The last remaining pair of unsigned restricted free agents are coming back to work. Just not quite yet.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that wide receiver Vincent Jackson will report to the Chargers by October 31 and Patriots guard Logan Mankins will report to the Patriots by November 16 after the NFLPA recommended they do so.
The players need to show up by those dates to earn an accrued season and avoid the possibility of being restricted free agents again next year, regardless of what happens with the next collective bargaining agreement. Both players should play six games this season.
The dates are different because the Chargers placed Jackson on the roster exempt list. Like his teammate Marcus McNeill, Jackson will have to wait three weeks after he reports before he can play in a regular season game.
The NFLPA sought to clarify the matter in recent weeks to make sure the players would be protected in 2011 and that teams couldn’t possibly bar them from reporting. The news doesn’t come as a big surprise because we mentioned a similar report last week. Mankins’ agent also didn’t rule out a return.
It’s important to note Mortensen leaves open the possibility that the players could report before their deadline date. Perhaps the return date could be influenced by contract talks.
When McNeill returned, he quickly got a new contract. It wouldn’t be a shock if that happened with Mankins, but it would be very surprising if the Chargers signed Jackson long term.
Be a shock with Mankins as well.
Right or wrong, publicly pissing on Robert Kraft is a a bad idea when you’re negotiating with him.
Dante Scarnechia and Tom Brady just need guys with NFL talent and Patriot work ethics to produce a good line.
A player as talented as Mankins will always be missed and it is easy to imagine him making the difference on a crucial play but whoever the Pats put in will be well coached and will perform above league average.
So what’s the soonest date (game), we could expect to see Vincent Jackson active for?
It looks like it was advantageous for the Chargers to put Jackson on the roster exempt list. He has to report a little over 2 weeks before Mankins. During that time he can get in shape and learn some of the stuff he missed.
I doubt Mankins is getting a long term contract from the Patriots at this point. He burned that bridge when he didn’t show up week 1, and they were no worse without him.
At this point all he can hope for is that he gets traded to the Raiders for a 1st round draft pick, and everyone can move on.
What an insightful “report”. They could return on the respective dates needed to earn an accrued year toward free agency, they could show up before, or they could not show up at all and hope for the best under the new CBA.
if mankins comes by week 10 just get the yr counted….belichick will ask him to take a seat like terry glenn…i doubt he plays a down..
In other news:
Will the Chargers and Patriots actually trust Jackson and Mankins enough to actually let them play?
Hmm, lets see, Chargers need line help, Patriots need a WR. sign and trade and call it a day.
Mankins may return, but I doubt he will be welcomed with open arms.
I hope BB doesnt even activate him…
Belichick would be fine with playing Mankins. Ty Law said a lot worse and Bill kept sending him out there. The Krafts are the crybabies that can’t handle any criticism. They might force Bill to keep him inactive. There was even a report that said both sides agreed on a deal, but Kraft demanded a public apology.
Let VJ come back, then sit his ass on the bench! See how much money he makes next year after not playing a single down. Hell, even one better, deactivate him every game!
Yeah, but it’s not about the money.
At least they’re going back for the right reasons. Selfish pricks.
Yeah, but it’s not about the money.
At least they’re going back for the right reasons. Selfish pricks.
Hopefully the PATS will bury Logan asswipe Mankins on the bench. He’s average at best, still can’t stop the blitz up the middle. This guy got bad advise and should pay for it. The sooner he’s out of New England the better.
What a fantastic career move by Vj and his agents. You really made a point. What a joke.
Mankins now has to sign the tender he said he wouldn’t sign. Oops, he meant he wouldn’t sign it before November 16th. Mankins played a game of chicken and lost. The Patriots will franchise him next year unless the rules change. Mankins could have negotiated a win-win deal with the Patriots instead of taking the belligerent stance his agent and he chose. He could be sitting on a good deal of guaranteed money and the security it provides.
If and when Mankins is ready to play (that means both mentally and physically), Belichick will play him if he earns the spot. If he doesn’t earn the spot he won’t play. If he comes back with an attitude problem he won’t make the game day roster. I expect he will be the professional he has been on the field in the past. It is in his interest to play and play well. His agent will need to insure him against injury because that’s the risk he’ll live with for not taking the Patriots’ offer with the guaranteed money.
Of course they will…friggin idiots…
Yeah that holdout sure showed them
11/21 Patriots Inactive List vs Colts
1 ) Logan Mankins
I hope Jackson holds out all year. Can you tell I own Gates on my fantasy football team?
stusbadbulb says:
October 14, 2010 12:45 AM
Yeah, but it’s not about the money.
