Rogers didn't want to come to Cincy

[The UnderDawg]

ALLEN PARK — In his last act before leaving town, Shaun Rogers did the Detroit Lions a tremendous favor.

According to two sources close to the situation, it was Rogers himself who helped nullify a so-so trade with the Cincinnati Bengals and then engineer a much more lucrative deal with the Cleveland Browns.

Rogers' motive was completely self-serving but he helped out the Lions nonetheless. Detroit, which had originally agreed to a deal with the Bengals for a third- and fifth-round draft choice in exchange for Rogers, ended up trading with the Browns for a third-round pick and starting cornerback Leigh Bodden.

Here's how the situation unfolded on Friday:

Early in the day, the Lions were in discussions with the Browns about a possible trade involving Bodden but the Browns were hesitant. Not only did they not want to give up Bodden but preliminary talks with Shaun Rogers' agent, Kennard McGuire, about a possible contract restructuring didn't go well. As a result, that deal fell apart.

The Buffalo Bills, another team that had shown strong interest in Rogers, decided to go in another direction and were trying to work a trade for

Jacksonville's Marcus Stroud, which they eventually did.

The Bengals entered the picture later in the day and the two teams worked out a deal for the two draft picks. Because the trade wasn't completed by 4

p.m., the Lions were responsible for paying Rogers a $1 million roster bonus that was due on Saturday (because Rogers would still officially be on the Lions roster at the start of the day).

To work around that, the Lions and Bengals agreed to a provision in the trade that said the Bengals would pay the Lions the $1 million. In addition to that, if Rogers subsequently failed his physical, Rogers' rights would revert back to Detroit and the Lions would have to reimburse the Bengals the $1 million. The Lions agreed to those terms.

According to both sources, the league office rejected those terms because there was no language in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that allowed for an accurate accounting of that money for salary cap purposes. That's what led to all the confusion Friday afternoon. Both teams had agreed to the deal - and that's what was being reported - but there was really no deal.

While the Lions and Bengals were pleading their case to the league office to agree to the contract, the Browns - one of Cincinnati's division rivals - got wind of the impending trade.

It's not completely clear who initiated the contact, but Rogers' agent was in touch with the Browns and the long-term contract situation no longer appeared to be a problem. The Lions were then contacted and asked if they were still interested in doing business with the Browns. Leigh Bodden was back on the table and the Lions leaped at it.

But there was still the issue of the $1 million roster bonus and that wasn't going to change. However, Rogers was willing to do something for the Browns, one of the league's up-and-coming young teams, that he wasn't willing to do for the Bengals - agree to postpone the due date of the roster bonus. That effectively made it a non-issue with the league and opened the door for the trade with Cleveland.

The Bengals were stuck. They didn't want to continue with a trade which might end up costing them $1 million for nothing. Rogers held the hammer because he was the only one who could dictate the terms of the roster bonus payout.

By Rogers pulling his power play, the Lions effectively traded a fifth-round pick for Bodden, a 26-year-old starting cornerback who is entering the prime of his athletic career. He's a three-year starter who had a career-high six interceptions last year and fills one of the biggest needs the Lions had going into the off-season.

There were a lot of reasons why head coach Rod Marinelli was going to be glad to see Rogers leave town - and Rogers just gave him one more.

He wanted to come to a real team where they were actually in contention and even Rogers wasn't a big enough felen to play in Cincy, lol.

Linkity

[Big Hugg]

He wanted to come to a real team where they were actually in contention

But since none of those wanted him, he went to Cleveland.

[volcom69]

You know this article is probably true and so are the hundreds of other ones that i have read, so who really cares anymore you guys got him and we didnt. Just seems like to me the Browns are actully looking to make there team better and i take my hat off to the owners (as much as i hate saying that), and the bengals once again really dont understand how free agency works. I would have loved Rogers here, but we lost out for some reason and u got him oh well case closed im done with it now.

[Bengals1]

Why am I not surprised by this?

[bwillycuse]

ALLEN PARK — In his last act before leaving town, Shaun Rogers did the Detroit Lions a tremendous favor.

