ryjam282
02-25-2004, 11:42 AM
Link (http://www.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/news/25niners_c1.html)
Personally, I think we could really use a scrambling QB. I know he has had his ups and downs but he is still pretty good. I, for one, thought we could have really excelled this past year with Flutie. He was able to avoid the rush and make things happen and Garcia can do the same thing. What do you guys think? I love Bledsoe but without a good O line, he is worthless.
Tough call for 49ers on Garcia
February 25, 2004
By MATT MAIOCCO
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
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Jeff Garcia is to meet today with 49ers general manager Terry Donahue even as the team leans toward releasing the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback, sources said.
Garcia is in danger of becoming the first major victim of a new philosophy the 49ers believe will enable them to manage the NFL salary cap more effectively and remain competitive on the field.
Donahue, who was traveling back from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, was not available for comment. But earlier this week he laid out the realities of the situation.
"I think the main stumbling block is really that what Jeff and his people need isn't in our best interest or vice versa," Donahue said.
Garcia's agent, San Francisco-based Steve Baker, declined comment.
Neither the 49ers nor Garcia's side ever expected him to play next season under his current contract of $9.958 million. Garcia will have to make major concessions in a renegotiated deal to remain with the team, a source said.
The 49ers do not believe they can offer Garcia a new incentive-laden contract because that would create still more cap problems. The club is expected to offer some guaranteed money but probably not as much as Garcia could get from another team if he were released and became a free agent.
At issue is the 49ers' plan to cease the practice of scrambling every year to get under the salary cap by restructuring contracts, thus perpetuating their own cap problems. The team can only get in "salary-cap health," as Donahue calls it, by eliminating its massive "dead money" -- cap dollars consumed by players no longer on the roster.
To do so, the 49ers must "take their medicine," as Donahue warned two days after the end of the season. When Donahue spoke about eliminating the team's future dead money, he was referring to the contracts of Garcia, defensive tackle Bryant Young and receiver Terrell Owens.
Owens, who officially becomes a free agent March3, will count $4.8 million against the 2004 salary cap even though the team is not attempting to re-sign him. Garcia and Young each have approximately $10 million in unamortized signing-bonus money that will accelerate against the cap when they stop playing for the 49ers.
The reason the 49ers might cut Garcia within the next week is to take that cap hit immediately, so it won't hamstring them in the future.
The 49ers are unable to take on the burden of relieving themselves of Garcia and Young in the same year because it would cost them more than $20 million in salary-cap room -- roughly one-quarter of the league's $80.6 million salary cap.
They have decided to keep Young for at least another year -- despite a $4.25 million salary -- primarily because releasing him now would cost the team an additional $3 million on the salary cap.
The team could save as much as $5 million with a new contract for Garcia, but if the 49ers release Garcia, it will save the team $1.7 million in cap space while ensuring that his contract will not weigh down the franchise in future seasons.
That is why there is a "probability" Garcia will not return for his sixth season with the 49ers, one team source said. Donahue said this week he has not talked to teams about a trade for Garcia, who would essentially have no trade value if teams knew he would soon be on the free-agent market.
Garcia, who turned 34 on Tuesday, would immediately become the hottest veteran quarterback on the market if the sides don't agree on a new contract before next Tuesday.
The 49ers have placed an emphasis on eliminating dead money because the organization has spotted a correlation between that figure and lack of success on the field.
The 49ers had the third-highest amount of dead money in the NFL over the past three seasons, Donahue has said. During that time, there have been 36 playoff teams and only seven have had an above-average total of cap space devoted to players no longer with their teams. The 49ers account for two of those seven times that a team has made the playoffs in spite of their dead-money issues.
"So one of the long-term strategies that we are definitely going to employ is that we are going to work like crazy to eliminate our dead money," Donahue said on Dec.29.
Also, a 49ers source said the team has reason to fear that if they do not deal with Garcia's contract immediately, they run the risk of not having the cap space to retain linebacker Julian Peterson in 2005.
The 49ers put the exclusive franchise-player tag on Peterson this week, meaning they own his rights for another season. The team believes it has no hope of arriving at a long-term contract with Peterson as long as he is represented by agents Kevin and Carl Poston.
The Postons' exorbitant contract demands have forced three teams to exercise the franchise tag on their clients. The Raiders did it with cornerback Charles Woodson, and the St. Louis Rams again made offensive tackle Orlando Pace their franchise player.
Peterson's agents sought $30 million in guaranteed money from the 49ers to sign a long-term contract -- a starting point that appears to show the Postons have no desire to hold serious negotiations.
But the 49ers can continue to hold Peterson's rights as the franchise player on a year-to-year basis, as long as they deem his value is worth the 20 percent pay increases. This season, he is scheduled to earn between $5.8 million and $7.2 million, a figure that will be determined in mid-April.
The reason Garcia's fate becomes part of the equation is that if the 49ers do not account for all his potential dead money this season, they will almost assuredly have to deal with it a year from now when his contract is scheduled to void.
