NFL | Derrick Ward signs with Buccaneers

TAMPA, Fla. — Derrick Ward said he feels he is a perfect fit for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who want to get younger, tougher and more potent on offense.

The running back signed a four-year, $17 million contract Tuesday, joining a team that is trying to build a new identity after watching an aging defense falter during a season-ending collapse that cost the Bucs a playoff spot.

Ward, 28, rushed for 1,025 yards last season as a backup for the New York Giants. He shared time with Brandon Jacobs, who rushed for 1,089 yards. The Bucs cleared room in the backfield for Ward when they released Warrick Dunn last week.

"I'm a variety of things. I can be a pass-receiving running back, a one-cut-and-up running back, a power running back. I can do it all," said Ward, who joins former Pro Bowl tight end Kellen Winslow as prominent additions for Tampa Bay since the end of the season.

Report: Warner makes proposal to Arizona

Quarterback Kurt Warner, who helped the Arizona Cardinals get to the Super Bowl last season, has offered to give the team a "hometown" discount, ESPN reported.

Warner, 37, visited the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. He reportedly told his agent, Mark Bartelstein, to make a two-year, $23 million proposal to stay with the Cardinals. ESPN reported Warner is willing to reduce his compensation by $1 million a year if Arizona can successfully renegotiate the contract of receiver Anquan Boldin.

The 49ers have offered Warner more money, according to the ESPN report.

Notes

• The New York Jets signed safety Jim Leonhard, 26, the second player first-year Jets coach Rex Ryan has lured away from Baltimore.

Leonhard signed a three-year deal with the Jets, joining linebacker Bart Scott as ex-Baltimore players who have followed former Ravens defensive coordinator Ryan to New York.

• Free-agent running back Cedric Benson, 26, accepted a two-year deal to stay with Cincinnati.

• The Denver Broncos signed ex-49ers defensive tackle Ronald Fields, 27, to a two-year deal.

Broncos officials insisted Jay Cutler, their Pro Bowl quarterback, isn't on the trading block and said first-year coach Josh McDaniels and Cutler are scheduled to meet next week to try to patch up their strained relationship.

• The Dallas Cowboys signed linebacker Matt Stewart, 29, to a one-year contract. He was released by Arizona before last season.

• Receiver Plaxico Burress, 31, might be welcomed back by the New York Giants — if he can straighten out his legal problems stemming from a weapons charge and get his life back in order.

"Right now he is still a Giant and if things work out and he's on board with what we want coming back, we'd love to have him back," general manager Jerry Reese said.

Burress' future is cloudy because he faces an illegal-weapons-possession charge relating to a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New York City nightclub in late November. He faces a mandatory 3 ½ years in prison if convicted.

• Deuce McAllister, a former New Orleans running back who is a free agent, has filed for bankruptcy protection for a car dealership he owns in Mississippi. He is in a dispute with Nissan's financing department, which contends he owes more than $6.6 million and nearly $300,000 in interest.

• Hall of Famer Carl Eller, 67, a former Seahawk who had his best seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, will not be released from a county workhouse in Minnesota while the ex-defensive lineman appeals his misdemeanor convictions for driving under the influence and assault.