eddie mac
03-14-2007, 02:57 AM
Still calling the Plummer
Wednesday, March 14 at 12:01 AM | Trackbacks
Andy Harper in Las Vegas leads a large contingent -- almost triple digits' worth -- still looking at Jake Plummer's retirement and whether or not the Broncos will try to get some money back from their former quarterback . . .
Q: Aren't the Broncos both responsible for and entitled to the signing bonuses considering they are the ones who guaranteed them? Isn't that why the cap hit for trading or cutting a player goes up so much during the year it happens, 'cause all the bonuses come due?
A: The basics of the situation are:
The Broncos have traded Plummer's rights to Tampa. Plummer has also announced his retirement twice -- once in person and once on his website.
When a player retires with a few years left on his contract, especially a high-profile player who wasn't expected to retire, teams have taken to trying to recover some of the bonus money they paid out.
Plummer has three years remaining on his contract. And while he received his bonuses a couple years ago, those bonuses are charged on a pro-rated basis to the team's salary cap over the life of the contract. So teams have had some success recovering the remaining pro-rated portions in cash.
The Dolphins won the right against running back Ricky Williams to recover a signing bonus after Williams retired, and there have been a few others. For Plummer, it amounts to about $7 million someone will try to recover.
The Broncos did pay those bonuses and under most circumstances would have the right to that money. However, that right is something they could put into a trade, and it's believed they did just that with the Buccaneers.
Right now the Broncos get a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft if Plummer neither plays nor reports to the Buccaneers or anybody else before draft day in '08. But if he reports to Tampa or anyone else before draft day '08, the Broncos get a fourth-round pick.
To get the best possible pick -- and a fourth-rounder is about the best the Broncos were going to do, according to several personnel executives I spoke to around the league -- the Broncos are believed to have given the Buccaneers the opportunity to recover that signing bonus money in an effort to get Plummer to report.
Because if Plummer reports for the '07 season -- or any time before the '08 draft -- the Broncos get the fourth-rounder.
Now, the league operates under a collective bargaining agreement, and players certainly have the right to file a grievance for any situation like this and get a hearing. Plummer is almost certainly going to file one to see if an arbitrator can be swayed to let him retire without paying the money back.
Plummer said last Friday (March 9) that there "were some things going on'' that people might "speculate'' about. This is the situation he was talking about.
Also, he promised never to wear another NFL jersey in a game. However, it might cost him some money to keep that promise.
However, it's clear the Broncos want him to report to Tampa to get the best pick possible from the trade, and it's clear the Buccaneers want him to report as well because they were on the hunt for a veteran quarterback. Plummer would earn about $5 million in salary this season if he reports to Tampa -- his contract was traded with him.
Also, there were still plenty of folks who wanted a review of the cap situation for the Broncos with Plummer's contract overall. So, here it is:
-- Had they simply kept Plummer on the roster under his old contract, it would have counted $8.605 million against the cap this year.
-- Had they cut him before June 1, the cap charge would have been $8.556 million.
-- Had they designated him a post-June 1 cut -- each team can designate two players this way -- or released him after June 1, the cap charge would have been $2.852 million this year, $5.704 million in '08.
-- By trading him, the cap charge is still $8.556 million because the Broncos are still responsible for any pro-rated portions of previous bonuses remaining on the deal. That all counts in the year of the trade. Plummer had three years remaining on his deal, and the charge of those bonuses is $8.556 million to the Broncos salary cap.
-- Since they have traded his rights, they are still responsible for those charges because his contract is now on the books with the Buccaneers.
-- Had he retired as a member of the Broncos, the cap charge would still have been $8.556 million.
Scott Mosher in Farmington, also looked at quarterbacks . . .
Q: I am glad the Broncos were able to sign a veteran backup quarterback in Patrick Ramsey. However, I was wondering why their first option wasn't Tim Rattay? He doesn't have quite as much experience as Ramsey. However, Rattay's completion percentage is 5% better (60.7% vs. 55.7%). Rattay's (passer) rating is better (82.6 vs. 74.9), and he should be more familiar with the West Coast offense. What makes Ramsey the better choice?
