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ASFN Addict
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
Although we have no doubt most league pro personnel directors already are scouring the lists of potential unrestricted free agents for next spring, even though the signing period is still five months off, trying to project the premier veterans on the market is a challenging exercise into which we haven't yet thrown ourselves. But as noted Monday in the "Morning After" column, and it's a free agency heads-up that bears reprising, one player who could make himself a lot of money between now and March is Arizona quarterback Josh McCown.
A fourth-round veteran who is getting at least a monthlong audition while Kurt Warner rehabilitates from a groin injury, and who might actually retain the starting spot if he strings together some wins and has the kind of performance he authored in Mexico City on Sunday night, McCown could be the rarest of free-agent commodities. A quarterback with starting experience, considerable shelf life remaining, size (6-feet-4, 217 pounds), good pocket presence and a very solid skills set.
It isn't very often -- almost never, in fact, if you check the history of free agency -- that quarterbacks of that ilk really make it to the unrestricted talent pool. Teams tend to hoard young quarterbacks, signing them to long-term contract extensions that keep them off the market and never allowing them so much as a sniff of freedom. Look at the free-agent lists from the last several years and the quarterbacks are typically older players who have outlived their serviceability or whose contracts far exceed their diminishing abilities. One constant of free agency is that there are almost always quarterbacks available. Another is that most of the unrestricted-free-agent quarterbacks are 30-something veterans who are either stopgap starters or experienced backups.
But in March, barring an unexpected occurrence such as a contract extension, McCown will buck the trend. He will be just 26 years old when he hits the open market, only 27 as he enters training camp in July, and with a pretty impressive upside. McCown started 13 games in 2004 before Cards coach Dennis Green started playing quarterback roulette, and Sunday's start was the 17th of his short career. He'll reach at least 20 career starts before Warner returns, it seems, and could end up with 29 starts if he keeps the job over the balance of this season.
Then factor in this element: There will be several teams prepared to make changes at the quarterback position, and very little from which to choose in free agency. That will be especially true if the San Diego Chargers, as they have strongly suggested they will do, use the "franchise" designation on Drew Brees for a second year in a row. Given that San Diego is $20 million to $25 million under the projected salary-cap ceiling for 2006, there is no reason to believe the team won't keep both Brees and Philip Rivers around. Unless, that is, some team makes them an offer for Rivers the Chargers can't refuse.
Little wonder McCown's agent, Mike McCartney, acknowledged to ESPN.com this week that he is "pretty excited" about free agency next spring. The Cardinals, McCartney said, floated a long-term contract proposal last year, but negotiations never really got the sides close to a deal, and Arizona retained McCown by signing him to the one-year restricted-free-agent qualifying offer of $1.43 million for 2005.
There probably will be some young quarterbacks, such as Washington's Patrick Ramsey or Chris Simms of Tampa Bay, available in trades after this season. And current Bengals backup Jon Kitna, with 79 starts on his résumé, will be unrestricted, as well. But Kitna will be 34 by the start of the '06 campaign, closer to the end of his career than to the start of it. The Redskins and Bucs, as they demonstrated when the desperate New York Jets inquired about their young quarterbacks last week, will want a high-round draft choice in return. McCown, on the other hand, can be had for no draft choice compensation.
Perhaps the Cardinals will attempt to keep McCown after this year -- Warner, after all, is working on just a one-year contract and will be free to depart next spring, as well -- but the guess is that there will be some intriguing possibilities available to him.
So the question might become this: Do you want an older quarterback, such as Kitna, to try to get you over the hump? Or is your preference a young quarterback with experience and still-emerging skills, one who might cement the position for several years? At least two teams we know, both disappointed with their current high-priced yet underachieving young quarterbacks, are keeping close tabs on McCown's performance.
