POSTED 8:19 p.m. EST; UPDATED 8:41 p.m. EST, March 2006

 

BILLS KEEPING MOULDS OFF OF THE MARKET

 

Surely frustrated as millions of dollars flow into the pockets of lesser players, Bills receiver Eric Moulds has asked to be traded or released.

 

"The Bills have put us in a position where we're at Option Z, and Option Z is to ask to be released," said Greg Johnson, according to The Associated Press. "It's a sad day. And we wish things could've worked out, but it's just not working out."

 

(Editor's note:  What the f--k is Option Z?)

 

Mould is scheduled to earn $7.1 million in 2006.  He has refused multiple requests to restructure his deal.

 

So what haven't the Bills cut him?

 

Spite.

 

Oh, they'll never admit it.  "Our intention remains to keep Eric as a part of our team," G.M. Marv Levy said on Monday.  

 

But we know what's happening, Marv.  We know.  The idea is to hang onto Moulds' rights for now, while all of the other guys eat at the March big money trough.  By the time the Bills cut him in July or August, and cut him they will, no one else will have enough cap space set aside to give him in 2006 what he could have gotten if on the open market right now.

 

LIONS RE-SIGN DRUMMOND

 

The Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with kick returner Eddie Drummond on a four-year deal.

 

Per a league source, the total package is worth $6 million.  He gets a $2 million signing bonus and an annual per-game roster bonus package worth $337,504 per season.  To get the bonus in a given week, Drummond must be on the active roster.

 

Drummond's base salary in 2006 is $585,000.

 

In 2007, the salary is $595,000, with a $30,000 workout bonus.

 

In 2008, the salary moves to $650,000, with a $30,000 roster bonus.

 

In the final year of the deal, Drummond gets a $740,000 base salary and a $20,000 workout bonus.

 

POSTED 7:32 p.m. EST; UPDATED 8:00 p.m. EST, March 13, 2006

 

PLAYERS NEED TO GET IT WHILE IT'S FLOWING

 

As to any free-agent players out there who currently are considering offers from NFL teams, we've got a few words of advice.

 

Get paid.  Now.

 

This year, like every other, the money is rolling out of the pockets of some owners in the early stages of free agency, and within the next couple of days the big money will be long gone.

 

Until next March.

 

As one league insider told us on Monday, "Get that f--king money and move because it will dry up as the hours go by."

 

Just take a gander at some of the big deals that already have been executed.  A $10 million signing bonus for Brian Williams?  Bonuses of $11.5 million for a No.3 wideout who returns kicks and periodically throws the ball?

 

Seven years and $49 million for an interior offensive lineman?

 

So why all of the money now?  There are various things at play here.  The Cardinals are opening a new stadium and trying desperately to sell tickets.  The Vikings are trying to get that new stadium, and Zygi Wilf 's Triangle of Authority definitely needs to break from the poor image created over the past few years by Red's Axis of Assholes.

 

With the games still months away, the only way for any team to energize the fan base is to spend the money.

 

As to the Redskins . . . well, they're just the Redskins.  They decide that they want a given player, and they'll overpay to get him.

 

But after landing defensive end Andre Carter, the 'Skins are now shutting off the faucet, and in other cities the free flow will soon be a trickle.

 

So get paid, guys.  The best offer you can get now might be less than you wanted, but it's more than you'll get if you wait much longer.

 

MONDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

 

The Bills have signed OL Greg Jerman.

 

The Pats have cut LB Chad Brown.

 

The Ravens expose the secrets of the NFL journalists.

 

The Cowboys have signed former Jags LB Akin Ayodele to a five-year, $17 million contract with a $5 million signing bonus.

 

LB Scott Fujita signed a four-year deal with the Saints.

 

Jets LB John Abraham visited the Redskins on Monday -- and the visit went just well enough for the team to decide to sign DE Andre Carter.

 

The Lions signed WR Corey Bradford to a four-year deal.

 

The Falcons re-signed WR Brian Finneran to a four-year contract.

 

QB Josh McCown is visiting the Saints on Tuesday.

 

CB Kenny Wright will be visiting the Cardinals.

 

POSTED 5:00 p.m. EST, March 13, 2006

 

HUTCHINSON '06 CAP NUMBER EXCEEDS $13 MILLION

 

Pardon us if the above headline looks like something that appeared on the site on Sunday, but we need to clear things up regarding the terms of the offer sheet signed by guard Steve Hutchinson with the Minnesota Vikings.

