The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

SkinsFreak wrote:John Clayton reported this morning that the Cardinals are struggling to re-sign Larry Fitzgerald, simply due to the fact that they have no cap space to re-sign him long term.

Clayton went on to report that Arizona currently only has 51 players on their active roster which only includes 16 players on defense. Clayton added, due to their limited cap space, it will be difficult to fill out a complete roaster, and at this point, the Cardinals couldn't even field a complete team.



Cardinals Team Roster Page

GSPODS wrote:Larry Fitzgerald and his agent are looking for a four-year deal worth between $25 and $30 million in guaranteed money to restructure his contract.

1niksder wrote:

GSPODS wrote:Larry Fitzgerald and his agent are looking for a four-year deal worth between $25 and $30 million in guaranteed money to restructure his contract.

That's less than what base is the next two years... he's trying to help the team clear cap space

SkinsFreak wrote:Clayton went on to report that Arizona currently only has 51 players on their active roster which only includes 16 players on defense. Clayton added, due to their limited cap space, it will be difficult to fill out a complete roaster, and at this point, the Cardinals couldn't even field a complete team.

SkinsFreak wrote:Fitz wanting guaranteed money and the Card's limited cap space is only part of the problem. The aforementioned report by Clayton about their roster is what's most baffling. They currently only have 16 defensive players, 16, that's ridiculous. And do to their cap problems that stem from Fitz, and just poor management all around from their front office, they will struggle to have adequate depth. Some criticize the Skins front office and their capology approach, but some other organizations are far more mucked up than we are. Eric Schaffer never seems to get any props, but that man is irreplaceable and definitely earns his money.

1niksder wrote:Should we offer a trade of Betts and our 2nd this year and 3rd next year?

1niksder wrote:Should we offer a trade of Betts and our 2nd this year and 3rd next year?

Posted: 02/23/2008
Cardinals: Fitzgerald not going anywhere

By Jason Feller | NFL.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- The answer came in loud and clear: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald will be an Arizona Cardinal next year.

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, Cardinals Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves put to rest any doubts that Fitzgerald would not be in Arizona for the 2008 season.

"No question, no question,” said Graves, when asked if Fitzgerald would be back. “He's a core player, and like so many other players we're excited about with respect to our football team, we are going to do what we have to do to keep that core player.”

The question arose because Fitzgerald is going to count $16 million against the salary cap next season, a hefty sum, even for one of the league’s premier wideouts.

Graves acknowledged that he would like to renegotiate Fitzgerald's original six-year deal, but affirmed that the wide receiver would remain with the team regardless. Fitzgerald has two years remaining on his contract.

"He's earned the right to be where he is," Graves said, adding that he had no problem with the original deal Fitzgerald signed, which included several escalator clauses. “We also determined that when we got to this point, that we would be back at the bargaining table to try to reach a long-term deal that would make it a little bit more palatable for us as an organization, and that's where we are. If we can't, then we'll move forward (with his current contract)."

Fitzgerald, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, caught 100 passes for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2007.

SkinsFreak wrote:This was from a few weeks ago.

Posted: 02/23/2008
Cardinals: Fitzgerald not going anywhere

By Jason Feller | NFL.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- The answer came in loud and clear: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald will be an Arizona Cardinal next year.

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, Cardinals Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves put to rest any doubts that Fitzgerald would not be in Arizona for the 2008 season.

"No question, no question,” said Graves, when asked if Fitzgerald would be back. “He's a core player, and like so many other players we're excited about with respect to our football team, we are going to do what we have to do to keep that core player.”

Larry Fitzgerald says he doesn't want to leave Arizona. The Cardinals say they don't want him to go.

That, however, is an awful small plot of common ground in negotiations between two sides that seem to agree on little else.

The restructuring of Fitzgerald's contract appears no closer to fruition than it was a month ago, and the rumblings of frustration are growing within the organization.

Without a contract agreement, a day of reckoning is coming for the Cardinals.

They are going to face the prospect of trading Fitzgerald or losing him a year from now, when they might have to cut him rather than pay his 2009 salary of $17.4 million.

So far, both sides are saying all the right things. The Cardinals insist Fitzgerald will play for them in 2008, even at a salary of $14.6 million. Fitzgerald's agent, Eugene Parker, said team officials have reassured him that Fitzgerald is going nowhere, even if a new deal isn't reached.

That hasn't prevented other teams from trying to trade for him. The Eagles have talked to the Cardinals about acquiring Fitzgerald, with cornerback Lito Sheppard and receiver Reggie Brown rumored to be part of the offer.

The Cardinals have little interest in either player, and they are not eager to part with Fitzgerald, who made two Pro Bowls in his first four seasons.

Sheppard also has been to the Pro Bowl twice, but there are questions about his durability and he's unhappy with his contract. The Cardinals aren't eager to trade for someone else's problem.

It's hard to tell what would pique the Cardinals' interest at this point. Their primary desire is to keep Fitzgerald for several more years, even though that would cost them dearly.

But they've known for years that they could face this situation. It's the price teams pay for picking high in the draft. Fitzgerald was the third overall pick in 2004, and he signed a deal laden with incentives that would pay him handsomely if he became an elite player.

Included in that rookie contract were clauses that would bump his 2008 salary by $10 million should he chosen for two Pro Bowls in his first four years, and by $11 million in 2009 for other achievements.

