Ray Lewis [Archive] - Commanders Post at The Warpath

Sociofan

02-27-2006, 12:34 AM

Friday, February 24, 2006
Updated: February 25, 9:12 PM ET
McGinest's salary, bonus money an issue for Pats

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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Proven pass rushers are always difficult to locate in free agency and, with even just a cursory glance at the pool of "edge" defenders who could become available when the signing period commences March 3, it appears this year will be no different.

In fact, perhaps the best sack man likely to be in a free agent isn't yet expected to be available. But keep an eye on developments next week with New England linebacker Willie McGinest, the respected 12-year veteran whose résumé includes 78 sacks, and who might be an 11th-hour addition to the unrestricted free agent roll call.

Yeah, it's difficult to imagine the Patriots without McGinest, who has been a fixture in New England since the team selected the former Southern California star in the first round of the 1994 NFL draft. And it's equally hard to conjure up the image of McGinest, who led the NFL in postseason sacks in 2005 with 4½, performing in a different uniform.

But it could happen.

McGinest set a single-game playoff record with 4½ sacks against the Jags.

Sources told ESPN.com this week that McGinest's contract situation for 2006 -- he is due a roster bonus of $3.5 million in early March, and a base salary of $3.5 million too, in a so-called dummy season that was added to his deal to aid the Patriots in navigating past cap difficulties -- could well make him a cap casualty. It's unlikely New England will pay the $3.5 million bonus and, with negotiations making little or no progress in recent weeks, the Patriots could, regrettably, end the longtime relationship with a player who has seen the lowest lows and the highest highs of the franchise.

McGinest is 34 years old and, with a lot of tread rubbed off his tires, it remains to be seen just how much interest he might generate in the free agency market. But he is still playing at a high level, having notched 56 tackles and six sacks in 2005, and there are franchises that might be inclined to consider him -- not just because of his football skills, but also because of his locker room presence.

McGinest's most recent defensive coordinators, Romeo Crennel and Eric Mangini, are head coaches now, with Cleveland and the New York Jets, respectively, and might lobby their teams to consider him. Mangini may need a veteran influence as the Jets undertake what appears to be a massive rebuilding effort. Crennel and Browns general manager Phil Savage have worked hard to add veterans of high character to the mix with their young team. While neither franchise might break the bank to acquire McGinest, who probably has just a couple of productive seasons remaining, he would be a player worthy of some due diligence. And since the Browns deploy a 3-4 front and desperately need a pass-rush force, and the Jets likely will switch to a three-man line under Mangini, the fit is a good one from a schematic standpoint.

One of the prototypes of the hybrid-type defender Bill Belichick has done such a masterful job developing, McGinest knows the ropes. And although he has posted just one double-digit sack season in his career, back in 1995, he can still bring upfield pressure in spurts, as he demonstrated in the playoffs. No pending free agent has more sacks than the 78 McGinest has recorded in a dozen seasons.

There is still a chance that the Patriots and McGinest can reach an agreement that addresses the financial expectations for both parties. But the chances are just as good, perhaps even slightly better, that McGinest, whose situation has flown below the radar during the offseason, will be a free agent.

Around the league
• Just one day before Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio agreed to a new three-year contract this week, there were signs the deal -- which is essentially a one-year extension but with considerably more money -- might not be completed. Del Rio's representative had made multiple trips to Florida to meet with Jaguars officials, including owner Wayne Weaver, and progress was incremental, but little more than that. Del Rio had two years left on his existing contract, at salaries of $1.3 million for 2006 and $1.4 million for 2007, and the Jaguars were offering approximately $9 million total to tear up that contract and replace it with the new, three-year pact. Del Rio, at that point, was seeking something more in the range of $3.5 million per year. So what got the deal done? The Jaguars improved the three-year offer by nearly $1 million total, pushing the average to about $3.3 annually, and Del Rio agreed that was close enough to his target number. The contract represents a pretty good compromise for both sides. Jacksonville gets to keep Del Rio and at a price below the league norm for an experienced head coach. The average for a guy who has coached even one game in the NFL is between $3.8 million and $4.0 million. Even with the influx of seven rookie coaches for 2006 -- none of whom is believed to have received a contract worth even $2 million per year -- the league average is still about $3.25 million and $3.3 million.

