Hines Ward No Show For Camp

[Bronco_Beerslug]

And the Steelers said they won't redo his deal. Wonder who will give in first?

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LATROBE, Pa. -- Hines Ward became the Pittsburgh Steelers' first major holdout in 12 years Sunday, keeping his promise not to report to training camp without a contract extension that would make him one of the NFL's top-paid wide receivers.

Once Ward missed the 6 p.m. ET reporting deadline, Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert said negotiations were over until Ward shows up -- something the four-time Pro Bowl receiver has insisted that he won't do without a new deal.

Ward, with one year remaining on a contract worth $1.66 million this season, apparently has two choices: End his holdout and continue talks, as Steelers Pro Bowl running back Barry Foster did in 1993, or sit out the season, as three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Mike Merriweather did in 1988.

Several teammates made impassioned pleas for the team to re-sign Ward, with linebacker Joey Porter saying the Steelers "can't win without him." And Colbert himself seemed uncomfortable talking about a missing player he often has cited for his unselfishness and team-first attitude.

"We understand Hines Ward is a special player and always has been ... but, sometimes, there's going to be a disagreement," Colbert said. "The policy has always been that, if a player is under contact, he has to be in camp for any negotiations to go forward. Without the player here, there won't be any exchange."
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[SoCalBronco]

I think the Steelers will give in first. Hines has good leverage. They lost Burress and now if they lose Hines, they wont have much of a passing game, even with rookie TE Heath Miller.

[Dukes]

I think the Steelers will give in first. Hines has good leverage. They lost Burress and now if they lose Hines, they wont have much of a passing game, even with rookie TE Heath Miller.

Yeah i'd be really suprised if Hines gives in first. Steelers need him much more than he needs them

[ludo21]

I too believe Hines has all the leverage, BUT the Steelers are a classy organization that wont budge. IMO

I think Ward will sit out if he has to, but then again, a year w/out football for Hines, i just cant see him doing it. Tough call either way.

The Steelers need to pony up the dough tho for sure. Its pathetic, this guy is your all-star/ team leader. Dont let money get in the way of that.

[bpc]

The impact of Ward not being with the Steelers is tremendous. The Steelers have some time to play with... the first two games are Tennessee who should be sorry this year and then the improving Texans. Week 3 is against the Patriots and then a bye. They can't afford to slip early though with Cincy being improved and the Ravens always being tough. The road is tough after the bye as well as they have the Chargers, Jaguars, Bengals, Ravens and Packers all in a row. Thats a pretty tough stretch of games.

[SoCalBronco]

Ha Ha. Your ****ed Waffle.

[DivineLegion]

I dont like this one bit this is not the Hines Ward I LOVE...and I think hes one of the top 3 WRs in the NFL right now!

[Clockwork Orange]

If he somehow ends up on the trade block the Broncos should be the first ones on the phone with Pittsburgh. He fits the Broncos system perfectly.

[DBroncos4life]

So much for him being Rod Smith like :)

[DivineLegion]

If he somehow ends up on the trade block the Broncos should be the first ones on the phone with Pittsburgh. He fits the Broncos system perfectly.

Si...hes a blocking machine and under 30 if he sticks around for as long as Rod has we got him for atleast another 6-7 years :o

[rbackfactory80]

I just want to see him cry like after the loss to the pats. I cant take it, I just wanted it for the bus, I wanted it for the team. Nah Dawg, you wanted it for the green.

[SoCalBronco]

Good point, CO. Id shell out money for Hines to bring him here. Id give up Washington's pick as well if thats what it took. He is worth it. He is a great blocker and a great reciever.

[SpringStein]

Good point, CO. Id shell out money for Hines to bring him here. Id give up Washington's pick as well if thats what it took. He is worth it. He is a great blocker and a great reciever.

All true, but how in the world could we fit him under the cap?

[SoCalBronco]

All true, but how in the world could we fit him under the cap?

Thats a good question and im not entirely sure if we could. We should be in good cap shape the next few years although Herc can be much more specific as to how aggressive we can afford to be.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

All true, but how in the world could we fit him under the cap?
For Ward you find a way :) He'd look great in Bronco orange and blue!!!

[Tredici]

I read about this earlier today. Too bad for the game of football. The question is since when has the last year of your contract become a throw away year? With cap constraints the way they are I don't think it would be that unusual for teams to plan according to the life of the contracts. Is there a clause now that says I'm signing up for five years, but it really means four if you haven't offered me more by then?

[bpc]

Well... we should be losing Gardener's final cap hit, Neil should be off the books... and Weaver as well? I don't know how much money this free's up but it should help. Herc is the man for cap knowledge though.

[elsid13]

As much play as the Steeler get for being class organization, they are and continued to be very cheap when comes to their players. Steeler's fans go out of their way to say that their small market team and don't have the money. Like Green Bay, St Louis or Indy are large market teams.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

I read about this earlier today. Too bad for the game of football. The question is since when has the last year of your contract become a throw away year? With cap constraints the way they are I don't think it would be that unusual for teams to plan according to the life of the contracts. Is there a clause now that says I'm signing up for five years, but it really means four if you haven't offered me more by then?
The last year or 2 or 3 become kinda moot now-a-days when players out perform their contracts. Until guaranteed contracts (like the other major sports have) become the standard, if they do, this is the way it will be.