A: For the Broncos, the short answer is arm strength. This coaching staff, with assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger working with Mike Shanahan to coordinate the passing game, covets arm strength.
It's why they moved Jay Cutler up the draft board so quickly last year among the quarterback prospects. Matt Leinart had won far more games in a far higher profile program, but the Broncos coveted Cutler because he had a much stronger arm than Leinart.
Ramsey has a far stronger arm than Rattay. And as they continue to move the playbook to what Cutler can do, pushing the ball down the field in more situations, they needed someone behind Cutler who can throw the same balls for the most part.
That's why Ramsey was the pick there once he became available. Had they not signed Ramsey, they were talking plenty with Anthony Wright.
Steve Oliver in London (U.K.) looked at the defense . . .
Q: How do you see the safety position? Can (Domonique) Foxworth do the job? Are (Nick) Ferguson and (John) Lynch a liability in coverage? Should Denver go for broke and get LaRon Landry in the draft and then grab some decent, if unspectacular defensive ends, in the later rounds?
A: As they did last year -- it didn't work out on draft day, just because of the trades the Broncos worked on the first day to get Cutler, Javon Walker and then select Tony Scheffler, too -- they'll give a long look to safety on the first day once again this year.
Especially since Ferguson is still working his way back from knee surgery that ended his '06 season and Lynch is heading into his 15th season.
It's a fairly good year at the position in the draft. But to get Landry, they'll need a spectacular trade to get high enough in the opening round to snag him.
Landy, after his 4.32 40-yard dash at the combine and the way he has played over the past four years at LSU, is a top six player on many teams' boards right now.
At free safety, Miami's Brandon Meriweather -- he looked good at the Senior Bowl -- Texas' Michael Griffin, Florida's Reggie Nelson (who came out as a junior) and Wyoming's John Wendling are also quality prospects. At strong safety, a lot of teams like Virginia Tech's Aaron Rouse and Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski.
The workout season over the next month or so will get everybody into the slots, but if the Broncos jump early at safety, those are some of the names who will be on the board.
Robert Kendzlic has a bone to pick . . .
Q: While you Broncos sportswriters "crow" over the picks the overhyped team has made, others at CBS, Fox, NFL Network and others on the (internet) have criticized; the Travis Henry pick (too much guaranteed money for an average back); Daniel Graham, judged by most (who can be more objective) as average; and (Dan) Wilkinson, how old is he anyway? I hear Joe Greene would like to come out of retirement and Dre Bly doesn't want to play (in Denver) . . . until you take your cheerleader skirt off and put down your pompons, how could you ever be objective?
A: Well, I'm sure the folks at CBS, Fox and the NFL Network believe they are making too much money as well . . .
Travis Henry has had a 1,000-yard season every time he has carried the ball more than 215 times. He fits the Broncos offense and will put up the numbers.
His issues, and we brought them up before he was signed, are injuries, because of his high-contact running style, and the fact he has been suspended -- for four games in '05 -- for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The Broncos discussed those things with Henry, looked into it themselves as well, and liked what they saw enough to give him the contract. Objectively, the draft is thin at running back beyond the top two prospects and after trading Tatum Bell, the Broncos didn't have a primary running back on their roster.
There weren't many, if any, running backs on the open market better than Henry, certainly any who fit the Broncos' scheme.
As far as contracts, that's the price of free agency. The Patriots, often cited as the masters of frugality, just gave Kelley Washington a deal that could hit $22 million if they pick up the option after the '07 season, and Washington has never had more than 31 receptions in a season and finished '06 on injured reserve,
That also comes after the Patriots used a first-round pick in '06 on wide receiver Chad Jackson.
Joe Greene and his peers didn’t have the luxury of free agency. You don't think he ever wonders what that would have looked like for him?
