POSTED 10:00 p.m. EST, March 18, 2006

 

OWENS ARRIVAL CAUSING A COWBOY COMMOTION

 

What was Jerry Jones thinking?

 

This question, of course, presumes that he even was thinking.  Not about the kavorka of a receiver with unmatched physical skills and a penchant for ringing up touchdowns, but about the manner in which the receiver will mesh with the rest of the team's employees.

 

The early reaction to the signing of Terrell Owens among the group that counts the most -- his new teammates -- is strongly negative.  Strongly.

 

Part of the problem is that Owens is a well-documented locker room miscreant, a guy who can't be trusted to follow the rules that apply to the domain in which 53 oversized men sweat, shower, shampoo, sh-t, and shave.  He publicly called out one of his quarterbacks, and he publicly called the other one gay.

 

Football players aren't necessarily rocket surgeons, but they generally have good instincts.  And if a guy smells like a turd and looks like a turd and acts like a turd . . . well, you get the picture. 

 

Complicating matters is the perception among Dallas players that Keyshawn Johnson, who despite his own flaws was well-liked in the Dallas locker room, was jettisoned by Jerry Jones in an effort to land T.O.

 

But perhaps the biggest factor fueling discontent among the Dallas players was the absence of coach Bill Parcells from the press conference that introduced Owens as the newest member of the team.  Regardless of the actual reason for the Tuna's non-attendance, some of the players (and "some" might be an understatement) interpret his absence as a message that he disagrees with the move.

 

In our view, Parcells needs to make a statement -- quickly -- embracing Owens.  If he doesn't, more and more of the players (we predict) will conclude that this is the latest example of the subtle power struggle in which Jones and Parcells have engaged for the past three years.

 

The difference is that this one could blow up the relationship permanently, especially if the players refuse to even give Owens a chance until the coach gives him a thumb's up -- and if the coach refuses to take his fist out of his jacket.    

 

OWENS DEAL GOOD, NOT GREAT

 

Apart from the question of whether T.O.'s new teammates and head coach will greet him with open arms, the biggest issue regarding Terrell Owens' arrival in the Big D is whether and to what extent he got the big money.

 

The verdict, in our view, is mixed.  Owens, based on what we hear, got the best deal possible under the very bad circumstances he himself created.  Indeed, we're hearing that the Cowboys were the only serious player for his services and that other teams, such as the Broncos, were interested in Owens only under a one-year, incentive-heavy contract.

 

Given that he was operating in a one-team market for a multi-year deal, Owens and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, finagled a respectable package, in light of Owens' considerable baggage.  The numbers as we hear them are $5 million to sign, a $5 million salary in 2006, a $3 million roster bonus in 2007, a $5 million salary in 2007, a $3 million roster bonus in 2008, and a $4 million salary in 2008.

 

As one league insider told us, "It's three one-year deals."  And we agree.

 

The Cowboys can cut the cord after each of the first two seasons and suffer a relatively modest cap hit.  If released before his 2007 roster bonus comes due (and assuming it comes due before June 1), the cap hit will be $3.33 million.  If cut after 2007, the cap hit will be only $1.66 million.

 

Heck, if for some reason the Tuna and the Turd don't mesh during training camp, the Cowboys can cut Owens after June 1 but before the start of the 2006 season and carry only a $1.67 million cap charge in 2006, pushing the balance of the cap hit due to the signing bonus (i.e., $3.33 million) into 2007.

 

So before the media begins gushing about the manner in which Owens' three-year contract compares to the first three years of contracts paid to receivers Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison, the key fact to remember is that the magnitude of their signing bonuses made the money payable in the first three seasons virtually guaranteed, since the cap hits resulting from the eight-figure signing bonuses hauled in by Moss and Harrison would have been crippling.