[rbackfactory80]

I am upset about this because he is a overachiever with a tremendous amount of heart. To me he seemed like a guy that would honor his contract an even play the game for free. When a guy like ward pulls this it is definitely becoming a problem.

[-Slap-]

The last year or 2 or 3 become kinda moot now-a-days when players out perform their contracts. Until guaranteed contracts (like the other major sports have) become the standard, if they do, this is the way it will be.
Guaranteed contracts are never going to happen in the NFL. First off, there are simply too many players under contract per team. Secondly, there's too much attrition, too much turnover of rosters from year to year. Teams are not going to pay out dead money to every scrub who gets cut.

The advent of guaranteed contracts will kill competitive desire among players, because fear - in this case fear of losing your job - is the ultimate motivator. You will also see some teams keep bad players at the end of the roster simply because they don't want to play money to a player they've released and also pay his replacement.

[Tredici]

The last year or 2 or 3 become kinda moot now-a-days when players out perform their contracts. Until guaranteed contracts (like the other major sports have) become the standard, if they do, this is the way it will be.

What does out perform their contracts mean? They did the job they were under contract to do? Somebody else got more? Well, more than likely it was his turn to get more. If two or three years are moot, what is the point of a long term contract anyway? Instead of guaranteed, start signing one year deals. Or just go to incentives.

[Florida_Bronco]

Ha Ha. Your ****ed Waffle.

Speaking of which...where's he been? Haven't seen him around lately.

[elsid13]

Speaking of which...where's he been? Haven't seen him around lately.

He trying to get around the Restraining Order that Big Ben has against him.

[MadCity]

I'm with Hines on this one 100%. He was thinking of holding out last year but the Steelers asked him to come back and be a team guy and they said they'd take care of him for it. He did, and now they don't want to honor their part. Plus, he's scheduled to make something like 1.44 million this year. Yes, that's a huge amount to any of us (well, maybe not Mock since he's got the farming empire) but to him, that's not even close to his worth.

[DivineLegion]

I'm with Hines on this one 100%. He was thinking of holding out last year but the Steelers asked him to come back and be a team guy and they said they'd take care of him for it. He did, and now they don't want to honor their part. Plus, he's scheduled to make something like 1.44 million this year. Yes, that's a huge amount to any of us (well, maybe not Mock since he's got the farming empire) but to him, that's not even close to his worth.
By football standards I have to agree he deserves more...

[FADERPROOF]

I really don't have as much of a problem with Hines doing this compared to some other guys.

Hines Ward has been a top 10(top 5 to me) WR in the league for the past 3 -4 years now, he is the best blocking WR in the league and a guy that gives it his all out there. This is a different situation than guys like Javon Walker, who signed a contract and after 1 year of production already wants a new contract for more money. Or Terrell Owens, who signed a big time cotnract that already made him one of the highest paid players in the NFL along with a HUGE signing bonus to go alogn with it, who now after just 1 year wants a new deal.

Hines has played his entire career under this one and is has overperformed it by a mile for the past 3 years, it's time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to give back to him what he has done for them.

[Bronco_Beerslug]

What does out perform their contracts mean? They did the job they were under contract to do? Somebody else got more? Well, more than likely it was his turn to get more. If two or three years are moot, what is the point of a long term contract anyway? Instead of guaranteed, start signing one year deals. Or just go to incentives.
Their really isn't too much "sand" in these long term contracts these days for most players as both management and the players show us every year.
Seems to be an OK arrangement to both parties though.

[Clockwork Orange]

I'm with Hines on this one 100%. He was thinking of holding out last year but the Steelers asked him to come back and be a team guy and they said they'd take care of him for it. He did, and now they don't want to honor their part. Plus, he's scheduled to make something like 1.44 million this year. Yes, that's a huge amount to any of us (well, maybe not Mock since he's got the farming empire) but to him, that's not even close to his worth.

I heard the same thing. That Ward wanted to re-work his contract before last season and the Steelers said wait until after the season. He said fine and never missed so much as a practice. Now the Steelers are trying to back out of their end of the agreement. Bad business to pull that on a guy who's played his ass off for you and has never been a problem or a distraction.

I'll take him on my team any day.

[watermock]

Hines Ward has no ACL, neither did Elway.

Ward has been underpaid, but the conventional wisdom says that it will catch up with in in arthritis ect....Ward is a fine player, but you can see that he isn't an elite WR, altho he overachieves. There is no upside, he's allready busted his ass beyond expectations. Take a nice contract and play out the rest of your career Hines. Talk about a lunchpail worker...the problem is that you have to project the future in a contract. I hope they can come together. Ward doesn't deserve at top WR contract.

[Tombstone RJ]

One thing is for sure, if Ward holds out, its gonna have a bad effect of Big Ben. You'd think the Steeler's front office would make it a priority to sign Ben's favorite target in the passing game...