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Packers to talk with Jenkins today about deal BY Pete Dougherty
The Green Bay Packers have until March 1 to tender restricted free-agent Cullen Jenkins a contract offer but are continuing negotiations this week to sign the valuable fourth-year player to a long-term deal before then. One of Jenkins' agents, Brian Levy, said Wednesday the Packers haven't told him what restricted contract tender they will make, though it's almost a given it will be either the new second-round tender or a first-round tender. Levy probably won't find out until next week, but he's scheduled to meet with Andrew Brandt, the team's vice president of player finance, at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis this week to continue discussing a long-term deal. "We're going to sit down with them (today)," Levy said. Jenkins is a restricted free agent whose move to defensive end for the last four games last year was a significant factor in the Packers' defensive improvement in the season's final month. That, plus his ability to move to defensive tackle on passing downs, has made him an offseason signing priority for the Packers. Jenkins finished last season with 6½ sacks and 48 tackles, splitting time at defensive tackle and end, and if the Packers put the minimum tender of $850,000 on him, he'd draw great interest in restricted free agency. That tender would allow the Packers to match any offer he signed with another team or receive a draft pick in the round he was selected as compensation. But Jenkins was undrafted, so the Packers would get nothing in return. Last year, Minnesota found a loophole in such signings that makes it almost impossible for the original club to match an offer. A team can include a clause, for instance, that would guarantee Jenkins' entire contract if he played, say, four games at Lambeau Field in the first season of the deal. If the Packers matched that, they'd then have to guarantee Jenkins' entire contract if he played four games at home that season. That's why the Packers surely are debating whether to put a second-round or first-round tender on Jenkins. The second-round tender, which was added as part of the NFL's collective-bargaining agreement extension from last year, is cheaper for the Packers than the first-round tender — it guarantees Jenkins a $1.3 million salary for 2007 — and would force another team to give up a second-round draft pick to sign him. The first-round tender is more costly ($1.85 million) but would land them a first-round draft pick if he signed with another club. Both tenders' draft-pick compensation might be costly enough to dissuade another team from signing Jenkins, so the second-round tag appears more likely, but Jenkins' strong play late last year might intrigue a team or two to consider parting with a second-round pick for him. In the meantime, the Packers and Levy are expected to continue negotiating a possible long-term contract, for which the Packers are well positioned to do with almost $25 million in salary-cap space. Two defensive ends who like Jenkins just finished their third seasons in the NFL recently signed lucrative long-term deals, though that doesn't mean Jenkins is in line for contracts at their level, because both are better pure outside pass rushers, which is a more highly valued skill.
VIEW: "It looks like he should get between $8 million and $11 million in guaranteed money, over the course of about a 6-year deal. Here are some facts on the TENDER rules, and i would say put a 1st rd tender on him for $1.85 million. that's less than some stiffs on our team will make, plus it will make him work and play hard again to cash in: THE Packers surely are debating whether to put a second-round or first-round tender on Jenkins. The second-round tender, which was added as part of the NFL's collective-bargaining agreement extension from last year, is cheaper for the Packers than the first-round tender — it guarantees Jenkins a $1.3 million salary for 2007 — and would force another team to give up a second-round draft pick to sign him. The first-round tender is more costly ($1.85 million) but would land them a first-round draft pick if he signed with another club. Both tenders' draft-pick compensation might be costly enough to dissuade another team from signing Jenkins, so the second-round tag appears more likely, but Jenkins' strong play late last year might intrigue a team or two to consider parting with a second-round pick for him."
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