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Morton told to stay away
[size=-1]By ADAM TEICHER[/size]
[size=-1]The Kansas City Star[/size]
Wide receiver Johnnie Morton was one of only a handful of Chiefs starters absent from the first day of offseason practice Tuesday.
Morton’s absence was different because it was at the request of the team. He was excused from all the spring practices, indicating the Chiefs are serious in their intentions to release Morton in June if he doesn’t accept a restructured contract.
President/general manager Carl Peterson and coach Dick Vermeil wouldn’t elaborate on Morton’s situation, but Peterson said, “Ask me about it on the second of June.”
Morton wasn’t available to speak on the situation, and his agent, David Dunn, didn’t return a phone message.
A source familiar with the situation said the Chiefs asked Morton for the second straight year to renegotiate his contract to a lower salary. Like last year, Morton has refused.
The Chiefs may eventually invite Morton back, but only at a salary lower than his current $3 million. The notice to stay clear of practice was intended as a message to Morton that he will be released if he continues to refuse the pay cut.
The Chiefs have been considering releasing Morton in June for some time, but the latest move marks an abrupt switch of strategy. As of late last week, they were expecting Morton to participate in Tuesday’s practice. They also planned to look at some of their younger receivers before making a decision on Morton.
One of those younger receivers, Samie Parker, took Morton’s place in the starting lineup and had a standout practice. Another, rookie Craphonzo Thorpe, struggled by dropping several passes.
“They probably figure we’re all ready to play,” Parker said. “We have a lot of guys capable of making plays, including myself. If we all produce like we’re capable of, there’s no telling what kind of receiving corps we can have this year.”
Parker played little as a rookie last year until the season’s final month, but then he played well. Parker, who had nine catches and a touchdown in the last three games, has the most to gain from Morton’s possible departure.
“I thought he was ready to play at the end of last year,” Peterson said. “When he got the opportunity to play, he really showed what he’s capable of doing. I’m a Samie Parker guy. He’ll do very, very well.”
Eddie Kennison is the other starting receiver, and Dante Hall will play out of the slot. Thorpe, Marc Boerigter, Chris Horn and Darrell Hill are also competing for jobs. Neither Boerigter nor Horn is practicing. They are recovering from knee surgeries.
“If that’s what this is, I guess you could look at it as a vote of confidence for all the other receivers, but it’s all up in the air,” Boerigter said. “We’ve got June 1 coming up, and somebody might become available.”
Peterson obviously believes the Chiefs can survive at wide receiver without the 33-year-old Morton.
“When we get to camp and get the pads on, then I’ll really be able to see what this football team looks like,” Peterson said. “But at this point, I’m comfortable with where we are at wide receiver.”
The Chiefs had one veteran wide receiver, Baltimore’s Kevin Johnson, in for a free-agent visit before the draft, but he signed instead with Detroit. They have yet to make a move for Freddie Mitchell, recently released by Philadelphia.
“We’ve discussed him, but we’re not interested at this point,” Peterson said.
The Chiefs would save more than Morton’s scheduled $3 million salary by waiting until June to release him.
They would also save an additional $2.4 million against their salary cap, and his total cost for this season would be about $786,000.
Morton never became the big production receiver the Chiefs envisioned when they signed him from the Lions as a free agent in 2002. Morton had more than 1,000 yards in four of his last five seasons in Detroit but didn’t come close to that in either of his first two years with the Chiefs.
His best season with the Chiefs was the last one, when he caught 55 passes for 795 yards despite missing the last three games because of a knee injury.
“It’s kind of surprising because he was having a great year before he got hurt,” Boerigter said. “He was on pace for 1,000 yards.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/11673037.htm
[size=-1]By ADAM TEICHER[/size]
[size=-1]The Kansas City Star[/size]
Wide receiver Johnnie Morton was one of only a handful of Chiefs starters absent from the first day of offseason practice Tuesday.
Morton’s absence was different because it was at the request of the team. He was excused from all the spring practices, indicating the Chiefs are serious in their intentions to release Morton in June if he doesn’t accept a restructured contract.
President/general manager Carl Peterson and coach Dick Vermeil wouldn’t elaborate on Morton’s situation, but Peterson said, “Ask me about it on the second of June.”
Morton wasn’t available to speak on the situation, and his agent, David Dunn, didn’t return a phone message.
A source familiar with the situation said the Chiefs asked Morton for the second straight year to renegotiate his contract to a lower salary. Like last year, Morton has refused.
The Chiefs may eventually invite Morton back, but only at a salary lower than his current $3 million. The notice to stay clear of practice was intended as a message to Morton that he will be released if he continues to refuse the pay cut.
The Chiefs have been considering releasing Morton in June for some time, but the latest move marks an abrupt switch of strategy. As of late last week, they were expecting Morton to participate in Tuesday’s practice. They also planned to look at some of their younger receivers before making a decision on Morton.
One of those younger receivers, Samie Parker, took Morton’s place in the starting lineup and had a standout practice. Another, rookie Craphonzo Thorpe, struggled by dropping several passes.
“They probably figure we’re all ready to play,” Parker said. “We have a lot of guys capable of making plays, including myself. If we all produce like we’re capable of, there’s no telling what kind of receiving corps we can have this year.”
Parker played little as a rookie last year until the season’s final month, but then he played well. Parker, who had nine catches and a touchdown in the last three games, has the most to gain from Morton’s possible departure.
“I thought he was ready to play at the end of last year,” Peterson said. “When he got the opportunity to play, he really showed what he’s capable of doing. I’m a Samie Parker guy. He’ll do very, very well.”
Eddie Kennison is the other starting receiver, and Dante Hall will play out of the slot. Thorpe, Marc Boerigter, Chris Horn and Darrell Hill are also competing for jobs. Neither Boerigter nor Horn is practicing. They are recovering from knee surgeries.
“If that’s what this is, I guess you could look at it as a vote of confidence for all the other receivers, but it’s all up in the air,” Boerigter said. “We’ve got June 1 coming up, and somebody might become available.”
Peterson obviously believes the Chiefs can survive at wide receiver without the 33-year-old Morton.
“When we get to camp and get the pads on, then I’ll really be able to see what this football team looks like,” Peterson said. “But at this point, I’m comfortable with where we are at wide receiver.”
The Chiefs had one veteran wide receiver, Baltimore’s Kevin Johnson, in for a free-agent visit before the draft, but he signed instead with Detroit. They have yet to make a move for Freddie Mitchell, recently released by Philadelphia.
“We’ve discussed him, but we’re not interested at this point,” Peterson said.
The Chiefs would save more than Morton’s scheduled $3 million salary by waiting until June to release him.
They would also save an additional $2.4 million against their salary cap, and his total cost for this season would be about $786,000.
Morton never became the big production receiver the Chiefs envisioned when they signed him from the Lions as a free agent in 2002. Morton had more than 1,000 yards in four of his last five seasons in Detroit but didn’t come close to that in either of his first two years with the Chiefs.
His best season with the Chiefs was the last one, when he caught 55 passes for 795 yards despite missing the last three games because of a knee injury.
“It’s kind of surprising because he was having a great year before he got hurt,” Boerigter said. “He was on pace for 1,000 yards.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/11673037.htm