JS Online: Rivera update - Dallas Cowboys Forum

Dale · 03-02-2005

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 · 03-02-2005

Get it done Jerry!

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

Dale · 03-02-2005

Interesting that Rivera's agent is Sexton...

HeHateMe · 03-02-2005

Sexton being his agent is a plus.

It worked out well with Ferguson.

Heres hoping.

Cajuncowboy · 03-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale

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 · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale

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 · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by cajuncowboy

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 · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

[View Full Quote]

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

k19 · 03-03-2005

http://www.packersnews.com/archives/...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 · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

[View Full Quote]

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

Dale · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5mics

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 · 03-03-2005

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?

Champsheart · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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?

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 · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5mics

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 · 03-03-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverbear

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.