POSTED 3:36 p.m. EST, February 18, 2006

 

CHAD THE NEXT COUCH?

 

As Jets quarterback Chad Pennington forces the team that has paid him $22 million in two years to release him before a $3 million roster bonus comes due on March 3, Pennington should consider carefully the fate of another quarterback who faced the same situation two years ago.

 

Tim Couch of the Browns was recovering from a shoulder injury in 2004, and he refused to accept a pay cut.  So he was released.  And he's been bouncing around in football oblivion ever since.

 

Pennington faces the same potential fate, if he follows through on his apparent intention to force the Jets to let him go.

 

And if he wants to find out more about how the wheels came off of Couch's career, all Chad needs to do is call his agent. 

 

Both players, after all, are represented by Tom Condon.

 

POSTED 9:06 a.m. EST; LAST UPDATED 10:47 a.m. EST, February 18, 2006

 

GRIESE, BUCS HEADING FOR DIVORCE?

 

In 2005, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Brian Griese were forced to spend lots of time and effort working out a new contract to replace the phony second year of his original two-year deal that was really a one-year deal because of a $6 million roster bonus due early in year two.

 

This time around, the Bucs are interested in restructuring not because year two of his current four-year deal is phony, but because Griese no longer is the clear-cut No. 1 signal-caller in Tampa, making his $7.083 million cap number too high.

 

According to PewterReport.com, Griese's agent is reluctant to accept a second straight haircut, unless the restructuring is "mutually beneficial."

 

"I think they'd like to talk," Ralph Cindrich said, "and if the talking involves parameters that talk about compensation levels that were negotiated last year, there would be a reasonable chance of getting something done.  If it's something less than that, we're not going to waste our time.

 

"We have a contract, and we just renegotiated it last year.  We took into consideration a lot of variables.  We are where we are.  If that needs to be changed in a form in some ways, then that’s worth looking at.  Otherwise, there's not going to be a lot to talk about."

 

In other words, Cindrich and Griese would be interested in a so-called "simple restructuring," in which 2006 compensation is converted to a guaranteed payment, permitting the cap hit to be applied partially to future years.

 

"I know Brian would really like to be there.  I'd love for him to remain there. It's a great situation, I believe, for all.  But the fact of the matter is you have two quarterbacks, and if you’re placing your future in the hands of a young one, who is a good one, then that's the choice you make, and we're not going to be hanging around."

 

The "young one" is Chris Simms, who blossomed after Griese went down with a knee injury.  Simms is a restricted free agent, who presumably will receive a one-year offer for the maximum tender, giving the Bucs the right of first refusal on any long-term deal, and also providing them with a first-round and a third-round draft pick in compensation if they choose not to match.

 

ACCORSI TRYING TO SCARE AWAY CLANCY SUITORS?

 

Buried at the bottom of a Friday item in The New York Post was a quote from Giants G.M. Ernie Accorsi regarding the status of free-agent-to-be Kendrick Clancy, a defensive tackle who signed with the team a year ago.

 

Clancy played in all 17 games for the Giants, starting in 15 regular-season games and in the playoff loss to the Panthers.  He had 30 tackles, seven assists, and two sacks -- the best season of his six-year career.

 

Technically, Clancy can't re-sign with the Giants until the commencement of the 2006 league year, since he played in 2005 under the terms of a one-year veteran minimum offer.  But the two sides are talking, and Accorsi might be trying to scare off other teams from talking to Clancy come March by suggesting that Clancy is asking for too much money.

 

"You get guys, you pick them up, they're veterans.  There's really no market for them and they play well for you, then they want to strike it rich," Accorsi said.  "Sometimes you have to say, 'OK, goodbye.'  Pittsburgh's done it to a science."  

 

First of all, we're not aware of any examples in which a guy signed with the Steelers under a veteran minimum deal, played well for the year, made a moon-shot contract demand, and then was politely told to get the hell out.  Instead, the Steelers have proven that a team can draft a guy, allow him to play out his rookie contract, let him leave, and then move right on with someone else.

 

Second of all, it's our understanding that Clancy's is merely looking for an annual value in the range of the league average at his position, which is in the neighborhood of $2 million to $2.5 million per year.

 

Based on what we're hearing, it's unlikely that Accorsi's effort to paint Clancy as greedy will scare away other teams.  Clancy, 27, is regarded as mobile for a big man (he's listed at 305 pounds).  We're told that some teams especially like his lateral movement, which makes him effective in a defense premised on swarming to the ball. 

