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Taylor: Who do Skins talk to?

Two-plus weeks before the club opens training camp, top pick Sean Taylor not only is unsigned, he has yet to pick an agent.

BY RYAN O'HALLORAN
Published July 15, 2004

Sean Taylor, the Redskins' top draft pick, remains unsigned with training camp 16 days away. That is not a surprise - Houston's Jason Babin is the only signed first-round draft pick.

But negotiations between the Redskins and Taylor have gone nowhere because he has yet to hire an agent, which three agents said Wednesday is a surprise.

"It's pretty rare," said Rick Smith, who represents three Redskins - Jon Jansen, Brandon Noble and Robert Royal. "It's getting pretty late and it's a tough contract."
Taylor, a safety who played for Miami, fired Drew Rosenhaus two days after the draft. The Redskins and coach Joe Gibbs open training camp July 31 at the team's headquarters in Ashburn.

NFL rules state rookies not under contract can participate in minicamps and voluntary workouts but not training camp. The Redskins have signed sixth-round selection Jim Molinaro but Taylor, Chris ey (round 3) and Mark Wilson (round 5) remain unsigned.

Gibbs said last month it's important rookies don't miss…..


http://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-44361sy0jul15,0,7259210.story?coll=dp-sports-local

"(Taylor's) demeanor on the field is pretty confident, but from what I can see, he looks a little indecisive off the field," he said. "If I'm the Redskins, I'm concerned."

Asked to speculate on why Taylor has delayed, Del Duca presented three possibilities:

Taylor is trying to get the best deal. Agents are allowed to charge a maximum of three percent from a contract. "He may be trying to get one percent instead of the standard 2-3 percent," Del Duca said.

Taylor is attempting to set up his marketing opportunities. "Maybe some of the big groups are offering him guaranteed marketing money if he signs with them," Del Duca said. "They could say, 'We guarantee $100,000 each year in marketing (salary) and if you don't get it, we'll pay the difference."

Taylor is listening to family members who want to serve as advisers. "It could be a combination of everything - he wants to get better leverage on what he wants to pay but maybe he has a cousin or sister or somebody pulling him around," Del Duca said.

"These contracts take time," McCartney said. "It certainly helps to start talking earlier."

It's been an eventful offseason for Taylor, a former All-American. In addition to firing Rosenhaus, a LaVar Arrington prank - shoving a towel full of shaving cream in Taylor's face - forced Taylor to miss a day of practice. And last month, Taylor left the NFL's mandatory four-day rookie symposium and could be fined by the league.

"It will almost be impossible to get out of that ($10,000) fine," Del Duca said. "No way that would have happened had he had an agent who was doing his job."

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SIGN ALREADY!!!

Maybe he's willing to play for free - just because he loves the Skins so much!!

Too bad he couldnt transfer that same attitude to Champ Bailey! That would also explain why he cant seem to find any agents... what agent in their right mind would let a #5 pick do that???!! Not the Postons...

I'm starting to get a little concerned about all of our draft picks, but especially Taylor. Training camp is less than 2 weeks awy and the only one to sign, is Molinaro. I really want ey signed. If only to show K2 where he can put his comments. But as I have stated in previous threads.... WE NEED SEAN TAYLOR!!!! Our defensive scheme is relying on him. That's because we don't have that solid, speed rushing DE. And it's sure nice to able to move those corners up and let your safeties sit back and ball hawk.

ey and Wilson will sign within the next 2 weeks...have you ever heard of a 3rd round pick holding out?

I have confidence in Iffy, especially under Greg Williams. Besides, it is likely that Taylor would be the backup for the first few games anyway...even if he gets to camp on time.

As much as Taylor is aggravating me right now, all will be forgiven when he intercepts Quincy Carter on MNF and takes it in for a TD!

Taylor will be a holdout. Please, guys. Start dealing with this. He isn't going to be there on time.
Luckily for us all, Spurrier is gone. Otherwise, we'd be reading about trading Taylor's rights to Chicago, i.e. Ramsey.

I've had this feeling that Taylor is going to hold out and it is a dissapointment. But lets remeber that we have an at least decent safety tandem in Bowen and Iffy. Neither of them have Taylors potential but they are proven vets who can be solid. Their level of play will excel under Gregg as with everyone elses. Let Taylor hold out, we wont die without him, he'll just be hurting himself.

like i said the other day in a a vote about taylor being to camp on the first day...i voted 0% chance of it...i was a big avocate for getting taylor on this team and still hope everything works out but im really starting to sour on this little punk!!!!!!( well hes not that little )...i hope gibbs gives away all our picks next year for vets....these kids think they deseve the world before they even prove themselfs...he cant even take a pie in the face like a man...im starting to wonder if we made the right choise picking him...

i know when (if) he shows up and makes the plays we expect him to ill probably forgive and forget these indicretions..

REDSKINMARK wrote:[When's the last time a player represented himself?

Not sure. I'll bet, though, that he had "...a fool for a client."

REDSKINMARK wrote:When's the last time a player represented himself?

Veterans have done it but there hasn't been a 1st rounder to do something like that

Who does Wilson think he is? Is there a big difference in a $25,000 signing bonus and a $25,010 signing bonus? Throw in a free pair of socks and sign the stupid contract already.

Remember the Turks? One bozo represented the other bozo and himself. There are two more that will not be missed. Im still aggravated by the Tampa game. That was the last guy I can remember representing himself (as well as his brother. Of course guys in the NBA represent themselves all the time now that their salary structure is relatively set for the higher ups.

This is from a little further down in the article at the beginning of this thread:

There is no rule prohibiting Taylor from representing himself.

According to the NFL Player Association's website, less than 35 players serve as their own agents and all are veterans, including Redskins long snapper Ethan Albright and two New England players who did their own contracts this winter - cornerback Terrell Buckley and linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

For a top-five pick like Taylor, though, the rookie contract is complicated - signing bonuses, workout payments, playing time incentives and base salaries and the final number has to fit under the salary cap. Last year's No. 5 pick, Dallas' Terence Newman, signed a 7-year, $33.4 million that included a $13 million signing bonus and base salaries ranging from $1.1 million last year and $15 million in the final season.

And this from Chris Mortensen's chat wrap:

Trent, DC: Mort, who is advising Sean Taylor? I have never seen a rookie wait this long to get an agent. Does this kid want to get paid or give Gibbs a headache?

Chris Mortensen: I was told by somebody I trust that anybody selecting Taylor needed to do a lot of digging on the guy. That suggests he has some flaws, but let's give him the benefit of doubt until we see the end result.