Those four Super Bowl trophies of the '70s would have looked more like two if free agency had been in play.
Is Nate Clements the best defensive player in the league's history? He is certainly the highest-paid defender in history because he was a coveted free agent in a year when teams had more salary cap space than they have had ever before.
That kind of cap room likely will not exist in future years league-wide like it did this year, at least that's what general managers believe as they move forward. But that's the free market, baby.
Is Clements supposed to say no thanks? No, you take the pen, sign your name and smile, knowing you could put your children, your children's children and your children's children's children through college if you wish.
There is no skirting that fact.
Remy Zurbano in Miami asks . . .
Q: The Broncos are looking to move up in the draft to possibly pick up a defensive lineman. What can they package together to move up and what are the possibilities of packaging Dre Bly and their No. 1 pick to move up and get the Redskins' No.1?
A: It would likely take the Redskins' No. 6 pick for any trade for Bly to happen. The Broncos have made it clear they intend to keep Bly, Bly has made it clear to the Broncos he's fine with that and the Broncos have told him if he plays well, they will re-do his deal.
The only scenario that would really change that is if the Redskins offer that first-round pick as part of a lopsided, blockbuster trade for Bly. Bly fills a need in the Denver defense, to trade him without heavily "winning'' the trade means they would still have a need that is one of the most difficult to fill these days -- cover corner.
The Broncos are always looking to move up on draft day so they will be looking again, but they can get a productive pass rusher at No. 21 if they wish. There aren't any defensive ends who are so can't-miss compelling they would have to surrender a lot to move up into the top 10 to get.
They can find value at that position where they are.
And finally A.P. Crisafi also looked at the pass rush . . .
Q: Since the Broncos added all of these free agents, I think the one player they really needed to get was (Patrick) Kerney. A pass rusher is the missing piece to put the defense into a championship-caliber level. I still think they have no pass rush. Can you rate the defensive ends in the draft and give us an idea whom the Broncos might go after?
A: The Broncos tried hard to get Kerney, and he wanted to come. But in recent years Denver has tried to split their signing bonuses over two years -- Henry got $6 million this year and will get another $6 million bonus next year, for example.
Their total outlay was close to what Kerney got in Seattle, but Seattle was willing to give him more money more quickly. And even having Kerney's friend -- defensive line coach Bill Johnson -- on the Broncos staff wasn't enough to change that.
As far as the draft, the Broncos are a long way from firmly setting their board at any position. But at No. 21 in the first round, they will likely be far too late to have a shot at Clemson's Gaines Adams -- a Jevon Kearse look-a-like.
Adams is a quality edge rusher who has run in the 4.6s in workouts who will likely be among the top 12 picks or so.
Beyond that, someone to keep an eye on is Nebraska's Adam Carriker. A hard-nosed player, Carriker has really turned heads -- he had a great week at the Senior Bowl.
At 290 pounds or so, he's a bigger end and might even be able to line up effectively at the defensive left end or power end spot.
Georgia's Charles Johnson, who came out as a junior, is another big rush end at 280 pounds and probably played his way into the tail end of the first round.
A lot of the boards at the position could be set by what happens to Michigan's Lamarr Woodley. An outside linebacker/defensive end prospect who was rated in the first round for much of his senior season, Woodley has seen his stock slip as the juniors joined the draft and the workouts began.
He pulled out of the Senior Bowl with a hamstring injury and then didn't work out at the combine. He made plays in games, but some teams wanted to see more over the past three months.
Michigan has a pro day workout scheduled for Friday (March 16). A lot of teams want to see more from him there.
That’s it, and thanks.
LMFAO at the fact Kerney was attempting to make the country's media believe he picked Seattle over Denver because of a better shot at a Superbowl. Think we all knew deep down he got far more money this year with them. Doesn't happen very often but quite a few players have turned down that 2-tiered signing bonus we offer most of the time for the more lucrative $15m plus up front in the 1st year. That's the only situation where the cap has always hindered this team.
