Fighting The Restrictions … Wednesday Cup O’Chiefs

It’s the type of story that GMs and head coaches dislike, especially at this time of the year. But at some point we need to stop at the NFL business office and take stock of where players and franchises sit now that everyone is about three months away from starting the 2010 regular season.

There are restricted free agents still sitting out there that have not signed their tender offers, some 35 to be exact. There were 255 draft choices in April, and only 16 of those have signed contracts as of Tuesday evening. There also remain many veteran free agents who are still looking for work, take WR Terrell Owens for example.

Scott Pioli and Todd Haley have not had to read or hear much about the only player who has not been in their house for the club’s off-season work: veteran free safety No. 44 Jarrad Page (right).

There were 85 players on the practice field Tuesday for the Chiefs seventh OTA session of the spring. For the most part the media has focused on those players in attendance. Page has been forgotten, despite the fact he played four seasons, games and starts for the team.

Let’s catch up with the business of the NFL in this off-season, the final one with a collective bargaining agreement.

WHERE’S JARRAD PAGE?

E-mails to Page and his agent, his brother John Edward Page have gone unanswered all spring. Page signed on with his brother after leaving veteran agent Eugene Parker who handled him for the previous four seasons.

Page was given a tender offer by the Chiefs some three months ago of $1,759,000. That number kept the Chiefs rights for compensation had some team been interested in signing Page. He would have brought a second-round choice.

But no team signed Page, and as far as is known, no team made him an offer. The deadline for another team to make an offer was April 15th.

So essentially, Page has no leverage at all in dealing with the Chiefs. On Tuesday, the Chiefs had to extend the tender offer to maintain their exclusive rights to him. Whether or not the Chiefs did so is not something they would announce, but it doesn’t make much sense for them to pull the offer at this point.

On June 15th, they have the right to rescind the original offer and tender him at 110 percent of his salary from last season. They could also do nothing, or withdraw their offer and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent. Here are Page’s numbers in simple form:

• Page’s salary in ‘09 – $1,545,000.
• Tender offer for ‘10 – $1,759,000.
• 110 percent of Page’s ‘09 salary – $1,699,500.
• If Page doesn’t sign the original tender offer it would cost him – $59,500.

If a restricted free agent does not sign his tender offer by Week No. 10 of the regular season, he cannot play in 2010 and would remain a restricted free agent in 2011, with all rights remaining with the Chiefs.

Page’s only play is to stay away as long as possible, putting the Chiefs in a position of being forced to release him when they start making roster decisions in August and early September. By not showing up, Page is making it plain he wants out; otherwise he would be taking part in the OTAs and off-season conditioning. He could do that without signing his tender, but by signing an injury waiver.

Since the Chiefs mandatory mini-camp comes before the June 15th date when the team can drop their offer, Page does not have to attend and can’t be fined for staying away. Remember he is not under contract until he signs the team’s offer. It just so happens that the team’s off-season program ends on June 15th.

This story is likely to end in one of two ways – Page signs a revised tender sometime before the start of the regular season or the Chiefs withdraw their tender and make him a free agent.

OTHER UNSIGNED RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

Here are the other 34 RFA’s that have not yet signed their tender offers:

• ARIZONA – G Deuce Lutui.
• BALTIMORE – OT Jared Gaither, SS Dawan Landry and FB Le’Ron McClain.
• CAROLINA – OLB Thomas Davis and CB Richard Marshall.
• CLEVELAND – SS Abram Elam, RB Jerome Harrison, ILB D’Qwell Jackson, OLB Matt Roth and FB Lawrence Vickers.
• DALLAS – WR Miles Austin.
• DENVER – OLB Elvis Dumervil.
• GREEN BAY – SS Atari Bigby, DE Johnny Jolly and CB Tramon Williams.
• HOUSTON – TE Owen Daniels.
• INDIANAPOLIS – FS Antoine Bethea.
• MIAMI – RB Ronnie Brown and TE Anthony Fasano.
• MINNESOTA – DE Ray Edwards.
• NEW ENGLAND – G Logan Mankins.
• NEW ORLEANS – OT Jammal Brown, SS Roman Harper, WR Lance Moore and RB Pierre Thomas.
• SAN DIEGO – WR Malcom Floyd, WR Vincent Jackson, OT Marcus McNeill and OLB Shawne Merriman.
• TAMPA BAY – OT Donald Penn
• TENNESSEE – MLB Stephen Tulloch.
• WASHINGTON – OLB Rocky McIntosh and CB Carlos Rogers.

Of the 35 restricted free agents who haven’t signed their tender offers, 22 others have joined Page and stayed away from their team’s off-season work. Those that have signed injury waivers so they can take part in the OTAs and mini-camps are Gaither, Landry and McClain in Baltimore, Davis and Marshall in Carolina, Harrison in Cleveland, Austin in Dallas, Dumervil in Denver, Daniels in Houston, Brown and Fasano in Miami, Harper and Moore in New Orleans.

RAMS LOSE SAFETY TO FREE AGENCY

There was an unusual twist to the situation with RFA safety Oshiomogho Atogwe (left) as he became an unrestricted free agent Tuesday night when the Rams could not sign him to his tender offer and would not offer him a deal for 110 percent of his ‘09 salary.

Last year, Atogwe was set to be an unrestricted free agent but the Rams used the franchise player designation, keeping him for one year at $6,342,000. When the change in rules due to the collective bargaining agreement kicked in this season, Atogwe was a restricted free agent. The Rams tendered him at the lowest possible amount for them, just $1,226,000.

Atogwe drew no interest from other teams, even at the low tender offer with no draft choice compensation due the Rams. Once April 15th passed, the Rams had to increase their tender offer to 110 percent of his ‘09 salary, or $6,976,000. St. Louis did not want to do that and could not get a long-term contract done with him. Thus he begame  free agent, and could re-sign with the Rams.

He’s also now available for anyone in the league to sign. NFL reports have Miami, Detroit, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minnesota possibly interested in his services.

NFL PERSONNEL FILE/TUESDAY, JUNE 1

• BENGALS – signed OL Isaac Sowells, a former 4th-round pick of the Browns in ‘06 who was released last year and was out of football.
• BRONCOS – claimed LB Bruce Davis on waivers (Patriots) – he was a 3rd-round draft choice of the Steelers in ‘08, trying to make transition from college defensive end to OLB.
• EAGLES – CB Marlin Jackson ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right leg during a practice on Tuesday.
• RAMS – S Oshiomogho Atogwe became an unrestricted free agent.
• RAVENS – signed K Shayne Graham, formerly with the Bengals; re-hired George Kokonis as a senior assistant in the personnel department. Kokonis left Baltimore in early ‘09 to be GM of the Browns, but lost a battle with Eric Mangini and left the team last year.
• SEAHAWKS – signed 6th-round draft choice TE Anthony McCoy to a 4-year, $1,895,000 contract; claimed WR Isaiah Stanback on waivers (Patriots) – in New England he played wide receiver and was the team’s No. 3 QB.
• STEELERS – QB Ben Roethlisberger returned to the practice field in Pittsburgh, after Commissioner Roger Goodell ruled he could return after psychological evaluations were completed as part of his suspension.