(DETROIT) -- Detroit announced on Sunday that it had placed cornerback Chris Watson on injured reserve list, freeing a spot on the roster. In conjunction
with that move, Detroit also signed free agent corner
Alex Molden, formerly of San Diego, Washington and New Orleans.
Molden worked out for several teams before coming to Detroit along with veteran
Otis Smith last week for a workout. Detroit immediately signed Smith, but not
Molden. Then word leaked that Detroit had reached an agreement in principle with
Molden, but needed to find some salary cap room to avoid being hamstrung in case
of an emergency.
Another factor in the delay is that any vested veteran on a team's roster as of
September 8th will receive 100% "termination pay" if he is released any time
during the 2003 regular season. By delaying the signing, Detroit
would only responsible for the pro-rated portion of his contract based on the
numbers of games he is actually on their roster.
It was readily apparent Detroit needed help in the secondary. Jimmy Wyrick
struggled to stick with rookie Anquan Boldin who torched the Lions secondary
with 10 catches for 217 yards receiving.
Molden signed a six-year $16.1 million free agent deal with San Diego two
seasons ago and received a $200,000 signing bonus last season to sign with
Washington before being released this off-season. Molden had three interceptions
last year.
His deal in Detroit is expected to be for the veteran minimum.