For Del Rio, who was using the new five-year contract recently signed by Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati, and which is believed to average $3.3 million to $3.5 million, getting a shorter-term contract could prove beneficial down the road. There still remains some concern about the viability of the Jaguars in Jacksonville and, even despite some progress with the city on key issues, rumors have only slightly subsided that Weaver might someday sell or relocate the franchise. By agreeing to just a three-year contract (which, as of Thursday, still had not been officially executed), Del Rio gives himself some options. If he keeps the team a playoff contender for the next few years, he'll get another shot at the bargaining table before the end of the 2008 campaign, and likely sooner than that. And by that time, the Jaguars' strength in the community should be better defined. Plus, given the timing, it's likely there will be another wholesale coaching purge in the NFL in about three years, and Del Rio will have time to position himself as an attractive candidate, if he wants to leave for another job. Notable as well is that the Jaguars' assistant coaches were also rewarded this week for the team's 2005 playoff berth. Defensive coordinator Mike Smith received a raise and the contracts of all the staffers were extended by two years.

• Perhaps in an effort to prod one of his suitors into making a deal, Philadelphia officials continue to say they think they can strike a trade for exiled wide receiver Terrell Owens before March 8, the date by which the Eagles owe him $5 million of the $7.5 million in bonuses he is due under terms of his current contract. Most teams interested in Owens are skeptical of that and still believe the stronger likelihood is that the Eagles will be forced to release him and that he will then be available on the open market. The Denver Broncos still remain somewhat enamored by Owens, but, if you're looking for a franchise that is far more interested in him than it has publicly acknowledged, don't discount the Kansas City Chiefs. Team president/general manager Carl Peterson said this week that the Chiefs will only have interest in Owens once he is released. Insiders contend that interest will be significant, with coach Herm Edwards convinced he can control Owens and help him get his career straightened out again. As potent as the Chiefs' offense is, it still lacks the kind of deep-ball threat Owens would provide. And the window of opportunity is beginning to close on the Chiefs, whose lineup is one of the oldest in the league, so maybe there is an urgency to bring in a player of Owens' stature, before quarterback Trent Green is too old to take advantage of him.

• Although he has suggested that some of his comments have been misconstrued, Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick seems to have gone out of his way in recent weeks to tweak offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and hint the Falcons' design might be in need of some overhauling to better fit his strengths. It's doubtful that Vick is trying to orchestrate his own departure. Even more doubtful is that owner Arthur Blank, who at times treats the accuracy-challenged quarterback like a surrogate son, would part with a player who has become the centerpiece of the franchise's resuscitation. But the Vick situation bears monitoring for many reasons, not the least of which is the addition of assistant Bill Musgrave, who has replaced Mike Johnson as the team's quarterbacks coach.

Musgrave's reputation is as a stickler for details, a guy who believes that sound mechanics are critical, and who has precious little tolerance for sloppiness. Anyone who has watched Vick knows that his mechanics, especially his footwork, are anything but a strong suit when it comes to throwing the football. For all of his athletic brilliance, Vick has a certain arrogance about him, one that eventually commands him to do things his way, and not necessarily the way in which they are outlined in textbooks. That athletic arrogance is, arguably, the root of his success because it permits him to improvise in a way no one else in the NFL can. But it's also a big part of his inconsistency, and it will be interesting to see how the wills of Vick and Musgrave mesh once the two get together on a regular basis.

