NFL STRIKE: DAY 8 : White Is Expected to Cross : Landry Says His Quarterback May Return Today

Quarterback Danny White is expected to cross the picket line today and join the Dallas Cowboys’ strike team, and running back Tony Dorsett may be on the verge of coming back, according to newspaper reports late Tuesday night.

Cowboy Coach Tom Landry said Tuesday night that he expects White to be on the practice field today and to be the starting quarterback in Sunday’s game between the non-union teams of the Cowboys and New York Jets at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J.

White would become the second Dallas starter to cross the line since the National Football League players walked out last week. Starting defensive tackle Randy White, citing financial reasons, crossed the line last Wednesday.

White laid the groundwork for crossing in a Monday meeting with the players, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Dallas Times Herald reported.

The players said White told them that “economic problems” were forcing him to break the eight-day strike by the NFL Players Assn. White has been saying for two weeks that he might return to work.

“He figured that it was time for him to go in,” Dorsett said. “He has an economic situation where he needs to go back to work.”

Another player, who asked not to be identified, told the Star-Telegram: “He said he was 100% behind us and that he was not going across because he was with the owners. He explained the whole situation to us, and I think everyone understood and is behind him.”

Although Dorsett has been one of the most outspoken supporters of the union and was harshly critical of Randy White for breaking ranks with the strikers, Dorsett told the Times Herald Tuesday night that he also might be forced to cross the picket line.

He said he received a letter from the club Tuesday informing him that his multimillion-dollar annuity would be in jeopardy if he doesn’t return to work.

“I don’t want to be specific about what the letter said,” he told the Times Herald. “I will stay out just as long as I can. That is all I can do.”

Randy White said last week that his $3-million annuity would be in jeopardy if he hadn’t returned to work.

Although Danny White has participated in workouts with striking players and has attended union meetings, he has not walked the picket line with his teammates.

To receive a game paycheck this week, White does not have to report to the team until 9 a.m. Friday.

White said last week he would lose $45,000 for every game he missed. Unless he struck a deal with the club, White lost $45,000 for the Buffalo game, which the NFL canceled.

Landry said Tuesday that he had not talked with White since the players walked out. But Landry did say White talked with Tex Schramm, Cowboy president and general manager, earlier this week.

San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana and wide receiver Dwight Clark are among an estimated 10 striking 49ers who are considering a return to the team soon, the San Francisco Examiner reported.

“To be honest, I can’t decide what I’m going to do at this point,” Clark said. “I’d like to say I went out with all the guys and I’m going to stay out with all the guys, but it’s not that simple.”

The newspaper said safety Ronnie Lott and kicker Ray Wersching reportedly were among the players who have told teammates they may return as early as this week unless there is dramatic progress in negotiations.

Keith Fahnhorst, the team’s co-player representative, denied that any of his teammates have threatened to rejoin the team. However, he said he heard that striking players throughout the league have become restless.

New Orleans Saints nose tackle Tony Elliott said he has talked with some of his striking teammates and still intends to cross their picket lines and begin practice today with the non-union players preparing to meet the Rams Sunday.

“It’s not a financial matter,” he said. “I’m not hurting. I could quit playing football tomorrow and not have to go out and get a job to live. I don’t need money, but I don’t need to lose $250,000, either, if the strike goes on like it did in 1982.”

He said he believes the union’s quest for free agency is a lost cause and not worth striking over.

At Houston, starting nose guard Doug Smith became the first member of the Oilers’ 45-man roster to cross the picket line. “It felt better on the inside of the fence,” Smith said.

Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said he had “no doubt” some the striking players will return. But linebacker Ricky Hunley, the club’s player representative, said: “There’s been talk around the league that Chicago’s going back in, that San Francisco’s going back in and that Denver’s going back in. But I guarantee you Denver’s not going in. You might see one or two guys go back in, but that’s about it.”

Hunley said he has a “good idea” which Denver players might cross the line, but he refused to identify them. Players known to be lukewarm toward the strike include quarterback John Elway and offensive tackle Dave Studdard.

In Atlanta, Upshaw reiterated that the union was solidly behind the strike, despite decisions by some veterans to cross picket lines. “The owners think if a couple of people trickle in, we’ll all cross,” Upshaw said, “and that’s not going to happen. We speak with one voice.”

The players’ association vowed to stop Sunday’s replacement games as its walkout entered its eighth day.

Facing the near certainty that owners would go ahead with plans to play Sunday using rookies, free agents and veterans who were willing to cross picket lines, union head Gene Upshaw took a hard line.

“We don’t advocate violence, but we do advocate doing whatever’s necessary to stop these games, and we will do it,” Upshaw said in Atlanta after meeting with representatives of six teams.

“We’ll haunt those games,” Upshaw said. “They are really tearing down our product, and we don’t like it.”

Upshaw said union workers in all 28 NFL cities have made commitments to help the striking players. He refused to be specific on what union workers would do.

Upshaw met with players in Atlanta and later in Elizabeth City, N.J. The message Upshaw had after each meeting was the same, that the union membership was still solidly behind the strike and management was trying to break the union by failing to negotiate.

The two sides have not met at the bargaining table since last Friday and, because of the schedules of both the union and the NFL Management Council, it didn’t seem possible for them to meet again before Thursday. Even that appeared unlikely, however.

Both sides remain adamant in their position on the key issue--free agency--and management has said there’s no sense meeting for the sake of meeting.

NBC, as expected, announced that it will televise Sunday’s games. The network is planning to show the Seattle-Miami game in Los Angeles at 1 p.m. CBS and ABC earlier announced it will televise non-union games this weekend.

The NFL waived TV blackouts in eight cities in which games are usually sold out at least 72 hours in advance of game times.

Eight San Diego Charger free-agent players found their cars with flat tires when they emerged from team meetings at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, a radio station reported.

The free agents blamed the striking Chargers, although there were no witnesses.

Defensive end Tony Simmons, whose car had a flat tire, said he was angry with Charger player representative Wes Chandler. “I’ll get in his face about this,” Simmons said on a sports talk show on radio station XTRA. “They can picket, they can call me ‘Scab,’ but don’t mess with my property.”

In Kansas City, former Chief wide receiver Otis Taylor, who now scouts for the team, filed a complaint against striking linebacker Jack Del Rio, a former USC star, over a scuffle between the two outside Arrowhead Stadium last week. Taylor alleges he was assaulted by Del Rio.