The New Orleans Saints agreed to a five-year, $22 million contract with cornerback Mike McKenzie on Saturday. "It's a beautiful day," said McKenzie, who led the Saints with five interceptions in 10 games last season. "Anybody that plays this game wants to be able to take care of the well-being of their family. . . . I'm happy to be here. I'm going to be here for a good long while, so get used to the face."

First-round pick Jammal Brown, already penciled in as a starter at offensive tackle, has reached agreement on his first NFL contract. The 24-year-old former Oklahoma Sooner, chosen with the 13th overall selection in this year's draft, will sign a five-year contract with a base value of $11 million. The deal includes about $8.5 million in guarantees. Brown was one of only three offensive linemen chosen in the first round and one of just two tackles. Winner of the prestigious Outland Trophy for 2004, Brown is a massive (6 feet 6, 313 pounds) strongside blocker, a player who combines surprisingly good athleticism with great force coming off the ball. Noted more for his run-blocking skills, Brown has continued to improve as a pass protector.

Deuce McAllister agreed to a seven-year contract extension with the New Orleans Saints on Thursday, a deal the star running back said will make him one of the NFL's highest paid players at his position. ESPN.com's John Clayton reports that McAllister's new deal is eight years, $50.1 million, including $12.5 million in signing and option bonuses. The contract includes $3.1 million in escalators that McAllister can achieve in the third year based on performance to push the total to $53.2 million. McAllister will make $14.55 million over the first two years of the deal, $18.4 million over the first three, $23.1 million over the first four and $28.2 million over the first five, Clayton reports. "I basically know that they're putting everything on my shoulders and I'm big enough that I can carry it," McAllister said. "I want the pressure. I want the ball because I want to get us in the playoffs where we haven't been."

The New Orleans Saints released linebacker Derrick Rogers on Friday. Rogers had not sufficiently recovered from a back injury suffered last November. An eight-year veteran, Rogers had surgery in February to repair a bulging disc in his back, but he was not healthy enough to compete in offseason practice sessions.

The New Orleans Saints signed their sixth-round selection, defensive tackle Jason Jefferson, to a three-year contract on Thursday. Jefferson, who played at Wisconsin, is the first Saints 2005 draft choice to agree to terms. The 6-foot-1, 305 pounder was a three-year starter for the Badgers. He had 100 tackles (44 solo), five sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 41 games.

Former NFL player Darion Conner was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday for killing a bicyclist while he was driving drunk. A jury found Conner guilty last week of DUI-manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Witnesses testified they saw the 37-year-old Connor driving his Toyota Land Cruiser erratically before slamming into Jonathan Michael Conklin around 1:50 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2004. The collision sent Conklin, 32, flying about 200 feet through the air, prosecutors said. He died at the scene. Investigators who arrived a few minutes later said they found Conner passed out behind the wheel with alcohol on his breath. His blood-alcohol level was tested at 0.27, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08. Conner spent eight seasons as a linebacker and defensive lineman in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles. The Jackson State University product spent the last six years of his career playing for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

The state of Louisiana handed the New Orleans Saints a check for $12,415,267.53 on Tuesday as per the 10-year, $186 million agreement administered in 2001 to keep the Saints in town. The state has struggled to pay the Saints for the past few years and has yet to repay the cash it borrowed from an economic development fund last year to make its payment. This time, the state is borrowing $10.5 million through a financing mechanism it hasn't used for at least a decade

The Kansas Chiefs added free agent cornerback Ashley Ambrose Friday, signing the former Saint to a one-year contract. Ambrose (5'10", 185) has played in 192 career regular season games (141 starts) with Indianapolis ('92-95), Cincinnati ('96-98), Atlanta ('00-02) and New Orleans ('99, '03-04).