Edgerrin James update

[CaptainHook]

March 4, 2005

 

Edgerrin James' primary objective isn't necessarily to make Miami his year-round home, although it does happen to be the offseason hangout for the Indianapolis Colts' career rushing leader.

 

James just wants to make certain that wherever he plays in the future, it is more than a year-to-year proposition.

 

"I just want to get a nice deal and know where I'm going," James told a gathering of South Florida media on hand for Thursday's Pro Day at the University of Miami in Coral Gables. "If it's (Miami) or anywhere, let's get it done."

 

James' future with the Colts has been an issue since they designated him their franchise player last month, a transaction he described as "part of the process."

 

"Everything is going to work out where it's going to be real positive," James said, "because I'm not going to go through complaining and cursing and being mad.

 

"It's just a matter of just hoping everything works out."

 

The franchise tag translates into a one-year, $8.1 million contract but is only one possible resolution. It could be replaced by a long-term contract with the Colts, or another team if James' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, finds an interested party and the Colts opt to let one of their offensive cornerstones relocate.

 

Speculation has focused on Miami, where James, a former Hurricanes standout, is deeply rooted. Plus, the Dolphins are in need of a feature running back in the aftermath of the Ricky Williams fiasco. Moreover, Rosenhaus is based in Miami and represents nearly a dozen Dolphins.

 

Asked if Rosenhaus can help expedite a trade with the Dolphins, James laughed.

 

"Drew to the rescue," he said, smiling. "Everybody keeps trying to push me to Miami or whatever, but I'm open-minded to anywhere.

 

"You know how fast Drew talks. He has the potential to make anything happen. If there's something out there that's possible, I know I've got the right man to make it happen."

 

Rosenhaus did not return a phone call seeking comment.

 

Colts president Bill Polian declined to address the issue Thursday afternoon but recently indicated the team would discuss a long-term contract with James' representative at the appropriate time. James hired Rosenhaus earlier this week.

 

"Everybody always ties me to (Miami) because I went to school here and I live here. But my main thing is playing football, making sure I've got a good deal in place and then going from there," James said.

 

"It doesn't matter where I go."

 

If James is forced to play for the Colts under the one-year contract, he could miss most, if not all, of training camp. He wouldn't begin earning his $8.1 million until the start of the regular season.

 

"You can't really answer that question right now," James said. "You can't say, 'OK, I'm not going to do this. I'm not going to do that.' You could be feeling that way right now, but then when it comes around to football season, you could get the urge where you want to get out there and perform and play.

 

"I'm just hoping something good will happen for me."

 

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[CaptainHook]

The NFL off-season often is about uncertainty.

 

For the Colts, there are few positions at which that statement is truer this off-season than running back.

 

And that makes for a big change from recent seasons.

 

Will the starter in 2005 be Edgerrin James?

 

Or Dominic Rhodes?

 

Or a player not yet on the roster?

 

No one around the Colts has answered publicly yet, because as Colts President Bill Polian and Head Coach Tony Dungy each have said several times in recent weeks, the team’s running back situation is still very much unresolved.

 

James, a Pro Bowl selection last season and the Colts’ leading rusher five of the past six seasons, became a free agent after last season. The Colts placed the NFL’s non-exclusive franchise label on James in late February, a move that limited James’ options, but didn’t yet solidify the team’s future at the position.

 

Polian, upon placing the label on James on February 22, called the situation fluid, and a week later, it remains so.

 

Still, ideally, the Colts want James back.

 

Because after six seasons, four 1,000-yard seasons, and three Pro Bowl appearances, he has solidified himself as one of the NFL’s top players at his position.

 

“He does so much for us that doesn’t really get noticed,” Dungy said recently in an interview for a position-by-position series on the Colts’ roster, a series that continues today with the running back position.

 

“He obviously had a great year running the ball and caught 50-plus passes. He excelled again in blitz pickups. And being there week in and week out, and playing all year and not getting injured – it was a Pro Bowl type year.”