According to two sources close to the situation, it was Rogers himself who helped nullify a so-so trade with the Cincinnati Bengals and then engineer a much more lucrative deal with the Cleveland Browns.

Rogers' motive was completely self-serving but he helped out the Lions nonetheless. Detroit, which had originally agreed to a deal with the Bengals for a third- and fifth-round draft choice in exchange for Rogers, ended up trading with the Browns for a third-round pick and starting cornerback Leigh Bodden.

Here's how the situation unfolded on Friday:

Early in the day, the Lions were in discussions with the Browns about a possible trade involving Bodden but the Browns were hesitant. Not only did they not want to give up Bodden but preliminary talks with Shaun Rogers' agent, Kennard McGuire, about a possible contract restructuring didn't go well. As a result, that deal fell apart.

The Buffalo Bills, another team that had shown strong interest in Rogers, decided to go in another direction and were trying to work a trade for

Jacksonville's Marcus Stroud, which they eventually did.

The Bengals entered the picture later in the day and the two teams worked out a deal for the two draft picks. Because the trade wasn't completed by 4

p.m., the Lions were responsible for paying Rogers a $1 million roster bonus that was due on Saturday (because Rogers would still officially be on the Lions roster at the start of the day).

To work around that, the Lions and Bengals agreed to a provision in the trade that said the Bengals would pay the Lions the $1 million. In addition to that, if Rogers subsequently failed his physical, Rogers' rights would revert back to Detroit and the Lions would have to reimburse the Bengals the $1 million. The Lions agreed to those terms.

According to both sources, the league office rejected those terms because there was no language in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that allowed for an accurate accounting of that money for salary cap purposes. That's what led to all the confusion Friday afternoon. Both teams had agreed to the deal - and that's what was being reported - but there was really no deal.

While the Lions and Bengals were pleading their case to the league office to agree to the contract, the Browns - one of Cincinnati's division rivals - got wind of the impending trade.

It's not completely clear who initiated the contact, but Rogers' agent was in touch with the Browns and the long-term contract situation no longer appeared to be a problem. The Lions were then contacted and asked if they were still interested in doing business with the Browns. Leigh Bodden was back on the table and the Lions leaped at it.

But there was still the issue of the $1 million roster bonus and that wasn't going to change. However, Rogers was willing to do something for the Browns, one of the league's up-and-coming young teams, that he wasn't willing to do for the Bengals - agree to postpone the due date of the roster bonus. That effectively made it a non-issue with the league and opened the door for the trade with Cleveland.

The Bengals were stuck. They didn't want to continue with a trade which might end up costing them $1 million for nothing. Rogers held the hammer because he was the only one who could dictate the terms of the roster bonus payout.

By Rogers pulling his power play, the Lions effectively traded a fifth-round pick for Bodden, a 26-year-old starting cornerback who is entering the prime of his athletic career. He's a three-year starter who had a career-high six interceptions last year and fills one of the biggest needs the Lions had going into the off-season.

There were a lot of reasons why head coach Rod Marinelli was going to be glad to see Rogers leave town - and Rogers just gave him one more.

He wanted to come to a real team where they were actually in contention and even Rogers wasn't a big enough felen to play in Cincy, lol.

Good luck next year, Ill be looking forward to the heated rivalry. About time..The series was getting stale.

Amazing what a surprise season will do to a waning fan base.

Next year should prove who is quality and who is not. Tough schedules for all. Complete opposite to this past year.

[The UnderDawg]

ALLEN PARK — In his last act before leaving town, Shaun Rogers did the Detroit Lions a tremendous favor.

According to two sources close to the situation, it was Rogers himself who helped nullify a so-so trade with the Cincinnati Bengals and then engineer a much more lucrative deal with the Cleveland Browns.

Rogers' motive was completely self-serving but he helped out the Lions nonetheless. Detroit, which had originally agreed to a deal with the Bengals for a third- and fifth-round draft choice in exchange for Rogers, ended up trading with the Browns for a third-round pick and starting cornerback Leigh Bodden.