Wednesday, March 14 at 12:01 AM | Trackbacks
Andy Harper in Las Vegas leads a large contingent -- almost triple digits' worth -- still looking at Jake Plummer's retirement and whether or not the Broncos will try to get some money back from their former quarterback . . .
Q: Aren't the Broncos both responsible for and entitled to the signing bonuses considering they are the ones who guaranteed them? Isn't that why the cap hit for trading or cutting a player goes up so much during the year it happens, 'cause all the bonuses come due?
A: The basics of the situation are:
The Broncos have traded Plummer's rights to Tampa. Plummer has also announced his retirement twice -- once in person and once on his website.
When a player retires with a few years left on his contract, especially a high-profile player who wasn't expected to retire, teams have taken to trying to recover some of the bonus money they paid out.
Plummer has three years remaining on his contract. And while he received his bonuses a couple years ago, those bonuses are charged on a pro-rated basis to the team's salary cap over the life of the contract. So teams have had some success recovering the remaining pro-rated portions in cash.
The Dolphins won the right against running back Ricky Williams to recover a signing bonus after Williams retired, and there have been a few others. For Plummer, it amounts to about $7 million someone will try to recover.
The Broncos did pay those bonuses and under most circumstances would have the right to that money. However, that right is something they could put into a trade, and it's believed they did just that with the Buccaneers.
Right now the Broncos get a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft if Plummer neither plays nor reports to the Buccaneers or anybody else before draft day in '08. But if he reports to Tampa or anyone else before draft day '08, the Broncos get a fourth-round pick.
To get the best possible pick -- and a fourth-rounder is about the best the Broncos were going to do, according to several personnel executives I spoke to around the league -- the Broncos are believed to have given the Buccaneers the opportunity to recover that signing bonus money in an effort to get Plummer to report.
Because if Plummer reports for the '07 season -- or any time before the '08 draft -- the Broncos get the fourth-rounder.
Now, the league operates under a collective bargaining agreement, and players certainly have the right to file a grievance for any situation like this and get a hearing. Plummer is almost certainly going to file one to see if an arbitrator can be swayed to let him retire without paying the money back.
Plummer said last Friday (March 9) that there "were some things going on'' that people might "speculate'' about. This is the situation he was talking about.
Also, he promised never to wear another NFL jersey in a game. However, it might cost him some money to keep that promise.
However, it's clear the Broncos want him to report to Tampa to get the best pick possible from the trade, and it's clear the Buccaneers want him to report as well because they were on the hunt for a veteran quarterback. Plummer would earn about $5 million in salary this season if he reports to Tampa -- his contract was traded with him.
Also, there were still plenty of folks who wanted a review of the cap situation for the Broncos with Plummer's contract overall. So, here it is:
-- Had they simply kept Plummer on the roster under his old contract, it would have counted $8.605 million against the cap this year.
-- Had they cut him before June 1, the cap charge would have been $8.556 million.
-- Had they designated him a post-June 1 cut -- each team can designate two players this way -- or released him after June 1, the cap charge would have been $2.852 million this year, $5.704 million in '08.
-- By trading him, the cap charge is still $8.556 million because the Broncos are still responsible for any pro-rated portions of previous bonuses remaining on the deal. That all counts in the year of the trade. Plummer had three years remaining on his deal, and the charge of those bonuses is $8.556 million to the Broncos salary cap.
-- Since they have traded his rights, they are still responsible for those charges because his contract is now on the books with the Buccaneers.
-- Had he retired as a member of the Broncos, the cap charge would still have been $8.556 million.
Scott Mosher in Farmington, also looked at quarterbacks . . .
Q: I am glad the Broncos were able to sign a veteran backup quarterback in Patrick Ramsey. However, I was wondering why their first option wasn't Tim Rattay? He doesn't have quite as much experience as Ramsey. However, Rattay's completion percentage is 5% better (60.7% vs. 55.7%). Rattay's (passer) rating is better (82.6 vs. 74.9), and he should be more familiar with the West Coast offense. What makes Ramsey the better choice?
