Professor

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2372951

Sources: Falcons halfway home with DE Abraham

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com


ATLANTA -- In their marathon pursuit of New York Jets three-time Pro Bowl defensive end John Abraham, the Atlanta Falcons have now reached the halfway point of the grueling race.

The Falcons on Friday reached an agreement with Abraham on a multi-year contract, a high-ranking team official and several league sources confirmed. The next step: Reaching a trade agreement with the Jets on appropriate compensation for the standout defensive player.


Clearly, though, the Falcons believe they can complete the deal. In fact, team officials indicated Friday they are confident that Abraham will land in Atlanta, to lend energy and a consistent weakside pass-rush threat to a defense that must improve for the Falcons to return to the playoffs.



Earlier on Friday, the Falcons reached a three-year, $6.01 million contract accord with unrestricted free-agent safety Lawyer Milloy.


"We're very comfortable with where we are at [with Abraham], and we think he is comfortable, too," one Falcons official said. "We've got a [contract] deal in place with him. Now we've got to deal with [the Jets]."


Abraham, 27, visited with Falcons officials and coaches Thursday and Friday. He had a physical exam administered by the Falcons' medical staff on Friday morning. Obviously, given that the Falcons have a contract agreement in place with Abraham, he passed the exam.



The Jets had been seeking coveted backup quarterback Matt Schaub and a second-round draft choice for Abraham, but the Falcons balked at those terms. Atlanta has been steadfast in its resolve not to include Schaub or its first-round pick in the 2006 draft, the 15th selection overall, in any trade packages. Instead, the Falcons have countered with several formulas in an attempt to satisfy Jets officials.



Notable is that the Jets on Friday afternoon acquired Washington Redskins backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft. The addition of Ramsey may have been a sign that the Jets are now convinced they won't be able to pry Schaub away from the Falcons in an Abraham deal. Discussions between the two teams continued through Friday afternoon.


One other suitor, the Seattle Seahawks, remains in the Abraham sweepstakes. There were rumors in the league Friday afternoon that the Jets had agreed to send Abraham to Seattle for the Seahawks' first-round pick in the draft, the No. 31 selection overall. But those rumors proved unfounded.


The Seahawks, like the Falcons, must first satisfy Abraham on a long-term contract, and that might be a difficult proposition. Abraham, who makes his full-time home in nearby South Carolina, has indicated to friends and associates that he prefers to play in Atlanta, where he has family ties.



One of the NFL's premier outside rushers, Abraham was designated by the Jets as a franchise player for the second consecutive spring. That means the Jets essentially made him a one-year qualifying offer of $8.33 million. New York used the franchise tag a year ago, as well, to retain Abraham, and he missed the offseason programs and training camp before signing the one-year deal, worth $6.66 million just days before the start of the season.


Abraham has been saying for two years that he prefers a long-term contract but the two sides have not been able to strike a satisfactory deal.



In 16 games in 2005, Abraham registered 67 tackles, 10½ sacks, six forced fumbles, one recovery and two passes defensed. For his career, the former South Carolina star has 328 tackles, 53½ sacks, 18 forced fumbles, five recoveries and eight pass deflections in 73 games.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.

bigboy

Never mind, I found it Ellis

Professor

I already posted the link in the other thread too.

bigboy

Well there you go you get two thumbs up now

Professor

thank you ebert and bigboy

Professor

here is a new twist on the whole story

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

Jets want to trade Abraham to Seattle

By ANDREA ADELSON, AP Sports Writer
March 17, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Jets want to send disgruntled defensive end John Abraham to the Seattle Seahawks.

A person familiar with the negotiations, who didn't want to be identified because the talks were ongoing, said Friday the Seahawks have presented the best trade package for Abraham: a first-round pick. Atlanta, which has also been talking to the Jets, is only willing to give up a second-rounder.


The source said the Jets are leaning toward Seattle because they want to get the most value for the three-time Pro Bowl selection.

But the situation is more complicated than making a trade happen. The Seahawks must come to an agreement on a long-term deal with Abraham, and that hasn't happened so far.

Abraham, who is from South Carolina, is believed to prefer Atlanta and spent the last two days there visiting with the team.

Abraham visited Seattle earlier this week, after being flown into town on owner Paul Allen's private plane. Abraham's agents, Rich Rosa and Tony Agnone, didn't return repeated phone calls seeking comment.

Seattle has other financial matters to deal with, which further complicates the issue. All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson signed a $49 million, seven-year offer sheet with Minnesota last Sunday. It included $16 million guaranteed.

But his future will be decided by an arbitration process, delaying the Sunday deadline for the team to match the offer. The NFL Players Association said the league has filed a claim on behalf of the Seahawks contending a clause in the offer sheet Hutchinson signed with the Vikings last weekend circumvents the league's labor contract.

That would mean that Seattle does not have to match that clause to keep Hutchinson, who is designated as their transition player. The clause in question would guarantee Hutchinson the entire contract sum if Hutchinson is not the team's highest-paid offensive lineman.

The Jets should have the upper hand in the situation since they still have the rights to Abraham. But it is apparent more conflict is brewing about where he goes.

New York placed the franchise tag on Abraham for the second straight year, but he has made it clear he wants out of New York. The Jets have also made it obvious that Abraham has no future with them.

The 27-year-old Abraham is unhappy the Jets have failed to deliver a long-term deal, even though they all but assured him they would if he played in every game in 2005. He did, but was given a one-year, $8.33 million franchise tender.



Updated on Friday, Mar 17, 2006 6:40 pm EST

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MickeyG

if they can get a first round pick for him then i say they do it. Plus it would really screw over the Falcons

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Professor

the problem is that he has a deal with the falcons and seattle can't trade for him until they have a deal in place and with the whole hutch situation, how can they even know how much to sign abraham for. it's definiteluy a messed up deal going on.