Here's how the situation unfolded on Friday:

Early in the day, the Lions were in discussions with the Browns about a possible trade involving Bodden but the Browns were hesitant. Not only did they not want to give up Bodden but preliminary talks with Shaun Rogers' agent, Kennard McGuire, about a possible contract restructuring didn't go well. As a result, that deal fell apart.

The Buffalo Bills, another team that had shown strong interest in Rogers, decided to go in another direction and were trying to work a trade for

Jacksonville's Marcus Stroud, which they eventually did.

The Bengals entered the picture later in the day and the two teams worked out a deal for the two draft picks. Because the trade wasn't completed by 4

p.m., the Lions were responsible for paying Rogers a $1 million roster bonus that was due on Saturday (because Rogers would still officially be on the Lions roster at the start of the day).

To work around that, the Lions and Bengals agreed to a provision in the trade that said the Bengals would pay the Lions the $1 million. In addition to that, if Rogers subsequently failed his physical, Rogers' rights would revert back to Detroit and the Lions would have to reimburse the Bengals the $1 million. The Lions agreed to those terms.

According to both sources, the league office rejected those terms because there was no language in the Collective Bargaining Agreement that allowed for an accurate accounting of that money for salary cap purposes. That's what led to all the confusion Friday afternoon. Both teams had agreed to the deal - and that's what was being reported - but there was really no deal.

While the Lions and Bengals were pleading their case to the league office to agree to the contract, the Browns - one of Cincinnati's division rivals - got wind of the impending trade.

It's not completely clear who initiated the contact, but Rogers' agent was in touch with the Browns and the long-term contract situation no longer appeared to be a problem. The Lions were then contacted and asked if they were still interested in doing business with the Browns. Leigh Bodden was back on the table and the Lions leaped at it.

But there was still the issue of the $1 million roster bonus and that wasn't going to change. However, Rogers was willing to do something for the Browns, one of the league's up-and-coming young teams, that he wasn't willing to do for the Bengals - agree to postpone the due date of the roster bonus. That effectively made it a non-issue with the league and opened the door for the trade with Cleveland.

The Bengals were stuck. They didn't want to continue with a trade which might end up costing them $1 million for nothing. Rogers held the hammer because he was the only one who could dictate the terms of the roster bonus payout.

By Rogers pulling his power play, the Lions effectively traded a fifth-round pick for Bodden, a 26-year-old starting cornerback who is entering the prime of his athletic career. He's a three-year starter who had a career-high six interceptions last year and fills one of the biggest needs the Lions had going into the off-season.

There were a lot of reasons why head coach Rod Marinelli was going to be glad to see Rogers leave town - and Rogers just gave him one more.

He wanted to come to a real team where they were actually in contention and even Rogers wasn't a big enough felen to play in Cincy, lol.

Good luck next year, Ill be looking forward to the heated rivalry. About time..The series was getting stale.

Amazing what a surprise season will do to a waning fan base.

Next year should prove who is quality and who is not. Tough schedules for all. Complete opposite to this past year.

I wouldnt mind seeing another shoot out like week 2.

Oh, put in the link if anyones interested.....

[Kazkal]

Well Bengals did sound like they try'd (even willing pay the 1million OMG MIKEY

[rishipatel]

This whole Rogers thing made me sick when I thought the blame lay with the Bengals for not coughing up the $1 mill. If this story is accurate, which it sounds like it is, this makes me feel better about the whole thing. The blame lies with Rogers fat ass himself.

I hope the Bengals remember Rogers' insult when they play the Clowns this upcoming season and beat them into the ground. In fact, I hope Rudi and our RB's run for over 200 yards.

It's bad enough I have to live in Cleveland, but now my dislike for the Browns just intensified back to level I had in the 80's. I'm just glad that I am finally moving out of Cleveland for good before the season starts.

WHO-DEY!

[bwillycuse]

This whole Rogers thing made me sick when I thought the blame lay with the Bengals for not coughing up the $1 mill. If this story is accurate, which it sounds like it is, this makes me feel better about the whole thing. The blame lies with Rogers fat ass himself.

