I would not be opposed to Franchising him two years in a row if his play keeps up. Then let him walk. Or trade him with the tag for picks after next year (2010 season). If this deal is in the 22-25 million range for 5 years with that 12-14 guaranteed and he turns it down. I say pull it and never offer it up again. Franchise tag. That being said I feel very confident they will come to terms before the start of the season.
Signed, sealed and delivered! You got to be blind not to take that deal. (Get it? Stevie Wonder's blind and he sings the song)
$4.5 is overpaying for Leon. I love the guy, but he's not a feature back, and never will be. If he turns it down, let him play without a new deal, run him dry, then let him go after we've franchised him once or twice.
In the current market, $4.5 million isn't feature back money. For a feature back at his age, $6 - 8 million is the norm. The range of $4 - 5 million per is exactly what he deserves according to other recent deals given his age and value. Derrick Ward just received $4.25 per to share carries with Earnest Graham and Cadillac Williams in Tampa. Correll Buckhalter received $2.5 million per at the age of 31 to backup Knowshon Moreno. Leon's role will be more expansive than Buckhalter's.
anoyone see the clip on SNY of leon in practice??? he was catching passing out of the backfield returning KO's and was operating the wildcat!!! i like that wildcat option
Fair enough. I haven't kept up a lot on the going-rate this offseason. I still think this offer is more than enough for Leon though. I'm completely convinced that he could not carry the load alone, whereas I would be willing to risk Ward as my #1 guy. Don't get me wrong, I adore Leon, and I want him with the team, but there's no way he's worth the 6-whatever he's looking for. This is more than a fair deal for him.
And what is the average salary of the top 5 backs in the league? Probably way more than what they are offering him now..no thanks.
Well, the money is on the table. Leon is practicing and camp and pre-season is a long way from over. I see nothing to worry about at this point. Heck, I think this was about the time we landed BF last year. Now, I rue it for the way he tanked our last 5 games to keep his consecutive game streak in tact, but at this time last year things were buzzing.
This is the kind of decision that the Jets never get right. If they pay him what he wants something will go wrong and if they don't then they'll lose him in a surprise twist next spring. They paid Kerry Rhodes and he turned right back into a decent but not great safety. They wouldn't pay Laveranues Coles (in 2002) and we wound up with the D-Rob mistake instead.
I hear you on the fact that the Jets have seemed to be cursed with a lot of bad personnel decisions in the past, but I think if they would just have the balls to give Leon the ball a lot more often he would prove that he is well worth that contract. As far as Rhodes - look at the way the defense was being called last season - it was horribly lax and unaggressive. I firmly believe that we'll see a resurgence of Kerry's excellent play under Rex's new regime.
I find it funny how everyone seems so upset with leons agent. sure an agent is going to keep trying to get a player more money that is their job. However, it is ultimately the players choice to accept the deal. the player hires the agent, not the other way around. that being said, leon should take the deal or stfu and play. I love leon but he has not proven to be worth more than that, yet.
The Giants franchised Jacobs this year and he is due to make 6.6 million, the average of the top 5 RBs in the league. No way in the world is Washington in their category. Hell, he doesn't even start. He has a good offer which he can take or walk away from. Let's see him get more somewhere else. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/sports/football/14nfl.html
The average salary of the top 5 backs has to be 6.621 million given the franchise number that Sproles was tagged at. That's not including prorated bonus money from their deals, which would push the figure much higher. The tender is based only on salary.
If I was Leon, I would take the offer (it is very fair). It is much easier to find a good running back (FA and Draft) than it is to find a good O or D lineman or D lineman or secondary for that matter. Leon is good an I want him on our team, but even he can be replaced. At any rate if he wants to play this year and be tagged next year then that works, too.
I agree with that. But chances are, if he doesn't want this contract, he'll take the same or less to sign with the Pats in 2010 - assuming we don't franchise him.
Pay the guy. Who else do we have on our roster who scares other defenses? Who else is a threat to score every time he touches the ball? My favorite Leon play of all time: [YOUTUBE]Gxe_0_J6iCs[/YOUTUBE] Pay the man!
I think it it would be a disaster for all parties involved to go into 2010 without a new CBA. D. Smith said on the radio about a month ago that the NFLPA was basically having their hand forced into negotiating a new CBA.
