71.   The team signed Stapleton in January and Galderisi soon after, on the recommendation of Lalas.

72.   The team signed strong safety Marty Carter, who played last season in Chicago, in hopes of strengthening the area.

73.   The team signed wide receiver Elbert Ellis and tight end Brian Gaine and waived tight end Rickey Brady.

74.   Then, with Johnson negotiating his contract well into training camp, the team signed another veteran wide receiver, the free agent Webster Slaughter.

75.   Then the team signed the former Tennessee defensive end Kenny Holmes.

76.   They could slap a franchise label on him, making it difficult for another team to sign him as an unrestricted free agent after this season.

77.   They wanted the team to sign Ziggy Palffy, its star player, and stifle its rhetoric.

78.   This low-scoring, low-budget team must sign or trade Doug Weight, a restricted free agent.

79.   Tomczak was an unrestricted free agent, meaning that any team could sign him without having to compensate the Steelers.

80.   Under the development pact the team signed with Rowland, the Patriots agreed to negotiate with no one else while contractually bound to the Connecticut deal.