madlithuanian Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/...tagged-players/ Report: Few deals expected for franchise-tagged players Posted by Darin Gantt on July 13, 2012, 10:20 AM EDT Getty Images With the clock ticking on the 14 franchise-tagged players who haven’t signed long-term deals, the prognosis is mixed on whether more than a few will get a contract or play out their one-year tenders. Jason LaCanfora of CBSSports.com said “perhaps only three or four deals will actually get struck,” before Monday’s deadline, based on conversations with league sources. He counts Drew Brees among the likely to get done, based largely on the fact it’s inconceivable to other general managers that the Saints wouldn’t do what’s necessary to lock him up. Brees himself is optimistic, but it seems like the assumption he’ll be signed is stronger than any evidence of movement. LaCanfora also cites Bears running back Matt Forte as likely, claiming “considerable progress,” and mentions Raiders safety Tyvon Branch as “the closest of all this group to a deal.” LaCanfora said a source with knowledge of the Patriots talks with wide receiver Wes Welker termed it “50-50” that a deal gets done. Otherwise, it sounds like it could be a slow weekend for most of the tagged players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Brees just got $100m over 5 years from New Orleans. He'll get $40m this year. Wow. I hope something happens with Forte, because the last thing the team needs is drama going into the season. The offseason has been a great one and a breath of fresh air. They don't need this greedy bastard talking about his money all year long. However, if they don't get a deal done and he's not a distraction, I can't say I'd be upset. In 3-4 years, he's not going to be all that good anymore yet he'll be making a lot of money, and everyone will be pissed at Emery. My vote is to FT him this year and next, and after that, see you later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selection7 Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I thought the Saints management were in a good position. Guess not. It's not like the Saints are winning any super bowls this year...and the Saints can franchise Brees (and Brees can't hold out because in this ditched year the Saints could easily call his bluff). After Brees has his (almost surely) worse year this year than last year & is a year older, he won't be able to command as much on the open market. I figured the Saints would play that upper hand to the end and Brees would either give in or end up franchised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madlithuanian Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I'm pretty much in 100% agreement with your assessment. My real focus is getting Cutty and Url signed in all honesty... Brees just got $100m over 5 years from New Orleans. He'll get $40m this year. Wow. I hope something happens with Forte, because the last thing the team needs is drama going into the season. The offseason has been a great one and a breath of fresh air. They don't need this greedy bastard talking about his money all year long. However, if they don't get a deal done and he's not a distraction, I can't say I'd be upset. In 3-4 years, he's not going to be all that good anymore yet he'll be making a lot of money, and everyone will be pissed at Emery. My vote is to FT him this year and next, and after that, see you later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chitownhustla Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I thought the Saints management were in a good position. Guess not. It's not like the Saints are winning any super bowls this year...and the Saints can franchise Brees (and Brees can't hold out because in this ditched year the Saints could easily call his bluff). After Brees has his (almost surely) worse year this year than last year & is a year older, he won't be able to command as much on the open market. I figured the Saints would play that upper hand to the end and Brees would either give in or end up franchised. I did not see the Saints in a good position with the Brees deal. They have a black cloud over their heads right now. SP is out for the year, the last thing they needed is their best player holding out of camp and being pissed come season. The only thing they could do was sign him. He will be the only reason they have any type of chance at winning any games at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selection7 Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 I did not see the Saints in a good position with the Brees deal. They have a black cloud over their heads right now. SP is out for the year, the last thing they needed is their best player holding out of camp and being pissed come season. The only thing they could do was sign him. He will be the only reason they have any type of chance at winning any games at all. Who cares if they win some games but still can't compete for the title? That's the point. That black cloud isn't going away, Brees or not. What difference does it make if he's pissed really? If you've got to have a pissed elite starting QB, this would be the year to do it (not that he could be that particularly pissed. The saints not wanting to go as high as a $100MM, $60MM guaranteed, contract isn't exactly an insult). Now, I'm not arguing it wouldn't be nice to have Brees on hand to help keep the ship afloat for the year. But sometimes there's a difference between what you need and what you'd like. That is (was, at least) the Saints bargaining power. We, on the other hand, kind of do need Forte, because we've got so much else good going for us and a quickly closing window. Now is not the time to get worse when we don't have to. And if we're being honest, Bush is no replacement for Forte, even if he is a good bargaining tool. Having said that, I don't want the Bears to play their hand weaker than it is. Just like Brees, we can franchise him. Let me add that I think Brees is the beneficiary of Curt Warner, Favre, and Peyton all playing at elite levels at advanced ages within the last few years, and to that end, rightly so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulster Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Branch just signed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBearSox Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...tension-reached When asked what happens if Monday's deadline passes without a new deal, Forte said, "I think we all know what happens." aka "I cry about making 7.7 million dollars." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Bears and Forte "extremely close." Deadlines continue to make effective kick-starts for negotiating long-term deals. Of the 14 franchise-tagged players who hadn’t signed mullti-year deals, two have reached long-term riches in the last 26 hours (Drew Brees and Tyvon Branch). A third could be joining them soon, as the NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi reports the Bears are “extremely close” to a contract with running back Matt Forte. Teams have until Monday to reach long-term deals with tagged players, or they can only sign for one year. Forte didn’t sign his one-year, $7.749 million tender, and didn’t work out with the Bears this offseason awaiting the deal. minutes ago from PFT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 http://espn.go.com/chicago/nfl/story/_/id/...tension-reached aka "I cry about making 7.7 million dollars." Amen. He should have signed the offer the currently have on the table, and he probably should have signed the one before that. Until Forte starts slamming it into the end zone more than a handful of times per year (hasn't had a 10 TD year since his rookie year), he can't expect to command the numbers that some others do. If he does, then he's being unrealistic and greedy, and causing unnecessary turmoil inside the Bears organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 We have until 3pm........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Contrary to a lot of people on this forum, I think Forte has by and large been very classy in this situation. It is a business and he's always worked hard and put himself in tremendous shape. The Bears are also making a business decision. I personally hope the two sides can agree to a fair long term deal today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted July 16, 2012 Report Share Posted July 16, 2012 Sean Jensen @seankjensen BREAKING: #Bears agree to terms with Pro Bowl RB Matt Forte on a long-term contract, according to source close to the situation. https://twitter.com/seankjensen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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