 

We reported on Sunday that the seven-year, $49 million deal carries a $13 million cap number for 2006.  Such a maneuver isn't out of character for the Vikings, who have chewed up significant cap surpluses in the recent past by signing free agents to deals that carry big cap numbers in the first year.

 

In Hutchinson's case, the large cap number also is intended to deter the Seahawks from matching the deal.

 

There's at least one report, however, that the cap number is only $8.5 million.  Factoring in Hutchinson's transition tender of $6.391 million, the additional cap charge in 2006 if the Seahawks match the deal would be barely $2.1 million.

 

So we spent some time today confirming that, indeed, the cap number is more than $13 million.  And we're 100 percent sure of it.

 

Besides, it fits with the team's past practices, and it makes sense in light of the Vikings' desire to dissuade the Seahawks from exercising their right of first refusal on Hutchinson.

 

BRYANT SIGNS WITH NINERS

 

Two days after the San Francisco 49ers traded their leading receiver in 2005 to the Redskins, they replaced him with Antonio Bryant, formerly of the Browns.

 

Per John Clayton of ESPN.com, Bryant agreed on Monday to a four-year, $15 million deal, with more than $5 million in bonus money.

 

Bryant was selected in the second round of the 2002 draft by the Cowboys, and he then was traded to the Browns in 2004 a few months after a well-publicized spat with Dallas coach Bill Parcells, which involved Parcells throwing a jersey at him -- and Bryant throwing it back.

 

"It was a reaction," Bryant told us last month.  "[Parcells] tossed the jersey at me.  I could have reacted better than I did.  I reacted.  I picked that jersey up, I was already on fire.  I tossed it right back at him."

 

Bryant had his most productive season in 2006, topping 1,000 yards receiving.    

 

MORE MONDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

 

The Steelers have re-signed LB Clint Kriewaldt.

 

WR David Givens rejected a five-year, $18.5 million offer from the Texans, and is visiting with the Titans.

 

The Ravens signed on Sunday LB Bart Scott and DT Justin Bannan.

 

Said Ravens RB Jamal Lewis on Sunday, a day before he re-signed with the team:  "I'm looking and seeing a lot of people leaving.  I'm surprised.  I don't know what's going on up there."  (Neither do we, Jamal.  Neither do we.)

 

K Adam Vinatieri is reportedly bummed out by the five-year, $10 million contract signed by K Ryan Longwell in Minnesota.

 

The agent for K Mike Vanderjagt thinks that the Packers are interested.

 

The Packers plan to bring in Browns LB Ben Taylor.

 

Maybe the Vikings should just put a "G" on the sides of their helmets.

 

Agent Carl Poston says that if LB LaVar Arrington were to visit every team that has expressed interest, "he'd be going to see 20 teams."  (He might have to talk to that many in order to find someone to meet his price.)

 

WR/PR Tim Dwight is visiting with the Jaguars.

 

POSTED 2:27 p.m. EST; UPDATED 3:20 p.m. EST, March 13, 2006

 

'SKINS GO FROM CAP STRAPPED TO CAP HAPPY

 

As the Washington Redskins continue to amass new players days after they supposedly were teetering at the edge of cap hell, plenty of folks around the league are scratching their heads.

 

The 'Skins are spending big again, making a big splash in free agency by reeling in receiver Antwaan Randle El, safety Adam Archuleta, and tight end Christian Fauria.  The Redskins also picked up receiver Brandon Lloyd in a trade on Saturday with the 49ers. 

 

Randle El reportedly gets $11.5 million in bonus money, a ridiculously high amount for a guy who'll be No. 3 at best on the depth chart.

 

Then, on Monday, the 'Skins scalped safety Adam Archuleta, formerly of the Rams, on a deal that we're told is worth $30.18 million over six years.  We're told that the package includes $10.585 million in guarantees, making it the richest deal ever signed by an NFL safety.

 

So where are the supposedly cap-poor Redskins coming up with the cap space to get these deals done?  

 

They freed up $4.4 million a week ago as part of the deal that made linebacker LaVar Arrington a free agent, and they shed several veterans on the eve of free agency to create more room.  Likewise, it was reported that they planned to convert $13.5 million in roster bonus payments into guarantees, which would then be spread over five years.

 

And don't forget about the extra $7.5 million in cap room that popped onto the books as part of the new CBA.

