Trading him should not even be an option.....the 3rd option should be convince Leon to fire Alvin Keels.
Apparently the money is not the problem, it is when the deal actually starts is what the problem is. Jets want it to start after this season and Leon obviously wants it to start now. If I'm Mike T I let it start right now and lock up our best playmaker long term. Just get it done.
Who cares what kind of playmaker he is if he is rarely on the field. They are offering starter money to a backup. If he doesn't take it then let him leave. Nobody else will pay him anything near what the Jets are offering. Chester Taylor who has as many touches as Washington does and as many combined yards gets paid 3 million dollars.
A long while before this fiasco started I said Leon should get 5 per over five years with 10 guaranteed over first two. I think that's what they're offering AS AN EXTENSION. As my final bargaining chip, I would offer to make that effective this year. If he doesn't take that, make him play for a new contract.
I care what type of playmaker he is and just about any other rational Jets fan does as well. Most importantly, the Jets CS and FO cares about what kind of playmaker he is and that is exactly why he is being offered the amount of money he is being offered and also why he is gauranteed to get more touches this year then he has in the past. Chester Taylor is nowhere near the talent of a Leon Washington.
Lets look at two guys who did the same job and wanted more money which we did not give them Lamont Jordan and Chad Morton I seem to remembedr we woulded give either of them the money they wanted and they went somewhere else to underachieve. Sometimes it just as much the team around them as it is the player themself. Make it the final offer, he won't get more money anywhere else. He can't chance if he has a bad year,gets hurt or even do to the agreement running out
If I was Tanny, I'd take the offer back if he refuses it. Then play hardball with him n not offer a new contract. Next yr offer him the max RFA contract of about $2.3 mil I think. No one will pick him up for a 1st n a 3rd n if they do, we get much more than he is worth. The following yr, we put a franchise tag on him. This way he'd be in NY for the next 3 seasons for no more $12 mil while no guarantee money. After that he'd be in his 30s. Tag him again the following yr n trade him for a 3rd or something. Tanny has a business mentality n Leon needs to watch out. See wat happened with baker n Kendell.
Choice 1 or 3. Either you find a way to package him in a deal in which the Jets are receiving a Boldin, Edwards or Marshall or you say that is the final offer, if you don't like it, tough shit, you are a New York Jet for AT LEAST 2009 and 2010, have a nice day.
You don't think that the offer of $5 million per signals that they're going to get Leon more involved in the offense this season, and MUCH more involved once TJ departs after this season? As far as the Chester Taylor comparison, Taylor isn't nearly as dangerous as Leon. Yes, he has similar numbers in the offense (although with more touches, fewer yards, and fewer TDs), but he was also given the ball inside the red zone with much greater frequency than Leon. When Brad Childress gets angry with Adrian Peterson (frequent last season when fumblitis struck), he pulls him every time the ball gets inside the 20. As a result, the vast majority of his rushing TDs come from within 5 yards. Leon, on the other hand, only had a single rushing TD inside of 10 yards, and THREE times broke 40+ yard TD runs. He has an explosiveness that Taylor lacks. Add in Washington's prowess as a return man (Taylor has NEVER scored a return TD in his 8 year career), and you can see why the team values him more than Chester Taylor. Hell, Taylor would probably never see the field were it not for Peterson's inability to block/catch the ball on 3rd and long and his injury problems. Having said that, we know the extent of Taylor's role in that offense. Ryan has said repeatedly that he's going to expand Leon's role in this offense. In a true timeshare, he's well worth $4 - 5 million.
Leon needs to sign the deal. Considering the leverage the Jets hold over him and the risk of injury he needs to take this deal and run with it. He won't do much better than this.
He won't do any better. It's baffling to me that this offer is still sitting on the table and hasn't been signed yet. Well, perhaps baffling isn't the best word. With Keels at the wheel, nothing should be surprising.
I would have trouble voting in this situation, considering I have no idea how the contract offer was structured. It could be totally fair, or it could be skewed against the player to the point where he won't make most of the money on the contract.
Nobody ever makes most of the money in NFL contracts. All of the players know that. It's just how the system works.
I said seek a trade. If he is not going to take 5mil a year then lets find out he is worth on the market and for the right offer get something back for him.
I can't vote either....not without knowing what portion of the money is guaranteed. The contract being offered could be totally "backloaded"...and as some have mentioned already, Leon may never see those dollars.