I hope the Bengals remember Rogers' insult when they play the Clowns this upcoming season and beat them into the ground. In fact, I hope Rudi and our RB's run for over 200 yards.

It's bad enough I have to live in Cleveland, but now my dislike for the Browns just intensified back to level I had in the 80's. I'm just glad that I am finally moving out of Cleveland for good before the season starts.

WHO-DEY!

I got about a year left, then I can get out of here too!

[GregCook]

If Shaun is this much of a "player", I can imagine what an A$$Hole he is for the team. He's a calculating SOB, and the Bengals don't need it. God luck in Cleveland.

Still, if true, it shows the Bengals FO is children in the world of men.

[Kazkal]

I can live without him easier now

Peko+Ellis works for me.

[bengalsfansince68]

Still, if true, it shows the Bengals FO is children in the world of men.

How did you get there End? The Bengals made a legitimate offer which was torched on a technicality.

The Bengals offered to pay the roster bonus but the only way to make it work was for Rogers to postpone the due date.

He did that for the Browns but not for the Bengals.

Phuck Sean Rogers!

[Dimster28]

he did us a favor, he know he sucks big time, not that good at all like people like to think he is, so he want to help us by go to browns, and he did help us more by have browns lost brodden, lol

he remind me just like big daddy who is supposed be very good but just plain lazy fat ass

[COB]

Now that I know the story, I don't blame the Lions at all. Once they could get out of our deal, and got the offer from Cleveland, they'd be crazy not to have taken it.

A 3rd and a 5th versus a 3rd and Bodden. They got a huge upgrade. I'm over it.

[BNGLS05]

I remember about two or three years ago the Bengals were touted as the "Young and up and coming team." Ohhh how injuries changed that . My point is, don't get to cocky Clowns, you guys aren't exactly lucky with injuries either (Bentley)

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Sounds to me like the Browns were willing to give him a long term deal and more to the Lions, to make it work.

How sad that we're impressed Brown was willing to take on the $1mm cap bonus. I'm sure people will be congratulating him left and right.

Bottom line is, the Bengals were out-bid and unsuccessful.

Same old Bengals, time to move on to the next non-scenario.

[Jet23]

Here's hoping that all of our reservations concerning the trade & his work ethic come to complete fruition as a member of the Browns. If you think about it, it's a perfect marriage. The Browns choked down the stretch, as did Roger's former team, thanks in large part to his decision that the playoffs were not worth his continued effort.

Maybe Bobby Williams will have a nice little belt in the mouth waiting for good ole Mr. Rogers.

[agreen_112]

Now that I know the story, I don't blame the Lions at all. Once they could get out of our deal, and got the offer from Cleveland, they'd be crazy not to have taken it.

A 3rd and a 5th versus a 3rd and Bodden. They got a huge upgrade. I'm over it.

Sounds to me like the Browns were willing to give him a long term deal and more to the Lions, to make it work.

How sad that we're impressed Brown was willing to take on the $1mm cap bonus. I'm sure people will be congratulating him left and right.

Bottom line is, the Bengals were out-bid and unsuccessful.

Same old Bengals, time to move on to the next non-scenario.

Exactly, we were outbid. I'm sure the Lions had just as much to do with the trade as did Rogers. They (Lions) get Bodden and a 3rd pick, and cornerback was a huge need for Detroit.

If we land Robertson, I'll be much more happier. I would've take Rogers too, but I like Robertson much better. Pair him with Ellis/Gholston and Geathers and that could be HUGE.

[HoosierCat]

How sad that we're impressed Brown was willing to take on the $1mm cap bonus.

Right, the million you claimed he was too cheap to pay?

Bottom line is, the Bengals were out-bid and unsuccessful.

No, the bottom line is that Rogers had the means to block a trade to a team he didn't want to play for and did

[BengalByTheBay]

Sounds to me like the Browns were willing to give him a long term deal and more to the Lions, to make it work.

How sad that we're impressed Brown was willing to take on the $1mm cap bonus. I'm sure people will be congratulating him left and right.

Bottom line is, the Bengals were out-bid and unsuccessful.