 

Our guess is that these new deals will leave the 'Skins close to the $102 million ceiling for 2006, and that there will be more tinkering with contracts in order to free up more money for more signings.  Eventually, they'll need cap space to sign their incoming rookies.

 

As our official site miserable guy Dante observed in our newest PFT PodCast, the extent to which teams are overspending in the early stages of 2006 free agency suggests that there really would have been a flood of new money into the market if the uncapped year had come to fruition.

 

HOWARD LANDS WITH EAGLES

 

Former Saints defensive end Darren Howard has agreed to terms with the Eagles on a six-year deal.

 

A league source tells us that, under the deal, Howard gets a $9.5 million signing bonus and a 2006 base salary of $1 million.  The total payout is a little over $30 million.

 

Howard has only 3.5 sacks last season.  He was drafted by the Saints in 2000, and he was the team's franchise player in 2004 and 2005.

 

MONDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

 

Former NFL defensive lineman Jeremy Staat, a college teammate of Pat Tillman's, is in the Marines.

 

QB Charlie Batch is expected to re-sign with the Steelers.

 

Steelers RB Duce Staley's 2006 salary has been reduced from $2.5 million to $1 million.

 

The Dolphins have signed former Browns LT L.J. Shelton to a four-year, $15 million deal, with a $3.5 million signing bonus.

 

The Titans have signed LB David Thornton to a five-year deal with $8.5 million in bonus money.

 

Two days after signing DT Maake Kemoeatu, the Panthers have signed former Rams DT Damione Lewis to a deal averaging $3 million to $4 million a year (they'd better be careful or they're gonna drive Kris Jenkins back to the Grey Goose).

 

As the folks in Indy begin to fret about the end of the "Triplets," let's not forget that Edge's other two well-compensated brothers could have coughed up some coin if they really wanted the team to be able to afford him. 

 

CB Will Allen is visiting the Seahawks.

 

The Bengals have signed S Dexter Jackson.

 

C Chukky Okobi has agreed to a restructured deal with the Steelers.

 

OT Jon Runyan will make a visit only after he gets an offer.

 

Rams QB Jamie Martin will visit Cincinnati this week.

 

QB Daunte Culpepper informed the Titans last week that two-tone blue shirts make him look fat.

 

The Broncos are very interested in DE Andre Carter.

 

If the Dolphins cut QB Gus Frerotte, the Broncos and Rams will be interested.

 

QB Drew Brees is expected to sign with the Saints or Dolphins on Monday.

 

The Vikings are meeting with Packers QB Craig Nall.

 

POSTED 12:20 p.m. EST, March 13, 2006

 

LEWIS CONTRACT REALLY A ONE-YEAR DEAL

 

A league source tells us that the three-year deal to which running back Jamal Lewis has agreed in Baltimore is really a one-year deal, given the presence of a sizeable option bonus due in 2007.

 

As a practical matter, then, it's a one-year, $6 million deal.  He gets $5 million to sign and a $1 million base salary for 2006.

 

Absent a monster year, we're told that the team won't be picking up the option for 2007 and 2008.

 

POSTED 11:30 a.m. EST, March 13, 2006

 

RAVENS TO RE-SIGN LEWIS

 

Adam Schefter of the NFL Network reports that the Baltimore Ravens have reached an agreement with running back Jamal Lewis on a three-year deal worth $25 million.

 

The deal will be announced later in the day.

 

On Saturday, Lewis's backup, Chester Taylor, signed with the Vikings.  On Sunday, a possible alternative to Lewis, Edgerrin James, agreed to a deal with the Cardinals.

 

The move comes as a surprise to some, including whoever at The Associated Press wrote that Lewis had been replaced by the Sunday night acquisition of Mike Anderson. 

 

We also wonder whether there will be any lingering tension between Lewis and coach Brian Billick, in light of the following comments that Lewis made last month:  "We really didn't bump heads, but I've always played for coaches who shoot the truth.  I want the truth and didn't get it here." 

 

Then again, $25 million at a time when no one else is interested goes a long way toward compensating for the lack of truth.

 

POSTED 10:03 a.m. EST; UPDATED 10:44 a.m. EST, March 13, 2006

 

HUTCHINSON OFFER HAS MAJOR POISON PILL

 

A league source tells us that the offer sheet signed by Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson with the Minnesota Vikings contains a poison pill of unprecedented magnitude and significance, which is aimed at preventing Seattle from exercising its right to match the deal, pursuant to the rules applicable to transition players. 

