NFL.com - NFL News
excerpt:
Just as Faneca blasted the Steelers over the way they handled his contract situation, Kendall is getting ready to do the same June 15, when he reports to the Jets for their three-day minicamp.
The opinionated and outspoken Kendall isn't planning to just burn a bridge. He is planning to napalm it.
Kendall is furious that he reworked his contract with three years remaining on it for the Jets last year, but they won't do the same for him this year.
As an initial sign of his unhappiness, Kendall stayed away from the Jets' voluntary Organized Team Activities, which is something that left New York head coach Eric Mangini unhappy himself.
Because of Kendall's absence, there were questions about whether Kendall would attend the upcoming three-day mandatory minicamp. But for Kendall, one of the Jets' offensive co-captains, the decision turned out to be an easy one.
Not only did he want to avoid being fined for staying away, but he wants to share his pointed opinions about the way the Jets have handled his contract situation.
Last year, the Jets restructured his contract with three years remaining on it, paying him $300,000 more last season but $3.3 million less for the coming season. When Kendall asked to recoup some of the money in the coming season for his stellar performance last season, the Jets told him they do not restructure contracts with three years remaining.
Kendall plans to address this issue, and others, in the most heavily anticipated press conference at the Jets minicamp. The entire scene threatens to become similar to the one in Pittsburgh, where Faneca ripped the team that drafted him.
Most NFL observers believe that, sooner or later, the 33-year-old Kendall is destined to be either traded or released. Whichever it is, a logical landing spot for him would be the Miami Dolphins, whose general manager, Randy Mueller, used the 21st selection in the 1996 draft to select Kendall back when he was making personnel decisions for the Seahawks.
Miami lined up at its most recent minicamp with Chris Liwienski at left guard and Rex Hadnot at right guard. Kendall would provide the Dolphins with an upgrade on a line determined to protect recently acquired quarterback Trent Green.
But Miami is going to have to wait for the situation in New York to heat up and then settle down. June 15 could be the day.
Kendall's opinions were once of the reasons he wound up being released from Arizona in the opening days of the 2003 training camp, and now, there's a chance the same could happen again.
And there is one other potential lingering effect to the Kendall situation. Kendall's agent, Neil Schwartz, also represents the Jets' first-round pick, Darrelle Revis.
Usually, one troubled negotiation does not bleed into another, and neither side intends for that to be the case. But neither side intended to allow the Kendall situation to turn into what it will June 15.
Kendall expected to rip Jets execs at camp
Kendall expected to rip Jets execs at camp
Linear Mode
