Mike Tannenbaum was on ESPN yesterday morning. He said flatly that Keller will be used as a traditional TE. They expect his skills to mature into a good tight end, not an H back, not a wide receiver. He also said he expects him to rotate with Baker, and (I think the third player he mentioned was) Posciak. Unless you think that Tanny has suddenly decided to bullshit the whole world, Keller was drafted to be a TE, not a transitional player. Baker will still be a Jet come training camp, and he and Keller will either split time, or do double-TE sets.
I think the Jets will do something fair for Baker or at least try to, but if he is thinking he is worthy of monster dollars Tanny is on the right track with the "rotate" part.
I fully believe the Jets will work something out with him once all draftees are signed. For right now, they're concentrating on putting together contracts that require attention, then they'll spend some time calming Baker down. You're wrong.
I sure hope the third player is actually Bubba Franks. I'd hate to see his contract cause all this tension with Chris and then not have him at least play a significant role in the offense.
i think it would behoove the jets to keep baker.... once this new guy establishes himself as a bonafide receiving threat, baker will become even more important as well in the passing game. though his # of catches may suffer - he should get more TD's and red zone completions. jil
Well he wasn't happy before this weekend anyway, so I guess this leaves us in the same place we were on Friday only with one more happy TE.
You know, I keep trying to recall who he definitely said, and I can't, but I'm almost certain it wasn't Franks. Didn't anyone else see this interview? It was only like 15 minutes before round 3 started.
If he hasn't redone his contract 4/6.6 averages to 1.65 million a year. Why does everyone forget the bonus money?
Because the media "forgets" to point that out, and most people aren't going to bother doing the math. It wouldn't be half a story if the reality of the contract's worth was in print.
Hmmm. Let's see if I've got this straight. Baker "recently left the Jets' offseason conditioning program in protest ". Baker's agent, Jonathan Feinsod "formally asked the Jets to trade Baker". Baker is "coming off the best season of his career with 41 catches". And yet Baker is "scratching his head in bewilderment" at the Jets drafting a tight end. Really Chris, this isn't that complicated.
We always said we under utliized the TE. Maybe the TE was over rated and we need to get someone else who can get open on a regular basis. No way do i give him $ .
I'm pretty sure the 4th year is what they tacked on in December. That way he's not going into the last year of his deal.
Nope. Not now, anyway. The only way you ever renegotiate with a player with more than a year left on his contract is if he's an unexpected superstar and you have plenty of cap space with multiple important players to resign in the following two seasons. There's no benefit to us to throw more money at him right now.
Baker's going to get traded or cut. He's not going to back down after watching himself become the 3rd highest paid TE on the roster and the track record for Mangini and Tannenbaum has to be based on what happened with Pete Kendall at this point. I think the Jets will regret losing Baker but I'm resigned to that likelihood right now. On the bright side there's no way he gets down the waiver list to New England. Miami's where he'll wind up.
That's a pretty low salary for a TE such as himself... They really should just give the guy a better salary. He deserves it..
i know this much if i was in the exact same situation in MY JOB i would be a little bit annoyed and would be doing what i had to in order to let them understand that i was not happy and would not stand to be walked on. he does not have the ability to up and quit and go find another job in the field as i do so he has to do it a liittle differently and asking for a trade is what he can do. to be paid less than unproven and what appears to be a guy we dont even think will contribute would sure get under my skin. chris baker can actually BLOCK, the new kid does not appear to have that ability. to use him strictly as a TE is goofy in my eyes. so ok here we go bring in keller and guess what the defense now KNOWS we are not going to run the ball. this really really really is beginning to appear to be the FO once again telling their employees that they dont matter and will be replaced as they want. bad juju in my eyes. and it usually doesnt work out very well for most businesses. even though the patriots have treated many of their guys poorly when it comes to money they are the exception and surely not the rule.
He's making the same as Bubba Franks, a guy that's actually accomplished something in the NFL. He's not a very good blocker (no better than Keller) and he cannot get separation on his routes. He was the 19th best TE in the NFL in 2007, and it was by far his career year to date. He is an adequate starter at TE, who had no business whining after getting an extension 4 months ago. All he has to do is shut his mouth and play well to get his roster bonus next offseason (a million over, and his base salary is higher too). More likely than not the team would happily offer him a new contract before having to pay the bonus. Now he is likely to be out of work, soon, and he'll get a contract no better than what he's getting now.
