Angry Pope
All Raider
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 8,458
- Reaction score
- 546
Players left in free agency...
No harm in waiting just a bit longer
Pat Kirwan
(July 17, 2006) -- Every year, with a week or two to go before NFL camps start, there are still a few players looking for work.
Ty Law has been the headliner still looking for a contract, but he's not alone. Defensive tackle Grady Jackson, CB Ahmed Plummer, center Jeff Mitchell, DT Dan Wilkinson, recently terminated OT Todd Wade, and even LB Junior Seau are available to be signed. Seau is considered a retired player at this point by many outsiders, but league front-office people believe he is just one phone call away from playing again. It's doubtful anyone will make that call, but if a few critical injuries occur, he will emerge as a candidate. The other veterans mentioned have a little more control of their fate, and they now face the decision to wait or lower their demands.
Ahmed Plummer has six years of experience at CB to offer, but the last two part time.
As Chiefs head coach Herm Edwards said to me on my Sirius Radio show recently, Law isn't that interested in going to a preseason camp at this point in his career. Law is clearly waiting for more money than is on the table, and he also knows his 10-interception season in 2005 came without a training camp to hone his skills. The best chance to get close to the money he wants at this point is to wait until camp is over and wait for a contending team to lose a starting corner to injury. If a team is unfortunate enough to have a starting CB head to the injured-reserve list and it thinks it is in position for a deep postseason run, Law will be the first name out of the head coach's mouth. Law needs to practice patience at this point and wait it out.
Jackson doesn't have a lot left in his tank, but he can clog up the middle and help a run defense if he is used sparingly. Jackson faces stiff competition from Wilkinson if a contending team realizes its run defense isn't what it should be by the end of August. If one of these two tackles signs a contract before camp starts, then the other is sitting pretty when a team or two hits the panic button the week before the season opener. It could get a little tricky for both of them if a few younger, less-accomplished players get released at the last camp cut. But a veteran with fresh legs in some kind of shape will still be the choice of most coaches. These guys need to wait it out.
Wade received $10 million in guaranteed money just two years ago when he left the Dolphins for the Texans. Injuries and a new system made him a square peg in a round hole in Houston. The popular opinion is he will get signed very shortly, but once again, if I were him, I would wait it out, considering very few tackles will come free at the last cut. Last year, Scott Gragg told me he was going to stay up at his home and fish until someone called him just before the season started. Jason Fabini got injured with the Jets, and Gragg was under contract before you knew it. Remember, players are not receiving any of their contract money during camp. It's the Monday after the first game before the checks roll in.
Mitchell can still play, and older veterans provide some comfort to offensive coaches and quarterbacks. Mitchell will get called and have his choice of teams by September. A key point to keep in mind for all these veterans, which might drive a few of them to sign during camp, even if they don't get a signing bonus, is the fact their contract is guaranteed if they make the opening-day roster.
Finally, if the phone doesn't ring or if the offer is not acceptable, one or two of these unemployed veterans may consider the strategy offensive lineman Ross Verba elected to use last season. Verba skipped the 2005 campaign and still hit a big payday with the Detroit Lions in the offseason.