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Street beat Unsigned vets may have decent offers down the road
Updated: Thursday May 17, 2001 2:17 PM
My advice to some of the better free agents walking the streets right now is to resist signing with a team for the minimum just to have a place to call home. Some of these unemployed veterans will have one more shot to make some decent money by waiting until camp when preseason games are underway and injuries can become a factor. There's currently not much of a chance for marquee names on the open market to sign for much over the minimum with incentives. Former Panthers starting quarterback Steve Beuerlein is close to a deal with the Broncos to compete with Gus Frerotte for the right to back up Brian Griese. If Beuerlein was still free in August and a starter went down with an injury, he may have been able to command double what he's worth now. The same can be said for defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy, safety Brock Marion, cornerback Terrell Buckley, linebacker Sam Rogers, and maybe even running back Skip Hicks. These players are finding out the market is pretty weak -- and they're getting offered the deals to prove it. Players have a hard time playing this wait-and-see game. Victor Green was a Pro Bowl alternate last season. Still, he agreed to take a significant pay cut this spring to stay with the Jets. One general manager told me he loved Green and would have aggressively gone after him if he had come available. Green will still make a $1 million next year, but he may have been able to do better on the open market. A quality veteran who is healthy and was a starter last year can always get a minimum deal. But once he signs, he loses his chance for a richer contract. The short list of quality free agents will look like first-round draft picks to most head coaches when they lose starters in September. San Diego saved some scratch by dealing top pickOnly time will tell if trading away the first pick of the draft to the Falcons was a good move for the Chargers. If Michael Vick turns out to be an elite quarterback while LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees are mediocre, then Atlanta wins the war. But for now San Diego will win the cap battle for the players involved. Vick will see at least $15.3 million in guaranteed money in the first three years of his new contract. He could collect upwards of $22.5 million in guaranteed money if the Falcons don't exercise an option in the deal. Figure that Tomlinson and Brees will each get a 10 percent increase over what the players drafted in their spots signed for last year. You can even throw in the third-round pick San Diego received in the deal which they used to draft cornerback Tay Cody. Add it up and San Diego will only have to guarantee about $9.3 million in signing bonus money for all three. If general manager John Butler was right about these three as football players, he has saved his owner $6 million. Also, the Chargers will have all three for near the same cap charge as Vick. One other interesting point about Vick's contract: it makes him very tradeable if the Falcons ever elected to go that route. Instead of a traditional deal with a $12 million bonus that would accelerate, there's only a $3 million bonus so Atlanta could easily survive the transaction. I'm sure the Falcons aren't even contemplating trading Vick, but neither were the Saints two years ago when they picked Ricky Williams. If New Orleans were to trade Williams today, it would be a $5.8 million cap hit. Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel adminstrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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