Agent: Dillon will be released

INDIANAPOLIS -- According to Corey Dillon's agent, Steve Feldman, the Patriots have agreed to release the running back March 2, the first day of the NFL year. Feldman said yesterday he still plans to explore offers for Dillon, despite Dillon's comments about planning to retire.

In releasing Dillon, the Patriots are expected to use a new part of the collective bargaining agreement that allows teams to release players before June 1, but still declare them a June 1 cut for salary cap purposes.

In that scenario, the Patriots would save about $2.5 million on their 2007 salary cap. Had Dillon returned under his present contract, he would have counted $4.4 million against the cap.

Regardless of whether a player retires or is released, the salary cap charge is the same.

NFL coaches reflected on Dillon's career yesterday, a day after he said he was asking the Patriots for his release and planning to retire.

At the NFL combine, Chiefs coach Herm Edwards recalled the 2004 trade that sent Dillon to New England for a second-round draft choice. At the time, Dillon's off-field reputation was a hot topic.

"When he went there a lot of people asked, 'Why are they doing this?' " said Edwards, who was the Jets' head coach that year. "But he found the fountain of youth. He embraced the team and the team embraced him. He fit right in and became a team guy, and that's a credit to him. Sometimes you find out a little differently when you don't just read the opening note of the book, but you instead read the whole book."

In a 30-minute conversation Thursday, Dillon said he was ready to close the book on his career.

"What more is there to do?" he asked. "There comes a time in your football career when you come to a conclusion and I'm at mine. I don't need to play. I'm leaving on a high note. That's how you want to leave the game."

Dillon left a slight opening of possibly playing again in 2007, saying that "as of now, I doubt that will happen."

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who had Dillon on his team for one season and coached against him as the Ravens' defensive coordinator, said he was pleased for Dillon.

"I'm just happy for him that he had an opportunity to go up there and finish his career on such a successful note," he said.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt compared Dillon to former Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, while Dolphins coach Cam Cameron recalled seeing Dillon up close prior to the Patriots-Chargers playoff game in January, and that helped him "understand why people bounce off him so much. He is a man."

Notre Dame receiver Rhema McKnight said he had a meeting with Patriots officials. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound McKnight might be attractive to the Patriots because he played in a similar offense in college under former Patriots coordinator Charlie Weis.

"It definitely helps being around Coach Weis and the system we had definitely helps myself and the rest of us here in terms of moving to the next level," said McKnight, who totaled 67 catches for 907 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2006. "Coach Weis coached us like it's a business. It is a job."

McKnight is projected as a fourth-round pick, according to Rob Rang of NFL Draft Scout.

University of New Hampshire receiver David Ball is one of a handful of New England players at the combine, and he acknowledged it would be a dream to play for the Patriots. Growing up in Vermont, he said he's been a longtime fan of the team.

Meanwhile, he realizes he had a lot to prove coming from UNH.

"It's going to be huge for us small-school guys," Ball said of the combine. "Now we are on a big stage. I did well at the [Shrine] Game and now I'm going to have some more eyes on me. I need to kind of lock that up and assure them that I can be a consistent player against top competition."

The franchise tag assigned to cornerback Asante Samuel is nonexclusive, meaning his agents can still negotiate with other clubs. Should a team sign Samuel to an offer sheet, the Patriots would have a chance to match. If the Patriots chose not to match, they would receive two first-round draft choices as compensation. Of the seven players assigned franchise tags this offseason, six were nonexclusive and one -- Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney -- was exclusive. In becoming an exclusive franchise player, Freeney cannot negotiate with other teams and his salary immediately becomes guaranteed . . . Jets coach Eric Mangini said he hired former Patriots wide receivers coach Brian Daboll as quarterbacks coach because "I really respected him in terms of not just as a person but what he did with the guys he had this year and what he did when he was working directly with me." . . . Titans coach Jeff Fisher said he had no problem with the Patriots putting Vinny Testaverde into the season finale to throw a touchdown pass, but did take exception to comments from safety Rodney Harrison, who claimed some of the Titans played dirty. "Watch the earlier part of the game and watch his play. If you want to be objective, watch his play," Fisher said.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.