“Bloody Thursday” turned out to be nothing more than an abrasion and a few scratches.
The gimmicky phrase may have been clever, but it was also woefully overstated. As of 7:30 p.m. Thursday, the NFL transaction wire showed 14 players were tendered contracts while just 10 players were released. And that doesn’t include the combined $8 million in signing bonuses quarterbacks Michael Vick ($7 million) and Steve McNair ($1 million) received from their respective teams.
The most prominent color from “Bloody Thursday” then was green, not red.
To those masochistic fans who were expecting carnage, the widespread release of prominent players was at least temporarily halted after the NFL owners and players union agreed Thursday afternoon to delay the start of the 2006 calendar season and free-agent signing period by 72 hours.
The delay was a surprise after commissioner Paul Tagliabue emphatically stated Tuesday that the league’s 2006 calendar season would begin today even though negotiations with the players for a collective bargaining agreement extension had all but collapsed. The two sides met again Thursday morning, but talks went nowhere.
Nevertheless, the two sides agreed to postpone the deadline for teams reaching the $94.5 million salary cap from Thursday night to 6 p.m. MST Sunday, and the start of the free-agent signing period from today to Monday.
“That tells me they’re talking, which is a good sign,” said Paul Sheehy, an agent and adjunct professor at the University of Denver College of Business. “Sometimes negotiation doesn’t start until everything falls apart.”
At this point, the question must be asked: Were the Broncos premature in cutting Trevor Pryce, Mike Anderson and Jeb Putzier on Wednesday, when it appeared a CBA extension was dead?
Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist said those players would have been released regardless of the labor uncertainty. Soon enough, the Broncos hope subsequent acquisitions will help explain why those players were let go.
Pryce was released essentially because Denver no longer thought he was worth his $10.3 million salary. According to a source familiar with the negotiations, to replace Pryce, the Broncos are trying to acquire New York Jets defensive end John Abraham, who is locked in for an $8.3 million salary.
In the past five seasons, Abraham had 50 sacks to Pryce’s 29. Considering the Broncos outranked only New Orleans and Cleveland in sacks last season, dropping the quarterback has become an offseason priority.
“I think we’re too good to only have 28 sacks,” Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said.
Perhaps Abraham – three years younger and $2 million less expensive than Pryce – is the answer.
Anderson was cut even though his salary would have been $2.8 million, a relatively modest sum for a 1,000-yard rusher. But at age 33 next season, Anderson was going to be replaced on the Broncos’ depth chart by Ron Dayne, and in that context, $2.8 million is big money for a backup.
Putzier’s agent said the team could have retained the tight end with a restructured contract that would have counted only $1.4 million against the cap, but instead he was released for $800,000. Given Putzier’s gifted hands, those numbers show that regardless of costs, the Broncos wanted a little more blocking from their pass-catching tight end.
Besides, just because the owners and players union pushed back their deadline doesn’t mean they’ll reach an agreement by Sunday afternoon.
“The fact they pushed it back may be reason for some hope, but I still don’t think we’ll get a deal done,” NFL agent Tom Mills said. “They’ve just been at this too long to think they can get something done in 72 hours.”
Perhaps the biggest factor working against a CBA extension is a sense of urgency. With or without an extension, the NFL is guaranteed to play out its championship seasons in 2006 and 2007.
At the moment, the labor impasse means the NFL will play without a salary cap in 2007. But again, the two sides have another 12 months to prevent such chaos from occurring.
Until then, the lack of a CBA extension would present several inconveniences, not the least of which could be “Bloody Sunday.”
Staff writer Mike Klis can be reached at 303-820-5440 or mklis@denverpost.com.
