Terrell Owens has been on his best behavior for quite a while. The Dallas Cowboys are doing their best to keep it that way.

Both sides agreed yesterday to a three-year contract extension worth around $27 million, according to a person close to the negotiations who asked to remain anonymous because it hasn't been announced.

The key to the deal may not be the length or even the money, which is close to what Randy Moss received.

The best part: Owens will not be playing out the final year of his contract, eliminating a potentially explosive topic from a team that needs its attention on ending an 11-season drought without a playoff win.

Word of Owens' deal came a few hours after the Cowboys got other good news: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is allowing suspended cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones to join the club all the way up to the regular season and will decide by Sept. 1 if Jones can be fully reinstated.

Owens, a five-time All-Pro, has provided glitz, jersey sales — and lots of catches. He led the NFL with 13 touchdown catches in 2006, then had an NFC-best 15 more last season. His two-year total is tops in the NFL.

His success also coincided with the emergence of Tony Romo, who went from backup to Pro Bowler by following the simple formula of throwing to No. 81 whenever possible.

Owens has insisted for months that he wasn't worried about his next contract because owner Jerry Jones always takes care of his players. True enough, Jones re-signed offensive lineman Flozell Adams early in the offseason, then recently gave extensions to cornerback Terence Newman and running back Marion Barber. All were quite lucrative, just like this one.

Owens, 34, will turn 38 in December of the final year of the extension, 2011.

BRONCOS

'INCONSISTENT' RB HENRY CUT BY DENVER

Denver cut mercurial running back Travis Henry, with coach Mike Shanahan saying yesterday the move was more about Henry's personality than his play.

"He's just too inconsistent as a person. When you're too inconsistent as a person, you usually aren't going to win championships," Shanahan said during a spring workout later in the day.

"I'm not going to get into details what he did do or didn't do. You have to do little things. If you don't do the little things, obviously you can't count on somebody. So that's why he's released."

The Broncos signed Henry to a five-year, $22.5 million contract in March 2007, but he was hampered by injuries in his only season in Denver, rushing for 691 yards on 167 carries with four touchdowns.

Henry was released six days after the Broncos agreed to a one-year deal with former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman.

GIANTS

NEW YORK SIGNS DEFENSIVE END WYNN

Tom Coughlin added another former Jacksonville player to the New York Giants roster, signing defensive end Renaldo Wynn yesterday.

A first-round draft pick by the Jaguars in 1997, Wynn played five seasons with Jacksonville, four with the Washington Redskins and last year with the New Orleans Saints. He has 25 career sacks.

Wynn is the third veteran defensive player the Giants have added this offseason, joining safety Sammy Knight and linebacker Danny Clark. Wynn and Clark both entered the league with Coughlin's Jaguars and were teammates in Jacksonville in 2000 and 2001.

Wynn had 13 tackles and 3.5 sacks last season.

ELSEWHERE

Chargers: Former Pro Bowl center Jeremy Newberry signed a one-year contract with San Diego yesterday, most likely as insurance in case Nick Hardwick isn't ready for the start of the season. Hardwick had surgery on his sprained right foot March 14. The team said at the time that he would need four to six months to recover. Newberry started 14 games for the rival Oakland Raiders last year. He was taken by San Francisco in the second round of the 1998 draft and went to the Pro Bowl after the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

Patriots: New England yesterday signed offensive lineman Oliver Ross, a 10-year veteran who was sidelined for the 2007 season. Ross spent two seasons with Arizona before missing all of last season with a triceps injury. He has played in 89 games with Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Arizona.

Bears: Chicago yesterday signed fourth-round draft pick Craig Steltz to a four-year contract. The safety started 20 of 44 games at LSU and had 184 tackles. He ranked fifth in school history in passes defended (34) and sixth in interceptions (11).

Redskins: Washington signed free agent Stuart Schweigert yesterday, giving the team an extra option in the defensive backfield as it contemplates moving LaRon Landry from free safety to strong safety. Schweigert is a free safety, having started 42 games in four seasons with the Oakland Raiders.