Albert Haynesworth has no future with the Redskins
Posted by Anthony Stalter (09/07/2010 @ 3:00 pm)
So now the Redskins have re-entered trade talks with the Titans for Albert Haynesworth.
Fantastic. The never ending offseason death ride continues.
I wonder if Mike Shanahan has the correct business hours for FedEx, because if he wanted to get rid of Hanyesworth so bad, he could have already shipped the mammoth defensive tackle out of town by now.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen says there is no deal in place yet between the Skins and Titans, because Tennessee feels that Washington’s asking price of two draft picks is too high. Quite frankly, I don’t blame the Titans for not giving into the Redskins’ demands considering a) Haynesworth hasn’t cracked the starting lineup yet and b) Shanahan clearly wants nothing to do with him.
Why pay full price for something when the seller is willing to give the product away for less than what its worth? Washington can play hardball with Tennessee all it wants, but at the end of the day the Titans know that Shanahan doesn’t want Haynesworth on his roster, so all they have to do is show some patience and they’ll get the player they want for cheap.
The best thing for the Redskins would be to trade Haynesworth for whatever they can get, even if it doesn’t wind up being fair value in return. This was Dan Snyder’s fault for paying a player $100 million and ignoring all the signs that came with said player. If he had bothered to do his homework, he would have taken a pass just like most owners and built his team through the draft for once.
Nothing positive is going to come out of this Haynesoworth/Shanahan/Redskins fiasco, so Washington needs to cut its losses and move on.
Titans, Chris Johnson work out short-term contract fix
Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/19/2010 @ 6:00 pm)
Adam Schefter is reporting via his Twitter page that Chris Johnson and the Titans have agreed on a new contract. No new years were added – just money, which was essentially all Johnson wanted anyway.
Titans are moving up a portion of RB Chris Johnson’s $2.5 million escalator — and problem averted. He’ll be in camp in time.
You knew a compromise would eventually get worked out. Due to the “30 percent” rule (and the fact that the new CBA deal has yet to be signed), the Titans couldn’t offer him more than a modest raise, which is exactly what they did in the end. The new deal buys the two sides another year to discuss a potential long-term solution, one that will likely make Johnson one of the highest paid players in the NFL.
As Schefter reports, Johnson is unlikely to holdout, which means fans in Tennessee can now collectively breathe a sigh of relief.
Titans, Johnson working on compromise
Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/07/2010 @ 8:23 am)
According to the Nashville Tennessean, the Titans and the player rep for Chris Johnson are working on a contract compromise that would ensure that the star back will report to training camp on time.
Under the terms of the five-year, $12 million contract he signed prior to his rookie season, Johnson has reached escalators in the deal that could pay him up to an additional $2.5 million in salary in 2012. The Titans could turn that money into a signing bonus in 2010, and combine it with his scheduled base salary of $550,000 for this fall.
Players earn escalators by reaching individual and team goals as part of a contract, and, unlike incentives that are paid out at the end of a season, they’re attached to future salaries. While such a move wouldn’t provide a big pay raise like Johnson wants, it would get him some additional funds now, with the hope of getting a long-term deal after next season.
The Titans have already paid Johnson roughly $7 million in guarantees over his first two seasons. He’s scheduled to make base salaries of $800,000 in 2011 and $960,000 in 2012. The Titans have cited the 30 percent rule, a byproduct of the league’s labor issues, as a reason why a lucrative long-term deal isn’t do-able at this time. It restricts big increases in Johnson’s salary from year to year, since they’d have to pay him guaranteed signing bonus in the $40 million range as part of a market rate extension.
Reaching a contract compromise has seemed like the most logical solution from the start. The Titans can’t give Johnson the long-term deal that he covets because of the “30 percent” rule, but considering he’s far and away their best player and highly underpaid, the team needs to do something.
A modest raise in the form of a bonus makes sense now, and then the two sides can come together after the season and work on a long-term extension. This would ensure that Johnson reports to camp on time and that the Titans have their most productive player ready to go for the regular season.
Agreement between Johnson, Titans coming?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (07/06/2010 @ 12:05 pm)
While appearing on the NFL Network on Monday, Michael Lombardi said that the friction between running back Chris Johnson and the Titans is beginning to “thaw.” Lombardi hears a “calmness on both sides” and predicts that an agreement will likely be struck sometime before training camp.
Now, what that agreement will be is unknown. The Titans are still hamstrung by the “30 percent” rule and Johnson still wants to be the highest paid running back in the league. Maybe the team can offer him a modest raise now with promise to talk about a contract extension at the end of the season, assuming Johnson reports to camp on time and isn’t a distraction during the year.
Either way, this situation is becoming more positive by the day. Last week, Johnson reportedly worked out at the Titans’ practice facility and now Lombardi is reporting that the two sides could come to an agreement before training camp. Of course, Johnson did deny working out at Baptist Park, so who knows where things will go from here.
Titans unlikely to re-do Chris Johnson’s contract this year
Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/20/2010 @ 12:00 pm)
Chris Johnson wants to be the highest paid offensive player in the league, but based on recent comments made by Titans’ GM Mike Reinfeldt, CJ is going to have to wait a little longer before reaching his big payday.
From the Tennessean:
“Given the circumstances, I don’t think there’s the likelihood anything is going to happen,” Reinfeldt said. “You’re asking me definitely if he’s not going to get (a new contract). I’m not making any definitive statements. I just think he’s a pro and we expect him to honor his contract. Chris has always been a pro, and we expect that to continue.”
Reinfeldt again cited the 30 percent rule, but said the fact that Johnson is just two years into the five-year, $12 million contract he signed in 2008 is also an issue. The Titans haven’t made a habit of re-doing contracts after just two seasons.