 

Polian also recently lauded James for not only his on-field ability, but for his role as a team player on a team that has made the playoffs five of the past six seasons. The only season during James’ career in which the Colts have not made the playoffs was 2001, when James missed the last 10 games of the season with a knee injury.

 

“He’s been nothing but a team player from he day he got here,” Polian said. “He does everything you ask from him all the time. While he’s missed a mini-camp practice or two and a summer school practice or two – not a lot – he is never out of shape.

 

“He’s a guy who does his work in the off-season religiously. He is always, always in tiptop shape when he comes in here. He’s taken care of himself. He works hard. He’s a true professional.

 

“As a player, he does everything you ask of him. I’m not sure there’s a better blocker in the National Football League than Edgerrin. He’s a consummate team player.”

 

The Colts have 14 days from the day they placed the label on James to negotiate a long-term deal. If a deal is not reached by then, James retains the tag and the teams can again renegotiate beginning July 15.

 

If another team offers James a deal, the Colts either can match the offer and retain James or decline to match the offer. If the Colts decline to match, they would receive two first-round draft choices from the offering team.

 

Under NFL rules, the Colts also could trade James.

 

James rushed for 989 yards in 2002, the year after his knee injury. He rushed for 1,259 yards in 2003, and in 2004, he returned to his pre-injury production, rushing for 1,548 yards and nine touchdowns on 334 carries. Late in the season, James was voted to the Pro Bowl for the first time since 2000.

 

Rhodes, James’ top backup, rushed for 1,104 yards as a rookie in 2001, then missed the 2002 season with a torn anterior cruciate (knee) ligament. Rhodes rushed for 157 yards on 37 carries in 2003, then rushed for 254 yards and a touchdown on 53 carries this past season.

 

Rhodes was scheduled to become a free agent on March 2, but the Colts re-signed him the same day they franchised James.

 

The Colts’ third running back, third-year veteran James Mungro, rushed for 19 yards on five carries, but played extensively as a fullback in some situations, catching seven passes for 36 yards and three touchdowns.

 

“Dominic, I thought, was very explosive when he went in on a limited number of carries,” Dungy said. “James Mungro gave us the ability to really dress three backs, and he could be the fullback and third tailback.

 

“He also gave us a lift on special teams, as did Dominic, so we really got as much out of that position as you could expect.”

 

The Colts have played without a true fullback much of the last two seasons, and recently signed J.T. Law from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad with the idea of examining the position in the off-season. Many NFL teams are switching to three-lineman, four-linebacker defensive schemes, and some personnel officials and coaches believe a fullback an asset against the linebacker-based scheme.

 

“’I’m not a big believer in that,” Dungy said. “People say, ‘The 3-4 defense does things where you need a fullback.’ We played New England (a 3-4 team) one game, and we got 24 points. The next game, we got three. We played Houston (another 3-4 team) one game and got 49 and the next game we got a little over 20. Is it the three -four defense that slowed us down or did we slow ourselves down?

 

“San Diego (also a 3-4 team) ‘slowed us down.’ We got 34 points. It’s not the three-four defense, per se. I think it’s who’s playing and how you play against it. I’m not a believer that you have to do anything other than continue to do what we do a little better.

 

“We scored 522 points with a lot of 3-4 defenses thrown in there.”

 

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[CaptainHook]

My current opinion is that the Colts will not get a deal done with Edgerrin James by training camp. I am not sure anyone will offer a trade the Colts find acceptable. I cannot imagine them trading him for anything less than a top 20 draft choice. The Colts have tons of cap space available this year. But not next year. I think they are planning on Edge missing training camp, or they would not have signed Dominic Rhodes as quickly as they did. Will Edge hold out at the beginning of the year? The Franchise Tag means his salary is $8+ million next year. That equals slightly less than $500,000 per paycheck. Would Edge miss out on that money? I doubt it. Unless someone comes up with a good offer for the Edge, I think the Colts will want Edge to play for the 1 year offer. . .

[CaptainHook]

Well, I was wrong about Edge not signing until after the pre-season, but it looks like he will probably be a Colt. . .

