JS Online: Rivera update

[Dale]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/mar05/306396.asp

Rivera was receiving the full-court press from the Cowboys, who were trying to get a deal done today before he leaves for visits with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Agent Jimmy Sexton wouldn't say how much the Cowboys were offering, but it appears Rivera will earn far more than the Packers are willing to pay.

Rivera is thought to be shooting for a deal similar to the one former Packer Adam Timmerman signed with the St. Louis Rams last March. Timmerman's contract was worth $14.26 million over five years and included a $5.5 million signing bonus.

Timmerman was 32 when he signed the contract, the same age as Rivera.

General manager Ted Thompson doesn't appear willing to pay anything close to that for Rivera, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has started 106 consecutive games. Rivera has made it clear he will not offer the Packers a discount and intends to negotiate the highest possible deal.

Rivera did not return a phone message seeking comment.

The Cowboys want to upgrade their right guard position, where 26-year-old Andre Gurode was publicly criticized by coach Bill Parcells as the end of last season.

However, Dallas coughed up $19 million in signing bonuses Wednesday for nose tackle Jason Ferguson ($9 million) and cornerback Anthony Henry ($10 million) and might not be able to meet Rivera's demands.

If Rivera leaves Dallas without a contract, the Lions and Ravens are expected to mount considerable efforts to sign him. The Lions would like to solidify the one soft spot in their offensive line - left guard - and are more than familiar with Rivera's ability and toughness.

The Ravens want to sign Rivera to help them replace departed free agent center Casey Rabach, who signed with Washington. Right guard Mike Flynn would move to center and Rivera would take his spot in the lineup.

[TruBlueCowboy]

Get it done Jerry! :cool:

I'm already drooling thinking about our new offensive line next year. ;)

[Dale]

Interesting that Rivera's agent is Sexton...

[HeHateMe]

Sexton being his agent is a plus.

It worked out well with Ferguson.

Heres hoping.

[Cajuncowboy]

Interesting that Rivera's agent is Sexton...

I thought the same thing as I was reading it. You'd think we could get a volume discount somewhere along the line.

[Champsheart]

Interesting that Rivera's agent is Sexton...

Yeah, that was my first thought.
Pull the strings BP.

To be honest I would have no problem giving Rivera that $.

Really it would not hurt us to bad at all, and we could still go get other things done.

[BulletBob]

I thought the same thing as I was reading it. You'd think we could get a volume discount somewhere along the line.

Tuna's also gotta know which car on the lot at the Ranch is Sexton's. GO SLASH THE FRICKIN' TIRES, Jerruh!

Don't let Marco Polo go explorin ...

[BulletBob]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/mar05/306396.asp

Rivera was receiving the full-court press from the Cowboys, who were trying to get a deal done today before he leaves for visits with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Agent Jimmy Sexton wouldn't say how much the Cowboys were offering, but it appears Rivera will earn far more than the Packers are willing to pay.

Rivera is thought to be shooting for a deal similar to the one former Packer Adam Timmerman signed with the St. Louis Rams last March. Timmerman's contract was worth $14.26 million over five years and included a $5.5 million signing bonus.

Timmerman was 32 when he signed the contract, the same age as Rivera.

General manager Ted Thompson doesn't appear willing to pay anything close to that for Rivera, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has started 106 consecutive games. Rivera has made it clear he will not offer the Packers a discount and intends to negotiate the highest possible deal.

Rivera did not return a phone message seeking comment.

The Cowboys want to upgrade their right guard position, where 26-year-old Andre Gurode was publicly criticized by coach Bill Parcells as the end of last season.

However, Dallas coughed up $19 million in signing bonuses Wednesday for nose tackle Jason Ferguson ($9 million) and cornerback Anthony Henry ($10 million) and might not be able to meet Rivera's demands.

If Rivera leaves Dallas without a contract, the Lions and Ravens are expected to mount considerable efforts to sign him. The Lions would like to solidify the one soft spot in their offensive line - left guard - and are more than familiar with Rivera's ability and toughness.

