The Browns know they have to be right this year in their decisions about free agents. All indications are they're ready to move decisively, but the labor negotiation process has everybody pulling their punches.
A settlement also would raise the 2006 salary cap from the announced figure of $94.5 million to about $104 million. While that increase would allow other teams to keep some starting-caliber players off the market, it would raise the Browns' free agency bankroll to close to $30 million."If there's an 11th-hour agreement, we'd have even more room to operate and we might be able to accomplish things we're hopeful of doing, plus something else," Phil Savage, Browns general manager, said....
...With a full season as GM under his belt, Savage has been readying for free agency since December. He has identified club needs at defensive line, linebacker, receiver and punter.
Players who would fit those needs include:
Nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu of Baltimore; defensive ends Anthony Weaver of Baltimore, Aaron Kampman of Green Bay and Brett Keisel of Pittsburgh; linebacker Bart Scott of Baltimore; linebackers Julian Peterson of San Francisco and Matt Wilhelm of San Diego; receivers David Givens of New England and Joe Jurevicius, a Chardon native, of Seattle; and punter Dave Zastudil of Baltimore, a native of Bay Village.
I haven't seen a lot of Matt Wilhelm as a pro, and he has been a backup for most of his three years with the Chargers, but if he's the same sure-tackling, tough All Big Ten kid I watched help win a National Championship in 2002 for the Buckeyes, I'd like to see him playing next to Andra Davis in the middle of the Brown' 3-4 defense this Fall. He's got good hands, he's smart, he's fast enough, and I don't think I saw a better tackler at Ohio State between Chris Speilman and A.J. Hawk.
I think the Browns finally have a personnel man in Savage who values what local kids and Buckeyes could bring to this franchise. I love the idea of bringing Joe Jurevicius, Wilhelm, and former Ohio U. Bobcat Dave Zastudil back to Cleveland. Punter Zastudil would be a 100% improvement over what we lived with last year. And the Browns have had a gaping hole where a good, veteran wide receiver should be since about, oh...1999. There will be tough competition for Jurevicius, I understand. The Steelers and several other teams are said to like the former Nittany Lion as well. However....
Crennel may prefer David Givens, a known entity to him from New England days. Givens is supposed to be coming to Cleveland to talk to the Browns. His career is impressive already, and he's only 25 (six years younger than Jurevicius.) Givens is another northeast Ohio guy, from Youngstown. He attended Notre Dame, but if he wears the orange hat I guess can forget that one strike against him. (After all, he didn't lose eight bowl games in a row all by himself, for heavens sake. He only played there for four of those years)
A bigger test for Savage and Crennel than just bringing the local boys home will be trying to land a top free agent like OLB Julian Peterson from the 49ers. I guess it would be a matter of Crennel convicing Peterson that he could thrive in the 3-4 scheme...plus a whole lot of money. Another former Buckeye and Clevelander, Pro Bowl center LaCharles Bentley was thought to be a possibility for Cleveland, where he would play either play guard or replace Faine at center. But I read today that he's all but signed with the Eagles.
Savage did sign two important guys already this week though, announcing just today the re-signing of Reuben Droughns to a three year deal, after retaining Orpheus Roye on Tuesday.
Back to the labor issue. The players have decided that they now must not only have a guarantee of 60% of team revenues, (while 55% was deemed fair to play for in the last contract) but they must also have a redefinition of what constitutes "revenue", adding in things like stadium naming rights and local radio deals for the first time. And Gene Upshaw categorically states "I'm not coming down".
This is nuts. We can assume that team revenues will continue to rise, can't we? I mean, they keep raising my ticket prices, the price of everything from parking to beer to T-shirts keeps going up, and the TV contracts set records every time they're renewed. So if the players get a fixed percentage of the gross, they will continue to make more every year. Why do they arbitrarily now decide that the minimum acceptable percentage of a redefined revenue formula must go up five percentage points...or else?
I'm not saying that the players have a monopoly on greed here. But the costs of all the things owners spend the other 45% of revenue on keep going up too. Gene Upshaw and the players union will not be serving their membership well if they hold to this unrealistic demand, which will cause dozens of players to lose their jobs or be forced to compete for offers in a "tight money" market for team management. Upshaw has made the silly statement that "only the owners can make a proposal". This on top of "I'm not coming down". Really, Gene? What are your union brethren paying you for then? To sit there and say to the owners, "keep raising your offer, and I'll let you know when to stop"? This thing will end when NFL players put enough pressure on Upsahw to strike a deal.
Agent Leigh Steinberg said:
As teams peer into the abyss, as they peer into the apocalypse, sanity will return. When the NFLPA and management truly recognize the nature of no agreement, their intelligence and rationality will force them into making a deal."
Trust in the intelligence and rationality of both sides? I'll just stay tuned.
Posted by dan at March 3, 2006 10:58 AM