 

NO TAG FOR BREES

 

John Clayton of ESPN.com reports that the San Diego Chargers have ruled out using either the franchise tag or the transition tag on quarterback Drew Brees.  This means that the Chargers either will work out a new deal with their starting quarterback by March 3, or he'll hit the open market.

 

We'd previously predicted that the Chargers would apply the transition tag in 2006 to the guy who was the team's franchise player in 2005.  The biggest difference between the two tags, in theory, is that the transition tag can be removed at any time prior to the start of the regular season.  The franchise tender, if signed by the player, becomes fully guaranteed.

 

And it's widely presumed that Brees would sign the franchise tender immediately, due to uncertainty regarding the condition of his shoulder, which was injured in a meaningless game against the Broncos on December 31.  As we've previously reported, there are rumors that coach Marty Schottenheimer went with Brees in a game of no consequence to the team because Schottenheimer would have hauled in a significant incentive payment under his contract if he had guided the team to 10 wins in 2005.  After losing to the Broncos, the Chargers finished at 9-7.

 

But the transition tender might not be an acceptable alternative in Brees' case.  Clayton reports that the NFL Management Council recently advised the Chargers that the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement would place the transition tender at 120 percent of his 2005 salary (i.e., $9.7 million) and that a transition tag following a franchise tag might mean that the transition tender, if signed, becomes fully guaranteed.

 

"It's a gray area,” G.M. A.J. Smith said, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.  "Do you test it?  Do you want to go to a hearing?  Or do you, because it's so cloudy, pass on it?"

 

Frankly, it's not very gray.  If the Chargers were to press this one, they'd lose.  Article XX, Section 4(a) of the CBA makes it clear that the transition tender is the equivalent of the ten largest salaries in the prior year at his position or 120 percent of his prior year salary, whichever is greater.

 

Likewise, Article XX, Section 14 of the CBA states that the transition tender "shall in addition to the 120% Salary also include all other terms of the player’s Prior Year contract, including any guarantees and any provisions providing for incentives or performance bonuses."  When Brees accepted the franchise tender in 2005, he ended up with a fully-guaranteed contract.  Thus, the transition tender would likewise be required to offer this same guarantee.

 

The end result here is that no team, as a practical matter, should use the transition tender on a player the year after he wore the franchise tag.  Instead, teams should just use the franchise tender again, since the terms are the same under either label, but the team has greater rights when using the franchise tag.

 

In the Chargers' case, Schottenheimer's decision to go with Brees instead of experience-starved newbie Philip Rivers has put the team in quite a predicament.  The organization will have to reach an agreement with Brees without knowing whether he'll be fully recovered from shoulder surgery, or they'll have to see whether he signs with someone who's willing to take a chance that he'll be healthy.

 

One possible destination for Brees is the Vikings.  Former San Diego pro scouting director Fran Foley is the personnel chief in Minnesota now, and if the Vikings part ways with Daunte Culpepper, 37-year-old Brad Johnson could keep the reins as the No. 1 guy until Brees is ready to go.

 

WHY WASN'T REGGIE TAGGED?

 

When the announcement was made a couple of weeks ago that defensive end Reggie White was making it to the Hall of Fame, there were multiple references to his 1993 arrival in Green Bay as the first big-name guy to jump to a new team under the current free agency system.

 

Then it occurred to us -- why didn't the Eagles slap the franchise tag on the most dominant defensive player in the league to prevent him from flying the coop?

 

In looking at the CBA regarding the above story on Drew Brees, we inadvertently found the answer.  White wasn't subject to the franchise tag or the transition tag because he was a named plaintiffs in one of the various antitrust lawsuits that spawned the historic agreement creating the closest thing to pure free agency.  Article XX, Section 13 of the CBA specifically states that the named plaintiffs had the right to decline any such designation.

 

SATURDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

 

Former NFL QB Cade McNown is suing two insurance companies for $5 million in disability benefits (we didn't know that "sucking" was a real health condition).

 

Packers CB Ahmad Carroll was arrested outside a piano bar in Arkansas (we're not sure what's more embarrassing -- the fact that he was arrested or the fact that he was planning to enter a piano bar).

 

[Ahmad's actual mug shot.  No we know why he was at a piano bar.]

 

Tom Condon and Leigh Steinberg could be trying to cozy up to QB Daunte Culpepper.

 

Breaking news -- the Titans won't exercise QB Steve McNair's upcoming $50 million option bonus (actually, we sort of expected the team to find a way to screw that one up, too).

 

An Atlanta television anchor who was attempting to report on the cause of death of the son of Tony Dungy mistakenly said that Tony Dungy committed suicide.