Atlanta Skins Fan Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Ramsey and his agent have spent the past few days rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic (a.k.a. Ramsey's career with the Redskins): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47907-2002Aug5.html Redskins, Ramsey Continue Tete-a-tete By Mark Maske Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 6, 2002; Page D07 The Washington Redskins were moving closer to a contract agreement with rookie quarterback Patrick Ramsey last night, aiming to have the first-round draft pick signed and on the practice field in Carlisle, Pa., by mid-week, sources familiar with the deliberations said. Redskins officials, according to sources, told Ramsey's agent, Jimmy Sexton, yesterday that they were ready to sign Ramsey immediately and the two sides negotiated into the night, hoping to finish a deal late last night or today. A contract proposal by Sexton and Ramsey over the weekend might have provided an avenue for the sides to break their stalemate on the key issue of the negotiations, sources said. Ramsey likely will sign a five-year contract with a signing bonus of around $3 million, but the sides have been unable for weeks to agree on an escalator mechanism that would increase Ramsey's salary if he becomes the starting quarterback. The proposal that Sexton sent to the Redskins over the weekend while the team was in Japan might have broken that impasse because it changed the structure of the escalator and made it more difficult for Ramsey to collect those higher salaries, sources said. The deadline for NFL teams to trade players selected in this year's draft is Friday, and another breakdown in negotiations would likely cause the Redskins to consider dealing Ramsey's rights to another club, a difficult move with NFL salary restrictions. But both sides seemed intent yesterday upon finishing a deal. The Redskins returned to Carlisle last night, and are scheduled to practice today at Dickinson College. Ramsey, the final player chosen in the first round of the draft in April, has missed the first two weeks of training camp, and Redskins officials have grown increasingly frustrated. The two sides knew even when the talks were stalled that they would have little problem agreeing to the length of the deal, the signing bonus and the annual salaries. The player selected immediately before Ramsey in the draft, linebacker Robert Thomas, signed a five-year, $5.75 million contract with the St. Louis Rams that includes a $3 million signing bonus. The player drafted immediately after Ramsey, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney, signed a deal with the Houston Texans that includes a $2.15 million signing bonus and would be worth about $3.6 million over four years if the final three seasons are voided, as intended, based upon playing time. But the discussions between Sexton and Joe Mendes, the Redskins' vice president of football operations, quickly broke down over the issue of the escalator. Ramsey's camp wanted him to be paid like a starting quarterback if he becomes one. The Redskins were adamant that he should be paid like the 32nd pick in the draft. Ramsey's side wanted his salary to be boosted far higher if he becomes the starter than the Redskins were willing to offer. The sides made little progress while trading proposals based on the notion that the escalator-and the higher salaries-would kick in after Ramsey was the starter for one season. But the proposal delivered by Sexton over the weekend changed that by having the escalator kick in only after several seasons of Ramsey being the starter, sources said, making it more difficult for Ramsey to collect the increased salaries. Negotiations between Sexton and Mendes resumed yesterday after a one-day lull, sources said. Shane Matthews is scheduled to play three quarters or more of Saturday's preseason game at Carolina for the Redskins at quarterback. It is not clear whether Ramsey, who participated in many of the Redskins' more than two dozen offseason practices at Redskins Park, would play in that game if he practices this week. Both of the quarterbacks who played in Saturday night's 38-7 triumph over the San Francisco 49ers in Osaka, Japan, performed well. Sage Rosenfels threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Danny Wuerffel did even better in the second half, taking the early lead in the starting-quarterback competition by passing for 269 yards and three touchdowns. Ramsey said before training camp that he was not eliminating himself from the starting derby, but Spurrier consistently has maintained that he does not intend to start Ramsey this season. Ramsey is the first quarterback drafted in the first round by the Redskins since Heath Shuler, whose unsuccessful tenure with the club began with a late arrival to training camp in 1994 because of a contract dispute. Some Redskins officials have been exasperated with Ramsey in recent weeks and have contemplated trading his rights, according to sources. The Chicago Bears seemed keenly interested in Ramsey on draft day. But such trades are rare and the Redskins would be left without the player they regarded on draft day as their franchise quarterback of the future. Redskins Notes: Trainer Dean Kleinschmidt said defensive linemen Bruce Smith (knees) and Santana Dotson (calf) will soon join the team at practice, perhaps as early as today. "We're close to the final, final decision," Kleinschmidt said. When Smith and Dotson are cleared to practice, they will be taken off the NFL's physically unable to perform list. Smith had offseason arthroscopic surgery on both knees. Dotson suffered his injury in minicamp. Also, recently acquired defensive lineman Daryl Gardener will practice with the team for the first time today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Let's hope talks stall. I want Ramsey out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyskinsfan Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Again I reinerate to his agent, Snyder still pays decent when YOU PROVE YOURSELF!!!!! C'mon escalators???? Stop stroking me. That's bs! SOB for an agent want's Lexis money, that's what's holding it up. That is when the QB becomes the starter, he gets a kicker. yeah I'd kick him alright sign or no sign, no love lost. Just another rookie trying to make the team and no more special treatment. Dog him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorEye Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Originally posted by Atlanta Skins