Skins make offer for Briggs
Mike Mulligan says Bears must weigh many factors before deciding whether to accept deal, move up to No. 6 in draft
March 28, 2007
BY
MIKE MULLIGAN Staff Reporter
PHOENIX -- Lance Briggs is close to getting everything he wants. The only question is whether the Bears can afford to let him fulfill his dreams.
Multiple sources confirmed Tuesday that the Washington Commanders have made a formal trade offer to the Bears for the Pro Bowl linebacker, offering a swap of first-round picks that would put the Bears near the top of the first round at No. 6 overall for Briggs and the No. 31 selection.
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Sources say linebacker Lance Briggs will get $20 million in guaranteed money if the Bears agree to trade him to the Commanders.
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)
CAST YOUR VOTE
The Commanders want Lance Briggs. The offer: The sixth pick in the draft for Briggs and the 31st pick.
The Bears should do the trade.
They should turn it down.
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''That's what I have been told,'' said Drew Rosenhaus, Briggs' agent. ''The two teams have talked, and it's in their hands now.''
Sources said the Commanders are set to pay Briggs $20 million in guaranteed money as part of a multiyear deal that will average $7.5 million per season. It's a sweet deal for a guy who played out his rookie contract only to be hit with the franchise tag by the Bears, which means he would get $7.2 million for one year.
The tricky part now for Rosenhaus and Briggs is getting the Bears to go along with the plan. That isn't going to happen very quickly.
''We're going to take it under advisement, and if it is something we're going to pursue, we'll get back to them,'' Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. ''We are not negotiating through the media.''
Team president Ted Phillips added: ''Our position has been made pretty clear on this.''
The Bears' position all along has been that it is perfectly within their rights to put the franchise tag on Briggs and that Briggs and Rosenhaus were warned it might happen when they turned down a six-year, $33 million offer last year. If the Bears give in to Briggs now, aren't they inviting every player who's unhappy with his contract -- and there are plenty -- to browbeat the organization into a trade? Would Angelo be forced to change his title from general manager of the Bears to marketing agent for Rosenhaus?
It comes down to one simple point: Can the Bears get back to the Super Bowl next season, or is it time for a full-fledged rebuilding? Unlike the trade of Rosenhaus client Thomas Jones, the Bears don't have a player waiting behind Briggs to step into the weak-side linebacker spot. The free-agent market doesn't offer a candidate after Cato June signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and there are no rookie linebackers worthy of a top-10 selection.
Angelo once described top-10 draft picks as a curse as much as a blessing. Players taken high in a draft cost a lot of guaranteed money. If the Bears weren't on the hook for $16 million with Cedric Benson, would they have traded Jones? Never mind that half the first-round picks end up as busts, but how would taking a player at No. 6 affect the Bears' salary cap?
The Bears have built their team with the concept of going to players early and signing them to contract extensions. They want to do that soon with defensive tackle Tommie Harris -- a Rosenhaus client -- wide receiver Bernard Berrian and one of their cornerbacks, Charles Tillman or Nathan Vasher. While they pick up $7.2 million in cap space if Briggs departs, they also will have to pay about double that to the No. 6 pick.
San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis got more than $14 million guaranteed in a five-year, $25 million deal as the No. 6 selection last year. Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam ''Pacman'' Jones got $13.68 million the year before in the same slot.
And while the jury is still out on Davis, there hasn't been a sure-fire success at No. 6 since 2001, when the New England Patriots took defensive tackle Richard Seymour. Jones (2005) is the poster boy for the NFL's new personal-conduct policy. Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. (2004) has been an injury bust on and off the field. Former New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan (2003) will go down as one of the team's worst picks ever. Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Ryan Sims (2002) hasn't made an impact.
The Bears could take the No. 6 pick and trade down, but the Commanders have been trying to do the same thing and can't find a suitor. You don't move up that far in a draft unless you are hunting for a particular player. If the Bears were in love with Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, for instance, it would be a good move. In fact, they ought to consider that move because Quinn is the only player among the holy position triumvirate of quarterback, left tackle and cornerback who's worthy of selection in that slot.
Is the swap of first-round picks enough for Briggs? According to the point system teams use in their draft war rooms, the sixth pick is worth 1,600 points and the 31st is worth 600. The 1,000-point difference is equivalent to the 16th selection.
mmulligan@suntimes.com
