The Spaz
03-13-2004, 01:13 PM
When free agency began more than a decade ago, teams desperate to fill holes overpaid for ordinary players and went nowhere.
Thirty-one teams have learned from that, most of them waiting for a player who fits their needs AND their budget.
Not Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins, as they've once again demonstrated during the first 10 days of free agency 2004.
The other teams are much more careful with their cash.
``I'm very biased for Warren Sapp,'' Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said after his seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle suggested he would test the free-agent market. ``At the same time, there's a business side of pro football.''
In other words, the Bucs will take Sapp back, but won't pay superstar money for a 31-year-old whose All-Pro years probably are behind him.
The Redskins, who paid $50 million in bonuses the first three days of free agency, are doing it their way: identify a player as the best available at his position and outbid everyone -- even though the money far exceeds the player's value.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-onfootball-freeagency&prov=ap&type=lgns
Thirty-one teams have learned from that, most of them waiting for a player who fits their needs AND their budget.
Not Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins, as they've once again demonstrated during the first 10 days of free agency 2004.
The other teams are much more careful with their cash.
``I'm very biased for Warren Sapp,'' Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden said after his seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle suggested he would test the free-agent market. ``At the same time, there's a business side of pro football.''
In other words, the Bucs will take Sapp back, but won't pay superstar money for a 31-year-old whose All-Pro years probably are behind him.
The Redskins, who paid $50 million in bonuses the first three days of free agency, are doing it their way: identify a player as the best available at his position and outbid everyone -- even though the money far exceeds the player's value.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-onfootball-freeagency&prov=ap&type=lgns