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The Arizona Cardinals signed quarterback Brian St. Pierre to a one-year contract and re-signed safety Matt Ware on Monday. St. Pierre was the third-string quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers last season. He was a fifth-round draft pick by Pittsburgh out of Boston College in 2003. He was with the Steelers for two seasons and appeared in one game before going to Baltimore in 2005.

Two AFC North also-rans, the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals, were awarded the most compensatory picks in this year’s draft. The Ravens (5-11) and Bengals (7-9) each received four picks, beginning in the third round of the April 26-27 draft. Those picks are slotted at the end of each of the last five rounds.

Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce pleaded guilty Thursday in Monroe Township, N.J., municipal court to neglecting his pet pit bulls and agreed to pay a $1,300 fine. Authorities said one of the dogs was severely underweight and had a respiratory illness. They also said Pierce and his girlfriend let the dogs run loose and failed to get them rabies shots. Pierce’s girlfriend, Jocelyn Maldanado, also pleaded guilty and was fined $1,300. A lawyer for the couple said the dogs were given a…

Restricted free agent cornerback/kick returner Chris Carr has signed an offer sheet from the Tennessee Titans. The Oakland Raiders will have seven days to match the contract once they receive the sheet. If Oakland chooses not to match, Carr will join the Titans without Tennessee having to give up a draft pick.

Herb Rich, a three-sport star at Vanderbilt and defensive captain of the New York Giants when they won the NFL title in 1956, died Friday. He was 79. Rich died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the school said. Rich spent seven years in the NFL. The Baltimore Colts drafted him in the sixth round in 1950, and he averaged 23 yards on punt returns as a rookie.

The Oakland Raiders signed defensive end Kalimba Edwards to a two-year contract on Friday as they try to improve their pass rush for next season. Edwards was cut earlier this month by the Detroit Lions. He will reportedly earn $5 million in the deal with the Raiders. Edwards, a second-round pick out of South Carolina in 2002, has 26 sacks and 10 forced fumbles in six seasons in the NFL.

Versatile offensive lineman Seth McKinney has signed a 1-year contract with the Cleveland Browns. McKinney won the starting right guard’s job last year and started eight games before he was sidelined by a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Ryan Tucker, who moved over from tackle after serving a four-game suspension.

Kevin Everett and Marc Buoniconti each suffered a severe spinal cord injury while making a tackle. The difference between them on Friday was the result of more than 20 years of research. Buoniconti has used a wheelchair since being paralyzed while playing football for The Citadel in 1985. Everett walked through the lobby of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis just about seven months after he…

The Carolina Panthers signed free-agent guard Milford Brown in another move intended to bolster their offensive line. Brown started 15 games for St. Louis last year at both guard positions and right tackle. The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Brown has appeared in 47 games with 43 starts over the past six seasons with Houston, Arizona and the Rams.

The Giants are expected to begin the defense of their Super Bowl championship at Giants Stadium against the Washington Redskins on Thursday, Sept. 4.

Offensive lineman Benji Olson, one of the last remaining Titans from Tennessee’s lone Super Bowl appearance in 2000, retired Thursday after 10 seasons with the team that drafted him. Punter Craig Hentrich is now the only player from the Super Bowl squad who has been with the team since then. The Titans recently re-signed defensive end Jevon Kearse, who was a rookie in the Super Bowl but left as a…

The Carolina Panthers signed guard Toniu Fonoti, giving him another chance in the NFL after his weight soared to nearly 400 pounds. The former second-round pick was out of the league last year after being released by Atlanta before training camp. He played only six games in 2006 and three games a year earlier with Miami, Minnesota and San Diego.

Former St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson was ordered by a federal jury to pay a flight attendant $3,000 for pushing him on a plane, a tiny portion of the more than $1 million the attendant and his wife had sought. Jurors on Wednesday ordered Jackson to pay Northwest Airlines attendant Gary Rihn to cover medical expenses for the 2005 incident.

Given current economic realities, the selection on Wednesday of a team led by Tishman Speyer to develop the West Side railyards seems like a wishful fantasy.

The undercurrent of much of next week’s annual N.F.L. owners meeting will be about protecting the integrity of the game.

Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper Greg Warren, a restricted free agent, signed a $2.3 million, three-year contract that includes a $395,000 signing bonus. Warren, Pittsburgh’s long snapper since winning the job as an undrafted rookie in 2005, was given a tender offer of $927,000 before he worked out the multiyear contract.