Breaking News: Price intends to sign offer sheet!

[Romes]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0226/1514907.html

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Receiver Peerless Price intends to sign the Buffalo Bills' one-year franchise-player contract offer even though he hopes to play elsewhere next season.


"We're going to take it. We're going to take it very, very soon ... I would say in a week,'' Price's agent Tim McGee said Wednesday.


McGee said that signing the $5.01 million tender contract won't prevent him from seeking offers from other teams or attempting to negotiate a trade for his client

What are the implications of this? Does this just mean that a long term deal with PP will not be reached? Does this increase the chances of a trade? This sounds like big news but I don't know what it means.

[Ebenezer]

It means the Bills will be able to do a sign and trade (Very likely) or that they are close to signing a long term deal...either way this is good news...if he is not happy he is posturing to either get the long term deal or get out of here.

[Tatonka]

rofl.. me neither..

i think they can still sign him to a long term deal, or trade him under that deal to another team, who will in turn sign him to a lt deal..

i dont think we could have traded him without him signing that deal anyway.

[Romes]

I guess this is the reason

McGee said he's advising Price to sign the Bills offer to keep his options open. At the very least, the move would prevent the Bills from lifting the offer and forcing Price to become a free agent at a time when teams would have already used up most of their salary-cap room to make offers.

for price signing the offer sheet.

Also, Price's agent doesn't see the Bills being able to give PP the money he wants and still fix the D.

McGee all but ruled out attempts to negotiate a long-term deal with the Bills. Their last offer was about $3 million a season and included a $4.5 million signing bonus.


"That's not up for consideration,'' McGee said.


He also doubted the Bills could significantly improve their offer considering the team is attempting to address its other needs -- particularly on defense -- once the NFL's free agency period opens on Friday.

[Ebenezer]

Repeat after me...sign and trade!!! McGee is burning bridges.

[Romes]

Finally McGee has said something I like. He said that he will contact other teams to try and get them to trade for Price. In essance helping the Bills find a good trade offer for Price.

McGee said that signing the $5.01 million tender contract won't prevent him from seeking offers from other teams or attempting to negotiate a trade for his client. "We're going to pursue what's in Peerless's best interest," McGee said.

[don137]

McGee says once Price signs the one year offer then Buffalo can't lift the franchise tag. Buffalo could cut him though which essentially is the same thing. There would be no signing bonus to worry about.

[Ebenezer]

A trade is his only option...that is why TD tagged him.

[Jeff1220]

It sounds like TD and McGee are already working with someone in a trade.
PP's agent sounds awefully confident that he won't be there even if he signs a 1yr deal.

[TigerJ]

I think that the franchize offer, once accepted becomes a guarranteed contract unless superceeded by a new deal. The only negative to Price signing it is that if TD can't find a trade he likes and can't negotiate a long term deal to his liking Buffalo is on the hook for the $5+ million that constitutes the franchise offer. It's still a necessary step to any satisfactory resolution.

[WG]

You got it Tiger! As I read McGee's comments, I am figuring that it was a ploy to force the Bills' hand w/ McGee realizing that the Bills really don't want to pay Price $5M for this upcoming year. How do we know this? B/c the Bills don't want to pay him more than $3M/yr., or so TD says. So it would be stupid to pay him $5M for 1 year.

But if Price signs it, then we're on the hook which is bad. That would be the downturn in this whole thing that could hurt us. While many of you think that we are easily going to get a first rounder for Price, I'm tellin' ya, it ain't gonna be that easy if it happens at all. Price's history is sketchy with only one solid season. GM's aren't stupid to that fact. They may pay the big bucks, but they aren't going to give up proven D-I talent that may be bigger for them than a WR. JMO however. I may very well be proven wrong.

But the leverage here is with McGee/Price contrary to what's been written by just about everyone either here or formally. The Bills simply can't afford to pay a WR, even Price, $5M w/ all of the holes that we have on D. We simply can't! McGee fully realizes this as the article/quotes state! Are we, is TD stupid? I sure hope not, but if he really thinks that he and the Bills have the leverage in this, he's sorely mistaken.

Price/McGee can wait out the Bills much more than the Bills can wait them out. P/M know full well that every day that passes in FAcy w/ Price having the tag and signed, is a day that FAs slip out of the Bills' hands! TD has absolutley no leverage here unless he works out something w/ Atlanta and soon. I'm tellin' ya now, no team w/ a GM in his right mind is gonna give Price the amount of cash the he wants and a first round pick! It just ain't happenin'.

I cringe at the thought of us and our $5-6M free money not being able to sign anything but average starting defensive players while over $5M is tied up disallowing us from truly fixing what's wrong w/ this team!

This whole tag will have been a mistake if Price signs the offersheet! Again, unless there's a trade in the works ready to materialize during the first week of FAcy. My guess as well is that Atlanta will hold out on signing Price too. Absolutely no one who's interested in Price will lose out by waiting. It will be in their interests to wait it out until Price's demands go down or until the Bills' bargaining position worsens.

Meanwhile the Bills ability to turn this into an offseason in which we fix our D to the extent necessary in order to win a championship is on hold and even potentially nullified by Price's signing of the offer sheet if we can't trade him.

Ya gotta remember that the O isn't gonna do much more than it did w/ the same team, perhaps even less w/o JR and Centers maybe. The difference is gonna come from D which won't be significantly upgraded barring us dealing Price early or dropping the FT designation prior to Price signing the offer sheet.

[WG]

This is very good silent negotiating on the part of McGee/Price! It threatens to put the Bills in a position of weakness. TD, if he's so bright, should have seen this coming.

[Tatonka]

wys.. we signed McKenzie... what the hell do you want.

[Buffarama]

Just the tone of this implicates Price leaving. Posturing with no cooperation. Something is up. Probably Atlanta with a 1st and something else thrown in.
All I can say is if that happens, we better get Spikes in here.

[Tatonka]

i REALLY dont think spikes will be here.. i just dont see it.. maybe i have convinced myself so i wont be disappointed.. but i swear i would be just as happy with simmons