A: For the Broncos, the short answer is arm strength. This coaching staff, with assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger working with Mike Shanahan to coordinate the passing game, covets arm strength.
It's why they moved Jay Cutler up the draft board so quickly last year among the quarterback prospects. Matt Leinart had won far more games in a far higher profile program, but the Broncos coveted Cutler because he had a much stronger arm than Leinart.
Ramsey has a far stronger arm than Rattay. And as they continue to move the playbook to what Cutler can do, pushing the ball down the field in more situations, they needed someone behind Cutler who can throw the same balls for the most part.
That's why Ramsey was the pick there once he became available. Had they not signed Ramsey, they were talking plenty with Anthony Wright.
Steve Oliver in London (U.K.) looked at the defense . . .
Q: How do you see the safety position? Can (Domonique) Foxworth do the job? Are (Nick) Ferguson and (John) Lynch a liability in coverage? Should Denver go for broke and get LaRon Landry in the draft and then grab some decent, if unspectacular defensive ends, in the later rounds?
A: As they did last year -- it didn't work out on draft day, just because of the trades the Broncos worked on the first day to get Cutler, Javon Walker and then select Tony Scheffler, too -- they'll give a long look to safety on the first day once again this year.
Especially since Ferguson is still working his way back from knee surgery that ended his '06 season and Lynch is heading into his 15th season.
It's a fairly good year at the position in the draft. But to get Landry, they'll need a spectacular trade to get high enough in the opening round to snag him.
Landy, after his 4.32 40-yard dash at the combine and the way he has played over the past four years at LSU, is a top six player on many teams' boards right now.
At free safety, Miami's Brandon Meriweather -- he looked good at the Senior Bowl -- Texas' Michael Griffin, Florida's Reggie Nelson (who came out as a junior) and Wyoming's John Wendling are also quality prospects. At strong safety, a lot of teams like Virginia Tech's Aaron Rouse and Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski.
The workout season over the next month or so will get everybody into the slots, but if the Broncos jump early at safety, those are some of the names who will be on the board.
Robert Kendzlic has a bone to pick . . .
Q: While you Broncos sportswriters "crow" over the picks the overhyped team has made, others at CBS, Fox, NFL Network and others on the (internet) have criticized; the Travis Henry pick (too much guaranteed money for an average back); Daniel Graham, judged by most (who can be more objective) as average; and (Dan) Wilkinson, how old is he anyway? I hear Joe Greene would like to come out of retirement and Dre Bly doesn't want to play (in Denver) . . . until you take your cheerleader skirt off and put down your pompons, how could you ever be objective?
A: Well, I'm sure the folks at CBS, Fox and the NFL Network believe they are making too much money as well . . .
Travis Henry has had a 1,000-yard season every time he has carried the ball more than 215 times. He fits the Broncos offense and will put up the numbers.
His issues, and we brought them up before he was signed, are injuries, because of his high-contact running style, and the fact he has been suspended -- for four games in '05 -- for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The Broncos discussed those things with Henry, looked into it themselves as well, and liked what they saw enough to give him the contract. Objectively, the draft is thin at running back beyond the top two prospects and after trading Tatum Bell, the Broncos didn't have a primary running back on their roster.
There weren't many, if any, running backs on the open market better than Henry, certainly any who fit the Broncos' scheme.
As far as contracts, that's the price of free agency. The Patriots, often cited as the masters of frugality, just gave Kelley Washington a deal that could hit $22 million if they pick up the option after the '07 season, and Washington has never had more than 31 receptions in a season and finished '06 on injured reserve,
That also comes after the Patriots used a first-round pick in '06 on wide receiver Chad Jackson.
Joe Greene and his peers didn’t have the luxury of free agency. You don't think he ever wonders what that would have looked like for him?
