We don't even have to offer him anything. He's only a restricted free agent. All we have to do is tender him a contract for one year.
Keels royally screwed Leon. He called the Jets bluff and now they are sitting with nothing. I would like to see the Jets do something for Leon but he will never see those big dollars now.
I wouldn't offer him anything other than a get well quick card. He's a RFA. We made him a good offer and he chose not to accept it. He broke his leg. Now he will have to agree to less money because he isn't worth as much and he doesn't have any leverage.
Actually, it really does. First of all, because theres not much chance that he won't return and be the same player. Second, because players see that sort of thing and appreciate it. Make no mistake, all the guys know that Leon isn't signed past this season, hasn't made much of any money yet by NFL standards, and has a family to worry about. For ownership to step up, give him the deal they were offering before, and give him some peace of mind while he's going through a very tough time, helps build the sort of atmosphere you want. Players want to feel like ownership cares about them as people, not just commodities, and this is the sort of opportunity where, if Johnson does approach his team that way, he's got a great chance to show it. Heres a guy who plays his heart out for the team and got cut down on the field. To use that sort of misfortune as a bargaining chip against him shows no class, and next time the team wants somebody to give a home team discount on a new deal, don't think they'll forget about how the team handles this situation.
I wish I could agree, but this is a harsh business. If he is going to hold out for every penny he could get back before the season started, why should we pay more then he is worth now? He has no leverage at all, running backs coming off a major injury don't hold their value that well. And he has a family to worry about? He's making $500,000+ a year, don't bring the he has a family to worry about into it, we don't allot some of our cap to for sympathy and for player's family.
This is likely what will happen because its still business. It would be right to offer him a deal, but wouldn't make much financial sense. As much as I like the guy and admit how great he's been for the Jets, he was offered a contract and had plenty of opportunity to sign. He'll be fine anyway, and he'll get a good, solid contract when he's healthy. His family will be fine provided nothing crazy happens (infection/complication, etc.)
Last week we lost the best player on our team. Now this week we lost the best player on our team. This is setting up to be an unforgettable year for all the wrong reasons. GOD bless you Leon.
I like leon but he shouldn have signed the contract and not haggle over incetive money he risked his future over from what I heard is 2 million in incentives. He'll be back next year on acheaper shorter contract. The jets will be shopping the free agents for a rb now
Curtis Martin/Lamont Jordan 2009 version of Jones/Greene?? Leon out is huge...need someone to step up as a quick outlet...maybe woodhead?
Aren't we all glad we still have TJ now, plus Greene is a beast. That said i love Leon and hope he is back next year, and still deserves to get a solid contract.
Thats what I just explained. His leverage, if you want to call it that, is that other players are watching. He got hurt on the job, got hurt doing his damndest to win a game for the New York Jets. If the New York Jets show him no loyalty, what reason do other players have to show loyalty to the New York Jets? For that matter, forget about other players, if you stick it to this guy in his time of need, he might lose his desire to get a new deal here, and gain a desire to get the hell out of New York. Plus you have to remember, paying him wouldn't be a sympathy thing. Players get injured, it's just his misfortune that he got injured just before his contract is up. But he'll be back. It's not like you aren't going to get a return on your money, you have to pay him eventually if you want him to stick around. So the decision your left with is, assuming you want him on your team, do you leave him in financial limbo while he's dealing with a tremendous injury, or do you take care of your guys? As for the fact that he has a family to worry about. Leon's a mid round pick, he hasn't made 'big athlete money' yet. He's probably collected two or three mil total, and if he's smart he's hung on to most of it. But to compare a football player's salary to others is misleading; you get a few years to play football, and for most players, that money has to last a long time, through a long life, and may have to cover substantial medical costs down the road resulting from a football career. He outplayed his rookie deal years ago, this team owes him and they'd be fools to use this situation as leverage.
i agree with this. it sucks that leon got hurt, i like him as a player. i've been saying that leon should take the money the jets offered him from the get go. now he's done for the year and he wont make anything close to what he wanted. yes his agent is a prick, but if leon really wanted to take the offer he would have. he is just another money hungry player and now he's screwed.
Leon had the chance to get paid and didn't sign. The risk of not signing was his and his agent should've been more of an advisor and less of a prick. Whether the Jets commit to him has nothing to do with loyalty or showing the team that players will be taken care of. It's a business - the players know that. The Jets commitment will have everything to do with Leon's recovery and whether he can be an asset to the team again.
thats a damn shame. it happens way too often that a guy leaves himself unprotected and gets burnt. well hopefully he can recover pretty quickly and get himself a contract.
why do hell does anyone care about leon washington and his freaking money and his family, are you guys serious??? This man is a football player, he has money, his family is fine. He got hurt and its time to move on without him, hes a great player but stop lagging about it. Greene and woodhead will fill in fine
From the article Exit 117 posted: ??My thoughts go out to Leon,?? Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum told The Star-Ledger. ??I expect him to be here a long, long time. We?re going to give Leon all the support he needs from an organizational standpoint to make sure he can return to be the player he has always been. He has our unconditional support.?? Said cornerback Darrelle Revis: ??Leon is a team guy. He wasn?t even focused on (his contract). He wanted to help his team win. I know Mr. Tannenbaum is going to get the job done for Leon. It hurts that it happened to him.?? You didn't see quotes like this when Jenkins went out last week, because Jenkins has financial stability, he's under contract next year, and frankly he could retire tomorrow and not have to worry about making payments on his house or putting his kids through college, not to mention he's already put together a nice legacy on the field. These players know the score, and they'll be watching what happens. The number one business concern of the business side of the business of football, is winning football games. No matter how well you market or how handsome your quarterback is, you don't sell tickets or jerseys or brick-a-brack if you don't win football games. And a group of players who feel like their team has no loyalty to them aren't going to sell out as hard to win football games as a group of players who know the guys upstairs are looking out for them. Tannenbaum understands that. If he uses this as leverage in negotiations with Leon, it'll be used as leverage against him for years. Bottom line, it's probably not good business to pull the offer you've had on the table since the summer. There's no reason to go up, and you can't force him to sign, but it would be beyond foolish to stick it to a guy who just had his leg split open in front of his teammates.