At least they’re going back for the right reasons. Selfish pricks.
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I agree with you here stu. I understand that the CBA allows for the players to report as late as week 10 to accrue the season necessary to become unrestricted free agents…..and I also understand the likelihood that their teammates will give the union line that each player is/was only doing what they needed to do to protect their own personal best interests……but I find it hard to believe that the majority of the teammates won’t be a bit miffed that these guys choose to help them the absolute minimum amount possible on the field, while meeting their own personal requirements.
I know some will make the arguement that it makes no sense to play any more than necessary to accrue the desired status to prevent injury, but 53+ players on each team are putting themselves in harm’s way EVERY week for the TEAM (READ: TEAMMATES)……yet these guys are unwilling to do so!!
I’m real sure Mankins and Jackson will give 100% effort upon returning.
And by “real sure” I mean the exact opposite.
VJ thanks for giving MF the opportunity to demonstrate that he is every bit as capable as you without the DUIs and drama on and off the field. The fact that your replacement has been identified while you are still property of the Bolts is a great irony to your individual pursuits. I look forward to you not being in Bolt blue, bye bye VJ.
Either pay the man or trade him! There are plenty of other teams willing to pay him what he’s asking.
I can’t blame Eli Manning for not wanting to play for that organization.
“I’m real sure Mankins and Jackson will give 100% effort upon returning.
And by “real sure” I mean the exact opposite.”
I think that they will, only because theyre both playing for a new contract. You can forget about Vincent Jackson getting one with the Chargers after the emergence of Floyd. All he would be doing by running half assed routes is sabotaging whatever small value he has left. He thinks of himself is a $9 million a year WR. Not happening. And definitely not getting anything over $5 million per if he dogs it out there
HIGHLY doubt Mankins gets a deal. VJax definitely isn’t
I also HIGHLY doubt either of these clowns will be active for a single game the rest of the year.Belicheat doesn’t take any nonsense and AJ Smith is as stubborn as a 5 year old. Wouldn’t be surprised if both are deactivated rest of the year.
I wouldn’t sign VJax, SD’s fine without him..
They lost one game to my Chiefs in a downpour, and another game to the Raiders on special teams errors..
They don’t need Jackson, Phillip Rivers is the best QB in the league..
waterboy said:”
Either pay the man or trade him! There are plenty of other teams willing to pay him what he’s asking.
I can’t blame Eli Manning for not wanting to play for that organization.”
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No team in there right mind is going to give VJ a long term deal with his off the field issues. None. If he didn’t have any off the field issues, IMO he would have been either traded long ago or signed long term by the Chargers
Hate on the Chargers all you want, they are clearly drafting players that other teams may want. Perhaps those other teams ought to do a better job drafting players.
Perhaps fans of other teams ought to stop whining about how VJ is being treated, and instead, hold their own teams responsible for their poor drafting.
@waterboy:
Either pay the man or trade him! There are plenty of other teams willing to pay him what he’s asking.
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You are truly ignorant. All 31 other teams HAD the chance to “pay him what he was asking” and NONE of them would do it. The ones that WERE interested only agreed to make him an offer IF he would REDUCE his ridiculously inflated sense of value i.e. asking price. You are lucky you don’t have a flat line for an EEG.
Mankins can give his effort on the practice squad for all I care.
Chargers need to just trade VJ. They do not want him and he does not want to be there. Both sides need to lower there standards a little and part ways. Both sides are wrong. Two wrongs do not make it correct.
@footballfan
The Chargers are NOT wrong. Jackson is their property, and EMPLOYEES do NOT dictate to EMPLOYERS. AJ is showing Jackson who is boss, and it is costing Jackson up the wazoo. Hopefully, other arrogant, ungrateful players have been watching this closely. Mankins was another example of this stupidity.
VJ still wants to be a Charger. His agent has been saying that all along. If he chooses to show up he will be given a chance to play and earn his next contract. What VJ needs to do is get a new agent simply because the agents he has now gave him terrible advice and put him in this position.
waterboy says:
October 14, 2010 9:22 AM
Either pay the man or trade him! There are plenty of other teams willing to pay him what he’s asking.
I can’t blame Eli Manning for not wanting to play for that organization.
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Fine you pay him and then watch him get suspended for a year next time he has 3 beers.
Eli’s (actually jughead Archie’s) move was the most classless gaffe in sports public relations in the last decade.