• Maybe the most interesting of the six restrictive tags used by teams this week to limit the mobility of pending unrestricted free agents was the decision by the Seattle Seahawks to designate standout left guard Steve Hutchinson as a transition player. The consensus around the NFL had been that, in the absence of a contract extension, the Seahawks would use the franchise designation on Hutchinson, all but assuring his return, for at least one more season. The transition tag provides the Seahawks a right of first refusal -- the ability to match any deal from another team -- should Hutchinson sign an offer sheet. But is also gives a player regarded as one of the NFL's premier interior blockers more latitude. For only $592,000 more -- the difference between the qualifying offer for a franchise player ($6.983 million) and for a transition player ($6.391 million) -- Seattle could have basically scared away all outside suitors.

Part of the team's reasoning was apparently based on its poor experience in having tagged Hutchinson's left-side partner, tackle Walter Jones, as a franchise player for three straight years. And by using the transition marker, the team can argue to Hutchinson that it hasn't completely blocked his ability to move to another team, and perhaps avoid the degree of enmity that the franchise designation typically brings. It also allows for the chance that another team will set the market for Hutchinson by signing him to an offer sheet. But there is some danger that another club -- and there are several franchises in need of a guard and have plenty of funds to spend -- will sign Hutchinson to a deal the Seahawks might find hard to match. Word around the league is, too, that Hutchinson doesn't possess the greatest loyalty to the Seahawks, and that he'll play wherever the money is. It's a dicey situation, but Seahawks officials, who have done a marvelous job the past two years in managing the salary cap, seem comfortable with the decision. Still, other teams have been burned in the past by opting to use the transition tag in lieu of the franchise marker.

• On the subject of offensive linemen, don't be surprised if Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells takes advantage of the cap woes of one of his former employers, the Jets, to address his situation at right tackle. Because of a ponderous cap excess, the Jets were forced to release eight-year veteran tackle Jason Fabini this week, making him a free agent. And Fabini, who was injured for much of 2005, but was among the NFL's most durable linemen before that, was drafted by Parcells in 1998, when The Tuna was the Jets' head coach. Suggestions that Parcells might pursue Fabini might be dismissed in some circles as the kind of connect-the-dots exercise of which we've been critical of other media outlets. But Parcells' history shows a love of bringing back players he once coached and Fabini, if healthy and willing to accept a palatable contract, could fill a right tackle need the Cowboys have attempted to address for two years. Dallas needs to bolster its offensive line in general, to better protect Drew Bledsoe, if it is to move back into playoff contention in 2006. The bet here is that Parcells and the Cowboys at least conduct some due diligence on Fabini, to gauge his health and his price tag, in the next few weeks.

• The release of Fabini could be the precursor to a wholesale makeover of the Jets offensive line in 2006 and, if that's the case, it might signal that the first-year tandem of general manager Mike Tannenbaum and coach Eric Mangini is determined to simply start over on that side of the ball. There are rumblings that the Jets will lop guard Pete Kendall, and are trying to trade perennial Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae, each move meant to address serious cap issues. Purging three starting-caliber linemen wouldn't exactly be the best way to convince fragile quarterback Chad Pennington, coming off his second rotator cuff surgery and with his career perhaps in the balance, to accept a dramatic salary reduction to return. Instead, the Jets might end their relationship with Pennington and use their first-round pick on a quarterback (there are rumors the staff is smitten with Jay Cutler of Vanderbilt), a younger guy who might be better prepared than Pennington to absorb the kind of punishment anyone is apt to take behind a remade offensive line.

• If the Seahawks' decision to use the transition marker on Hutchinson was surprising, the Vikings' designation of cornerback Brian Williams as a transition player was downright shocking. There was no warning that Minnesota was so intent on retaining Williams, who started nine games in 2005, most of them while Fred Smoot was injured, and who had a terrific season. First-year coach Brad Childress met recently with Williams, to say he hoped the cornerback might consider re-signing in Minnesota, but there were no contract negotiations with the four-year veteran during the offseason. Williams, in fact, planned on going into free agency and perhaps cashing in on his surprisingly strong 2005 performance. Neither he nor his agent were thrilled by the Vikings' action. Now his mobility will be limited by the transition tag, which carries a one-year qualifying offer of $4.774 million, and potential suitors will probably back away. As good as Williams was in 2005, when he had four interceptions, that's a lot of money to pay for a guy who projects as just the No. 3 cornerback for the Vikings in 2006. Smoot should be fully recovered from the injuries that plagued him last season and fellow starter Antoine Winfield is simply one of the NFL's best and feistiest cornerbacks.