And one Carolina Panthers defensive assistant to whom we spoke late Monday night after the team's victory over Green Bay, said he did not look forward to facing McCown when the two teams meet Sunday in Sun Devil Stadium. McCown started against Carolina in December 2003 and though his numbers weren't eye-popping in a 20-17 Cardinals defeat (14-of-25 for 172 yards and six carries for 48 yards), he apparently impressed the Panthers' staff. The assistant assessed McCown as possessing "plenty of [moxie]" and solid poise. "We kept knocking him down, sacked him five or six times, and he got up and dusted himself off and made some plays," the assistant said.
McCown made plenty of plays against the 49ers on Sunday night, overcoming some horrid mistakes at the outset of the contest to throw for 385 yards. Once he settled into a rhythm, and discovered the outmanned and injury-ravaged San Francisco secondary was pretty easy pickings, McCown went to work, connecting time and again with wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, both of whom got more than 100 yards.
Relying in part on the counsel of Warner -- who has been a terrific mentor, an advantage McCown hasn't necessarily enjoyed in the past -- the youngster played with aplomb and confidence. And he played like a guy who, in five months, will be in big demand.
Around the League
• Not dry in the desert: The Arizona roster isn't typically where teams go in search of potential free-agent prospects for the following spring but, in addition to quarterback McCown, the club could have another ardently pursued unrestricted veteran at the end of this season. Neil Rackers is the hottest kicker in the NFL, having made all 16 attempts this year, including six this past Sunday evening.
In a league where nearly 25 percent of the games are decided by three or fewer points every year, accurate and clutch kickers are a premium, and Rackers is going to cash in somewhere. Rackers' agent, Robert Roche, said this week that his client would prefer to remain in Arizona. But the two sides, who have spoken on and off about an extension, aren't close to a deal right now. And the guess is that, the more time that passes, the more apt Rackers might be to go into the market and at least gauge the price of doing business. Roche noted that, since Rackers wants to concentrate on the season, there will be no further discussions with the Cardinals until after the year. At 29, Rackers, a six-year veteran signed by the Cardinals in the middle of the 2003 season after Cincinnati released him, is in his prime as a kicker. Since signing in Arizona, he has converted 47 of 57 field-goal tries, an 82.5 percent success rate. Rackers had just a 65.7 percent conversion rate with the Bengals, so he clearly has improved and, from what coaches say, has matured immensely, as well. His average field-goal conversion in 2005 is of 38 yards, and he has nailed eight kicks of 40 yards or longer, including five of 45-plus yards, so it isn't as if Rackers is fattening his statistics with a bunch of "gimmes
Still a chance for Rolle? Several media outlets, including ESPN.com, reported Monday that rookie Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle, the team's first-round draft choice this year, would miss the rest of the season after knee surgery. That probably will still be the case. But for the time being, Cardinals officials have delayed placing Rolle on injured reserve, a move that, by definition, would end his season. The team will monitor Rolle's rehabilitation and have the knee re-examined in a few weeks, in the hope that the former University of Miami star might be able to return in 8-10 weeks. It's a long shot, but one the Cardinals and Rolle are willing to take.
Rolle suffered what was believed to have been cartilage damage to his left knee in a Sept. 25 loss at Seattle and was expected to be sidelined for three or four weeks. But during Monday morning surgery by Dr. John Uribe of Miami to repair the meniscus cartilage, far more severe damage was discovered. The arthroscopic surgery revealed ligament damage, which was not anticipated, and the involvement of the ligaments is considered serious. The severity of the knee problem came as a surprise not only to Arizona officials but also to Rolle, who expected to sit out perhaps a month before returning to the lineup.
The eighth player selected overall in the 2005 draft, Rolle was named a starter even before training camp opened. Regarded by many as the top cornerback in this year's rookie class, Rolle started the first three games of the season at left cornerback before the injury against the Seahawks, and he had 18 tackles. The Cards signed Rolle, whom they expected to be an impact performer even in his first season, to a six-year contract with a maximum value of $43.185 million.
