Okay, since it is now the offseason, I think this will warrant a lot of discussion over the course of the offseason. There is a lot of confusion concerning the Final Eight Plan that is going to be in effect once the NFL goes uncapped for the 2010 season - a plan which affects the 8 teams that make it to the divisional round of the playoffs, and further affects the 4 teams playing in the conference championship games. I found the CBA article which 'explains' it on the NFLPA site (I posted it in another thread, but it warrants it's own): ARTICLE XXI Here is my layman's non-law-speak interpretation of what I think I'm reading up there: We can sign any player released from their contract early (cut) or placed on the waiver wire. Aside from that, it sounds like we are restricted to signing a total dollar amount of a true FA's (players whose contract expired) adjusted equivalent to that of the first year salary (plus no more than a 30% increase annually of the first year each year after that.. or some shit) of the true FAs we did not sign to new contracts. Man, right about now, I'm glad our GM is a contract lawyer. ********************************** Links to related threads/posts concerning offseason FA acquisition and F8P: An RFA Primer Could we be letting Jones and Feely go to make room for a potential Free Agent? Full list of 2010 RFA's and UFA's per NFLLabor.com
Hopefully he can find some loophole that allows us to let Sheppard go and then sign Richard Seymour to a lucrative backloaded deal
Well, we will be able to sign any player that gets cut from a team, if I am reading right. The un-capped season is going to allow a lot of teams to release players from weighty contracts without having to eat some enormous cap hit, so while I think FA is going to be limited, there will be players out there we can sign. There won't be too many true FA's that are game-changers, since I think each team will possess 2 franchise tags. The draft, I just hope they don't trade up. We have done that FAR too much.
Gee, how'd you find that? :smile: It doesn't read as a sum total as far as contract limitations. It reads as though it's a true one to one. In other words, if our FA losses sign contracts with first year totals of: $1.5 million $2 million $3.25 million We're limited to 3 contracts, each of which maxes out at those respective numbers. It doesn't mean that we can sign 3 players with a total of $6.75 million across the first year and max out one of them. The big ticket free agents are off the table. They'll get scooped up early into free agency, especially with how limited the pool is this season, and we really don't have any high demand UFAs who are going to end up going elsewhere and allowing us to make an early splash. Remember, we can't sign anyone until we lose someone. We'll likely be limited to cuts and late signing depth veterans.
And in that respect, our best hope for free agency is going to be a solid player from a small market team that simply can't afford to or has no desire to pay him. Teams like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, and even Buffalo would fit the bill.
Umm... Google? Did you post it somewhere else? My bad if you did, I have been in and out of meetings since I got here this morning. One-to-one makes sense, I thought about taking it at word value, but I don't really trust lawyer-speak, so you don't know what magic loopholes willl be hiding between the letters.
You can download a copy of the CBA from here: http://www.nflplayers.com/user/template.aspx?fmid=181&lmid=622&pid=0&type=l.
Whoops. I assumed you saw. I posted it earlier in response to your comment about the "rumor" of the Final Eight Plan. Yeah, I'd love it if we tried to challenge the wording and use it to get a better FA, but I don't even think our FAs will sign for the kind of collective salary necessary. I also don't think our FAs will be taken early on, even if we refuse to tender some of our RFAs and allow them to go unrestricted.
You mean you don't see anyone tripping over themselves to get in on some of that hot Drew Coleman or Wayne Hunter action?
Haha. If I had to guess, we'll get our biggest contract out of Lito Sheppard, and that's not saying much. Wayne Hunter may well come back even as a UFA, but I'd imagine Coleman and Clemens are the safest bets to go untendered.
Honest, here's our list of UFAs. You can probably add Lito Sheppard to the list as we won't pick up his option: James Dearth Wayne Hunter Tony Richardson Jay Feely Marques Douglas Howard Green Larry Izzo Ben Hartsock Ryan Fowler Who out of this list is going to sign a contract big enough for us to make a splash in FA? Here are the RFAs: Kellen Clemens Eric Smith Brad Smith Leon Washington Drew Coleman Robert Turner James Ihedigbo Marques Murrell David Clowney Braylon Edwards So, Coleman and Clemens go untendered and walk. Still, no big money. We're going to be unbelievably limited to waived players. Rex and Tanny have their work cut out for them to mine for cheap gold other than that.
My thoughts: I think the option with Sheppard is either cut him or pay him. There's no provision to let him walk as an UFA with an expiring contract. At least that's the way it seems to work with most NFL contracts and that is how I have seen it discussed in the papers up until now.
We'll see. I interpreted the option bonus as us having to pick up the option for him to remain on the roster. If it's a cut, that's even less money available in FA. I agree with your list for the most part. I hate the idea of 3 players retiring off the roster since we get NO money out of it to replace them. We'd be looking to cuts for a FB. For a run first team, that doesn't sit well with me. I think Leon gets a high tender. I don't see us daring teams to sign him to an offer sheet at a mid-level and dropping the poison pill. With Jones so uncertain, we need to ensure we either keep him or get GREAT compensation. $2.8 million is definitely not too much to tender Washington. I don't know if we let Clowney walk without at least a low tender. The numbers are low enough that it doesn't make sense to just let him drop to UFA.
Dammmmiiiitttuh. I so thought I had posted a nugget before anyone else, too. One thing I am wondering about... We do have a number of RFAs from the Mangini Era. Eric SMith, Brad Smith, Leon, Clemens... I wonder how much say Holmgren is going to give Mangini when trying to steal a couple of them away? We could end up with more draft picks than we expect, and minus a few of our versatile young guys, if we want to gamble them with a higher tender than we should.
I don't like losing all three of those guys to retirement but I don't really think all three of them retire this season. Izzo is probably done but Douglas and Richardson both seem like outside chances to hang it up to me, that's why I put "retire" second. I think Leon coming off of a broken fibula and tibia might scare a few teams out of throwing a shit-ton of money at him. He's turning 28 next season and while that is by no means ancient it will probably be a concern. Depending on how well he recovers or struggles to recover from that injury, there is a low chance he might not be able to make a major impact for a team until he's 29. If we lose him for a second that could be Ryan Matthews that we pick up instead. I still see your point, though, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see him get a max tender, either. I just don't see Clowney doing anything for this team. He's had his chances and has done absolutely dick with them. Smith will make the roster as a WR, Wallace Wright will still be here so there's another WR spot, and between Cotchery and Edwards that really only leaves one spot left and I'd much rather see the Jets pick up someone like Golden Tate if he's BPA in the first or Freddy Barnes if he pushes into the 2nd/we get a pick for the 3rd. There's no reason to protect him. Does anyone have the numbers on the league minimum vs. the low tender? If league minimum is lower then I doubt he gets the tender. As for Sheppards contract, the option bonus is part of a contract extension he received after the trade. Sheppard is technically under contract until 2013. The option bonus goes into effect on the 5th day of the League Year and the "option" is to either pay him or terminate the contract. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/2009/02/28/2009-02-28_jets_trade_for_eagles_cornerback_lito_sh.html#ixzz0dlg0xzNV
I don't think we tender Clemens. If we gave him the lowest possible tender, compensation would be his original draft round. That means any team signing him would have to surrender a 2nd rounder. Even if every single guy gets the lowest possible tender (aside from Leon, of course), the only guys I see getting picked up are Brad and Eric Smith. The 2 additional mid-rounders would help, but I'd imagine we gamble on both of them and at least assign a 2nd round tender. Brad impressed in the playoffs, but I don't think he did so enough by any stretch for a team to spend a 2nd rounder on him.