Those clauses were designed to get the two parties back to the bargaining table after four years. Now, Parker is seeking another four-year deal that would pay Fitzgerald between $25 million and $30 million in guarantees.

Parker's motive is to get Fitzgerald, 24, a third lucrative contract before the receiver turns 30.

The Cardinals would prefer six years at a similar level of guaranteed money, because they abhor the idea of going through all of this again in three or four years.

Fitzgerald holds most of the leverage in negotiations, although the Cardinals are trying to appeal to his professed desire to win.

If Fitzgerald is serious about that, team officials say he should accept a restructuring, creating additional cap space that would allow to team to attract free agents and to keep key players.

Parker won't address the Cardinals cap concerns directly, but Fitzgerald said in a recent radio interview that he doesn't think his present contract prevents the Cardinals from being active in free agency.

The impact of the Fitzgerald situation reverberates throughout the organization. It calls into question Fitzgerald's sincerity and commitment to winning, Rod Graves' acumen as a general manager and owner Bill Bidwill's willingness to write a check with a lot of numbers to the left of the decimal point.

The answers to at least some of those questions will come in the next few weeks.

SkinsFreak wrote:This was from a few weeks ago.

Posted: 02/23/2008
Cardinals: Fitzgerald not going anywhere

By Jason Feller | NFL.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- The answer came in loud and clear: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald will be an Arizona Cardinal next year.

At the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday, Cardinals Vice President of Football Operations Rod Graves put to rest any doubts that Fitzgerald would not be in Arizona for the 2008 season.

"No question, no question,” said Graves, when asked if Fitzgerald would be back. “He's a core player, and like so many other players we're excited about with respect to our football team, we are going to do what we have to do to keep that core player.”

The question arose because Fitzgerald is going to count $16 million against the salary cap next season, a hefty sum, even for one of the league’s premier wideouts.

Graves acknowledged that he would like to renegotiate Fitzgerald's original six-year deal, but affirmed that the wide receiver would remain with the team regardless. Fitzgerald has two years remaining on his contract.

"He's earned the right to be where he is," Graves said, adding that he had no problem with the original deal Fitzgerald signed, which included several escalator clauses. “We also determined that when we got to this point, that we would be back at the bargaining table to try to reach a long-term deal that would make it a little bit more palatable for us as an organization, and that's where we are. If we can't, then we'll move forward (with his current contract)."

Fitzgerald, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, caught 100 passes for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2007.

It's nice that Graves speaks this way publicly, but Fitz's current contract is crippling, especially for a team with only 16 defensive players. What could they possibly be thinking? As Clayton said, they couldn't even field a complete team right now. If they were to agree to trade Fitz for Betts, a 2nd and a 3rd in 2009, I think you'd make that trade all day long, but I don't really think they'd go for it though.

SkinsFreak wrote:Hey 1niksder, if the Skins magically pulled off a trade for Fitz, would they be able to fit him in cap wise?

To date, and this could change as the draft approaches, I've been in favor of drafting a WR with our 1st round pick. I also would like a DE, but I'm currently leaning towards a WR. After the top four DE's are gone, I think the next half dozen DE's rank very similar, so a good one could be had in the 2nd.

Let's say, for arguments sake, the Skins want to draft a WR in the 1st. Would they then consider giving up that 1st round pick, along with maybe someone like Betts, for Fitz? Take Fitz with that 1st round pick instead of a rookie like Sweed, Hardy or Kelly? Just a thought, nothing more.

Jake wrote:I don't understand why they just don't convert his salary into bonuses like we do...

Is that illegal in the west or something?

Cards, Fitzgerald agree on deal that frees cap space

By John Clayton
ESPN.com


Updated: March 11, 2008, 1:17 PM ET

The Arizona Cardinals and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald reached agreement on a blockbuster four-year, $40 million contract that will free up much-needed salary cap room for the team.

Fitzgerald announced the deal on his Web site, saying he will make $33 million over the first three years of the contract.

Over the final two years of his old deal, Fitzgerald was scheduled to make $14,592,500 in 2008 and $17,355,000 in 2009. That put the team in a tight cap bind -- with less than $400,000 of cap room remaining -- so signing players was tough until they struck a deal with Fitzgerald. They had only 48 players on their roster and only 16 players on defense.

The team was trying to find a way to convince Fitzgerald to sign a six-year deal. In the end, Fitzgerald got his way and signed a four-year deal.

Fitzgerald will receive a $15 million signing bonus Tuesday. His base salary will be $2 million, giving him a $17 million payout this year. He has a $5 million option bonus in 2009. Over the four years of his contract, he will receive $30 million in guarantees.

The new deal will save the team $8.842 million in cap room, dropping his salary cap number from $16,485,000 to $7,643,334.

Fitzgerald caught 100 passes for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Cardinals last season. In 60 career games over four year seasons, all in Arizona, he has 330 receptions for 4,544 yards -- a 13.8 yards per catch average -- and 34 touchdowns..

1niksder wrote:

Jake wrote:I don't understand why they just don't convert his salary into bonuses like we do...

Is that illegal in the west or something?

It's what they want to do but they want to spread cap hit over 6 years and LF wants a 4 year deal. $25-28M over rhe next two years is a bargin for the Cards. He doesn'thave to do anything but wait. Either he'll play for his current salary or be cut and get what he wants from 1 of about 20 teams,