ESPN.com
Although we have no doubt most league pro personnel directors already are scouring the lists of potential unrestricted free agents for next spring, even though the signing period is still five months off, trying to project the premier veterans on the market is a challenging exercise into which we haven't yet thrown ourselves. But as noted Monday in the "Morning After" column, and it's a free agency heads-up that bears reprising, one player who could make himself a lot of money between now and March is Arizona quarterback Josh McCown.
A fourth-round veteran who is getting at least a monthlong audition while Kurt Warner rehabilitates from a groin injury, and who might actually retain the starting spot if he strings together some wins and has the kind of performance he authored in Mexico City on Sunday night, McCown could be the rarest of free-agent commodities. A quarterback with starting experience, considerable shelf life remaining, size (6-feet-4, 217 pounds), good pocket presence and a very solid skills set.
It isn't very often -- almost never, in fact, if you check the history of free agency -- that quarterbacks of that ilk really make it to the unrestricted talent pool. Teams tend to hoard young quarterbacks, signing them to long-term contract extensions that keep them off the market and never allowing them so much as a sniff of freedom. Look at the free-agent lists from the last several years and the quarterbacks are typically older players who have outlived their serviceability or whose contracts far exceed their diminishing abilities. One constant of free agency is that there are almost always quarterbacks available. Another is that most of the unrestricted-free-agent quarterbacks are 30-something veterans who are either stopgap starters or experienced backups.
But in March, barring an unexpected occurrence such as a contract extension, McCown will buck the trend. He will be just 26 years old when he hits the open market, only 27 as he enters training camp in July, and with a pretty impressive upside. McCown started 13 games in 2004 before Cards coach Dennis Green started playing quarterback roulette, and Sunday's start was the 17th of his short career. He'll reach at least 20 career starts before Warner returns, it seems, and could end up with 29 starts if he keeps the job over the balance of this season.
Then factor in this element: There will be several teams prepared to make changes at the quarterback position, and very little from which to choose in free agency. That will be especially true if the San Diego Chargers, as they have strongly suggested they will do, use the "franchise" designation on Drew Brees for a second year in a row. Given that San Diego is $20 million to $25 million under the projected salary-cap ceiling for 2006, there is no reason to believe the team won't keep both Brees and Philip Rivers around. Unless, that is, some team makes them an offer for Rivers the Chargers can't refuse.
Little wonder McCown's agent, Mike McCartney, acknowledged to ESPN.com this week that he is "pretty excited" about free agency next spring. The Cardinals, McCartney said, floated a long-term contract proposal last year, but negotiations never really got the sides close to a deal, and Arizona retained McCown by signing him to the one-year restricted-free-agent qualifying offer of $1.43 million for 2005.
There probably will be some young quarterbacks, such as Washington's Patrick Ramsey or Chris Simms of Tampa Bay, available in trades after this season. And current Bengals backup Jon Kitna, with 79 starts on his résumé, will be unrestricted, as well. But Kitna will be 34 by the start of the '06 campaign, closer to the end of his career than to the start of it. The Redskins and Bucs, as they demonstrated when the desperate New York Jets inquired about their young quarterbacks last week, will want a high-round draft choice in return. McCown, on the other hand, can be had for no draft choice compensation.
Perhaps the Cardinals will attempt to keep McCown after this year -- Warner, after all, is working on just a one-year contract and will be free to depart next spring, as well -- but the guess is that there will be some intriguing possibilities available to him.
So the question might become this: Do you want an older quarterback, such as Kitna, to try to get you over the hump? Or is your preference a young quarterback with experience and still-emerging skills, one who might cement the position for several years? At least two teams we know, both disappointed with their current high-priced yet underachieving young quarterbacks, are keeping close tabs on McCown's performance.
