Randall Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Priest Holmes is expected to be with the Kansas City Chiefs this fall, but not in the way you might think. Holmes restructured his contract by taking his 2006 pay from $3.75 million to $710,000 to give his team cap relief. That's a deal often done by a player who is going to be a June 1 cap casualty. The Chiefs have no plans to cut Holmes, but the uncertainty about his future because of back and neck problems caused the reduction. Holmes is still undergoing tests to determine if he can play. He won't know for months, and odds are starting to build up that he might have to retire. But the Chiefs don't want to cut him. Chiefs president Carl Peterson is Holmes' biggest supporter and won't do anything that would demean Holmes by releasing him. The idea is for the Chiefs to keep him on the roster through the season at the $710,000 number and possibly keep him on the physically unable to return list until he's healthy. If he's not healthy, the Chiefs don't mind paying him the $710,000 for his past work. If he does come back and plays, the team can rework the contract later. Testing the market: Teams opened Friday with $479 million of cap room, and it had an immediate impact on re-signings. Few players who were scheduled to be free agents Saturday were willing to sign Friday because of the lucrative market. As a league, the 32 teams were collectively over the cap earlier in the week. The $7.5 million of extra cap room per teams gave everyone the feel that it's better to hit the open market and see what's out there. The Packers re-signed defensive end Aaron Kampman, but most of the other top free agents were opting to head toward free agency. Chasing Witherspoon: Watch for the Rams to make a quick move on Panthers linebacker Will Witherspoon, one of the top players at the linebacker position. The Panthers already know Witherspoon will get more than $10 million in a signing bonus, but they are feverously trying to sign him. The Saints, Jaguars and Vikings are among the other possibilities. Still talking: The Ravens' first offer on halfback Jamal Lewis on Friday wasn't a good one, but the sides will continue to talk. Lewis is waiting patiently for teams to call to set up visits. Lewis and Edgerrin James are the top backs available in free agency. QB shuffle? The Saints are going to release quarterback Aaron Brooks once they have a new quarterback. There is a lot of talk that they could bring Drew Brees in for a visit as early as Saturday. If Brees signs in New Orleans, then Brooks will go. Brooks has an $8.4 million cap number. The Saints are also considering USC quarterback Matt Leinart. Making the rounds: Jets defensive end John Abraham isn't going to hit the free agent streets early. He's the Jets' franchise player, but he will be traded. Most people feel he will go to the Denver Broncos in a trade. But Seattle will be one of his other stops. Abraham plans to visit at least four teams. He could go for a first- or second-round choice. The increases in the tenders for franchise and transition players were a bit of a surprise. Abraham watched his tender jump $51,000 to $8.383 million. Panthers halfback DeShaun Foster watched his transition tender jump about $700,000 to $5.850 million. Bills cornerback Nate Clements had the biggest jump, of more than $1.4 million to $7.276 million. The reason for the change was the NFLPA's change in the collective bargaining agreement to include the salaries of transition or franchise players in the total. For the past couple of years, the NFL won a decision that allowed the totals not to include the previous transition or franchise numbers. This irritated the union, so the players won that number back in negotiations this week. The numbers of Lions tackle Jeff Backus and Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson didn't change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunysteelfly76 Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 The idea is for the Chiefs to keep him on the roster through the season at the $710,000 number and possibly keep him on the physically unable to return list until he's healthy. If he's not healthy, the Chiefs don't mind paying him the $710,000 for his past work. 1363813[/snapback] Classy move. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 Classy move. 1363824[/snapback] i agree very classy move on both parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted March 11, 2006 Share Posted March 11, 2006 King Carl was involved in this? I wonder if this is any way related to keeping a great guy around to try to keep TO in check, should he sign in KC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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