Abraham goes on trade block BY GARY MYERS DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER The Jets have begun shopping John Abraham, are still negotiating to get Chad Pennington to take one of the largest pay cuts in NFL history and have no interest in trading with Houston to move from the fourth spot in the draft all the way to the very top. As free agency approaches just after midnight Thursday, the Jets are scrambling to get under the salary cap, which is expected to be set at $95 million. They are currently at $107 million and will be helped immensely if a deal for a new collective bargaining agreement is imminent. The cap number could then increase by $10 million. There are several key Jets issues: GM Mike Tannenbaum returned from the Indianapolis scouting combine and was back in his office yesterday. Talks with Tom Condon, Pennington's agent, are ongoing and could go right down to Friday, when Pennington is due a $3 million roster bonus. The Jets could buy more time if free agency is pushed back one week. The Jets initially were trying to slice Pennington's 2006 money from $9 million ($6 million base, $3 million roster bonus) to $1 million. "They want to pay me less than what most backup quarterbacks are making," Pennington told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. But sources indicate that was only a starting point in negotiations. The Jets probably would like to get Pennington down to around $3 million with a chance to make up the difference in incentives. Ultimately, Pennington is better off with the Jets than hitting the free agent market as damaged goods. With Pennington coming off back-to-back shoulder surgeries in less than one year, the Jets can't afford him at his current numbers. Besides, he already has made $22 million in the first two years of his contract despite being limited to 16 starts. "My arm and shoulder are fine," Pennington told the Sarasota paper. "I'm anxious to get started." Pennington's cap number is currently $15 million. If the Jets cut him, he would count $12 million on their cap. Abraham, who was slapped with the franchise tag for the second straight year, wants out and the Jets want him out. He is counting $8.3 million on their cap and the sooner they trade him, the better it will be for both of them. Abraham should bring back at least a No. 1 pick. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jets have begun trade talks to find a new home for Abraham. The draft rumors are starting early this year, but the Jets are not one of the teams interested in trading up to Houston's No. 1 spot. "There's nothing to it," said a source familiar with the Jets' thinking. As long as the Texans take RB Reggie Bush at No. 1, the Jets will get one of the top three QBs at No. 4: Matt Leinart, Vince Young or Jay Cutler. Curtis Martin's pay cut was a hefty one: The Jets cut his 2006 base salary from $6.2 million to $2.5 million, saving them $3.7 on the cap. The Jets yesterday cut safety Oliver Celestin, whose family lost its home in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina last year. The organization took up a collection and moved Celestin's family to Long Island. Originally published on February 28, 2006 For what it's worth Myers is a pretty reliable source; more so than Cimini. I think the Jets are better off staying put or trading down and acquiring more picks... Looks more and more certain that Chad's coming back... Hats off to Curtis Martin, he took more than a 50% pay-cut. I didn't realize it was that much...total class-act
http://www.nj.com/jets/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/114110907634360.xml&coll=1 this can put a end to the rest of the rumours
A conversation with Jay Cutler - Part 2 By Dan Leberfeld Date: Feb 28, 2006 Indianapolis - Q)What do you need to improve upon? Cutler: My footwork, I have been working on that, that has been an issue and been a concern going into the Senior Bowl and coming here, so a lot of little things. I think once I land somewhere they're going to iron those things out throughout the year. Q)Do you think some of the issues with your mechanics are related to all the pressure you were constantly under from opposing defenses? Cutler: Definitely. At times we don't have the front five to block the Florida's and LSU's, so I had to throw off my back foot. I had to move around a little bit and couldn't really get my feet set or my hips in line. Q)What quarterbacks did you admire as a kid? Cutler: Brett Favre, John Elway. Those are two guys that I definitely watched. Q)Did playing at Vandy help you in some ways with the scouts because you did a lot of good things under tough circumstances? Cutler: I got it done without a lot of guys around me. Nothing against those guys, I love them to death, but I didn't have All-Americans scattered across the field and I had to adjust, I had to deal with pressure. I had to deal with getting the ball into tight places, so I think it is going to help me going to the next level, dealing with adversity and being able to succeed through it. Q)Do you like the gunslinger label? Cutler: No. I don't think I am really a gunslinger, I take chances but I think they are calculated chances. I know what I am doing. Q)How far is hometown (Santa Claus, Indiana) from Indianapolis? Cutler: About 2 ?, 3 hours. Q)Would you rather play as a rookie or watch and learn the first year? Cutler: It is a touchy issue, and being a competitor and playing four years, you want to get out there as soon as possible and try and help your team, especially if you go in the first round. There's a lot of expectation there to help the team succeed. But on the other hand, being a quarterback, there is a lot of pressure. Dealing with a new playbook, a new coaching staff, and entirely new league, the intensity and the speed of the game. It could go either way. With either situation I am going to be fine and adjust to it. Q)What did you measure in at? Cutler: 6-3.2, 226. Q)Coming out of high school, did you ever think the NFL was a possibility? Cutler: You dream of it, but it is a long road to get here, especially at Vanderbilt. It is a little tougher road than some other people here. Q)Why did you fly under the radar coming out of high school? Cutler: I don't know. Southern Indiana. Small town. The Purdue's, Indiana's, Notre dame, they weren't really recruiting my part of the state, so I slipped under it. But I am happy where I landed. Vanderbilt, I had a great career there. I made a lot of great friend that will last the rest of my life. Q)Were you disappointed other QB'S aren't working out at the combine? Cutler: Yeah, I really am a little bit. But I can't help it. That is their decision. Some people are going to say they are making the right decision, some people are going to say they are making the wrong decision. But they have to do what's best for them. I'd like to see them out there, I think a lot of people would. But I can't help that. And I wish them the best. Q)What happened last three games at Vandy, did light come on? Cutler: We started off 4-0 the first four games. We slid a little but toward the end. Those last three games, my career was winding down and I knew it. I had some great help from my offensive linemen, and Earl Bennett, our freshman receiver, probably caught 600 yards of balls. It was fun, I enjoyed it. Q)Should Vandy get out of SEC? Cutler: What do you mean? We did all right this year. We beat Arkansas, we got robbed at Florida. I mean we are getting it done. We beat Ole Miss at home. We are getting better recruiting classes every year and we are getting better recruiting classes every year. Coach (Bobby) Johnson is doing a great job. If you ask some of the teams in the SEC, they are not as fired up about playing us as they used to be in the past. Q)Will money change you? Cutler: I don't know. We'll find out soon.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/jets/ny-spjets284644548feb28,0,1423555.story?coll=ny-jets-print
This is one of the rare times Meyers actually talks some sense. Trading up does not make any sense, other than being a nice rumor. Trading Abe is still a no brainer; it would be nice to keep him; but we simply can not afford him. This comment by Chad, I thought was interesting. "They want to pay me less than what most backup quarterbacks are making," Pennington told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Ummmmmmmmmm, Chad, most backup quarterbacks are not coming off of 2 shoulder surgeries and are pretty much guaranteed to be able to throw the ball credibly. We don't know that about you right now. With the incentive aspects of the contract issued by the Jets, all the guy has to do is come in and perform and the rest will take care of itself.