And one Carolina Panthers defensive assistant to whom we spoke late Monday night after the team's victory over Green Bay, said he did not look forward to facing McCown when the two teams meet Sunday in Sun Devil Stadium. McCown started against Carolina in December 2003 and though his numbers weren't eye-popping in a 20-17 Cardinals defeat (14-of-25 for 172 yards and six carries for 48 yards), he apparently impressed the Panthers' staff. The assistant assessed McCown as possessing "plenty of [moxie]" and solid poise. "We kept knocking him down, sacked him five or six times, and he got up and dusted himself off and made some plays," the assistant said.
McCown made plenty of plays against the 49ers on Sunday night, overcoming some horrid mistakes at the outset of the contest to throw for 385 yards. Once he settled into a rhythm, and discovered the outmanned and injury-ravaged San Francisco secondary was pretty easy pickings, McCown went to work, connecting time and again with wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, both of whom got more than 100 yards.
Relying in part on the counsel of Warner -- who has been a terrific mentor, an advantage McCown hasn't necessarily enjoyed in the past -- the youngster played with aplomb and confidence. And he played like a guy who, in five months, will be in big demand.
Around the League
• Not dry in the desert: The Arizona roster isn't typically where teams go in search of potential free-agent prospects for the following spring but, in addition to quarterback McCown, the club could have another ardently pursued unrestricted veteran at the end of this season. Neil Rackers is the hottest kicker in the NFL, having made all 16 attempts this year, including six this past Sunday evening.
In a league where nearly 25 percent of the games are decided by three or fewer points every year, accurate and clutch kickers are a premium, and Rackers is going to cash in somewhere. Rackers' agent, Robert Roche, said this week that his client would prefer to remain in Arizona. But the two sides, who have spoken on and off about an extension, aren't close to a deal right now. And the guess is that, the more time that passes, the more apt Rackers might be to go into the market and at least gauge the price of doing business. Roche noted that, since Rackers wants to concentrate on the season, there will be no further discussions with the Cardinals until after the year. At 29, Rackers, a six-year veteran signed by the Cardinals in the middle of the 2003 season after Cincinnati released him, is in his prime as a kicker. Since signing in Arizona, he has converted 47 of 57 field-goal tries, an 82.5 percent success rate. Rackers had just a 65.7 percent conversion rate with the Bengals, so he clearly has improved and, from what coaches say, has matured immensely, as well. His average field-goal conversion in 2005 is of 38 yards, and he has nailed eight kicks of 40 yards or longer, including five of 45-plus yards, so it isn't as if Rackers is fattening his statistics with a bunch of "gimmes
Still a chance for Rolle? Several media outlets, including ESPN.com, reported Monday that rookie Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle, the team's first-round draft choice this year, would miss the rest of the season after knee surgery. That probably will still be the case. But for the time being, Cardinals officials have delayed placing Rolle on injured reserve, a move that, by definition, would end his season. The team will monitor Rolle's rehabilitation and have the knee re-examined in a few weeks, in the hope that the former University of Miami star might be able to return in 8-10 weeks. It's a long shot, but one the Cardinals and Rolle are willing to take.
Rolle suffered what was believed to have been cartilage damage to his left knee in a Sept. 25 loss at Seattle and was expected to be sidelined for three or four weeks. But during Monday morning surgery by Dr. John Uribe of Miami to repair the meniscus cartilage, far more severe damage was discovered. The arthroscopic surgery revealed ligament damage, which was not anticipated, and the involvement of the ligaments is considered serious. The severity of the knee problem came as a surprise not only to Arizona officials but also to Rolle, who expected to sit out perhaps a month before returning to the lineup.
The eighth player selected overall in the 2005 draft, Rolle was named a starter even before training camp opened. Regarded by many as the top cornerback in this year's rookie class, Rolle started the first three games of the season at left cornerback before the injury against the Seahawks, and he had 18 tackles. The Cards signed Rolle, whom they expected to be an impact performer even in his first season, to a six-year contract with a maximum value of $43.185 million.