The Ravens want to sign Rivera to help them replace departed free agent center Casey Rabach, who signed with Washington. Right guard Mike Flynn would move to center and Rivera would take his spot in the lineup.

Same article says that Darren Sharper will very likely hit the street.

[k19]

http://www.packersnews.com/archives/news/pack_20045991.shtml

Though Rivera is a three-time Pro Bowler and might be the next-best guard available, it’s hard to say what interest he’ll draw on the open market because of his age (33 in April) andmultiple knee surgeries over his nine-year NFL career. Rivera said he didn’t know the Packers’ high-water figure for a signing bonus and was unsure whether he’ll get substantially better offers from other teams. His last contract, a four-year deal, paid him a bonus of $2.5 million. The best guess is that the Packers might be willing to go a little above that, perhaps by $1 million or so.

“I’m a good football player and a good leader,” Rivera said, “but age comes into play. There’s a lot of guys in their 30s playing big-time football, and I’m one of them.”

Coach Mike Sherman told Rivera last week that the Packers want him to finish his career in Green Bay. But this might be Rivera’s last contract with a signing bonus of note, so he’s intent on exploring the open market if the Packers didn’t make a suitable offer Tuesday night.

“I’m not taking a Packer discount,” he said.

If the Packers re-sign Rivera, they probably have candidates on hand to replace Wahle at left guard, though there’s always the chance they’d use a first-day draft pick to do that as well. Among the possibilities is moving right tackle Mark Tauscher to left guard and starting Barry in his place.

But if they lose both Wahle and Rivera, they’d probably either have to draft a starting guard or sign a second- or third-tier free agent. Second-year pro Steve Morley might be a starting guard in the future but appears to be a project, and second-year pro Brennan Curtain, who as a right tackle could allow Barry to move to right guard, is coming off knee reconstruction surgery last year and never has taken an NFL snap.

[5mics]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/mar05/306396.asp

Rivera was receiving the full-court press from the Cowboys, who were trying to get a deal done today before he leaves for visits with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Agent Jimmy Sexton wouldn't say how much the Cowboys were offering, but it appears Rivera will earn far more than the Packers are willing to pay.

Rivera is thought to be shooting for a deal similar to the one former Packer Adam Timmerman signed with the St. Louis Rams last March. Timmerman's contract was worth $14.26 million over five years and included a $5.5 million signing bonus.

Timmerman was 32 when he signed the contract, the same age as Rivera.

General manager Ted Thompson doesn't appear willing to pay anything close to that for Rivera, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has started 106 consecutive games. Rivera has made it clear he will not offer the Packers a discount and intends to negotiate the highest possible deal.

Rivera did not return a phone message seeking comment.

The Cowboys want to upgrade their right guard position, where 26-year-old Andre Gurode was publicly criticized by coach Bill Parcells as the end of last season.

However, Dallas coughed up $19 million in signing bonuses Wednesday for nose tackle Jason Ferguson ($9 million) and cornerback Anthony Henry ($10 million) and might not be able to meet Rivera's demands.

If Rivera leaves Dallas without a contract, the Lions and Ravens are expected to mount considerable efforts to sign him. The Lions would like to solidify the one soft spot in their offensive line - left guard - and are more than familiar with Rivera's ability and toughness.

The Ravens want to sign Rivera to help them replace departed free agent center Casey Rabach, who signed with Washington. Right guard Mike Flynn would move to center and Rivera would take his spot in the lineup.
How much space would we have left for a FS addition if we also sign Rivera? Anyone know?

[Dale]

How much space would we have left for a FS addition if we also sign Rivera? Anyone know?

Adam speculated earlier there could be somewhere in the neighborhood of $12 million cap space still remaining, dependent upon exactly how the contracts were structured. So there's still some good space available.