The 30 percent rule, a byproduct of the league’s labor issues, stipulates a 30 percent maximum raise of the previous year’s base salary. Because the base salary would be restricted each year in a new contract, the Titans would be forced to pay Johnson guaranteed signing bonus money in the $40 million to $50 million range as part of a market-rate extension.
“There’s limitations on what we can do,” Reinfeldt said. “So it’s definitely an issue.”
Just based on comments made by Reinfeldt and Johnson’s teammates, it doesn’t appear that this will be a big issue. Johnson may wind up holding out until training camp, but you get the impression that he’ll show up later this summer as a sign of good faith.
But sooner or later, the Titans will have to pony up and pay their best player, who is highly underpaid by the way. They may wait to see if there’s a lockout in 2011, but at some point Johnson’s contract will be addressed.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Johnson prepared to hold out through training camp?
Posted by Anthony Stalter (05/14/2010 @ 8:57 am)
The Titans insist that they don’t have a problem brewing with running back Chris Johnson. He wants more money, but the team doesn’t believe he’ll actually hold out. GM Mike Reinfeldt is even downplaying the issue by noting how Johnson missed much of last year’s offseason voluntary work too, yet still showed up for day one of training camp.
But the cold, hard reality is that the Titans better be ready to dig their heels in, because CJ appears prepared to hold out as long as he can.
After recently speaking with Johnson about the issue, NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp believes that CJ is serious about holding out beyond training camp.
“There’s going to have to be some talking before Chris goes back to Tennessee,” Sapp said. “He’s prepared to take this through training camp.”
The main problem for the Titans, outside of Johnson’s potential holdout of course, is that they’re hamstrung by the league’s “30 percent” rule, which prohibits large raises being given for future base salaries. So if they were to draw up a new deal for Johnson, it would have to be largely bonus-based, which no team wants to do because that money is usually guaranteed.
One of two things will have to happen in order for the Titans and Johnson to settle this problem. Either the Titans are going to have to get creative in coming up with a new contract or Johnson is just going to have to trust that the team will get him a new deal as soon as a new collective bargaining agreement is signed and the “30 percent” rule is lifted. The Titans could roll the dice and hope that Johnson reports to camp without receiving a new contract, but if he doesn’t, they risk losing their most important player for an extended period of time.
Who will blink first?
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Titans’ owner ready for Vince Young
Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/27/2009 @ 10:22 am)
Titans’ owner Bud Adams is getting even more vocal about his desire to see quarterback Vince Young start over Kerry Collins this week.
From the Nashville Tennessean:
In the past week the 86-year-old owner has been more direct, according to sources familiar with the situation. Adams wants the change now.
Adams and Fisher could not be reached for comment on Monday night.
At his weekly press conference earlier in the day, Fisher was non-committal when asked if Kerry Collins or Young would start this week, citing competitive reasons. It was the first time this season Fisher did not immediately say Collins would remain the starter.
This isn’t really anything new because Adams went on record a week ago that he’d like to see Young play. But if the report is true and Adams is getting more direct, the situation is starting to become interesting because it could play into whether or not Fisher is retained at the end of the year.
One would imagine that Fisher is on the hot seat after the Titans’ brutal start. If the owner wants to see more of Young, but Fisher sticks with Collins and the team continues to lose, will the long-time head coach been shown the door for not granting the owner’s wishes.
Young isn’t the answer, but he could at least provide a spark for a lifeless team. At this point, Fisher should be willing to try just about anything to earn a win and if that means starting Young, then so be it.
Titans to stick with Collins for now
Posted by Anthony Stalter (10/12/2009 @ 5:10 pm)
Titans head coach Jeff Fisher stated on Sunday night following Tennessee’s loss to the Colts that Kerry Collins will remain his starting quarterback for the time being.
From Rotoworld.com:
Collins was pulled for Vince Young late in the game, prompting cheers from the home crowd. “We were three and a half, four scores down,” Fisher said. “The game was a little out of hand, and when games get out of hand, either way, you play your backup.” Fisher may reconsider during the Week 7 bye. Downgrade Titans receivers for the rest of the season.
There’s nothing about this decision that I like. The Titans are 0-5 with little hope of turning around their season and yet Fisher refuses to make a change in efforts to light a fire under his lifeless team.
Young isn’t the answer, but Collins can’t move the chains right now and that was once again evident last night. He continues to struggle to with the intermediate to deep throws and while his decision-making hasn’t been good, his accuracy has been his because issue.
I understand if Fisher didn’t want to give up on the season, but Kerry Collins doesn’t seem like the horse you want to throw your life savings on when you need one big score. Young isn’t that player either, but if I’m the Titans I’d rather see what I have with him because I already know what I have in Collins.
Vince Young: ‘I will be in the Hall of Fame.’
Posted by Anthony Stalter (08/06/2009 @ 10:20 am)
Vince Young recently sat down with Esquire magazine and in the interview, he set some lofty expectations for himself and his football career.
From AOL Fanhouse:
I don’t know when I’ll start again. But I will be the next black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. And I will be in the Hall of Fame.
Does it count if he wins a Super Bowl as a backup?
I like a player who sets a goal and then goes after it. The problem is that Young is currently stuck behind Kerry Collins and his future with the Titans is up in the air after proving that he’s a mental midget last season.
Young certainly has the athletic talent to succeed in the NFL, but does he have the mental makeup? Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks don’t feel the heat in pressure situations and when things start to go awry, they’re usually the coolest customers. Does any of that fit the description of Young?
I like VY and I’m hoping he earns (key word: earns) a starting role again someday. But he has long odds to win a Super Bowl as a starter and even longer odds to be in the Hall of Fame.
Nice ambition, though.
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