Bailey May End Up in Denver
Deal for Portis Being Considered
By Nunyo Demasio
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 24, 2004; Page D01
The Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos are in discussions about a trade that would send perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey and possibly a second-round draft pick to Denver for second-year running back Clinton Portis, a Redskins official and Bailey's representative said yesterday.
The trade cannot be completed until Bailey agrees to a new contract with the Broncos, and Bailey's agent, Jack Reale, has already started negotiations with the Broncos. Although Reale said it was premature to describe the deal as being close, he described the possible outcome in favorable terms.
"There's certainly better than a 50-50 chance," Reale said, referring to Bailey agreeing to a new contract with Denver. "Without question."
Denver is among several teams that have expressed an interest in acquiring Bailey since the Redskins gave the cornerback permission last week to seek a trade, and Redskins officials cautioned that there was no final agreement on a trade.
Denver is "just one of the teams we're talking to," Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president for football operations, said yesterday. "[Denver Coach] Mike Shanahan and I have had a couple of good conversations. I wouldn't say it's about a done deal. We're still in the talking phase. Both teams are looking at it along with a couple different other options."
Trades of high-profile players such as Bailey and Portis -- both young and in the prime of their careers -- have been rare since free agency came to the NFL. Portis, who will be 23 when the season starts, has amassed more than 1,500 rushing yards in each of his first two seasons in the league while Bailey, who will turn 26, has made the Pro Bowl in four of his five NFL seasons.
According to NFL sources, the impediments to the Bailey-Portis trade increased last night after several teams contacted Denver to bid on their star tailback.
The earliest a trade between the Redskins and Broncos would likely be agreed upon is Thursday, according to sources.
In trading Bailey, the Redskins would be parting with one of the team's most popular players and a defensive back who routinely covered the opposing offense's top receiver. But Bailey's future in Washington became uncertain after the Redskins, who have several glaring needs to fill and limited resources because of the salary cap, declined to meet his contract demands.
Portis would give the Redskins one of the NFL's premier running backs. Coach Joe Gibbs emphasized the running game in his previous Redskins tenure, but even before Gibbs was re-hired in January, team officials let it be known that Washington planned to target a big-time running back in the offseason.
Gibbs is credited for winning three Super Bowls with the Redskins with three starting quarterbacks. But Gibbs also won three Super Bowls with three tailbacks, including Earnest Byner, currently the team's running backs coach.
Portis is quick, elusive and shifty, making him a threat each time he carries the ball. After being selected in the second round of the 2002 draft, Portis rushed for 1,502 yards and 15 touchdowns and was named NFL rookie of the year. Last season, Portis showed that it wasn't a fluke by amassing 1,591 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns despite missing three games because of injuries.
Another hurdle to completing a deal is the Redskins agreeing to a new contract with Portis, whose public grousing of his contract situation in Denver partly spurred the trade talks. Portis has two years left on a four-year deal that will earn him $380,000 in the 2004 season. Portis received a signing bonus of $1.29 million.
The Redskins are negotiating with Portis on a new deal, NFL sources said yesterday.
Portis's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, did not return a phone call for comment yesterday. Shanahan, also executive vice president of football operations for Denver, declined, through a spokesman, to comment. The potential Bailey-Portis deal was first reported yesterday by the Denver Post.
Before entering talks with the Redskins, the Broncos were maneuvering to get under the salary cap.
Last August, Bailey rejected a nine-year, $55 million contract offer from the Redskins partly because the Redskins' proposed signing bonus of $14.75 million would not be paid in one lump sum. The Redskins didn't restart talks with Bailey until last week. After Bailey rejected a similar deal -- according to one source the signing bonus was reduced -- the Redskins gave him permission to initiate trade talks with other teams.
For a Bailey-Portis trade to go through, Bailey is seeking a better contract offer than the Redskins' proposal.
On Wednesday, the Redskins placed the franchise tag on Bailey by making a one-year qualifying offer of $6.8 million, which is the average of the top five players at his position. Without it, Bailey would have become an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of March. The Redskins can retain Bailey for next season by matching any contract offer from another team.
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, three teams are amenable to Bailey's contract demands. But the club that has been the most public about its desire to sign Bailey, the Detroit Lions, pulled out yesterday. According to sources, the Redskins were seeking Detroit's first-round pick (No. 6 overall) and second-round pick in the April draft, an asking price the Lions deemed too high.
Should the deal with the Broncos falls through, the New York Jets are the most likely destination for Bailey, according to a source familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity.
If the Redskins allow Bailey to sign with another team without a trade, Washington would get two first-round draft picks. No trades can become official until March 3.
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