NFL owners gathered Monday in Indianapolis for their annual spring meetings. All this week, the 32 owners primarily will talk strategy for this summer as the labor impasse goes through court proceedings.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello says owners will be filled in on “all aspects of the labor situation and various business reports.”
Meanwhile, a federal magistrate in Minneapolis has rejected the NFL’s request for more time to file a response in the pending antitrust lawsuit filed by its locked-out players. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeanne Graham ruled Monday that the NFL must answer by June 6. The league had asked for a July 6 deadline to answer a lawsuit filed by current players, a lawsuit that has been since amended to include complaints from retirees led by Hall of Fame player Carl Eller.
As all of this backdrop occurs, my friend Mike Burke, who now writes for Bleacher Report, allowed me to focus on his interesting analysis of the current Eagles players who are most likely to be stressing out right now over the uncertainty of the 2011 season going forward.
Obviously, DeSean Jackson had counted on 2011 as the year when he could renegotiate a long-term contract with the Eagles for big bucks… that ship might sail if the lockout drags on much longer…
As Mike Burke reports, in 2011, DeSean Jackson is scheduled to make $565,000. That may sound good to you and me, but that’s nowhere near the type of money a guy with talent and experience like Jackson’s should be getting paid.
Although he has one year remaining on his rookie contract, Jackson hopes that he doesn’t have to wait until the end of this season before being compensated. The Eagles aren’t obligated to give Jackson a new deal, but clearly, we know (and Jackson knows) he deserves it.
The lockout is screwing all of that up for Jackson right now. As Burke reported, Jackson has hired Drew Rosenhaus as his agent and trusts him to get a deal done…Per Burke, “the front office has worked with Rosenhaus before, and you have to hope things don’t get ugly. Both sides likely agree that Jackson deserves a new deal, so hopefully they can work something out to avoid a holdout.” That is, if Jackson is willing to do so…
Mike Vick is due for a new contract as well. His contract expired after the 2010 season, and the Eagles placed the franchise tag on him before the lockout began. However, it seemed the Eagles did so with the intention of signing Vick to a long-term deal. Now that apparent “certainty” is up in the air…
Linebackers Stewart Bradley and Ernie Sims may be allowed to ultimately walk away as free agents if the lockout drags into late summer. Clearly both of these athletes had hoped to be re-signed by the Eagles for significant contractual increases. Sims would not be as big a loss as Bradley— if it happened that neither was tendered by the Birds… but both have lost significant bargaining power with the Eagles due to the prolonged lockout. The longer the madness drags out, the more likely the Eagles are to go with younger and less expensive defenders—like Jamar Chaney, Moise Fokou and the current crop of draftees— to take their spots.
And David Akers is the biggest loser in all of the lockout drama… as the aging Kicker might have sought to leverage his free agency for a grand-finale deal with the Eagles, he and his agent failed to sign a transitional franchise tender from the Birds prior to the lockout occurring… which means he is screwed. The Eagles made this very clear when they drafted Alex Henery from Nebraska in the 4th Round. Tough timing, and tough luck for Akers, who will likely end up with a rival club at a much lower price tag than he had anticipated.
Strong safety Quintin Mikell is probably in the same boat as Akers. The lockout has diminished Mikell’s price tag, whether the Eagles might choose to re-sign him as a free agent or not.
Kinda makes me wonder: did De Maurice Smith really think this whole thing through? I mean, in the sense of the best beneficial outcome for the current players…and not for De Smith himself ?…
A SPIRITUALLY UPLIFTING MOMENT FOR THE “BORED”…
If you ever doubted the impact or good will of the part you may play in contributing to the spirit of the traditional OTI GK Brizer-endorsed Charter, “to enlighten and entertain”, please consider this email we received today from a long-time PE.com fan:
From Ron Testa <[email protected]>;
“Is this truly the landing place of all the characters on the old Eagles’ chat site..?? I am a 72 year old, 61-year fan of the Phila. Eagles, living in the Adirondack Mountains of upper New York State, and I crave daily information on my Eagles. You can’t imagine the “crap” I have to listen to from these Neanderthal Giant and Jet’s fans…”
Here’s my reply:
“Hi Ron, great to hear from you! This site at www.eagleseyeblog.com is a temporary landing site for all the old characters at PE.com’s “On The Inside” since the webteam blew up the old classic format at PE.com… and that migration to here was by the “characters”‘s own choice. We’re kinda like an Oasis for those smart and witty guys who really know their Eagles football… We’re all hoping Dave Spadaro and PE.com restore the old forum to its original format…until then, you’re safe here…and I’ll let the guys know you care! — Tom at Eagles Eye “
Here’s Ron’s follow-up reply:
“Great News….!!!! I will be checking in several times a day…..!!!!! GO EAGLES!!!”
That’s beautiful… I just don’t get why “3d” and “SoulBird Italicontutu” don’t get it…
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