Fan Ramsey and his agent have spent the past few days rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic (a.k.a. Ramsey's career with the Redskins): http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47907-2002Aug5.html The sides made little progress while trading proposals based on the notion that the escalator-and the higher salaries-would kick in after Ramsey was the starter for one season. But the proposal delivered by Sexton over the weekend changed that by having the escalator kick in only after several seasons of Ramsey being the starter, sources said, making it more difficult for Ramsey to collect the increased salaries. Negotiations between Sexton and Mendes resumed yesterday after a one-day lull, sources said. No doubt Sexton came back to the table after watching Danny pitch it around and realizing he just lost his bargaining power. If he isn't signed by the time Shane plays and HE has a good game, the kid is really gonna regret holding out. Personally, I'd be looking for a new agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlito Sway Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Blame Ramsey for poor agent-picking, not poor character. BUT- Here's my disconnect - this Sexton guy is an idiot. His client has a chance to be a starter (well, did) and become Joe Franchise for a team with a pass-happy system and a D to make the kid look great. Playoffs in the first year is certainly not out of the question. He and Mendes are eye to eye on length, bonus, general structure. Fine. But Escalators? Huh? Hey, Sexton, you jackass, pay attention. If you think that making noise about how much he should be paid when he reaches X or Y milestone in Z amount of time is being savvy, remember that this coach is not afraid to shuffle QBs in and out with no qualms whatsoever. Piss him off, and the guy can say "Fine, here's the biggest escalator clause in the world" and then not allow the kid to reach it by simply limiting playing time. Further, if the kid's looking down the precipice into the abyss of trade-dom to the Bears, how is that looking out for the client? Pat baby, if you're reading, get a new agent pronto. Yes, even Master P would be better for you now. This guy sucks. And if you've been paying attention, you're losing the fans before you even put on the pads. Hop to it, dude. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Hopefully he continues to hold out and SpiceMan improves over his last performance and Ramsey is not signed until March after we hoist the Lombardi trophy and he doesnt rate getting a ring either. Yeah I'm a vengeful SOB when someone disrespects my team when they should be crying tears of joy that he was selected. This guy at the most would have went to the Bills in the 2nd round. We could have passed on him for a Guard like I wanted and he could be up in Buffalo saving the Bills a first rounder to use on a QB next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Will Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Yea Navy Dave. You weren't the only one who wanted a guard with that pick. We could have Gurode or Fonoti on our roster right now and have one of our biggest questions answered. But woulda coulda shoulda... My question is how does trading the rights to another team work? We trade the rights for what? What could we get for the rights to deal with Ramsey? If we could get a starting guard for him, I say go for it. But who am I to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Brown #43 Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 How about this for a shocking tidbit...Ramsey's holdout has already lasted two days longer than Heath's did. Can you believe that? It seemed like Heath held out for friggin' ever. Ramsey is just lucky he's not being counted on to be the man this year like Heath was. This could get ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaganaut Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 Nice factoid about Schuler. Let's keep our fingers crossed for Chicago taking this bag handler. We can always use another pro bowl middle linebacker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Diesel Posted August 6, 2002 Share Posted August 6, 2002 I don't even want this SOB anymore. I don't want him. I hope the Skins trade his *** pronto. Idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlanta Skins Fan Posted August 6, 2002 Author Share Posted August 6, 2002 No news here, but an editorial slant on trading Ramsey that makes it sound feasible: http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.cfm POSTED 8:52 a.m. EDT, UPDATED 9:25 a.m. EDT, August 6, 2002 (TUESDAY) 'SKINS TO TRADE RAMSEY? The Washington Post reports that the Redskins have become so frustrated in their discussions with rookie first-round quarterback Patrick Ramsey that they've actually contemplated trading his rights to another team. The deadline for any such trade is Friday, and the Post reports that another breakdown in negotiations with Ramsey could prompt the 'Skins to try to make a last-minute deal. The Post seemingly writes off this possibility based on salary-cap restrictions. In our view, the biggest question is whether a portion of the Redskins' rookie salary pool would transfer to Ramsey's new team. If the new team gets a corresponding chunk of the 'Skins' rookie pool, then the trade apparently wouldn't be so complex. The Redskins likely would take a minimal cap hit if this unprecedented move were made, since there's no signing bonus to be accelerated. Instead, the team currently is being charged the standard rookie tender of $225,000 for Ramsey. And if the team that gets Ramsey ships draft picks in return, there would be no resulting cap hit for either team. From the Redskins' perspective, it might not be a bad move. The draft class of 2003 could be deep in quarterbacking talent, and maybe Steve Spurrier would be better off in the long run by passing on Ramsey and drafting his quarterback of the future next year. Armed with two first-round picks, the 'Skins could put together an attractive package aimed at jumping into the top five. With all that said, the Post reports that progress is being made in contract talks with Ramsey. A proposal sent to the team by Ramsey's agents over the weekend might have broken the stalemate on many issues, and the deal could be done within the next few days. Still, if there's another hitch, Ramsey could be taking a hike -- right out of D.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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