Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Titans fill defense need, get Fisher from Seahawks

The Tennessee Titans, who spent much of the offseason trying to add a veteran defensive end to their front four rotation, did it Tuesday.

Bryce Fisher

Fisher

The Titans acquired seven-year veteran Bryce Fisher from the Seattle Seahawks for an undisclosed draft choice.

Fisher, 30, started all 16 games in 2006 at left end. But the offseason acquisition of former Atlanta Falcons' star Patrick Kerney in free agency and the rapid development of second-year veteran Darryl Tapp made him expendable.

Fisher, who played at Air Force, will provide the Titans another proven pass rusher to go along with Kyle Vanden Bosch, and he should immediately push for playing time.

Earlier in the spring, Tennessee had explored a potential trade for former Chicago Bears' starter Alex Brown, who was on the market at the time. But a deal was never completed and Tennessee had been exploring other possibilities to bolster the position.

Originally selected by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 1999 draft, Fisher did not enter the league until 2001, because he had to fulfill a two-year active commitment to the Air Force. He played one season for Buffalo, was released and signed with St. Louis, where he spent three seasons (2002-2004).

In 2005, Fisher signed with Seattle as an unrestricted free agent and he contributed to the team's advance to Super Bowl XL that season.

For his career, Fisher has 199 tackles, 26½ sacks, four forced fumbles and 12 passes defensed, while appearing in 82 games, with 48 starts.

Fisher has two seasons remaining on his contract, at base salaries of $2.4 million in 2007 and $2.6 million in 2008.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com


Source: ESPN.com

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