 

Judging the contract by the amount of guaranteed money, it's average at best.  Owens gets $5 million to sign, identical to the amounts paid to guys like Antwaan Randle El and Antonio Bryant.  David Givens received an $8 million signing bonus in Tennessee, and Reggie Wayne hauled in a whopping $12.5 million bonus in Indy.

 

Finally, we'd be remiss if we were to assess T.O.'s new deal without comparing it to the contract that he already had in Philly.  Due to his misconduct, he blew $7.5 million in bonus money that would have been earned this month, $810,000 in 2006 salary, $1.8 million (we're told) in deferred signing bonus money that the team withheld due to his four-game suspension, and roughly $800,000 in lost salary as a result of said suspension. 

 

That's $10.9 million that Owens would have earned through 2006 under his old contract, if he'd merely kept his nose clean and his mouth shut.  Instead, he'll make $10 million through 2006 from the Cowboys.

 

So if being $900,000 in the hole as compared to where he would have been is considered a good deal, then it was a good deal. 

 

HUTCHINSON DESPERATELY WANTS OUT OF SEATTLE

 

An important point that the Seahawks should keep in mind as they continue to play chess with the Vikings regarding the offer sheet signed last Sunday by guard Steve Hutchinson is whether Hutchinson really wants to stay with the team.

 

As we hear it, Hutchinson desperately wants out.  And not for any specific reason -- he just wants a change, and he wants it badly.

 

Yeah, the rules are the rules and football is a business.  The Seahawks are entitled to match the offer sheet, and they likewise have every right to expect Hutchinson to show up for work for the next seven years without a stick stuck in his chewed-up steak chute. 

 

But why in the world would the Seahawks pump $16 million into the pockets of someone who simply doesn't want to be there?  It makes no sense to us, especially at a time when the CBA has been dramatically overhauled to remove the kind of leverage that teams used to have over players who decided to show their displeasure in various different ways.

 

Of course, Hutchinson doesn't strike us as the kind of guy who'd act that way.  He hasn't, for example, made any public statements regarding his desire for a change.  And we suspect that he'll say and do all of the right things if the 'Hawks match the offer and retain his rights.

 

But the fact that his heart isn't in it will manifest itself, we believe.  Even if Hutchinson tries his best not to let it influence his ultimate performance and effort.  Folks generally do better when they are where they want to be.  Hutchinson doesn't want to be in Seattle anymore, and we think it would be a piss-poor investment of Paul Allen's money to give Hutch a big-ass golf tournament check for $16 million when he simply doesn't want to get the check from that team. 

 

POSTED 9:06 a.m. EST; LAST UPDATED 11:58 a.m. EST, March 18, 2006

 

COWBOYS, OWENS HAVE "AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE"

 

Jean-Jacques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News reports that receiver Terrell Owens has an "agreement in principle" to join the Cowboys.

 

This really isn't a new development, since Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com and a television station in Lubbock reported Thursday night that there is a deal.     

 

But the term "agreement in principle" doesn't mean that there will be an agreement, especially if the player has no principles.  It's a deal based on the player's word, and we've seen multiple examples over the past few years of a player's word being meaningless.

 

If anything, the developments of the past two days work to Owens' benefit, since the message to any other team that might be thinking about making a move is that the time has come to call Drew Rosenhaus and try to match or beat the offer made by Dallas owner Jerry Jones.

 

Assuming Owens ends up signing a contract in Dallas, the move could be a good one -- if Owens receives a payday with which he is and will remain happy.  Only a handful of receivers command double coverage, and having one of those guys on the field means that there will be only seven guys in the box to stop the run, and single coverage for everyone else in the passing game.

 

But the bigger issue is whether Owens and coach Bill Parcells will be able to get along.  Not initially.  Not during training camp.  But over the long haul of a season.  And into a second season.  Then maybe into a third.

 

In fact, there's no guarantee that Jones and the Tuna are even on the same page regarding the acquisition of Owens.  Jones is the owner and the G.M., and there have been examples in the past of these two men disagreeing about personnel.

