McAlister Sits Out Ravens' Minicamps

[Bobcat]

McAlister Sits Out Ravens' Minicamps
He Would Like Long-Term Deal

By Camille Powell
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 18, 2004; Page D03

OWINGS MILLS, Md., June 17 -- The Baltimore Ravens ended their final offseason minicamp Thursday, with no sign of cornerback Chris McAlister, their designated franchise player. Coach Brian Billick addressed the situation, another potential distraction that could stretch into training camp.
McAlister missed the mandatory minicamp last week and voluntary minicamp this week. He has not signed the one-year, $7.1 million tender offer, which means he is not obligated to attend practices because technically he is not under contract. McAlister would like a long-term deal, and negotiations between the Ravens and agent Mitch Frankel can resume July 15.
McAlister, 27, told the Baltimore Sun that he felt the team was treating him differently than some of his teammates in contract negotiations. He has had brushes with the law -- he was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana in 2000 and with driving under the influence in 2003 -- but charges in both cases were dropped.
Several of the Ravens have, or have had, legal troubles. Linebacker Ray Lewis pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice in exchange for murder charges being dropped in 2000. Running back Jamal Lewis is awaiting trial on federal drug conspiracy charges. Cornerback Corey Fuller has been charged with running a gambling house in Tallahassee, and with using a firearm in commission of a felony. Linebacker Terrell Suggs has a Sept. 9 trial date on two counts of felony assault. The Ravens recently signed cornerback Dale Carter, a 12-year veteran who has been suspended five times for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.
Billick was adamant in saying that McAlister's off-field conduct has no bearing on negotiations.
"At no point has there been, or no point now, in regards to the contract, is Chris's character or what he does off the field, an issue for us in regards to the contract," Billick said. "I'm always concerned about my players and how they conduct themselves. Let's keep in mind that Chris McAlister has never been convicted of anything. There's nothing in the negotiations in any way, shape, or form, that is reflective of our concern that way. There's nothing going to be in the contract that addresses it in any way because that would be in appropriate."
Players will report to training camp on July 29; their first practice is the following morning.

Why don't we trade LJ for McAlister...??? Just looking for some input!!!
Rumor has it that the may be available.

Allan

 

[40yearfan]

No thanks. He sounds like he's more trouble than he's worth plus if he isn't accepting $7 million from the Ravens, what would he want from the Cards? We need some cap space so we can extend Boldin's contract this fall.

 

[ajcardfan]

McAlister Sits Out Ravens' Minicamps
He Would Like Long-Term Deal


Why don't we trade LJ for McAlister...??? Just looking for some input!!!
Rumor has it that the may be available.

Allan

Jonathon Ogden.

'Nuff said.

 

[joeshmo]

No thanks. He sounds like he's more trouble than he's worth plus if he isn't accepting $7 million from the Ravens, what would he want from the Cards? We need some cap space so we can extend Boldin's contract this fall.

It has nothing to do with wanting more then 7 mill. and everything to do with wanting a long term deal with a signing bonus in case he ever gets injured. Every single franchised player sits out until at least the start of training camp and tries to get a long term deal and only signs the one year tender at the last minute as a last resort.

Plus the problem is he cannot negotiatie a long term contract after the franchise deadline which has already passed until August 1st or something like that, because then the team cant use the franchise tag anymore for the life of the contract. So in essence he isnt even under conract so why go practice and get injured and not get paid for it.

Name one franchise player that shows up to any mini camps.

As for resigning Boldin we have plenty of room to work a deal in a high priced guy, restructure Boldin, and have enough left over for injuries.

But getting McAlister is a far fetched idea anyways as the Ravens are not letting him go.

 

[40yearfan]

It has nothing to do with wanting more then 7 mill. and everything to do with wanting a long term deal with a signing bonus in case he ever gets injured. Every single franchised player sits out until at least the start of training camp and tries to get a long term deal and only signs the one year tender at the last minute as a last resort.

Plus the problem is he cannot negotiatie a long term contract after the franchise deadline which has already passed until August 1st or something like that, because then the team cant use the franchise tag anymore for the life of the contract. So in essence he isnt even under conract so why go practice and get injured and not get paid for it.

Name one franchise player that shows up to any mini camps.

As for resigning Boldin we have plenty of room to work a deal in a high priced guy, restructure Boldin, and have enough left over for injuries.