[Badattitude]

You wanna dump all that bonus money on a 33 yr old? when we could possibly use a pick on a guy liek this? I didn't think he wanted all this change? :confused:

[Champsheart]

You wanna dump all that bonus money on a 33 yr old? when we could possibly use a pick on a guy liek this? I didn't think he wanted all this change? :confused:

I have no problem dumping that money on him.

Ain't my $.

All I care about is the Cap hit, and it would not be much.

And I do not want to draft a Guard. We did that last year.
Let Peterman develop into the system, and be ready when Rivera is done.

One of the best Guards in Football.

Just think protect Bledsoe.
Open Holes for Julius.
I think that would be worth a little change.

[silverbear]

How much space would we have left for a FS addition if we also sign Rivera? Anyone know?

Well, according to AdamJT13, the Boys were nearly 19 million under the cap after they cut Coakley... looking at the reported contract structures for Henry and Ferguson, I'd estimate that they have a cap impact this year of less than 6 million combined, perhaps as little as 5 million combined (players often take minimum wage, or near-minimum wage, salaries in the first year of multiyear deal to keep the cap hit reasonable-- they already have the cash from the signing bonus in their pockets)...

If I had to guess, and let me stress that I am making a semi-educated guess, the Boys are right around 13.5 million under the cap after today...

I also have a hunch that they have a little wiggle room in the form of contract renegotiations later on, if they spend a little more than they'd planned... naturally, I hope they don't have to fall back on this wiggle room...

[Smith22]

Well, according to AdamJT13, the Boys were nearly 19 million under the cap after they cut Coakley... looking at the reported contract structures for Henry and Ferguson, I'd estimate that they have a cap impact this year of less than 6 million combined, perhaps as little as 5 million combined (players often take minimum wage, or near-minimum wage, salaries in the first year of multiyear deal to keep the cap hit reasonable-- they already have the cash from the signing bonus in their pockets)...

If I had to guess, and let me stress that I am making a semi-educated guess, the Boys are right around 13.5 million under the cap after today...

I also have a hunch that they have a little wiggle room in the form of contract renegotiations later on, if they spend a little more than they'd planned... naturally, I hope they don't have to fall back on this wiggle room...

Adam did the numbers and estimated we are around $12.7 million under with Ferg and Henry signed.

[VThokie7]

14 million over 5 years with a 5 million bonus? Get it done Jerry, then all we need is some help at RT and we have a good Oline for Julius and to protect Bledsoe. I'm liking how things are shaping up

[Hiero]

14 mil over 5 years isnt much. its well worth it. we could also cut him after a couple years.

[mrecktid]

How old is Allen? Rivera will be 33 if he starts playing with us, I hope he holds up.

[VoR]

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/mar05/306396.asp

Rivera was receiving the full-court press from the Cowboys, who were trying to get a deal done today before he leaves for visits with the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens. Agent Jimmy Sexton wouldn't say how much the Cowboys were offering, but it appears Rivera will earn far more than the Packers are willing to pay.

Rivera is thought to be shooting for a deal similar to the one former Packer Adam Timmerman signed with the St. Louis Rams last March. Timmerman's contract was worth $14.26 million over five years and included a $5.5 million signing bonus.

Timmerman was 32 when he signed the contract, the same age as Rivera.

General manager Ted Thompson doesn't appear willing to pay anything close to that for Rivera, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who has started 106 consecutive games. Rivera has made it clear he will not offer the Packers a discount and intends to negotiate the highest possible deal.

Rivera did not return a phone message seeking comment.

The Cowboys want to upgrade their right guard position, where 26-year-old Andre Gurode was publicly criticized by coach Bill Parcells as the end of last season.

However, Dallas coughed up $19 million in signing bonuses Wednesday for nose tackle Jason Ferguson ($9 million) and cornerback Anthony Henry ($10 million) and might not be able to meet Rivera's demands.

