Tuesday, March 18
49ers want first-round draft choice for receiver
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
In a move that further complicates the New York Jets' pending decision on the lucrative offer sheet signed by Laveranues Coles last week, the club was unable on Tuesday to reach a trade agreement for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Tai Streets, a restricted free agent.
New York officials were pursuing Streets as a potential replacement for Coles, who last Wednesday signed a blockbuster seven-year, $35 million offer sheet with the Washington Redskins. But while the Jets got close to an accord with Streets, they could not match the trade demands of the 49ers.
The Jets now have until 4 p.m. Thursday to match the Coles offer sheet.
A source in the Jets organization said Tuesday night the team was "pretty strongly leaning toward" not matching the Coles offer sheet. The same source, however, said the situation was "somewhat fluid" and could change. League sources who have been watching the Coles deal, though, feel New York has already made up its mind not to match.
The decision, of course, would have been significantly easier if the Jets had acquired Streets.
"Here's the way things played out: At the end of the day, I think we could have gotten a deal with the Jets, but they weren't able to satisfy the people in San Francisco," said Streets' agent, Ralph Cindrich. "I think there was a certain expectation of what the 49ers might want. But it seems they wanted more than that expectation."
Sources said the 49ers were seeking a first-round draft choice in exchange for Streets, while the Jets felt they could complete a trade for something less than that. San Francisco retained a right of first refusal on Streets, a three-year veteran, by making him a $1.318 million qualifying offer last month.
That level of qualifying offer would bring the 49ers a first-round pick if a club simply signed Streets to an offer sheet. Instead the Jets attempted to pull off a sign-and-trade switch and their trade offers to 49ers officials fell shy of San Francisco's demands.
It had been rumored Monday night that the 49ers might consider a trade if they received a second-round choice.
Cindrich said he is still in discussions with the Detroit Lions over Streets, but acknowledged it might be difficult for any team to satisfy the 49ers. The stronger likelihood now is that Streets with sign the one-year qualifying offer from San Francisco, play for the 49ers in 2003, and then be eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring.
Meanwhile, the New York brain trust continued to wrestle Tuesday with the Coles matter, while up against a tough deadline. The consensus around the NFL is that the Jets will not match the offer sheet to Coles, which includes a $13 million signing bonus, and allow him to go to the Redskins. The Jets would then receive Washington's first-round choice in next month's draft, the 13th overall selection, as compensation.
But conventional wisdom aside, the Jets could still match the offer sheet, in part because they've been unable to this point to identify a viable alternative to Coles for their lineup. Coles enjoyed a breakout season in 2002 and coach Herm Edwards termed him the team's most valuable player.
If the team does sign a veteran receiver, all signs point now to it being Curtis Conway, the 10-year veteran recently released by San Diego, in part for salary cap reasons. Jets officials contacted the representatives for Conway shortly after the Streets negotiations broke off. The two sides will talk on Wednesday and a deal could be struck.
Jets officials visited on Monday with Conway and, while some scouts feel he has lost a step, he might be able to provide the outside threat the team is seeking. Conway has fought through some injuries lately but has 510 career catches for 7,587 yards, with 47 touchdowns. He had 57 catches for 852 yards and five touchdowns in '02.
In a sign he still maintains some big-play potential, Conway had four receptions of 40-plus yards last season, his best total since 1995.
The Jets have explored a number of options -- from trades, to free agency signings, to the restricted market -- but have made no moves. Streets was the second restricted free agent with whom New York spoke, having huddled earlier with Darrell Jackson of the Seattle Seahawks.
In a related matter, a league investigator met with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder on Tuesday morning, ESPN.com has learned, to review claims by the Jets that the Redskins breached league rules in the signing of Coles to the offer sheet. One Redskins official termed the interview "basically a nuisance, because the league knows we didn't do anything improper."
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
49ers want first-round draft choice for receiver
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
In a move that further complicates the New York Jets' pending decision on the lucrative offer sheet signed by Laveranues Coles last week, the club was unable on Tuesday to reach a trade agreement for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Tai Streets, a restricted free agent.
New York officials were pursuing Streets as a potential replacement for Coles, who last Wednesday signed a blockbuster seven-year, $35 million offer sheet with the Washington Redskins. But while the Jets got close to an accord with Streets, they could not match the trade demands of the 49ers.
The Jets now have until 4 p.m. Thursday to match the Coles offer sheet.
A source in the Jets organization said Tuesday night the team was "pretty strongly leaning toward" not matching the Coles offer sheet. The same source, however, said the situation was "somewhat fluid" and could change. League sources who have been watching the Coles deal, though, feel New York has already made up its mind not to match.
The decision, of course, would have been significantly easier if the Jets had acquired Streets.
"Here's the way things played out: At the end of the day, I think we could have gotten a deal with the Jets, but they weren't able to satisfy the people in San Francisco," said Streets' agent, Ralph Cindrich. "I think there was a certain expectation of what the 49ers might want. But it seems they wanted more than that expectation."
Sources said the 49ers were seeking a first-round draft choice in exchange for Streets, while the Jets felt they could complete a trade for something less than that. San Francisco retained a right of first refusal on Streets, a three-year veteran, by making him a $1.318 million qualifying offer last month.
That level of qualifying offer would bring the 49ers a first-round pick if a club simply signed Streets to an offer sheet. Instead the Jets attempted to pull off a sign-and-trade switch and their trade offers to 49ers officials fell shy of San Francisco's demands.
It had been rumored Monday night that the 49ers might consider a trade if they received a second-round choice.
Cindrich said he is still in discussions with the Detroit Lions over Streets, but acknowledged it might be difficult for any team to satisfy the 49ers. The stronger likelihood now is that Streets with sign the one-year qualifying offer from San Francisco, play for the 49ers in 2003, and then be eligible for unrestricted free agency next spring.
Meanwhile, the New York brain trust continued to wrestle Tuesday with the Coles matter, while up against a tough deadline. The consensus around the NFL is that the Jets will not match the offer sheet to Coles, which includes a $13 million signing bonus, and allow him to go to the Redskins. The Jets would then receive Washington's first-round choice in next month's draft, the 13th overall selection, as compensation.
But conventional wisdom aside, the Jets could still match the offer sheet, in part because they've been unable to this point to identify a viable alternative to Coles for their lineup. Coles enjoyed a breakout season in 2002 and coach Herm Edwards termed him the team's most valuable player.
If the team does sign a veteran receiver, all signs point now to it being Curtis Conway, the 10-year veteran recently released by San Diego, in part for salary cap reasons. Jets officials contacted the representatives for Conway shortly after the Streets negotiations broke off. The two sides will talk on Wednesday and a deal could be struck.
Jets officials visited on Monday with Conway and, while some scouts feel he has lost a step, he might be able to provide the outside threat the team is seeking. Conway has fought through some injuries lately but has 510 career catches for 7,587 yards, with 47 touchdowns. He had 57 catches for 852 yards and five touchdowns in '02.
In a sign he still maintains some big-play potential, Conway had four receptions of 40-plus yards last season, his best total since 1995.
The Jets have explored a number of options -- from trades, to free agency signings, to the restricted market -- but have made no moves. Streets was the second restricted free agent with whom New York spoke, having huddled earlier with Darrell Jackson of the Seattle Seahawks.
In a related matter, a league investigator met with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder on Tuesday morning, ESPN.com has learned, to review claims by the Jets that the Redskins breached league rules in the signing of Coles to the offer sheet. One Redskins official termed the interview "basically a nuisance, because the league knows we didn't do anything improper."
Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.
