skyline Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 http://www.bengals.com/press/news.asp?iCur...=0&news_id=2721 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
membengal Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 http://www.bengals.com/press/news.asp?iCur...=0&news_id=2721Yupper. It's official, he wants silly money and is prepared to muck up the off-season. Swell.Backs potentially on the market this year:RudiEdge JamesShaun AlexanderLaMont JordanRueben DroughnsA Chief BackTravis HenryStud backs in draft:Ced BensonRonnie BrownCadillac Williamsand a bunch of others.Now, does paying Rudi, as much as we might like him, $6 million per for 6 years remotely a good idea? Hells no.I have half a mind to advocate letting him walk, wish him well in getting the contract he wants in a flooded market, and going after someone like LaMont Jordan. Re-sign TJ, shore up other areas and move on.Best case scenario, we get seven months of bitterness and posturing. Swell. Not great news on a Friday night. I think Orlando Pace gets perenially tagged and then holds out of camp before coming in. I am pretty sure Charles Woodson went this route last year after getting tagged. Chris McAlister too. Would Rudi really have the cajones to sit out a year and forego the tag money? Highly doubtful, but he can also bring a real uncertainty to the Bengals camp by holding out and by skipping off-season workouts that is going to suck.Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Nothing against Rudi, but why does he thing he suddenly has this power over a team? We'll succeed with or without him; it's his choice. It's encouraging though to see: “He wants to play for the Bengals for the long term. He wants to stay in Cincinnati. He doesn’t want to play anywhere for just one year. There’s no comparison (to Dillon).” Rudi Johnson's free agent, Peter Schaffer said.It's not so bad guys that this is happening. Actually, I'm in favor of Rudi doing this because not only will Rudi know where he'll be playing, but we'll also have a forecast of our team for the next 5-7 years. It pushes Brown's (or Marvin's, or Katie's, or Mr. Blackburn's) hand a little to force some action before the FA market opens up. I'm not going to even really worry about it until training camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Well it pisses me off Kirk, I don't blame him for wanting to know where ho's gonna live for awhile, but I praised him all year for being a team player and saying you'll sit out for any reason makes me think that Rudi thinks he's above the team. I want them to tag him now just out of spite. Force the hand back to Rudi and see if he's willing to put his foot in his mouth and shut up and play. But first, I'd put up (in Rudi's mind) a meagor offer at out 3 or 4 mil for 5 years full of semi lucrative incentives> even if he does want that kind of money that contract better be laced with incentive after incentive to run his arse all over the place. I wouldn't be so mad if he just didn't say that crap about not playing, that stills sounds a little Leon to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Perhaps.But I think you're over-reacting. Nothing indicates this to be a financial situation, just a stability issue. If it was money he wants, he wouldn't mind being tagged with a payday averaging the top-five RB's in the league. Or he could remain quiet with his devious projections of big money come March 2nd. He has to know money isn't going to be premium on this team with our "Perry fallback plan" and he has to know, being a malcontent -- which I don't believe Rudi is right now -- is a very bad PR move in Cincinnati. Just read all the Dillon-hate comments on this board in the past calendar year.Let's face facts, if he wanted to leave for a big payday, he and his agent wouldn't make an effort to ensure fans and the team this is nothing close to a Corey Dillon situation. I just wish both sides were presented rather than Hobson getting a call from Schaffer and then reporting -- which he has to do from obligation alone. So let's keep that in perspective also. Let's see how this plays out before we root Rudi as a bad guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smizzy Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Bengals | R. Johnson Seeking Long-Term Contract - from www.KFFL.comFri, 21 Jan 2005 19:10:41 -0800Cincinnati Bengals RB Rudi Johnson would rather sit out the 2005 season than play for the team under a one-year free-agent contract designation available to the Bengals, according to Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Peter Schaffer, Johnson's agent, said he has told the Bengals that Johnson would not play if the club uses the franchise tag on him. "He feels he has earned the right not to play for insecurity," Schaffer said. "It's not anti-organization. It's not Corey Dillon. I was very clear - Rudi feels his contributions to the team and his stats warrant that, if he is going to play for the Bengals, that it is not for one year." Schaffer says Johnson, who can become an unrestricted free agent on March 2, wants a five or six-year deal with the team. Johnson played for a $1.8 million tender as a restricted free agent in 2004. that sucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 *Yawn*Like shworge (and for that matter, myself) said earlier, threatening to sit out is pretty much standard operating procedure for guys who have the tag hanging over their heads. It never happens.The only question in my mind is, will the Bengals really tag Rudi? Right now, my instincts say they will...but there's a case to be made for letting him go and using that money on defense. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walzav29 Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 This makes sense on both sides. Rudi can't blame the Bengal's for using the tag. Blame the NFL. Why not use the insurance if you're Cincy. The Bengal's can't blame Rudi for wanting long term security. Don't hate the player, hate the game. You can bet that Marvin will get something for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schweinhart Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 The only question in my mind is, will the Bengals really tag Rudi? Right now, my instincts say they will...but there's a case to be made for letting him go and using that money on defense. We'll see. Ah yes, the high road and Rudi walks w/ nothing immediate in exchange for the Bengals.Now that ML's honeymoon for carte blanche roster turnover is over, tough choices are here.If Bengals franchise Rudi for trade purposes, they should be able to work a deal before the draft for a pick or two and maybe a player. The beauty about trading Rudi is there's no signing bonus cap hit involved for the Bengals.If Rudi is franchised and no trade is done and he sits through camp and pre-season, then the Bengals will have a better idea if Perry, Watson, Wilson, or whoever else can adequately replace him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 If Bengals franchise Rudi for trade purposes, they should be able to work a deal before the draft for a pick or two and maybe a player. The beauty about trading Rudi is there's no signing bonus cap hit involved for the Bengals. The only problem I see with a trade scenario is that there are already two decent RBs on the block, Drougans and Henry. And the status of both Alexander and Edge remain up in the air. And you yourself have already pointed out that, if teams what to spend a first-round pick for an RB, there's a glut of good RBs in this year's draft.Obviously, things could change, but right now I think the chances of the franchise-and-trade option happening approach zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schweinhart Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 The RB availability in free agency, the draft, and trade bait all would make it more difficult to satisfactorily trade Rudi. But Rudi's asking price and length of contract request might be the actual deal killers in any event, since last I checked Rudi was 11th ranked RB in NFL for combined receiving and run yds -- a hard case to argue to any team that he's worth Top 5 money.However, trade potential is still there for teams that need to acquire a reliable RB in addition to other key players. By Rudi's agent bringing the "I'm gonna holdout if franchised" announcement now, it'll open up whatever trade talks can be pursued within the timeline between the start of franchise designations (early Feb. and the start of free agency and trading in March).The Niners under Mike Nolan now might bite because it's likely they release Kevan Barlow before his $6.5 mill option kicks in in March and they'll need a feature RB in that case among the many, many other positions that the worthless Niners need. Playerwise, the only Niners worth considering in a trade IMO is their center Jeremy Newberry and UFA Julian Peterson.Arizona definitely gets an RB this year and it a possible scenarios would be to franchise Rudi and trade to Zona for, say, safety Ifeanyi Olahete (a UFA who started for ML w/ Deadskins) and draft pick/s. Etc........Just thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 i just read the article on bengals.com and i didnt read anyones comments in this thread yet...f**k Rudi! that a**h*** better be happy as hell to make that much even if its only for one year. He says he'll sit out a season....screw him. transition tag him and trade him. he aint that godly to start making demands. bye bye. no f**kin way should we waste 6 mill and franchise his egotistical ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirkendall Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 i just read the article on bengals.com and i didnt read anyones comments in this thread yet...f**k Rudi! that a**h*** better be happy as hell to make that much even if its only for one year. He says he'll sit out a season....screw him. transition tag him and trade him. he aint that godly to start making