 

What in the name of Herschel Walker is going on here?

 

In a league that values the contributions of running backs, two prominent ones seemingly have little value on the open market. Earlier this month, Edgerrin James of the Indianapolis Colts and Seattle's Shaun Alexander were at least temporarily placed on the trading block. Each team conceded it would consider accepting less than first-round draft pick compensation.

 

There were no substantive nibbles, let alone a blockbuster trade similar to the 1989 deal that sent Walker from Dallas to Minnesota for a zillion draft picks and players, or the three-team finagling in 1987 that brought the Rams' Eric Dickerson to Indianapolis.

 

The lack of bidders surprised no one with an understanding of the situation.

 

That includes Colts coach Tony Dungy.

 

Relaxing on a warm, breezy Sunday afternoon at the plush Ritz Carlton, site of the annual NFL owners' meetings, Dungy insisted he was confident James would stay with the Colts.

 

"We've been planning all along to have him back," Dungy said. "It's not a given and anything can happen, but there was a combination of factors, so I was pretty confident we'd have him back."

 

The Colts designated James their "franchise" player last month, tantamount to a one-year contract that will pay him $8.08 million in 2005. The Seahawks similarly "tagged" Alexander.

 

But while both teams clearly valued their marquee running backs, they left the door ajar for a trade. The subsequent silence has been deafening.

 

"It's puzzling when you have premier backs like this available and nothing going on," veteran agent Frank Murtha said. "You pick up the paper and see the Seahawks are willing to move Shaun Alexander and the Colts are willing to move Edgerrin James for less than a (first-round pick)."

 

Tom Donahoe can relate. Buffalo's general manager has allowed the agent for running back Travis Henry to peddle his client. Henry rushed for a career-high 1,356 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003 but became expendable with the emergence last season of Willis McGahee.

 

The market has not been receptive. Never mind that James, 26, is a two-time league rushing champion who's coming off a 1,548-yard season. Never mind that Alexander, 27, rushed for a franchise-record 1,696 yards in 2004, 1 yard shy of the league-leading total of the New York Jets' Curtis Martin.

 

Not only must a team be willing to part with draft picks to facilitate a trade, it must meet the long-term contract demands of James or Alexander. That might mean a signing bonus in the $15 million range.

 

"Everybody understands the value of the running back," Baltimore Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "But also everybody understands the life of the running back in the National Football League.

 

"You don't want to get caught in a position where you pay a huge amount, then an injury happens."

 

Prior to the implementation of the salary cap in 1994, season-ending or career-threatening injuries to a running back or another vital player would cripple a team. But an owner could compensate by signing a quality replacement.

 

The cap isn't forgiving, making blockbuster trades such as Walker's and Dickerson's "harder to do," Donahoe said.

 

In that "timing is everything" scenario, the timing couldn't be worse for a running back in search of a big payday.

 

The availability of James, Alexander and Henry at the same time weakens each player's leverage. Also, the upcoming NFL draft is loaded with promising running backs. That includes three individuals considered "can't miss" prospects -- Auburn's Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams and Texas' Cedric Benson -- and another half-dozen projected as worthy of selection in the first three rounds.

 

Why pay so much for a veteran with varying degrees of wear and tear when you can invest less in a youngster? Of the NFL's top 18 rushers in 2004, seven were selected by his team in the top four rounds of the past four drafts.

 

Arizona, Miami and Tampa Bay are in need of an upgrade at running back. The Dolphins have the second overall pick in the draft. The Bucs will draft fith and the Cardinals eighth.

 

"The teams at the top of the draft order are saying, 'I can draft one of the top guys,' " Dungy said. "They probably sense, 'I'm not ready to make a Super Bowl run this year or next year so . . . I'd rather have that 21-year-old running back than a 27-year-old guy.' "

 

Hence, the lack of anything resembling a blockbuster deal for game-breaking running backs.

 

Will the NFL ever see another?

 

"You hate to say never," Dungy said, "but it's definitely much harder to do."

 

 

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