Darius is it: Jaguars tag safety again
Posted: Thu Feb 24, 2005 1:25 am
Darius is it: Jaguars tag safety again
By BART HUBBUCH, The Times-Union
The Jaguars still can't get a long-term contract done with Donovin Darius, but that doesn't mean they are ready to let their veteran strong safety walk away.
The team made that clear Tuesday by designating Darius as their franchise player for the third year in a row, guaranteeing him a salary of $4.97 million this season and all but keeping him off the open market.
The Jaguars designated Darius their "non-exclusive'' franchise player, which means he and his agent are free to talk with other teams. But an outside offer is unlikely because any club wanting Darius would have to give up two first-round draft picks for a player who has never made the Pro Bowl in his seven NFL seasons.
Jaguars senior vice president Paul Vance said the team tagged Darius again after much internal discussion and only after it was clear that long-running talks on a contract with Darius' agent, Tom Condon, remained at a stalemate.
A decision was reached by the Jaguars just hours before the league's 4 p.m. deadline Tuesday for franchise designations.
"We talked about it a long time,'' Vance said Tuesday. "We made a sincere effort to get a long-term deal done and couldn't get close on that, so we were faced with options. We picked what we hope will be the best one.''
The Jaguars and Darius can continue to negotiate a long-term deal but are unlikely to do so beyond next month. That's because any contract reached between March 15 and July 14 would cost the Jaguars the use of the franchise tag for the duration of the deal.
Vance said talks with Condon, which were held as recently as last week, represent "a sincere and long-term difference of opinion'' that he would not specify.
Condon did not return a telephone message Tuesday, and Darius was unavailable for comment.
The $4.97 million salary due to Darius when he signs the Jaguars' tender is the average of the five highest-paid safeties in the league. The tag cannot be lifted after Darius signs the tender, which could happen as soon as this week.
Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver said this month that he considered $5 million too much to pay a safety, and the team had what is considered a capable replacement in Deke Cooper waiting to replace Darius.
But coach Jack Del Rio and vice president of personnel James Harris swayed Weaver to keep Darius, selling the club's owner on the importance of keeping the core of the defense intact.
Darius, a hard-hitting safety who drew a $75,000 fine for his clothesline tackle on Green Bay's Robert Ferguson last December, led the Jaguars with nine takeaways last season. That included a career-high five interceptions.
"We as a staff felt that Donovin does a lot to the team in terms of influencing the young guys and bringing a tempo to our defense,'' Harris said. "We just thought that, with where we are now defensively, Donovin's presence gives us a better chance of winning.''
Vance agreed, even though Darius' contract -- which is for one year only and doesn't include a signing bonus -- will reduce to roughly $17 million the amount of cap room the Jaguars will have for free agency and the draft.
"The opportunity to control him in the sense of having Donovin here another year was attractive to us,'' Vance said.
With three years' worth of contract talks still going nowhere, how much longer the Jaguars will be willing to franchise Darius is now the question. The franchise number for Darius next year could rise to as much as $6 million.
Vance, however, left open the possibility that Darius could continue to be franchised indefinitely as long as he plays at or above his current level, even though Darius has expressed frustration at the repeated tags.
"When you commit to paying somebody the kind of money we're paying him [with the tag], it reflects the fact that you think he's a good player,'' Vance said. "We like Donovin, and we want to keep him here.''
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/s ... 1739.shtml
By BART HUBBUCH, The Times-Union
The Jaguars still can't get a long-term contract done with Donovin Darius, but that doesn't mean they are ready to let their veteran strong safety walk away.
The team made that clear Tuesday by designating Darius as their franchise player for the third year in a row, guaranteeing him a salary of $4.97 million this season and all but keeping him off the open market.
The Jaguars designated Darius their "non-exclusive'' franchise player, which means he and his agent are free to talk with other teams. But an outside offer is unlikely because any club wanting Darius would have to give up two first-round draft picks for a player who has never made the Pro Bowl in his seven NFL seasons.
Jaguars senior vice president Paul Vance said the team tagged Darius again after much internal discussion and only after it was clear that long-running talks on a contract with Darius' agent, Tom Condon, remained at a stalemate.
A decision was reached by the Jaguars just hours before the league's 4 p.m. deadline Tuesday for franchise designations.
"We talked about it a long time,'' Vance said Tuesday. "We made a sincere effort to get a long-term deal done and couldn't get close on that, so we were faced with options. We picked what we hope will be the best one.''
The Jaguars and Darius can continue to negotiate a long-term deal but are unlikely to do so beyond next month. That's because any contract reached between March 15 and July 14 would cost the Jaguars the use of the franchise tag for the duration of the deal.
Vance said talks with Condon, which were held as recently as last week, represent "a sincere and long-term difference of opinion'' that he would not specify.
Condon did not return a telephone message Tuesday, and Darius was unavailable for comment.
The $4.97 million salary due to Darius when he signs the Jaguars' tender is the average of the five highest-paid safeties in the league. The tag cannot be lifted after Darius signs the tender, which could happen as soon as this week.
Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver said this month that he considered $5 million too much to pay a safety, and the team had what is considered a capable replacement in Deke Cooper waiting to replace Darius.
But coach Jack Del Rio and vice president of personnel James Harris swayed Weaver to keep Darius, selling the club's owner on the importance of keeping the core of the defense intact.
Darius, a hard-hitting safety who drew a $75,000 fine for his clothesline tackle on Green Bay's Robert Ferguson last December, led the Jaguars with nine takeaways last season. That included a career-high five interceptions.
"We as a staff felt that Donovin does a lot to the team in terms of influencing the young guys and bringing a tempo to our defense,'' Harris said. "We just thought that, with where we are now defensively, Donovin's presence gives us a better chance of winning.''
Vance agreed, even though Darius' contract -- which is for one year only and doesn't include a signing bonus -- will reduce to roughly $17 million the amount of cap room the Jaguars will have for free agency and the draft.
"The opportunity to control him in the sense of having Donovin here another year was attractive to us,'' Vance said.
With three years' worth of contract talks still going nowhere, how much longer the Jaguars will be willing to franchise Darius is now the question. The franchise number for Darius next year could rise to as much as $6 million.
Vance, however, left open the possibility that Darius could continue to be franchised indefinitely as long as he plays at or above his current level, even though Darius has expressed frustration at the repeated tags.
"When you commit to paying somebody the kind of money we're paying him [with the tag], it reflects the fact that you think he's a good player,'' Vance said. "We like Donovin, and we want to keep him here.''
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/s ... 1739.shtml