From KFFL: Jets | Bender agrees to terms Tue, 3 Jul 2007 16:55:20 -0700 Adam Caplan, reporting for Scout.com, reports the New York Jets have agreed to terms with sixth-round draft choice OT Jacob Bender on a four-year deal. Bender will receive a $110,000 signing bonus, but other financial terms were not disclosed. Didn't see it posted yet.
It's about time we started the ball rolling. Bears also signed Greg Olsen. Maybe now other teams won't be scared to sign 1st round picks. Actually, I suppose its the agents who have them wait, so they won't be underpaid.....
Looks like it's time for the draft picks to start signing. It's important that we get all our guys in, especially since we traded away so many picks to target the guys we did.
rotoworld.com says they are switching him to the right side. Didn't specify position, so I'm assuming tackle (where he played in college). I was a bit surprised. I thought they might turn him into a Guard. Who Knows? He's expected tp be a "project" so it probably won't matter this year anyway.
they must be pretty sure they got a talented player. and 4 years for a sixth rounder is surely less of a salary then for a lower round guy. kudos
This is the NFL. That means a 0 year deal in reality. If by some miracle he sticks and actually becomes good then they have him cheap until the first year he holds out.
Plus, if we had signed him to a 3 yr contract, he would have been a restricted free agent at the end of it. With a 4 yr contract, we won't have an issue if he turns into a player that another team is willing to give a huge contract to.
Then why doesn't every team sign their late-round picks for 4+ year deals? Come to think of it, why not sign every late-round pick to a 7 year deal?
I read an article a couple of weeks ago that mentioned how teams were changing their thinking regarding their late round picks.
Here it is from the Jet's website: The New York Jets have signed offensive lineman Jacob Bender, their sixth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. The announcement was made by Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum. Bender (6'6", 315) was the 177th overall pick in the draft. He played in 42 games over four years at Nicholls State, starting 31 contests, and helped lead the Colonels to their first Southland Conference championship in 2005. Bender, from Mayo, Md., was a two-time All-Southland first-team selection for Nicholls and was named third-team Sports Network Division I-AA All-American in 2006.