demands. bye bye. no f**kin way should we waste 6 mill and franchise his egotistical ass. Again, let's wait to see how this plays out before we go off making Rudi a bad guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTBengalsFan Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 to people who use Rudi finishing #6 in rushing yards: remember that backs like Priest Holmes, Jamal Lewis, and Stephen Davis were injured this season and he very well could have been #9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 I've tried to relax, but him saying hw'll sit out contradicts everything I've said about the guy. For 6 mill we can make the D good enough we won't have to score as much, I can't believe I'm saying this but Thank God for Cris perry, huh billy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 im not saying hes an a**h***, im saying f**k him and his agent. hes worth 3 million nothing more. his agent and him need to stop blowing the s**t out of the numbers and look at the quality of his runs. i swear to god i hope hes gone, it will be better for us in the long run. 6 MILLION??!!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? If we pay him that im gonna be f**kin livid. he aint a top 5 back on his best day. GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Just a note, ditty: I haven't seen the $6 million/year average figure in anything "official." So while the "I'll sit out" stuff appears real, I haven't seen anything definitive money-wise on his demands.That said, the franchise tag is going to be $5-6 million, so such a starting point to negotiations would actually be pretty generous on Rudi's part. schweinhart:Arizona definitely gets an RB this year and it a possible scenarios would be to franchise Rudi and trade to Zona for, say, safety Ifeanyi Olahete (a UFA who started for ML w/ Deadskins) and draft pick/s. Etc........Just thoughts.Oh, there's no shortage of scenarios, tho you can't trade for a UFA. Like I said, I'm fairly certain they'll tag him. The test of how bad they want him will be if they manage to snag a top defensive free agent -- but can only create space for him by pulling the tag off Rudi. Which is why my major complaint with the Bengals is that they appear to be doing the same thing they did last year: drifting vaguely into FA. What they ought to be doing, and what I hope they are doing but just not talking about, is things like extending Willie Anderson to create some cap room. They have a chance to build up some flexibility and as usual they appear to be in wait-and-see mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schweinhart Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Oh, there's no shortage of scenarios, tho you can't trade for a UFA. Like I said, I'm fairly certain they'll tag him. The test of how bad they want him will be if they manage to snag a top defensive free agent -- but can only create space for him by pulling the tag off Rudi. Which is why my major complaint with the Bengals is that they appear to be doing the same thing they did last year: drifting vaguely into FA. What they ought to be doing, and what I hope they are doing but just not talking about, is things like extending Willie Anderson to create some cap room. They have a chance to build up some flexibility and as usual they appear to be in wait-and-see mode. Righto about UFAs -- teams can't trade what they ain't got. But trades can be worked out in advance before free agency starts in March that allows a upcoming UFA like Olahete to be signed by his current team at higher pay than that team would've offered if not for the intention to trade him to a team that is really the one behind the higher offer.But I'm hearing you about the drifting vaguely into FA. And the priority to restructure to cut cap costs so that the Bengals can improve their position to acquire free agents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I can't believe I'm saying this but Thank God for Chris Perry, huh billy!!Oh yeah. He's a real "savior" for the future of the Bengals running game to be sure! As Joisey said...JoiseyCat Posted: Jan 22 2005, 07:23 AM: Threatening to sit out is pretty much standard operating procedure for guys who have the tag hanging over their heads. It never happens.It's a basic ploy of the agents "101 course" they use for the players they represent who are in Rudi's present position. How nieve are you guy's anyway? It's not the first time that bulls**t bus has passed this stop. We've seen it before, and we'll see it again. Try not to act so offended or surprised the next time it pulls up! Rudi...sitting out? That's a good one!I think we need to keep perspective here. Josh nailed it for me:Kirkendall Posted: Jan 21 2005, 06:47 PM: It's encouraging though to see: “He wants to play for the Bengals for the long term. He wants to stay in Cincinnati. He doesn’t want to play anywhere for just one year. There’s no comparison (to Dillon).” Rudi Johnson's free agent, Peter Schaffer said.C'mon...you can't blame a guy