If Rivera leaves Dallas without a contract, the Lions and Ravens are expected to mount considerable efforts to sign him. The Lions would like to solidify the one soft spot in their offensive line - left guard - and are more than familiar with Rivera's ability and toughness.

The Ravens want to sign Rivera to help them replace departed free agent center Casey Rabach, who signed with Washington. Right guard Mike Flynn would move to center and Rivera would take his spot in the lineup.

Nice, nothing like building a young team with a 33 year old. He's got MANY years left. LOL-

[Smith22]

Nice, nothing like building a young team with a 33 year old. He's got MANY years left. LOL-

1) It gives Bledsoe more time in the pocket
2) We have Gurode and Peterman behind him
3) We can afford him, he fills a need and he is pro bowl talent.

[Hiero]

we've got two young players behind him in peterman and gurode. So its not like we dont have any young guys at guard. just that none of the young guys deserve to start.

[silverbear]

Nice, nothing like building a young team with a 33 year old. He's got MANY years left. LOL-

Yeah, let's load up on as many 21 year olds as we can, that's obviously the way to get better... I know, let's trade everybody over 30, and stock up on late round draft picks so that we can have more 20-somethings than any other team in the league...

And once you've built yourself the YOUNGEST team in the entire NFL, don't be surprised if you find out you've built the WORST team in the NFL... the problem with 5 year plans is that you always seem to be 5 years away from reaching your goal...

Rivera is in his prime RIGHT now, he's been to the Pro Bowl 3 straight years... and given that some, good offensive linemen have played until they're 40, it is entirely possible that Rivera can give the Boys another 5 years of near-Pro Bowl caliber play...

You need SOME veterans on a winning team, pal... personally, I'm ALL in favor of bringing in a player who has been in the Pro Bowl the last 3 years-- provided he doesn't break the bank in his contract demands...

[montgod]

I would rather have Wahle, because he is two or three years younger, Riveria would still be a welcomed addition!! He is an outstanding OG! Not to mention, I can only hope he can teach Gurode, Peterman the nuances of being a great OL in the NFL or at least wake Gurode up since he most likely will be benched or cut!

[KingTuna]

Now sign Mckenzie at RT and our O-Line will be SOLID!!!

[montgod]

Now sign Mckenzie at RT and our O-Line will be SOLID!!!

I agree, but I wonder how much money is left with the following needs that still need to be met:

RT McKenzie
FS D. Smith
LB Hartwell

[silverbear]

I agree, but I wonder how much money is left with the following needs that still need to be met:

RT McKenzie
FS D. Smith
LB Hartwell

The smart money says the Boys are right at 12.75 million under the cap... of course, they have to pay their rookie draft picks out of that, and if they wish to bring back any of their remaining unrestricted free agents, that will come out of this 12.75 mil too...

[Sarge]

Yeah, let's load up on as many 21 year olds as we can, that's obviously the way to get better... I know, let's trade everybody over 30, and stock up on late round draft picks so that we can have more 20-somethings than any other team in the league...

And once you've built yourself the YOUNGEST team in the entire NFL, don't be surprised if you find out you've built the WORST team in the NFL... the problem with 5 year plans is that you always seem to be 5 years away from reaching your goal...

Rivera is in his prime RIGHT now, he's been to the Pro Bowl 3 straight years... and given that some, good offensive linemen have played until they're 40, it is entirely possible that Rivera can give the Boys another 5 years of near-Pro Bowl caliber play...

You need SOME veterans on a winning team, pal... personally, I'm ALL in favor of bringing in a player who has been in the Pro Bowl the last 3 years-- provided he doesn't break the bank in his contract demands...

In all fairness - Larry Allen is almost done, Flo isn't getting any younger and Rivera is 33. Thats an old OL. I can see his point but having said that, it's still an upgrade.

At this point, we need help in the trenches on both sides of the ball badly.

I just don't want to have to keep churning the roster every 2 years.

I can see both sides.

Bottom line is, Rivera is an upgrade. I'm not sold we're going to land him though.