 

Apart from a 2006 cap number that exceeds $13 million, the offer sheet contains a provision that makes the entire deal guaranteed if Hutchinson at any point becomes anything other than the highest paid player on the team.

 

From Seattle's perspective, that's a big problem, in light of the Walter Jones contract.  If the Seahawks match, Hutchinson's deal could indeed become fully guaranteed from day one.

 

The Seahawks could attempt to match the offer and exclude the poison pill provision, taking the position that it is not a "Principal Term" of the deal.  Under Article XX, Section 5 of the CBA, only the "Principal Terms" must be matched.

 

So what are "Principle Terms"?  Under Article XIX, Section 3(e)(ii) of the CBA, "Principle Terms" include "[a]ny modifications of and additions to the terms contained in the NFL Player Contract . . . that relate to non-compensation terms (including guarantees, no-cut, and no-trade provisions)."  Applying the language literally, the poison pill "relates to" a guarantee because it sets forth a specific circumstance in which the specified compensation will become guaranteed.

 

There's a chance that the Seahawks will attempt to fashion an argument that the trigger for the guarantee violates the spirit of the CBA by placing an artificial limit on the money that can be paid to other players.  But, in reality, it doesn't -- it merely provides the player who ultimately is not the highest paid player a guaranteed contract.

 

Though the issue ultimately might land before an arbitrator, we think that the Vikings will prevail on this one.

 

We're also told that the Seahawks are livid at Hutchinson and agent Tom Condon with this development.  It's one thing, as they see it, for a guy to get the best offer he can on the open market.  It's another thing to huddle with the new team in an effort to come up with an offer that the Seahawks can't or won't be able to match.

 

MORE ISSUES ON HUTCHINSON DEAL

 

We've gotten plenty of questions in the past 20 hours or so since we broke on Sunday the fact that the Vikings had signed Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson to an offer sheet.

 

(For those of you in the industry who give a crap about this kind of stuff, we had the basic story out first but with no contractual details, Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com was only minutes behind but with plenty of information regarding the money involved, and we then followed up with news regarding the 2006 cap number.  At some point thereafter, another national reporter who shall remain nameless -- but who knows who he is -- tried to create the impression that the story was his.  To that we say, "For shame.")

 

Anyway, one of the questions we've been getting is whether Hutchinson can sign another offer sheet with another team if the Seahawks match the offer sheet that he signed on Sunday with Minnesota.  The answer is no.  Unless both the Vikings and Hutchinson agree to a revocation of the offer sheet (see Article XIX, Section 3(d) of the CBA), Hutchinson will have a long-term deal with either the Vikings or the Seahawks after the next week plays out.

 

Also, others have asked whether the Seahawks must account for the full 2006 cap number in excess of $13 million under their current cap room, which at the launch of free agency was reported to be in the range of $17 million.  Again, no.  The 'Hawks already were carrying $6.39 million in 2006 cap space due to the transition tag that was applied to Hutchinson, so the "new" cap hit this year for the Seahawks will be the different between the 2006 cap number under the offer sheet and the amount of the one-year transition tender.        

 

Next, it's been suggested by Danny O'Neil of The Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the Seahawks could "receiv[e] something from the Vikings for agreeing not to match the offer."  Though we burned up a few IQ points scouring the CBA for an answer, it appears that Article XX, Section 5 incorporates by reference Article XIX, Section 3(h), which says that "[t]here may be no consideration of any kind given by one Club to another Club in exchange for a Club's decision to exercise or not to exercise its Right of First Refusal."  In English, this means that the Seahawks can't say to the Vikings, for example, "Send us a third-round pick and we'll forget the whole thing."

 

That dynamic makes even more curious the decision of the Seahawks not to apply the franchise tag to Hutchinson, which wouldn't have resulted in a significantly higher tender but which also would have given the Seahawks the ability to trade him -- or to pick up two first-round picks if they had decided not to match an offer sheet.  Sure, the franchise tender could have been signed by Hutchinson (and thus fully guaranteed), but in the end that same rule applied to the transition tender as well, given the terms of the new CBA.

 

In fact, we have feeling that, if the league had secured as part of the CBA discussions a 24-hour window last week for teams to decide whether to use the franchise tag, the Seahawks would have converted Hutchinson's designation from transition to franchise.

 

But, hey, they should have done it in the first place.   

 

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