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April 19, 2007, 6:14 PM ET Offer sheet deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET Friday
Vets still unsigned as offer sheet deadline nears
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
With the league deadline for signing restricted free agents to offer sheets set for Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET, some teams are holding their cards close to the vest and other teams are simply holding their breath.
There remain a few dozen restricted free agents -- players with three seasons of experience in the league and who have been tendered qualifying offers by their current teams -- who have yet to sign contracts. Those players have until Friday to sign an offer sheet with a new team. Their original club would then have seven days to either match the offer sheet and inherit the contract, or pass on it and accept compensation from the new team.
Clearly, the most prominent restricted free agent still on the market is San Diego Chargers running back Michael Turner, the backup to LaDainian Tomlinson and a coveted performer who has been the subject of considerable trade talk for the past month. But if Turner switches teams, with Tennessee and Buffalo his most ardent suitors, it likely will be via a sign-and-trade deal rather than by signing an offer sheet with another club.
As of Thursday morning, three restricted free agents had switched teams this year via offer sheets that were not matched by their original
franchises. Defensive tackle Shaun Smith went from Cincinnati to Cleveland. Linebacker Ryan Fowler relocated to Tennessee from Dallas. And punter Donnie Jones on Wednesday was allowed to move on to St. Louis when Miami declined to match the five-year, $5.59 million offer sheet he signed with the Rams last week.
The Dolphins opted instead to accept a seventh-round choice in this year's draft from the Rams as compensation for signing Jones.
Two other restricted players -- Atlanta quarterback Matt Schaub (to Houston) and Miami wide receiver and return specialist Wes Welker (to New England) -- changed teams in trades. And two players, San Francisco punter Andy Lee and Texans fullback Vonta Leach, remained with their original franchises when those teams matched offer sheets the players signed with other clubs. Lee had signed with Pittsburgh and Leach with the New York Giants.
Even with the deadline looming, there could be some further intrigue in the restricted market as teams remain interested in a few key players.
After Turner, the most notable is Indianapolis cornerback Jason David, a three-year starter for the defending Super Bowl champions who met last week with New Orleans officials. The Saints have been attempting for two years to upgrade at cornerback, and David is a young, emerging player New Orleans seems serious about. If the Saints signed David to an offer sheet the Colts could not match, either because of the structure or volume of the deal or because of a so-called "poison pill," it would be a blow to the Indianapolis secondary.
Indianapolis already has lost starting cornerback Nick Harper to Tennessee as an unrestricted free agent. David, just 24, is a very solid defender in the Tampa 2 scheme, plays bigger than his size and has eight interceptions in three years. The Colts tendered him at the lowest qualifying offer, a one-year deal worth $850,000, and that might have been a mistake.
Were the Saints to sign David to an offer sheet the Colts couldn't match, Indianapolis would receive only a fourth-round draft pick as compensation. More critical, the Colts would be forced to play with two new starting cornerbacks in 2007.
Among the restricted free agents still drawing interest from other teams are Patriots cornerback Randall Gay and Cincinnati offensive lineman Stacy Andrews. Both players visited recently with the New York Jets.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
Vets still unsigned as offer sheet deadline nears
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
With the league deadline for signing restricted free agents to offer sheets set for Friday at 11:59 p.m. ET, some teams are holding their cards close to the vest and other teams are simply holding their breath.
There remain a few dozen restricted free agents -- players with three seasons of experience in the league and who have been tendered qualifying offers by their current teams -- who have yet to sign contracts. Those players have until Friday to sign an offer sheet with a new team. Their original club would then have seven days to either match the offer sheet and inherit the contract, or pass on it and accept compensation from the new team.
Clearly, the most prominent restricted free agent still on the market is San Diego Chargers running back Michael Turner, the backup to LaDainian Tomlinson and a coveted performer who has been the subject of considerable trade talk for the past month. But if Turner switches teams, with Tennessee and Buffalo his most ardent suitors, it likely will be via a sign-and-trade deal rather than by signing an offer sheet with another club.
As of Thursday morning, three restricted free agents had switched teams this year via offer sheets that were not matched by their original
franchises. Defensive tackle Shaun Smith went from Cincinnati to Cleveland. Linebacker Ryan Fowler relocated to Tennessee from Dallas. And punter Donnie Jones on Wednesday was allowed to move on to St. Louis when Miami declined to match the five-year, $5.59 million offer sheet he signed with the Rams last week.
The Dolphins opted instead to accept a seventh-round choice in this year's draft from the Rams as compensation for signing Jones.
Two other restricted players -- Atlanta quarterback Matt Schaub (to Houston) and Miami wide receiver and return specialist Wes Welker (to New England) -- changed teams in trades. And two players, San Francisco punter Andy Lee and Texans fullback Vonta Leach, remained with their original franchises when those teams matched offer sheets the players signed with other clubs. Lee had signed with Pittsburgh and Leach with the New York Giants.
Even with the deadline looming, there could be some further intrigue in the restricted market as teams remain interested in a few key players.
After Turner, the most notable is Indianapolis cornerback Jason David, a three-year starter for the defending Super Bowl champions who met last week with New Orleans officials. The Saints have been attempting for two years to upgrade at cornerback, and David is a young, emerging player New Orleans seems serious about. If the Saints signed David to an offer sheet the Colts could not match, either because of the structure or volume of the deal or because of a so-called "poison pill," it would be a blow to the Indianapolis secondary.
Indianapolis already has lost starting cornerback Nick Harper to Tennessee as an unrestricted free agent. David, just 24, is a very solid defender in the Tampa 2 scheme, plays bigger than his size and has eight interceptions in three years. The Colts tendered him at the lowest qualifying offer, a one-year deal worth $850,000, and that might have been a mistake.
Were the Saints to sign David to an offer sheet the Colts couldn't match, Indianapolis would receive only a fourth-round draft pick as compensation. More critical, the Colts would be forced to play with two new starting cornerbacks in 2007.
Among the restricted free agents still drawing interest from other teams are Patriots cornerback Randall Gay and Cincinnati offensive lineman Stacy Andrews. Both players visited recently with the New York Jets.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.