 

Even if Parcells has given his approval to the transaction, we're convinced that he won't put up with any of the stuff that Owens pulled in Philly and in San Fran.  The first time Owens yells "I love me some me," Parcells likely will respond by proclaiming, "I love me some foot in your ass."

 

Because the new CBA greatly restricts the ability of teams to deal effectively and decisively with problem children, Parcells will have limited option if T.O. goes turdy, again.

 

So if Owens can't be sent home, the only alternative would be for Parcells to walk away.

 

We're not saying that it will come to that.  But, based on past history, it sure as hell could.

 

Beyond the Tuna, there's a question as to whether the locals will embrace the guy who desecrated the star six years ago, when he was playing for the 49ers.  But our guess is that a couple of long touchdowns will be enough to make the fans forgive and forget, especially since it's been 11 years and counting since the Cowboys got their hands on a Lombardi.

 

In the end, it looks like the Playmaker has gotten his wish.  And Michael Irvin will be even less bearable on Sundays this season when he's thumping his chest and flapping his arms on air regarding his boy and his 'Boys.

 

ABRAHAM CAUGHT IN A LOVE TRIANGLE

 

John Abraham wants out of New York.  The Jets want to accommodate him. 

 

But there's a little problem.

 

The team that is willing to pay the most money to Abraham, the Falcons, is willing to give up only a second-round draft pick.  The Seahawks, on the other hand, are ready to send a first-round pick to New York, but haven't matched the financial package that the Falcons have put on the table.

 

Abraham is the Jets' franchise player, and no trade will work unless both the Jets are happy with the compensation and Abraham is happy with the pay package.

 

So either the Seahawks will have to put up more money or the Falcons will have to cough up more juice.

 

In this regard, we've had a few readers ask whether the Jets could send quarterback Patrick Ramsey to the Falcons in order to entice the Falcons to throw quarterback Matt Schaub into the mix.  In theory, the Jets are allowed to trade the guy for whom they just traded.  As a practical matter, the Falcons won't buy it.

 

Ramsey is no Schaub.  And Schaub, we believe, is more than just an insurance policy for those 3-4 games per year in which starter Michael Vick is hurt. 

 

We've got a feeling that 2006 could be Vick's last year in Atlanta, and that Schaub is the team's quarterback of the future.

 

So Schaub is and will remain off of the table.  And Vick's slowly growing distaste for the organization will continue to expand as he begins to realize that Schaub is untouchable not because of his present skills off of the bench, but because of his potential abilities in the starting lineup. 

 

WHY NOT JUST REDUCE JONES' DEAL?

 

Several readers have asked us why the Seahawks haven't dealt with the Steve Hutchinson offer sheet by simply reducing the compensation paid to left tackle Walter Jones, whose high salary might eventually require the 'Hawks to guarantee the full extent of Hutchinson's seven-year, $49 million deal.

 

Here's the problem.  If Jones restructures his deal to help his team, he's doing so at the expense of his teammate.

 

As evidenced by the magnitude and structure of the offer sheet, Hutchinson clearly wants out of Seattle.  So if Jones gets in the middle of the matter and allows the team to engineer his contract in order to keep Hutchinson from getting his wish, the Seahawks will have a nasty locker room problem.

 

We've heard of this precise dynamic playing out between two players on the same team in the 1990s, and the player who ended up being required to return to his former team because his teammate re-worked his contract despises the teammate to this very day.

 

In that case, the two guys played on different sides of the ball.  In this case, Jones and Hutchinson line up next to each other on every snap.

 

So that's why the Seahawks are initially trying to get the guarantee tossed out.  If the arbitrator or Special Master finds that the Seahawks are required to match the guarantee in order to keep Hutchinson, then the question becomes whether they're willing to put Jones in a position that could make Hutchinson hate Jones for the rest of their lives.