for wanting a little long term security in his life. If it was any one of us, we'd be doing the same thing. Well except for maybe jditty. Only he knows what he'd do! I'm sure well find out now! Bottom line: I see Rudi wearing stripes for Marvin and the Bengals for at least the next few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DontPushMe Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 man, too bad we traded corey dillon, id rather give him 5 million a year then an average RB who thinks hes good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 man, too bad we traded corey dillon, id rather give him 5 million a year then an average RB who thinks hes good!I understand your angle here, but I think it would be better expressed in saying too bad we had to trade a RB with the ability of Corey Dillon! With all the circumstances involving Corey Dillon, new head coach Marvin Lewis, and the financial situation that was present at the time, there was simply no way Corey Dillon could remain in Cincinnati! End of story...or as Bax used to say. "Case Closed!" And BTW, regardless if Rudi thinks he's good or not, when you hold the current single season rushing record of ANY NFL team, you must be at least pretty good, because those records just don't grow on trees! Especially in Cincinnati! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfan33 Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 He better be thankful that the Bengals actually gave him a chance to show everyone what he had. But if Dillon wouldn't have gotten hurt that season, we'd never know who Rudi was because once Corey went down, Marvin never gave him back his starting position when he returned from injury...So that's how Rudi has became a starter...I say we tag him, then trade him to either Arizona or Oakland for their 2nd round pick....1st would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Antonio Bengal Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I think it's just off-season posturing. I'm a fan of Rudi and I think he'll become a better running back in the next few seasons. You want to talk big numbers in a few years after you've improved and been able to win big games for us, that's fine. But right now, there is no way that the Bengals should pay that kind of price. Sorry Rudi, this is business. If Rudi knows what's best for him, he won't follow through with this silly threat. Just posturing -- let's wait and see how this plays out.P.S. How much of this is Rudi and how much is his agent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 I think it's just off-season posturing. I'm a fan of Rudi and I think he'll become a better running back in the next few seasons. You want to talk big numbers in a few years after you've improved and been able to win big games for us, that's fine. But right now, there is no way that the Bengals should pay that kind of price. Sorry Rudi, this is business. If Rudi knows what's best for him, he won't follow through with this silly threat. Just posturing -- let's wait and see how this plays out.P.S. How much of this is Rudi and how much is his agent? i agree SA. no way at this point in his career should he try to garner this kind of threat and thats why im upset about it. he should feel honored and blessed if he gets tagged, not be a pompous ass. yes i understand the whole want a contract due to a possible injury, but my god if u get overpaid, quiturbitchin. im seriously done with the rudi talks, and have been for a while. i wish it would just be feb 8 so we can find out exactly whats gonna happen. the way i see it theres 4 options:1) franchise tag him and keep him for about $5-6 mill for one season2) tag him (not sure either transition or franchise) and trade him3) sign him straight up to a contract for 3-5 years for 3-4 million4) dont offer him s**t and let him walkoption 2 or 4 are my choices. but for option 2, i dont wanna use the franchise tag on him at all. he doesnt deserve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 How much of this is Rudi and how much is his agent? i agree SA. no way at this point in his career should he try to garner this kind of threat and thats why im upset about it. he should feel honored and blessed if he gets tagged, not be a pompous ass. yes i understand the whole want a contract due to a possible injury, but my god if u get overpaid, quiturbitchin. im seriously done with the rudi talks, and have been for a while. i wish it would just be feb 8 so we can find out exactly whats gonna happen. the way i see it theres 4 options:1) franchise tag him and keep him for about $5-6 mill for one season2) tag him (not sure either transition or franchise) and trade him3) sign him straight up to a contract for 3-5 years for 3-4 million4) dont offer him s**t and let him walkoption 2 or 4 are my choices. but for option 2, i dont wanna use the franchise tag on him at all. he doesnt deserve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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