• There are always plenty of lesser known, but intriguing, wide receivers at the combine workouts, guys from smaller schools who can be plucked in the middle and late rounds of the draft, and who, in time, will end up contributing to a team. With 40 wide receivers in attendance at Indianapolis this week, the current class of pass-catchers figures to have its share of sleepers, and one such prospect worth keeping tabs on is Miles Austin of Monmouth (N.J.) University. The school has had a program just 13 years, and Austin is the first-ever player invited to the combine. It's an honor he takes seriously. "I'm not here just for me, but for all the guys I played with, all the coaches, everyone who has helped me get to this point," Austin said. "It's like I'm sort of carrying the banner for all of us." Austin played only 1½ seasons of high school football and filled in at quarterback his senior year after the first three signal callers on the depth chart were injured within a two-week span, and had no other scholarship offers. But he blossomed into a very good receiver -- with 150 catches for 2,867 yards and 33 touchdowns at Monmouth -- and his size alone (6-feet-2 1/8, 223 pounds) is going to garner some attention. Austin will participate in all of the combine drills over the weekend, hopes to perform 23 reps on the standard, 225-pound bench press, and to run in the 4.4s. If he does those things, his stock, at least relatively speaking, will rise. "I'm sort of anxious to put myself to the test," Austin said before leaving for the combine. "A lot of guys, coming from such a small program, might be overwhelmed by all this. Me, I can't wait to see a lot of players I've only read or heard about, and see how I might compare to them. I'm hoping there are a lot of great players in my [workout] group because, if there are and I do well compared to them, it means I belong." Austin played at Garfield High School, which produced former Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet and current San Diego defensive end Luis Castillo.

• Word out of Cleveland is that coach Romeo Crennel is not yet prepared to turn the No. 1 job over to second-year quarterback Charlie Frye, the former third-round draft choice from nearby Akron who started the final five games of his 2005 rookie season. If that's indeed the case, then the Browns will certainly hold onto veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer, at least for one more season. But if the Cleveland staff decides to go with Frye, and wants to dump Dilfer at some point, they'll find a few takers. Word is that Detroit and San Francisco wouldn't mind having Dilfer as an insurance policy. The 49ers plan to start Alex Smith, the top overall choice in the 2005 draft, but a youngster who struggled considerably as a rookie. And the Lions indicated this week that Joey Harrington is their guy. Both teams could use a fall-back veteran quarterback -- a guy like Dilfer -- to stabilize the depth chart.

• There are some interesting defensive tackles who could hit the free agent market next week and the Denver Broncos are desperately trying to keep Gerard Warren from being one of them. The Broncos have already made a significant contract proposal to Warren, who had an exemplary season in Denver (after being acquired in a trade with Cleveland), in an effort to retain him. But the odds that the Broncos will complete a deal before the start of the free agency signing period next Friday, and before Warren becomes a surprisingly hot commodity as an unrestricted player, are probably no better than 50-50. Although he registered just 42 tackles and three sacks, Warren, the third overall player chosen in the 2001 draft, resurrected his career last season. The former University of Florida standout logged more snaps than any Denver defensive lineman, finally realized that the biggest part of his job was to eat up blockers and not make tackles and stayed out of trouble off the field. He didn't get a lot of ink from those who judge a player by statistics alone, but Warren was a big part of the Broncos' run defense revival, and Denver would have a pretty difficult time replacing him if he chose to move on. There are pending free agent defensive tackles with higher profiles -- Ryan Pickett (St. Louis), Rocky Bernard (Seattle), Chris Hovan (Tampa Bay), Larry Tripplett (Indianapolis), Grady Jackson (Green Bay), Kendrick Clancy (New York Giants) and Maake Kemoeatu (Baltimore), among them -- but Warren is still going to be a very hot commodity if he hits the open market.