[zagnut]

As unstable as the Right Guard play was last year, Right Tackle was far worse and we at least have options at guard. It's also a position that can bring excellent value with 2nd to 4th round draft picks.

Tackles are MUCH more difficult to find with mid-round picks and it's a massive hole on our line. If McKenzie isn't signed, brace yourselves that a tackle will be drafted by us within our first 3 picks.

Alex Barron, 6-6, 315, Florida State
Jammal Brown, 6-5, 310, Oklahoma
Khalif Barnes, 6-5, 310, Washington
Anthony Alabi, 6-6, 325, Texas Christian
C.J. Brooks, 6-5, 320, Maryland (G)
Elton Brown, 6-6, 335, Virginia (G)
David Baas, 6-5, 320, Michigan (G/C)*
Nick Kaczur, 6-5, 305, Toledo
Adam Terry, 6-7, 315, Syracuse
Logan Mankins, 6-4, 320, Fresno State


Marco is a very nice player now, and if this contract is structured so that he's not more than 2.5 million per year in years 1 and 2, even better. But don't look at him without realizing he likely brings dead cap money after 2 or 3 years. Guards do not last significantly longer than any other position. Some posters are fooling themselves. 33 is still old in the NFL. Ray Brown's are not the norm.

[Nors]

Interesting that Rivera's agent is Sexton...

I would not be suprised at all if it comes out someday that agents are getting kickbacks to deliver players. Of course Sexton would never do that but the possibility is there.

[Erik_H]

I would not be suprised at all if it comes out someday that agents are getting kickbacks to deliver players. Of course Sexton would never do that but the possibility is there.

They do get kickbacks. I believe it's called a commission.

[5mics]

Well, according to AdamJT13, the Boys were nearly 19 million under the cap after they cut Coakley... looking at the reported contract structures for Henry and Ferguson, I'd estimate that they have a cap impact this year of less than 6 million combined, perhaps as little as 5 million combined (players often take minimum wage, or near-minimum wage, salaries in the first year of multiyear deal to keep the cap hit reasonable-- they already have the cash from the signing bonus in their pockets)...

If I had to guess, and let me stress that I am making a semi-educated guess, the Boys are right around 13.5 million under the cap after today...

I also have a hunch that they have a little wiggle room in the form of contract renegotiations later on, if they spend a little more than they'd planned... naturally, I hope they don't have to fall back on this wiggle room...
This week just keeps getting better and better!!! PLENTY of room if we go after Dwight Smith even if he wants CB $$$ BUT is he worth that kind of jack for FS? Haven't seen him play to make an educated guess. Anyone with an opinion on him? :confused:

[jobberone]

I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to expect a high level of play from Rivera for another two years at least and possibly three. More is just gravy.

I would also think the Cowboys, Sexton and Rivera know his relative worth and for how long.

If you get three or four years you work that out down the road otherwise the player goes elsewhere. That's just how business is done.

The questions IMO are:

Is Rivera and upgrade over Gurode at RG. DUH
Will he be able to play out his contract. Probably +/- a year....NP
Will he cost too much. I doubt it or they would look elsewhere.
Do we really need him. I don't think many would question that and
Gurode still has one last chance to prove his worth even as a backup.

[Cbz40]

I don't think it's unreasonable for someone to expect a high level of play from Rivera for another two years at least and possibly three. More is just gravy.

I would also think the Cowboys, Sexton and Rivera know his relative worth and for how long.

If you get three or four years you work that out down the road otherwise the player goes elsewhere. That's just how business is done.

The questions IMO are:

Is Rivera and upgrade over Gurode at RG. DUH
Will he be able to play out his contract. Probably +/- a year....NP
Will he cost too much. I doubt it or they would look elsewhere.
Do we really need him. I don't think many would question that and
Gurode still has one last chance to prove his worth even as a backup.


Jobber you are so logical it kills me........I know your older than me ...so....do you take some kind of logic booster pills ?