[sportscurmudgeon]

Even with Manning's monster contract, the Colts have found a way to put the franchise tag on James (to the tune of over $8M), so they don't have to lose him.

James is "complaining" sort of like Coles did here. He wants a long term deal and is whining that Indy won't give him one. He said that in addition to all the yards he gains running and catching, he is a key part of the blocking package for Manning - who he has somewhat derisively called the "God of the NFL". So, he's trying to force a trade and because it is now clear that he wants out of Indy, the price for Edgerrin James is supposed to be LESS THAN A FIRST ROUND PICK.

I liike Edgerrin James a lot as a player, but he will be 30 next season and he wants a 4 or 5 year deal for big bucks and I'm not sure that's a great idea from a team perspective.

Indy does NOT have to trade him for cap reasons. Believe it or not, they have more cap flexibility than the Skins did at the beginning of the FA season.

And for those who think that Manning's $34M signing bonus was a cap killer, please recall that Danny Boy was reported to have said that he would have given Manning a $40M signing bonus had he had the opportunity. He never had it, so we don't know if he meant that or if that was just some kind of boast on his part...