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PACKERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH SANTANA DOTSON, KOONCE ON MULTIYEAR PACTS
posted 02/12/99
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| Santana Dotson | George Koonce |
The Green Bay Packers have agreed to terms on multiyear contracts with two key members of their defensive unit, tackle Santana Dotson and linebacker George Koonce, Vice President/General Counsel Lance Lopes announced today.
In keeping with team policy, financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
In another personnel move, the Packers have designated wide receiver Antonio Freeman as a franchise player. With it, the team has the right to match any offer he might receive from another club, or receive two first-round draft choices in compensation.
Dotson, who has never missed a game in his seven NFL seasons, started all 16 games in 1998 for the second year in a row and the third time in his career. He closed out the season with 43 tackles, second-highest total along the defensive line, including 28 solo stops.
The 29-year-old Baylor product also posted three quarterback sacks, forced one fumble, recovered one and was credited with 5 passes defensed.
Along the way, he played a key role in limiting the Detroit Lions' Barry Sanders to 70 yards rushing in the Packers' season opener, snapping Sanders' NFL-record streak of consecutive 100-yard rushing games at 14.
Dotson also registered 5 tackles as Green Bay's defense held the Oilers' Eddie George to 30 rushing yards in 15 carries in a 30-22 victory over Tennessee December 20.
He subsequently shared a sack - with linebacker Bernardo Harris - of 49ers quarterback Steve Young in the Packers' wild card playoff at San Francisco January 3.
Koonce, a starter since the early weeks of his rookie year in 1992, has amassed 573 tackles during his seven NFL seasons, including 119 in 1994 and 117 in 1996, emerging as the team leader in both seasons.
He also surpassed the l00-tackle mark in 1993, registering 125 stops, when he was runnerup to team leader Johnny Holland.
A 14-game starter in 1998 - he was inactive for contests at Detroit October 15 and against Baltimore October 25 after suffering a hamstring injury against Minnesota October 5 - Koonce finished sixth on the team with 68 tackles, including 37 unassisted stops. He also posted one sack and recovered one fumble.
The 30-year-old World League alumnus had his most productive outing of the year in the Packers' 16-13 victory over the Chicago Bears in their regular-season finale December 27, posting a season-high 10 tackles. He also made his presence felt in the wild card playoff against the 49ers the following week, forging 5 tackles and making a second quarter interception at Green Bay's 17-yard line, turning the ball over to quarterback Brett Favre, who escorted the Packers 83 yards in 7 plays to their second touchdown and a 17-10 lead.
The Packers also have signed defensive end Christopher Reed as a free agent. Reed, 6-4 and 279 pounds, originally signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent July 21, 1998, following his junior year at Abilene Christian. He subsequently was placed on waivers August 25 and was out of football during the regular season.
An all-conference selection at Navarro Junior College, Reed posted 8 tackles for 50 yards in losses and made 6 quarterback sacks for 44 yards in losses for Abilene Christian during the 1997 season. He closed out the season with 33 tackles in 10 games, 15 of them unassisted, and was credited with 2 passes defensed. Reed earlier earned All-America, all-state and all-district honors at S.F. Austin High School in Port Arthur, Texas.
For the second time in their history, the Packers will stage their annual stockholders' meeting in an outdoor venue, President Bob Harlan has announced. It again will be held in Lambeau Field, on Wednesday, July 7, starting at 10 o'clock.
The annual meeting in 1998, when the shareholders' conclave was held in Lambeau Field for the first time, drew one of the largest crowds for a stockholders' meeting in American corporate history, 18,707 stockholders and guests attending the session.
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