 

REDSKINS DEALS OVERBLOWN

 

Ever since the Redskins began breaking the bank on guys like Antwaan Randle El, Adam Archuleta, and Andre Carter, we've received numerous e-mails from readers questioning how the team managed to fit these big deals under their salary cap, especially when the roster was on the verge of cap implosion before the CBA was extended.

 

In a nugget buried deep within an article in Saturday's Washington Post, we know have a little more info as to what went on.

 

The initial reports of the magnitude of the deals were wrong.

 

It should be no surprise.  The numbers usually come from the agents, and the teams usually don't attempt to clarify the information, since the team wants the players to think they got good deals.  (In the Redskins' case, we also think that the organization enjoys the widespread consternation that their spending sprees create.)

 

Although the three contracts are all worth roughly $30 million over three years, the deals carry signing bonuses of $5 million and roster bonuses due in 2007 in the range of $4 million to $5 million.  With minimum base salaries in 2006, the cap figures for each are roughly $1.5 million.

 

Come 2007, those roster bonuses will be converted to guarantees, reducing the cap hits for next year so that the 'Skins can embark on another splurge.

 

Down the road, before the big salaries kick in, the deals will be extended, pay cuts will be taken, or the players will be cut.

 

So now we know how the 'Skins were able to pull it off this year.  They've heavily backloaded the deals, allowing the team to spend less than five percent against the 2006 cap in signing these three players.

 

PETERSON OR ARRINGTON NEED A NEW AGENT

 

Several league insiders have asked over the past couple of weeks how the Postons can continue in good conscience to simultaneously represent the two biggest free-agency prospects at linebacker, Julian Peterson and LaVar Arrington.

 

The problem is that both guys want to get paid significantly, and any team that might be interested in one possibly is interested in the other.

 

That creates a problem for the agents, since their job is to look out for the best interests of both players.  But looking out for the best interests of Peterson isn't in the best interests of Arrington, and vice-versa.

 

Indeed, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that the Dolphins are interested in both.  So how can the Postons negotiate with the Dolphins the best deal possible for either of them when, in the end, only one of them would be signed?

 

It's the same issue that would have arisen if Tom Condon represented both Drew Brees and Daunte Culpepper in the game of quarterback chicken that unfolded last week with the Dolphins.  Or if Bus Cook represented both Jay Cutler and Vince Young in the upcoming draft.

 

Said Cook on Friday, regarding Cutler's pro day workout:  "He was almost perfect, I thought. . . .  I think he put on one heck of a performance today. He threw the ball great.  I just think he keeps showing people that he's the real deal."

 

If Cook had Young, too, Bus would have been required to slightly amend his words:   "He was almost perfect, I thought, just like Vince will be next week.  I think he put on one heck of a performance today, just like Vince will next week.  He threw the ball great, just like Vince will next week.  I just think he keeps showing people that he's the real deal, just like Vince."

 

You see, the job of an agent isn't only to talk up their guy, but to also talk down any other players who might be angling for some of their clients' money.  In this case, the Postons can't pimp one Peterson or Arrington by dissing the other.

 

Because the Postons represent both players, here's the best they can offer:  "Both are dynamic," said Carl Poston, who learned this week that the NFLPA is imposing a two-year suspension on him, subject to his right to challenge the decision.  "It's like comparing a blue Bentley to a black Bentley."

 

But a good agent should be trying to convince a team to buy the blue Bentley instead of the black Bentley.

 

That's why, in our view, one or both of these guys should get a new agent.

 

Of course, when you primarily represent players who score on the low end of the Wonderlic scale, the question isn't whether they ever figure out the problem -- it's whether they even can.

 

Former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo is throwing a reunion party in Las Vegas for his five Super Bowl winning teams, and Joe Montana is attending (as soon as he receives a briefcase containing $100,000 in small bills).

 

The Bills have signed Cards G Reggie Wells, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet.

 

Click here for more of the best NFL news and information (or you can try to break into the desk of the guy who keeps the office brackets and replace your original sheet with one that has more than five games right).