The item that I like to keep track of during OTA’s is which players are potential holdouts
and will not showing up at “voluntary” sessions –- Veterans that are happy with their contract, highly drafted rookies, franchised players, players entering the last year of their contract, etc.
With only a handful of OTA’s being mandatory most potential training camp holdouts talk tough during OTA’s. But the real fun starts when the fines and missed dollars for not reporting to training camp pile up (Remember 2003, where RB Duce Staley was trying to get a new contract by holding out for 26 days with fines of $5000.00 dollars per day. When the Birds didn’t blink, he realized real quick that his 2.2 Million for one year wasn’t that bad).
Look for these players to potentially draw lines in the sand as “voluntary” OTA’s head into training camp in late July.
- Titans DT Albert Haynesworth (Unhappy with “franchise” deal)
- Bengals WR Chad Johnson (Wants out and this situation looks too much like T.O circa 2005)
- Lions WR Roy Williams (Lions say they want him or maybe not)
- Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin (Larry Fitzgerald’s contract)
- Giants TE Jeremy Shockey (Team won it all without him)
- Dolphins DE Jason Taylor (New team braintrust seems to not want him)
- Eagles CB Lito Sheppard (New handpicked starting cornerback Asante Samuel and his huge deal)
- Falcons WR Joe Horn (Buried on the depth chart)
- Rams RB Steven Jackson (Last year of contract w/ teams not paying RB’s),
- Giants DE Osi Umenyiora (Unhappy with Contract and Strahan should be back)
- Every year a couple of first round rookies miss significant portions of training camp trying to squeeze dollars out of their rookie deal (i.e. Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell in ’07). My picks this year are Bears Offensive Tackle Chris Williams (14th overall) and Niners DT Kentwan Balmer (29)
