You can't get a player under contract w/o them signing the contract. Thus, if Abe is offered a long-term contract and then SIGNS it, I believe that would be a clear indication that he changed his mind and did want to be here.
The first thing that Belicheck and Marvin Lewis did when they became head coaches was to get rid of every malcontent on the team. Team chemistry is important. If a player does not want to be there, get rid of him. No matter how good he is.
You're welcome. Too bad the only people who are actually listening are the ones who already agree. :beer:
Looking at his injury history...it looks like he was injured this year and just "gutted" it out. He probably could have done so the past seasons as well. It's a pretty questionable decision to sign a guy long term that's seeking security for that very reason...he could just suddenly be injured again as usual before his contract year. Remember...he had a whopping 10 sacks this year when he was healthy. Now I don't usually keep up on sack numbers, but 10 sacks in one year isn't exactly the stuff of legends. I'm pretty sure Abe has actually put up more sacks in years where he's only played 3/4 of the season. I still don't think he's a top 5 DE. Probably top 10, but people can argue that. Regardless, he isn't so good that he should be getting twice as much cash as the previous highest paid DEs in the game. Alio is pretty consistent in his thoughts, but I disagree with quite a lot of what he posted. I'm not posting because I don't disagree, it's because I'm too lazy to go through the posts and put down exactly why for everything. Still cool though.
Before last season the Jets traded away Santana Moss for a player who, two years before that, didn't want to be here anymore. Coles was very outspoken in his desire that the Jets not match the Redskins' offer sheet. A lot of things are said when contracts are up and they always get forgotten when a new contract is signed. Also, say what you want about Abe, but he has a point. He was told he would get a long-term deal if he stayed healthy all season. He did, was an impact pass rusher and now he's on the block. Maybe if the old regime had stayed in place he would have got his deal, but anyway he is entitled to be a bit miffed. That would all change if the Jets sat down with him and gave him the big deal he wants. I'm not saying this is what should happen, just that all the other talk will be forgotten if he signs for the Jets.
Thanks for the backup Serphnx. It's fair enough to disagree. If we all ageed, there would be no need for this board, or we would just be one big angry bunch of Darksiders calling for blood every day.
Abe's agent is actively looking for a trading partner. Atlanta who wants the guy is starting to get turned off by the money he's looking for. Abe is a good player but we are in the salary cap era and right now we have major holes to fill. We can sign 2 FA's and get a pick for what Abe wants. In the era of FA you have to look at a player?s ability against the dollars. Abe is simply over priced for what he brings to the table. If we can get a top 30 pick for him and clear 8 million from our cap we should jump for joy.
That is a fair enough statement, and I will agree with you on that front. I still want Abe here, he is a difference maker. He is also expensive, mostly because we just had to franchise him again. I am actually surprised we aren't being looked at for tampering, but then again, the league owes us one for KC. Chances are, Abe is gone. If we can get a top 30 pick for him, then yes, it is good for us. Even a couple of our picks won't cost us the 8M Abe will, so we end up financially better for it all. I just hate to see yet another Jet being successful in a different uniform.
The reason we are clean on tampering is Abe's agent started talking about wanting out and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Abe's agent talked to some teams prior to his being tagged. How can he claim tampering?
That's a good point. I wasn't saying we should get hit with tampering charges, I was just saying I was surprised no one was looking into it. Who knows, maybe they would have if the CBA situation wasn't so ugly in the first place.
