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Musical chairs 'Skins, George talks in early stage; Vikes eye Mirer
Posted: Sunday April 02, 2000 07:31 PM
By Don Banks, Sports Illustrated Washington Redskins director of player personnel Vinny Cerrato said he considers the team's talks with free-agent quarterback Jeff George "very preliminary" and said negotiations on a multiyear deal that would install George as the backup to starter Brad Johnson have yet to begin. A Washington Post report Sunday had the Redskins on the verge of offering George a multiyear deal, and said negotiations between the two were at a critical stage. George also is still considering a one-year offer of about $1.5 million from the Minnesota Vikings, the team he went 9-3 for as a starter in 1999. Meanwhile, former New York Jets quarterback Rick Mirer has surfaced as Minnesota's top option if the Vikings can't re-sign George. Mirer, according to three league sources, is coach Dennis Green's fallback plan should George continue to insist on a more lucrative one-year offer from the Vikings. Mirer has been told that the Vikings will get back to him after if the club reaches its breaking point in talks with George. Mirer, who also has drawn heavy interest from San Francisco, would then face a decision between the Vikings and 49ers. Cerrrato characterized the Post report as premature and said he expects to hear early this week from George's agent, Leigh Steinberg, as to whether the talks will reach the negotiation stage. But it is believed that the Redskins have already made several contract proposals to Steinberg. "There's been no negotiations," Cerrato said Sunday afternoon. "We just ran into Leigh at the owners meeting in Palm Beach and asked about Jeff's availability and whether he was signed yet. We asked if he would be interested in being a backup in Washington? "Leigh said it would be something Jeff would definitely consider. He said Jeff was interested and he'd get back to us on it early in the week. That's where it's at this point." Mirer, who has been with four teams in his seven-year NFL career, would be offered a one-year deal in the range of $500,000 to become Minnesota's backup quarterback, behind 1999 first-round draft pick Daunte Culpepper. Only George is being sought as the Vikings starter. Green considers Mirer and recently released Denver quarterback Bubby Brister as candidates to fill the veteran backup role behind Culpepper. While with Green Bay in 1998, Mirer worked with current Vikings offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, who was then in the same role with the Packers. Besides his familiarity with Lewis, another factor in Mirer's favor with Green is his standout performance against the Vikings in the 1999 preseason finale at Giants Stadium. Playing all of the second half against the Vikings, Mirer completed 5 of 8 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-17 Jets victory. Having played with Seattle, Chicago, Green Bay and the Jets after being selected second overall by the Seahawks in 1993, Mirer joined New York last preseason and wound up starting six games after starter Vinny Testaverde was lost for the season in Week 1. But Mirer struggled to match his preseason work against Minnesota and wound up losing the starting job in favor of the inexperienced Ray Lucas, who played well down as the Jets rallied to an 8-8 finish. Mirer was released by the Jets after the season. According to Vikings director of football administration Rob Brzezinski, the team has been in contact with Mirer and his agent, Marvin Demoff. Minnesota is expected to could pursue a one-year contract with Mirer by midweek if George does not give them a definitive answer. Demoff could not be reached to comment. Mirer and Green both own offseason homes in Del Mar, Calif., near San Diego, and have become acquainted in the past few offseasons. Green is said to share the conclusion of his mentor and former boss, 49ers general manager Bill Walsh, that Mirer has yet to play in the right system to showcase his talents. Based on Walsh's opinion, and Mirer's preseason performance against the Vikings, Green has told some within the league that he is confident Mirer could resurrect his flagging career in Minnesota. Green and Demoff have spoken just once in the past two weeks, but there is an understanding that Mirer is the team's primary option after George. While Minnesota clearly looks like the best option for Mirer to potentially vie for a starting job, he can also sign with the 49ers if he chooses, because Walsh has long regarded him as a talent in need of a little fine-tuning. But Mirer almost certainly would need to go with San Francisco before the April 15 NFL draft, because the 49ers may wind up selecting a future franchise quarterback with one of their two first-round picks (Nos. 12 and 24). The 49ers also have Jeff Garcia, who started the majority of their games in 1999, and veteran Steve Young, who has yet to decide whether he will retire in the wake of his concussion problems. The Vikings and George have been locked in a standoff regarding the team's one-year contract offer for three weeks. Green has made repeated threats in recent days to pull the offer off the table and move on in his quarterback search if George does not soon accept the deal. George and Steinberg, Cerrato said, are under no illusion that George would be anything other than Johnson's backup. That role was handled last year by veteran Rodney Peete, who would likely be released in favor of third-team quarterback Casey Weldon. "They know it's definitely a backup-only opportunity," Cerrato said. "It's not a starting competition with Brad. He's the guy." Cerrato said he does not know whether George wants to exhaust all possibilities with the Vikings before beginning negotiations with Washington. But the Redskins' interest provides George with some leverage in his talks with Minnesota, just as Green's interest in Mirer and Brister has served as the leverage behind the one-year offer to George. Recently hired Redskins linebackers coach Foge Fazio said Washington owner Daniel M. Snyder asked him for an endorsement of George at a Saturday night team party thrown by Snyder. Fazio served as the Vikings defensive coordinator last season, George's only season in Minnesota. Inserted into the starting lineup when the Super Bowl-favored Vikings were 2-4, George sparked a five-game season-saving winning streak, then led the Vikings to a 10-6 regular-season finish, and a 1-1 showing in the NFC playoffs. "I just told him the guy had a hell of a year for us last season," Fazio said. "I told him all the positive things the guy did. I don't know why Denny [Green] didn't want him back [initially], but it wasn't anything we coaches knew about. Jeff's a little different, but his teammates really liked him. He took guys out to dinner and was popular in the locker room. He got the job done for us." Steinberg could not be reached to comment.
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