• Stat of the week: Lovie Smith will be entering just his third year as head coach of the Chicago Bears in 2006. But that is two more seasons, total, than the combined tenures of the coaches of the other three teams in the NFC North. Each of the Bears' division opponents will have rookie coaches in 2006. In fact, so dramatic was the coaching turnover this offseason that Smith will face just three coaches in 2006 -- Mike Holmgren (Seattle), Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay) and Bill Belichick (New England) -- who have more continuous service with their current teams than does Smith with the Bears.

• Punts: Miami cornerback Sam Madison, who during the season indicated he would not rework his contract to stay with the Dolphins, may be having a change of heart. Madison is due $3.7 million for 2006, and carries a cap charge of about $6.5 million, but indicated this week that he might be willing to consider some sort of adjustment to avoid being released … There are rumblings that Michael Jordan is actively involved in trying to recruit Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush for the Nike label. The belief all along has been that the Southern California star, the likely top overall pick in the draft, would sign an endorsement deal with Reebok … Tampa Bay director of player personnel Ruston Webster seems set to move to the Seattle front office after the draft. The move would reunite Webster with Seahawks team president Tim Ruskell. The two worked together with the Bucs for many years … The Washington Redskins recently made an offer to the Baltimore Ravens in an attempt to trade for middle linebacker Ray Lewis, but were rebuffed. Lewis isn't happy with his current contract situation -- although his deal has three years remaining, he wants it reworked so that he can collect one more big signing bonus before retirement -- but the Ravens seem intent on keeping him for now … The league and commissioner Paul Tagliabue are trying hard to aid the New Orleans Saints in just about any way possible. What they can't do, though, is make the team's schedule any easier. Based on opponents' records from 2005, New Orleans will have the NFL's most difficult schedule in 2006. The Saints' opponents fashioned a .566 winning percentage last season. Rounding out the top five toughest schedules: Tampa Bay (.550), New York Giants (.543), Cincinnati (.543) and Pittsburgh (.531) … Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said last week that he expects Carson Palmer, who still faces a long rehabilitation from knee surgery, to be this starter in the 2006 season opener. Lewis also vowed that the Bengals will sign a veteran backup, or re-sign incumbent No. 2 guy Jon Kitna, in the opening week of free agency … Two years ago, some observers were stunned when the Philadelphia Eagles moved up in the first round to choose Arkansas offensive lineman Shawn Andrews. But with starting right tackle Jon Runyan poised to depart in free agency, the move looks pretty good now, and is a prime example of the foresight with which the Philadelphia front office operates. If Runyan bolts, Andrews will likely move from right guard to right tackle, the position he played in college … New England elected not to use the franchise tag on Adam Vinatieri this year, but the rumblings around the league are that the Patriots will reach a long-term deal with their prized placement specialist before the start of free agency next Friday … Larry Beightol, the new Detroit Lions' offensive line coach, wants left tackle Jeff Backus, designated on Thursday as a franchise player, to get into the weight room and add some bulk in the offseason. One of the NFL's best young pass protectors, Backus needs to upgrade his run-blocking skills to take his game to the next level.

• The last word: "That's crazy. I don't agree with trading him. Last year, they traded Randy Moss. [So] we've already made one mistake. Don't do it twice. If that's the case, let me go. I didn't like the trade last year, so I'm definitely not going to like this trade. Trading would not solve anything. What's that going to do? Make somebody else's team better that we might have to play against?" -- Minnesota left offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, reacting to the rumors that Vikings officials are shopping quarterback Daunte Culpepper in trade talks.