Franks isn't happy Without a contract, he can't report to camp By BOB McGINN
Posted: July 22, 2005 Green Bay - Javon Walker isn't going to be the only member of the Green Bay Packers' receiving corps missing Wednesday when veterans are due to report for the start of training camp.
Bubba Franks probably won't be in camp on Wednesday.
Barring a dramatic turn in negotiations, the team won't have tight end Bubba Franks, either.
"I guess you can never tell until the 11th hour," Franks' agent, Gene Mato, said Friday. "But unfortunately, it doesn't look like he's going to be there. However, he really wants to be there. To this point, I don't believe the team has stepped up."
Unlike Walker, who has two years remaining on his contract, Franks has no contract and is prevented from reporting until he does. The team essentially kept Franks off the unrestricted free-agent market in February by designating him as a transition player.
Friday was the deadline for Franks to negotiate with other teams. As a transition player, the Packers retained the right to match any offer. Several teams called during the signing period but Mato said nothing was substantive.
The Packers continue to count against their salary cap Franks' transition tag of $2.095 million. The cap charge can't be removed unless Franks is cut, traded or re-signed to a new deal.
Would Franks sign the one-year tender for that amount just to get into camp?
"We have not made that decision as of yet," Mato said. "Bubba's really focused on a long-term deal. Bubba's every intention has been to retire as a Packer."
If the Packers can sign Franks to a long-term contract, they probably would gain some cap room because his base salary could be as low as $540,000. Franks' original rookie contract (five years, $6.45 million) expired after last season.
Over the last five months the Packers have made two proposals and Mato said he has made two proposals. The lengths being discussed are three to five years.
The agent's most recent conversation with club negotiator Andrew Brandt was last week and no other talks are scheduled. He has spoken to general manager Ted Thompson, as well.
Thompson didn't return a telephone call seeking comment Friday.
"We've had enough discussions to determine that we're very far apart," Mato said, characterizing the Packers' offer as "unfair, substandard."
It's hard to determine just how much Franks is seeking or what the club wants to pay him.
There are three NFL tight ends with contracts averaging more than $4 million per year: Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez ($4.785 million average, $10 million in bonuses), Baltimore's Todd Heap ($4.58 million average, $9 million in bonuses) and Atlanta's Alge Crumpler ($4.429 million average, $9 million in bonuses). Gonzalez signed his deal in September 2002, Heap in June and Crumpler last October.
Most of the other top tight ends, including San Diego's Antonio Gates, the New York Giants' Jeremy Shockey, Miami's Randy McMichael and Dallas' Jason Witten, are working on their original contracts and might sign lucrative new deals within a year.
A contract that undoubtedly has been cited in the Franks discussions is the five-year, $15 million deal ($4.25 million signing bonus) that Minnesota's Jim Kleinsasser signed in March 2004. Kleinsasser, 28, has never been voted to a Pro Bowl whereas Franks, 27, has been voted to two as a starter and played in another as a replacement.
The team appears to be offering Franks a deal averaging in the $2.5 million range and Franks appears amenable to an average in the $3.5 million range.
"I'm not controversial," said Mato, who became a certified agent in 1997. "Bubba's not controversial. We understand the business side of this. In this situation, we don't understand where the team is coming from.
"Bubba believes that he has done everything that has been asked of him from a football standpoint to be rewarded with a long-term deal. He played out his rookie contract never asking for an extension and never threatening a holdout even though he has been in three Pro Bowls.
"He has never complained about lack of receptions. He has always been a team player. Off the field, he has never been in any trouble."
Aware of his shortcomings as a deep receiver, Franks has lost 10 pounds and now weighs 255. He has been working out with wide receivers and other NFL players at the University of Miami.
"He's obviously very frustrated," Mato said. "All he's looking for is to be treated fairly. The team seems to want to focus on his amount of receptions and compare him with other tight ends based on that figure alone. (Blocking) doesn't seem that it's an issue from their side."
Considering a depth chart topped by David Martin and Ben Steele if the Packers don't have Franks, Mato said, "Put it this way: I wouldn't draft those players on my fantasy team."
