Unhappy campers?
Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:05 pm
Redding wants his Lion's share of the pie
(May 3, 2007) -- With minicamps kicking off this weekend and stretching all the way into July, there are some happy campers and some unhappy ones, too.
In Detroit, free agent defensive tackle Cory Redding, the Lions franchised player, does not intend to show up to any drills or the team's training complex until he has a new long-term contract.
There is ongoing dialogue between the two sides, the Lions and Redding, but not enough to bring the defensive tackle back to Detroit just yet.
Detroit knows how much it likes and needs Redding, and the defensive tackle wants to get a deal done. It's just that, until now, the two sides have not been able to strike a breakthrough that would wipe out the $6.7 million franchise tender that Detroit slapped on Redding during the winter and reward him with the contract he believes he deserves.
An opposite situation is unfolding in New Orleans, where the Saints signed their franchise defensive end Charles Grant to a seven-year contract worth up to $63 million. Grant is now happy; New Orleans other defensive end, Pro Bowl selection Will Smith, is not.
Smith has two years remaining on a contract that is scheduled to pay him less than $1 million this season. Smith now is seeking a new contract and he is hoping and expecting talks aimed at a new contract to start soon, if they haven't already.
Personnel people around the league believe that Smith is every bit the player that Grant is, if not better, it's just that Grant had the fortune of having his contract expire now. But this is a prime example of the ripple effects of any lucrative contract that any team in the league now hands out. Somebody is going to be happy, and somebody is not.
In Indianapolis, Colts free agent defensive end Dwight Freeney knows that he is going to make out no matter how his contract talks turn out.
Indianapolis slapped Freeney with the exclusive franchise tag and, in recent weeks, that number has ballooned to $9.43 million. But the Colts and Freeney can continue discussing a long-term contract extension until July 15.
If they get it done, Freeney will show up at camp. If they don't, he still will be there. So either way, Freeney is going to cash in; the big question is, how much this season?