http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrestricted_free_agent This suggests that in the NFL any player with 4 or more accrued seasons who reaches the end of his contract is a UFA. I recall that one of the concessions that the players got in the last CBA was the reduction from 5 to 4 years for UFA status but I could be wrong. I'll go double-check and see if the CBA terms are available anywhere. I got lazy and just went to wikipedia last time. Ok this is how it reads: "Article XIX Veteran Free Agency Section 2 - Restricted Free Agents: (a) Any Veteran player with three or more accrued seasons, but less than five accrued seasons (or less than four accrued seasons in any capped year), shall at the expiration of his last contract during such period, become a Restricted Free Agent." What's not clear is whether or not 2009 has to be the capped period for Clemens to go free or whether 2010 has to be the capped period. There's a huge difference there. I suspect that if the 2010 season is uncapped that Clemens is an RFA and otherwise he is a UFA.
Clemens' four years would be during the capped years, hence, according to ur post, he'll be an RFA...Thats good for us cuz we would get an early second day pick for him Im assuming. We need him in 2010 as well. We can't just sign a vet off the street and hope he learns the offense inside out with in an off season to backup Sanchez. Shit happens and backup QBs are very important now a days in the NFL.
Thank you, sir. I was mistaken on the rule. Didn't realize 4th year contracts applied until your earlier post from the cap site. This is also good news when it comes to Leon. I think we've all been remiss in ignoring his RFA status when talking about his new deal.
I must admit, I feel kind of bad for Clemens. 2 years in a row he thinks he's going to be the starter and then the team goes WAY out of its way to get a different QB. That must really suck. My prediction, Jets being the Jets, Sanchez is a huge bust. Clemens enters free agency after this season and goes on to have a great career somewhere else. That would just be fitting considering the luck this franchise has had. Oh, spare me the shedding that image BS. It's easy to have that kind of optimism when the team isn't playing. Trust me, I want to believe it, but I'll believe it when I see it.
that has been brought up a lot. To play Devils advocate: but it must say a lot about Clemens. If he showed promise, he'd get his chance. He isn't being fucked over - this is the business of the NFL. Who gives you the best chance to win. If he can't impress against his own teammates, how can he be given the chance to play against NFL teams who will be looking to beat him down? We need to realize that how we view a QB like Clemens is the same way Jaguars fans viewed Quinn Gray. NFL fans might have a better view about Clemens, they'd say he's a JAQ - Just Another Quarterback. Why are Jets fans so sensitive to the underdog yet are quick to bash the elite or high potential players? Actually, no one should answer that, I know the answer.
I'm not sure why it's so great if Clemens is an RFA. If they want to trade him, that doesn't do all that much. If they want him as a backup Qb, they probably should have him under more than one year left on his contract. It'll be very interesting to see how this plays out...
Because if he's an RFA and gets a big enough contract we get compensated with draft picks. http://www.nflplayers.com/user/content.aspx?fmid=178&lmid=443&pid=1345
Maybe best-case scenario would be a contract negotiations hold-out for Sanchez until the middle of camp making KC the defacto starter, him having a decent year, and us getting something decent for a trade next off-season, allowing Sanchez to take over the reigns with a year of learning under his belt
"Hi Im Mark sanchez". "Hi Im Kellen Clemens." Im your back up and I make four times your salary. I hope we can get along?
Just depends on both of their personalities....I seem to recall things working out with Brees and Rivers in the end
this is one of the things i love about sanchez, he is taking charge, never heard anything like this coming from clemens.
Agreed. Sanchez has shown more leadership in the two weeks he's been a Jet than Clemens has in the three years he's been a Jet.
That's what they all say till they have to face a Nfl Defense. Shut your mouth play and win then talk the talk. Im sure he has been fully briefed on how to market himself in the big apple.
You are reading way too much into offseason meetings. No one is saying he is Montana, just good to see him spending extra time getting to know his team.
Yeah I can just imagine the scene now where KC gets drafted in the second round , then calls up the Vet WRs and asks for an off site practice....the answers that followed would go along the lines of ....wtf? , lol , lmao etc...
I checked with a friend who has handled player relations in the past. According to her Clemens will be an RFA next season if the CBA is not in force and the year is uncapped. He'll be an Unrestricted Free Agent if the CBA is in force or if the year is a capped year for some other reason. The last condition that applied to player's contracts is what is enforced under contract law. So the terms of the last CBA apply to all player contracts until a new CBA is in place. The UFA/RFA split at 4/5 years is a poison pill put into the contract to make the players want to have a CBA (or cap under other terms) in place for 2010 to 2012. If no CBA is in place and the years are uncapped then players will have to wait until they have accrued 5 seasons to become a UFA. There are poison pills for free agency for the owners in the CBA also that will go into effect if the CBA is not in effect for 2010 to 2012, mainly dealing with the circumstances under which certain teams can bid for free agents over that span.
Yep..he was drafted to be a backup..that's always the case in the NFL if you play QB and are not drafted in the first..some of them become the starter anyway and turn out great.