But getting McAlister is a far fetched idea anyways as the Ravens are not letting him go.

How do you figure we have plenty of room to sign a high priced player? My understanding is that we have about $7 million left and need $4 million of that for the rookie pool.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

LJ for McAlister. You gotta be kidding. It's about as far-fetched as the Clement for McKenzie ideas that were floating around here.

McAlsiter is the best CB in the NFL and he should be paid accordingly. He's well worth the money he's asking for. If the Ravens don't want to do it, he'll get it somewhere.

 

[Cheesebeef]

McAlister Sits Out Ravens' Minicamps
He Would Like Long-Term Deal

Why don't we trade LJ for McAlister...??? Just looking for some input!!!
Rumor has it that the may be available.

Allan

so can we can insult you now (like you so crassly did Jim O earlier) for posting something as stupid as the above?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

so can we can insult you now (like you so crassly did Jim O earlier) for posting something as stupid as the above?

 

[azdad1978]

Bob it will take more than LJ to get CM here. But he is the premier CB in the NFL Imo.

 

[Shane]

Bob it will take more than LJ to get CM here. But he is the premier CB in the NFL Imo.

He is also the single biggest prejudice piece of Doggie Dung in the entire NFL!

He can stay in Baltimore!!

 

[ajcardfan]

He is also the single biggest prejudice piece of Doggie Dung in the entire NFL!

He can stay in Baltimore!!

Prejudiced? I haven't heard that. What did he do?

 

[azdad1978]

He is also the single biggest prejudice piece of Doggie Dung in the entire NFL!

He can stay in Baltimore!!

 

[Shane]

Prejudiced? I haven't heard that. What did he do?

Lets just say I have personally delt with him. Im sure if you research it you will be able to find the incident here in Vegas where he was arrested.

He is a 100% piece of garbage!

 

[joeshmo]

How do you figure we have plenty of room to sign a high priced player? My understanding is that we have about $7 million left and need $4 million of that for the rookie pool.

First go here to fully understand the rookie pool and its implications to our cap. Read both posts in the thread to fully understand it, and before reading my calculations below.

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29579&highlight=rookie+pool

This also is on the idea that with our new conract guy we will be using more creative contracts. Plus I didnt add in the usual 1 mill of injuries becuase the final cutdown to the 53 man roster will do that for us.

Money left to spend(see above) - $4,178,104
Money left for Boldin(if he gets base salary his first year) - $1,500,000

Money left for Big FA - $2,678,104

Contract Break down of a big FA(more then what Winfield got this year)

Base Slary his first year - $540,000
Prorated Signing bonus(7 years 14 mill bonus) - $2,000,000

Total for a big FA - $2,254,286

Thats only $138,100 let over.

So as you can see even if we have to cut a few guys like Darling and I will even throw in Hodgins for good measure we can easily do everything stated above and make it all work. And still have some left.

 

[Dan H]

Lets just say I have personally delt with him. Im sure if you research it you will be able to find the incident here in Vegas where he was arrested.

He is a 100% piece of garbage!

He did something on an America West flight to Vegas, right? What did he say to the stewardesses?

 

[RON_IN_OC]

He did something on an America West flight to Vegas, right? What did he say to the stewardesses?

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2001/0616/1214792.html


Here's the link...Explains the situation, but doesn't go into detail about what words were actually said.

Looks like it was something that happened 3 years ago...He could be a totally different person now.

 

[Shane]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2001/0616/1214792.html


He could be a totally different person now.

And I have swamp land in Florida for sale to.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

"Threats to the airline" makes me question his intelligence/judgment, too. We don't need guys like that. Let Billick deal with him...they're a good pair.

 

[KingofCards]

And I have swamp land in Florida for sale to.

Come on Shane give us the scoop!

 

[Dan H]

And I have swamp land in Florida for sale to.

So what did he do, Shane?

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Although the chances of us landing McAlisiter are about the same as a snowball's chance in hell, I don't see why people are so opposed to him just because he has character issues. Like Randy Moss, McAlister's the best in the NFL at his position and is well worth any headache or problems he causes.

 

[Shane]

Although the chances of us landing McAlisiter are about the same as a snowball's chance in hell, I don't see why people are so opposed to him just because he has character issues. Like Randy Moss, McAlister's the best in the NFL at his position and is well worth any headache or problems he causes.

