to make too many adjustments when Colts quarterback Peyton Manning joins him in the new AFC South in 2002.

From early analysis of how Manning is defensed by Patriots coach Bill Belichick and the Dolphins, the Titans are prepared for future years of Manning. Their man-to-man pass defense scheme coupled with the pass rush of Jevon Kearse and Kevin Carter leave them prepared for Tennessee's favorite son.

Bengal steps into the ring

	Langford

While Randy Moss and Tony Gonzalez use pro basketball leagues to keep their bodies in shape, Bengals defensive end Jevon Langford has found pro boxing.

Though he has played in the 290s in Cincinnati, Langford is a chiseled 268 pounds prepping for his June 8 four-round fight in Denver against Francis Royal. With one first-round knockout victory to his credit, Langford says he is under consideration for a late June HBO bout if he wins. However, his goal is to establish himself as an NFL heavyweight and eventually become a heavyweight boxing contender.

John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.