Draftee signs: Wide receiver Craig Bragg, a sixth-round draft choice, signed Friday. The Packers now have signed the last six of their 11 picks but none of the first five.
Man, the Packers are a joke and I love it. What message does this send to future picks or signees that will be on the free agent market. Its not like anyone wants to play for Green Bay or live there in the first place anyways.
This is probably Favre's last season and I can't wait for that either. IMO.
***Poster of the Year*** Hail to the Redskins. Everything else is inferior. Guess who's not a HOMER on this site.
PACKERS: Unsigned Franks team's worthiest tight end 00:00 am 7/25/05 Jason Wilde Wisconsin State Journal
GREEN BAY - It was late in the season, and Bubba Franks was wondering just how important he was to the Green Bay Packers.
"You start thinking about how much you're really needed on this team, you know?" Franks said in early December when he had just 23 catches after 12 games. "You hate to think like that, but I go through the same thing every year. But I don't ever say anything."
Franks caught 11 passes in the final four regular season games to finish with 34 receptions for 361 yards and seven touchdowns - allowing him to avoid the career lows of 30 catches, 241 yards and four TDs he had in 2003. But he still went into the unrestricted free agent market this spring feeling like he deserved better.
Saddled with the transition tag, which guaranteed him a one-year, $2.095 million contract but gave the Packers the right to match any offer he received, Franks generated little interest in free agency. With veterans scheduled to report to training camp Wednesday and begin practicing Friday, he remains unsigned.
Both Franks and the Packers want a long-term deal, but the sides have been unable to agree on Franks' worth. The Packers apparently don't consider him to be in the same class as Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez (102 receptions last year), Dallas' Jason Witten (87), San Diego's Antonio Gates (81), Miami's Randy McMichael (73) or New York Giants' Jeremy Shockey (61). Franks argues that the offense doesn't afford him the chance to put up such big numbers.
"I feel like I'm the best tight end in the league. I just don't have the same opportunities those guys do," Franks said in December (he hasn't spoken with reporters since the end of the season). "I'd just like an opportunity. I really haven't had an opportunity since I've been here."
With the Packers using more of its three wide-receiver ("zebra") formation - and less of its two-tight end ("tiger") set - the importance of the tight end in the passing game diminished last year. Yet tight ends coach Joe Philbin said the position remains relevant.
"I still see that as being a strong part of what we are and these guys still playing a vital role," Philbin said.
Whatever his shortcomings, Franks has been reliable (he's played in all 80 games since he was drafted 14th overall in 2000) and effective in the red zone (his 28 TD catches are the second-most by a tight end in team history). He's also grown into an excellent run-blocker, and he even stretched the field more last year, with three catches of 22 yards or more and a 10.6-yards per catch average, the second-highest of his career.
"Hey, the guy's production over the last five years speaks for itself," Philbin said. "He's been a very good football player for the Green Bay Packers."
The same cannot be said for Franks' backup, David Martin, whose season ended after nine games because of patella tendinitis in his left knee. But despite Martin's limited production - 39 receptions in 47 career games - Philbin said Martin could handle the starting job if Franks' contract dispute drags on.
"I think he's capable," Philbin said of Martin, who received only tepid interest from Tampa Bay on the free-agent market and re-signed with the Packers for two years and $1.365 million, including a $250,000 signing bonus. "He's got all the physical tools you need at the position."
Behind Martin are Ben Steele, who is supposed to be a pass-catching tight end but dropped too many passes last season; Sean McHugh, a converted fullback who is a better blocker than receiver; and rookie free agents Garrett Cross and Steve Fleming.
Steele, who played extensively after Martin's knee injury, goes into camp as the No. 3, but Philbin said he must improve his receiving to keep the job.
"He certainly was inconsistent catching the football in games a year ago, and sure, it's frustrating," Philbin said. "The other thing he needs to do better is, he's got to learn - it sounds so simple - but how to get the ball at its highest point and time his jump better. There were times last year when he mistimed it and didn't come down with balls he should have."