Those four Super Bowl trophies of the '70s would have looked more like two if free agency had been in play.
Is Nate Clements the best defensive player in the league's history? He is certainly the highest-paid defender in history because he was a coveted free agent in a year when teams had more salary cap space than they have had ever before.
That kind of cap room likely will not exist in future years league-wide like it did this year, at least that's what general managers believe as they move forward. But that's the free market, baby.
Is Clements supposed to say no thanks? No, you take the pen, sign your name and smile, knowing you could put your children, your children's children and your children's children's children through college if you wish.
There is no skirting that fact.
Remy Zurbano in Miami asks . . .
Q: The Broncos are looking to move up in the draft to possibly pick up a defensive lineman. What can they package together to move up and what are the possibilities of packaging Dre Bly and their No. 1 pick to move up and get the Redskins' No.1?
A: It would likely take the Redskins' No. 6 pick for any trade for Bly to happen. The Broncos have made it clear they intend to keep Bly, Bly has made it clear to the Broncos he's fine with that and the Broncos have told him if he plays well, they will re-do his deal.
The only scenario that would really change that is if the Redskins offer that first-round pick as part of a lopsided, blockbuster trade for Bly. Bly fills a need in the Denver defense, to trade him without heavily "winning'' the trade means they would still have a need that is one of the most difficult to fill these days -- cover corner.
The Broncos are always looking to move up on draft day so they will be looking again, but they can get a productive pass rusher at No. 21 if they wish. There aren't any defensive ends who are so can't-miss compelling they would have to surrender a lot to move up into the top 10 to get.
They can find value at that position where they are.
And finally A.P. Crisafi also looked at the pass rush . . .
Q: Since the Broncos added all of these free agents, I think the one player they really needed to get was (Patrick) Kerney. A pass rusher is the missing piece to put the defense into a championship-caliber level. I still think they have no pass rush. Can you rate the defensive ends in the draft and give us an idea whom the Broncos might go after?
A: The Broncos tried hard to get Kerney, and he wanted to come. But in recent years Denver has tried to split their signing bonuses over two years -- Henry got $6 million this year and will get another $6 million bonus next year, for example.
Their total outlay was close to what Kerney got in Seattle, but Seattle was willing to give him more money more quickly. And even having Kerney's friend -- defensive line coach Bill Johnson -- on the Broncos staff wasn't enough to change that.
As far as the draft, the Broncos are a long way from firmly setting their board at any position. But at No. 21 in the first round, they will likely be far too late to have a shot at Clemson's Gaines Adams -- a Jevon Kearse look-a-like.
Adams is a quality edge rusher who has run in the 4.6s in workouts who will likely be among the top 12 picks or so.
Beyond that, someone to keep an eye on is Nebraska's Adam Carriker. A hard-nosed player, Carriker has really turned heads -- he had a great week at the Senior Bowl.
At 290 pounds or so, he's a bigger end and might even be able to line up effectively at the defensive left end or power end spot.
Georgia's Charles Johnson, who came out as a junior, is another big rush end at 280 pounds and probably played his way into the tail end of the first round.
A lot of the boards at the position could be set by what happens to Michigan's Lamarr Woodley. An outside linebacker/defensive end prospect who was rated in the first round for much of his senior season, Woodley has seen his stock slip as the juniors joined the draft and the workouts began.
He pulled out of the Senior Bowl with a hamstring injury and then didn't work out at the combine. He made plays in games, but some teams wanted to see more over the past three months.
Michigan has a pro day workout scheduled for Friday (March 16). A lot of teams want to see more from him there.
That’s it, and thanks.
LMFAO at the fact Kerney was attempting to make the country's media believe he picked Seattle over Denver because of a better shot at a Superbowl. Think we all knew deep down he got far more money this year with them. Doesn't happen very often but quite a few players have turned down that 2-tiered signing bonus we offer most of the time for the more lucrative $15m plus up front in the 1st year. That's the only situation where the cap has always hindered this team.