Personally, I think we could really use a scrambling QB. I know he has had his ups and downs but he is still pretty good. I, for one, thought we could have really excelled this past year with Flutie. He was able to avoid the rush and make things happen and Garcia can do the same thing. What do you guys think? I love Bledsoe but without a good O line, he is worthless.
Tough call for 49ers on Garcia
February 25, 2004
By MATT MAIOCCO
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Featured Advertiser
Northwest Exteriors
20% Off Entire Order
View Complete Ad
Jeff Garcia is to meet today with 49ers general manager Terry Donahue even as the team leans toward releasing the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback, sources said.
Garcia is in danger of becoming the first major victim of a new philosophy the 49ers believe will enable them to manage the NFL salary cap more effectively and remain competitive on the field.
Donahue, who was traveling back from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis on Tuesday, was not available for comment. But earlier this week he laid out the realities of the situation.
"I think the main stumbling block is really that what Jeff and his people need isn't in our best interest or vice versa," Donahue said.
Garcia's agent, San Francisco-based Steve Baker, declined comment.
Neither the 49ers nor Garcia's side ever expected him to play next season under his current contract of $9.958 million. Garcia will have to make major concessions in a renegotiated deal to remain with the team, a source said.
The 49ers do not believe they can offer Garcia a new incentive-laden contract because that would create still more cap problems. The club is expected to offer some guaranteed money but probably not as much as Garcia could get from another team if he were released and became a free agent.
At issue is the 49ers' plan to cease the practice of scrambling every year to get under the salary cap by restructuring contracts, thus perpetuating their own cap problems. The team can only get in "salary-cap health," as Donahue calls it, by eliminating its massive "dead money" -- cap dollars consumed by players no longer on the roster.
To do so, the 49ers must "take their medicine," as Donahue warned two days after the end of the season. When Donahue spoke about eliminating the team's future dead money, he was referring to the contracts of Garcia, defensive tackle Bryant Young and receiver Terrell Owens.
Owens, who officially becomes a free agent March3, will count $4.8 million against the 2004 salary cap even though the team is not attempting to re-sign him. Garcia and Young each have approximately $10 million in unamortized signing-bonus money that will accelerate against the cap when they stop playing for the 49ers.
The reason the 49ers might cut Garcia within the next week is to take that cap hit immediately, so it won't hamstring them in the future.
The 49ers are unable to take on the burden of relieving themselves of Garcia and Young in the same year because it would cost them more than $20 million in salary-cap room -- roughly one-quarter of the league's $80.6 million salary cap.
They have decided to keep Young for at least another year -- despite a $4.25 million salary -- primarily because releasing him now would cost the team an additional $3 million on the salary cap.
The team could save as much as $5 million with a new contract for Garcia, but if the 49ers release Garcia, it will save the team $1.7 million in cap space while ensuring that his contract will not weigh down the franchise in future seasons.
That is why there is a "probability" Garcia will not return for his sixth season with the 49ers, one team source said. Donahue said this week he has not talked to teams about a trade for Garcia, who would essentially have no trade value if teams knew he would soon be on the free-agent market.
Garcia, who turned 34 on Tuesday, would immediately become the hottest veteran quarterback on the market if the sides don't agree on a new contract before next Tuesday.
The 49ers have placed an emphasis on eliminating dead money because the organization has spotted a correlation between that figure and lack of success on the field.
The 49ers had the third-highest amount of dead money in the NFL over the past three seasons, Donahue has said. During that time, there have been 36 playoff teams and only seven have had an above-average total of cap space devoted to players no longer with their teams. The 49ers account for two of those seven times that a team has made the playoffs in spite of their dead-money issues.
"So one of the long-term strategies that we are definitely going to employ is that we are going to work like crazy to eliminate our dead money," Donahue said on Dec.29.
Also, a 49ers source said the team has reason to fear that if they do not deal with Garcia's contract immediately, they run the risk of not having the cap space to retain linebacker Julian Peterson in 2005.
The 49ers put the exclusive franchise-player tag on Peterson this week, meaning they own his rights for another season. The team believes it has no hope of arriving at a long-term contract with Peterson as long as he is represented by agents Kevin and Carl Poston.
The Postons' exorbitant contract demands have forced three teams to exercise the franchise tag on their clients. The Raiders did it with cornerback Charles Woodson, and the St. Louis Rams again made offensive tackle Orlando Pace their franchise player.
Peterson's agents sought $30 million in guaranteed money from the 49ers to sign a long-term contract -- a starting point that appears to show the Postons have no desire to hold serious negotiations.
But the 49ers can continue to hold Peterson's rights as the franchise player on a year-to-year basis, as long as they deem his value is worth the 20 percent pay increases. This season, he is scheduled to earn between $5.8 million and $7.2 million, a figure that will be determined in mid-April.
The reason Garcia's fate becomes part of the equation is that if the 49ers do not account for all his potential dead money this season, they will almost assuredly have to deal with it a year from now when his contract is scheduled to void.