It matters to me because he is a low class peice of garbage. He is human dirt as far as Im concerned. He is as prejudice as I have ever seen and gives NFL football players a bad reputation.

I have 9 year old son who is now getting into Cardinal football and idolizes many of the players. He comes to football camp with me every summer and enjoys interacting with the players. This happens to be one guy I dont want my son to get the chance to meet, like, idolize, interact with, etc......

He is 100% a first class peace of crap!

 

[40yearfan]

First go here to fully understand the rookie pool and its implications to our cap. Read both posts in the thread to fully understand it, and before reading my calculations below.

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=29579&highlight=rookie+pool

This also is on the idea that with our new conract guy we will be using more creative contracts. Plus I didnt add in the usual 1 mill of injuries becuase the final cutdown to the 53 man roster will do that for us.

Money left to spend(see above) - $4,178,104
Money left for Boldin(if he gets base salary his first year) - $1,500,000

Money left for Big FA - $2,678,104

Contract Break down of a big FA(more then what Winfield got this year)

Base Slary his first year - $540,000
Prorated Signing bonus(7 years 14 mill bonus) - $2,000,000

Total for a big FA - $2,254,286

Thats only $138,100 let over.

So as you can see even if we have to cut a few guys like Darling and I will even throw in Hodgins for good measure we can easily do everything stated above and make it all work. And still have some left.

Having followed the Cardinals as many years as I have, I will guarantee you they won't go into the season with only $138,000.00 left in cap space. Playing it this close to the vest for a conservative organization like this would be a new adventure indeed for them. And I agree with them. What happens if you loose some of your starters and have to add players during the course of the season? Also, since you have your team in a cap friendly situation and aren't in the position of borrowing from the future to pay for today, why start now? Do you think one more player like McKenzie could put this team over the top and into the Superbowl?

 

[joeshmo]

Having followed the Cardinals as many years as I have, I will guarantee you they won't go into the season with only $138,000.00 left in cap space. Playing it this close to the vest for a conservative organization like this would be a new adventure indeed for them. And I agree with them. What happens if you loose some of your starters and have to add players during the course of the season? Also, since you have your team in a cap friendly situation and aren't in the position of borrowing from the future to pay for today, why start now? Do you think one more player like McKenzie could put this team over the top and into the Superbowl?

Trust I know what you are talking about. Did you not read my whole post. Or did you just go straight to the bottom line number of $138,000. I know I probably would have as well when there are a lot of numbers thrown my way.

So read this part that I wrote in the original post, and you will see that I already addressed this issue.

"I didnt add in the usual 1 mill of injuries becuase the final cutdown to the 53 man roster will do that for us."

Heck even the first cut down(after preseason game 3 I believe) might do that as well. There will be some pretty good chunks of cap space let go in the form of Gilmore, Hodgins, Darling and others, before the season starts.

Again there is plenty of room to work with, enough for injuries, Boldin, Big FA if available, and rookies, without the "borrowing for the future". And no Mckenzie or a player of his caliber wont make us a super bowl caliber team but it is a step in the right direction.

 

[40yearfan]

Trust I know what you are talking about. Did you not read my whole post. Or did you just go straight to the bottom line number of $138,000. I know I probably would have as well when there are a lot of numbers thrown my way.

So read this part that I wrote in the original post, and you will see that I already addressed this issue.

"I didnt add in the usual 1 mill of injuries becuase the final cutdown to the 53 man roster will do that for us."

Heck even the first cut down(after preseason game 3 I believe) might do that as well. There will be some pretty good chunks of cap space let go in the form of Gilmore, Hodgins, Darling and others, before the season starts.

Again there is plenty of room to work with, enough for injuries, Boldin, Big FA if available, and rookies, without the "borrowing for the future". And no Mckenzie or a player of his caliber wont make us a super bowl caliber team but it is a step in the right direction.

Joeshmo, I did read your whole post and I'm very familiar with how the cap works. Did you forget that only the top 51 salaries count toward the cap? Also what makes you think we will be cutting Hodgins and Darling instead of some of the lower echelon guys? Relying on cuts to get you under the cap when the majority of players you have over the roster limit are minimum salaried guys won't get it in this instance. And as I said in my last post, the Cardinals won't go into a season with only a minimal amount of cap space left. I'm sure Bill Bidwill will see to that.