Same old Bengals, time to move on to the next non-scenario.

No surprise that you're keeping to your script -- it's hard sometimes to think about the facts and apply them to your prior opinion to see if it's still valid, huh? Anybody who looks at this scenario and sees the Bengals at fault is simply ignorant (probably intentionally). There was a bidding war that the Bengals actually came up with a pretty good solution for and the league nixed it. As it was, it was pretty close to a steal for the Bengals. For whatever reason, Rodgers decided he didn't want to be here (if that's the "same old Bengals" it has more to do with him than anything the Bengals FO did). While that may not be completely irrational, to decide that Cleveland is the place to be instead is highly questionable. If anybody has a worse medical staff in the NFL than the Bengals it's the clowns.

I'm not going to say I'm not disappointed because I wanted the player here to see if we could get him to play up to his ceiling. That said, I'm not sure the elevator goes all the way up to that ceiling based on the above machinations. From afar, I'd be hard-pressed to say that Cleveland is closer than the Bengals. If nothing else it looks like they're similar to us without as much skill on the offensive side of the ball. As for the defense, we both suck and could use line upgrades. For that reason alone, I remain disappointed. But, since it's clear he didn't want to play here, we probably dodged a bit of a bullet with a guy who has motivational problems to begin with.

[The UnderDawg]

I remember about two or three years ago the Bengals were touted as the "Young and up and coming team." Ohhh how injuries changed that . My point is, don't get to cocky Clowns, you guys aren't exactly lucky with injuries either (Bentley)

Bentleys a bum compared to the rest of our vamped up O-line. But injuries werent what killed your team, the Ohio state Sheriff/ Cincy PD killed your team.

Oh, BTW you say hes an ahole for not coming to Cincy, well put your selves in his shoes come to a place where they won 4(?) game or come to a place where they won 10 games last year. I mean if he cant be motivated to playing on a s**t team in Detroit what makes you think he'll want to play on a s**t team in Cincy, so overall this helps you. I think he has a higher chance to be motivated not to be a fat ass and do his job if hes close to the playoffs or Super Bowl. So really you guys got out of having yet another dead beat on your team.

[COB]

you say hes an ahole for not coming to Cincy, well put your selves in his shoes come to a place where they won 4(?) game

We only won 4 games last year? Congratulations Cleveland fan, you appear to be completely qualified to post on this message board. Please don't forget to always denigrate our ownership, and remember, it's 1998 in here.

[The UnderDawg]

you say hes an ahole for not coming to Cincy, well put your selves in his shoes come to a place where they won 4(?) game

We only won 4 games last year? Congratulations Cleveland fan, you appear to be completely qualified to post on this message board. Please don't forget to always denigrate our ownership, and remember, it's 1998 in here.

Alright you prick, theres a reason I put that question mark there. I wasnt sure, but now I looked it up its 7. That is still a losing record and is not going to cut it to get into the playoffs. Thats not even counting the fact your star reciever hates the place and wants out and you guys are having trouble on bringing guys in to improve this team while everone else in the AFC North is.

[HairOnFire]

Alright you prick, theres a reason I put that question mark there. I wasn't sure....

Perhaps you should use a question mark after every sentence you write.

[richmond_mat]

you say hes an ahole for not coming to Cincy, well put your selves in his shoes come to a place where they won 4(?) game

We only won 4 games last year? Congratulations Cleveland fan, you appear to be completely qualified to post on this message board. Please don't forget to always denigrate our ownership, and remember, it's 1998 in here.

Alright you prick, theres a reason I put that question mark there. I wasnt sure, but now I looked it up its 7. That is still a losing record and is not going to cut it to get into the playoffs. Thats not even counting the fact your star reciever hates the place and wants out and you guys are having trouble on bringing guys in to improve this team while everone else in the AFC North is.

reading this you'd think the lions had a defense last year.

Cleveland gave up A LOT to get this fellow. I'd trade a lazy fat ass for a quality corner, a decent draft pick and a cool million to boot any day, any time, any year.

Cleveland now needs to ready themselves for a draft with no first day picks.....good luck.