Anonymous Jet veterans upset about team's spending spree
By RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Wednesday, March 5th 2008, 4:00 AM
Laveranues Coles is one of Gang Green's veterans who wants a raise. Antonelli/News
The free-spending Jets are one of the biggest topics of discussion in the NFL, but there are two sides to every story. While they have generated excitement by acquiring four big-money players, some of the team's returning veterans are looking at the bundles of cash and wondering, "When do I get mine?"
"You pay guys you don't even know, and the guys in the locker room - the guys that have your back - you don't give a damn about them," one player said Tuesday, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "It shows where the loyalty is."
Free agency is a double-edged sword, and front offices always run the risk of alienating their own players. The Jets have doled out an incredible sum - $138 million in contracts, including $63 million in guarantees - causing some veterans to wonder if there will be enough salary-cap room for them to score new deals.
Wide receiver Laveranues Coles and tight end Chris Baker, both with two years remaining on their current contracts, publicly expressed their desire for raises at the end of the season. Coles' situation recently turned ugly when he accused the organization of lying to him.
Perhaps the most underpaid player is safety Kerry Rhodes, who is due to make only $927,000 in the final year of his contract. He can be a restricted free agent after the season. Wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery was in the same situation a year ago, and he was rewarded with a five-year, $19 million contract.
The Jets are trying to negotiate a long-term extension with Rhodes, one of their top young players, but they remain far apart, sources said. The Jets' hesitancy could be costly, as the free-agent market for safeties is exploding. Former Giant Gibril Wilson signed a six-year, $39 million deal with the Raiders that includes $16 million in guarantees.
Baker, coming off his best season, has $3.6 million remaining on his contract. Coles has $11 million left, and although the Jets offered to guarantee the total amount, he apparently is seeking a long-term deal with more guaranteed money. Coles has said he won't attend Eric Mangini's offseason program, which begins March 17.
It may look like GM Mike Tannenbaum has abandoned his draft-and-develop approach in favor of the quick fix, but he claimed nothing has changed. He mentioned backup nose tackle Sione Pouha, who last week signed a modest, three-year extension, as an example of the organization's desire to keep its own players.
"That's still our core belief and philosophy," he said.
But it was overshadowed by the additions of guard Alan Faneca, tackle Damien Woody, nose tackle Kris Jenkins and linebacker Calvin Pace ($22 million guaranteed), who became one of the highest-paid defenders in the league. One Jets player said he never heard of Pace until yesterday. Another player said he was envious of linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who realized his wish to be traded.
"They're getting rid of the young guys and bringing in old guys," the player said. "I don't know what they're doing."
CHAD MATH: If he returns, Chad Pennington will receive a bump in his '08 salary, from $4.8 million to $6 million. It's based on a clause in his contract that was renegotiated two years ago, when he took a pay cut. He's back to his original '08 salary, but his cap number balloons to $9.0 million, ridiculously high for a potential backup....With Woody projected to start at right tackle, the Jets released Anthony Clement, a two-year starter at the position....Jets signed former Titans CB Andre Woolfolk, a first-round pick in 2003 who was out of football last season....Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, giving his side of the ill-fated Dewayne Robertson trade, said in Cincinnati that it "had nothing to do with money," fueling speculation that the bone-on-bone condition in Robertson's left knee may have been a factor. That contradicted Robertson's agent, Hadley Engelhard, who said the trade was aborted because he couldn't agree to a new contract with the Bengals.
Originally Posted by WTFchris
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