The Titans
make their move:
On Wednesday,
Steve McNair agreed to a deal that will extend his tenure with the Titans
through 2006.�� If, or when, this is
approved at NFL HQ, the Titans will clear $2.33M from their 2001 cap.� The terms are as follows:
McNair will
receive a $10M bonus immediately and play, in 2001 for, a $500K base.� Steve, team leader that he is, had
re-structured his original contract several times.� As a result, compounding bonus pay-outs had pushed his 2001 hit
to $8.193M.� Those bonuses don�t go away
but his base reduction will drive his cap value down to $5.86M, creating the
savings shown above.
Next spring,
McNair will get an additional $6M as a signing bonus; this will trigger a
5-year option that would pay-out salary at $2.0M, $5.25M, $6.75M, $7.5M, and
$9.0M from 2002 through 2006.� In sum,
the deal is for $47M over 6 years including a $16M bonus.� This contract is back-loaded with more than
a third of the sum due as salary over the last two seasons.
The Titans need
the money to sign their rookie class.�
Since they swung the deal for Kevin Carter, Tennessee has rested at $72K
below the cap.� Now they are at $2.4M
below; they do have 7 unsigned rookies but since their top pick was about #60
overall, $2.4M should more than get that job done.� GM Floyd Reese must think so; reportedly he is in negotiations
with FA FB William Floyd, CB DeRon Jenkins and CB Micheal Booker.� Last winter, the Titans lost DE Holmes, CB
Walker and FB Neal.� Kevin Carter will
make everyone forget Holmes; it is an open question whether Jenkins could
replace Walker or Floyd will do the kind of heavy lifting Neal once
accomplished.
No matter, the
impact players on that team are Kearse, Carter, Rolle, George and McNair.� With the possible exception of Rolle, everyone
will be in Music City for what passes in the NFL as the long-term.� Given the state of things in Stillerville,
the application is obvious.� While I do
not have the 2001 cap info, I�m willing to bet that Holmes, DW, Scott and
Porter don�t hit for $8.193M.� Again,
that was the McNair figure; Tennessee has identified their core and moved
effectively both to retain those men and, simultaneously, augment their
team.� Barring injury, this is a win/win
move and, if the Stiller FO doesn�t compete here and now, the Stiller squad
will be reduced to a mere speed bump on the Titan�s road to the playoffs.
The Stillers
need to deal with the core D-side players; they need a veteran FA OLB like
Chris Slade now and they need to create room to sign a July-cut veteran OT/G.� The news that Hines Wards signed his 1-year
offer is not encouraging.� Hines is a
player, not a superstar but a player.�
History has shown that, for quality contributors, RFA is Stiller for sayanora.� It could be said that this development
illustrates the stupidity of giving millions to a punter but that is not
so.� After all, the Titans gave millions
to their punter and still managed to seal the players that they need.� The equation is not Miller or Ward (or Holmes
or DW or Scott).� Miller sets a standard
for excellence at his position; the Stillers are fortunate to have him.� In fact, the equation is Ward or Blackwell
(or Rivers or Graham or Sullivan).� The
problem seems to me to be that Stiller HQ has no sense of the identity they
wish to establish for their team and so no sense of which players are
necessary, or irrelevant, to that end.�
��