ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis first-round draft pick Adam Carriker was expected to be on the practice field Friday, hours after agreeing to a five-year contract.
NFL Network's Adam Schefter is reporting that the deal is over five years, worth $14.5 million, with nearly $10 million guaranteed.
Also expected at practice was quarterback Marc Bulger, who was a no-show for a mandatory team meeting Thursday, when players were to report. Bulger also came to terms with st. Louis on a $65 million deal.
Carriker played defensive end at Nebraska, where he was the Big 12 defensive lineman of the year as a senior, leading the Cornhuskers with seven sacks. He is expected to move to defensive tackle for St. Louis, as the team has struggled in recent years at that position.
St. Louis said they like Carriker's energy and compare him to another high-motor Nebraska product, Grant Wistrom, who starred on the St. Louis teams that won the Super Bowl in 2000 and went to another one in 2002.
Prior to selecting Carriker with the 13th overall pick in April, St. Louis also chose defensive tackles Ryan Pickett and Damione Lewis with first-round picks in 2001 and Jimmy Kennedy with a first-round pick in 2003. Kennedy was traded to Denver earlier this year for a sixth-round draft pick, and all three are no longer with the team.
The signing of Carriker means that all of the team's draft picks are now under contract as the team begins its second season under coach Scott Linehan. St. Louis was 8-8 in 2006.
Bulger is in the final year of a four-year, $19.1 million contract, putting him somewhere in the middle of the NFL in terms of salary for his position. The team has said signing him to a new deal is a priority and has been formulating an offer that could make him the highest-paid player in franchise history.
Last year he threw for 4,301 yards with 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions, a 62.9 percent completion rate and ranked fourth in the NFL in passer rating.
