J. Freeman wants NEW CONTRACT, skips workouts

[Warhorse]

He is not very good in pass coverage, he would not be a starter on multiple other teams in this league.  He put up good tackling numbers 2 and 3 seasons ago when he was healthy.  He is coming off a season which saw him miss 25% of the games to injury.  When healthy, he has been a solid player for us, but he is replaceable. 

 

I'm not sure if you remember Mike Peterson when he was demanding a huge salary back in 2002 and we let him walk, which Polian explained by saying, "at these [free-agent] prices, you'd like them to be great players, not good players.'' 

 

IMO, same goes for Freeman -- he is a good player, not a great player.  He can be replaced, and therefore, should not be holding out.

Of course he is replaceable....other than Luck there is not a single player on this team that is not replaceable. But it is my feeling that saying the man has no right to hold out is absurd. One could say that they don't think it's a good business decision for him, but it is not odd nor unique at any level that a player of his talent level, age, and current pay/contract to be holding out. To be honest, I would be surprised if he didn't. One injury and his last chance at being covered after football financially could be over. I would even add that the Colt's by not extending...expect him to hold out. 

[ColtsFanMikeC]

You act like he's asking for $10m/year.

 

No I don't.  I act like he is asking for more than he is probably worth, I will elaborate in my reply to Indigo below. 

 

Of course he is replaceable....other than Luck there is not a single player on this team that is not replaceable. But it is my feeling that saying the man has no right to hold out is absurd. One could say that they don't think it's a good business decision for him, but it is not odd nor unique at any level that a player of his talent level, age, and current pay/contract to be holding out. To be honest, I would be surprised if he didn't. One injury and his last chance at being covered after football financially could be over. I would even add that the Colt's by not extending...expect him to hold out. 

 

You are right, I should probably not have used the words 'no right to hold out.'  Of course, this is America, he has the right to do that -- the point I was trying to make is exactly what you said and IMO a bad business decision for him.  He was offered  $2.35 million to play next year, which is probably in the ball park of what he should be making.  Every player in the NFL is one injury away from being covered after football.  Every team in the NFL is a business, and, unfortunately for Freeman, he battled through injuries for a good portion of last year.  He is 28 years old and a lot of players' production starts to drop off soon after (remember Grigs' saying before Mike Adams he didn't want to sign any players over 30?).  For the Colts, it is a good business decision not to guarantee Freeman a long-term deal with a lot of guaranteed money.  For Freeman, I think it is a poor decision for him to be holding out as he is a replaceable player who is significantly older than the vast majority of 4th year NFL veterans and is coming off a year in which he missed 1/4 of the games.  I also think the Colts' organization realized we need to improve at ILB after last season, Freeman was a part of that problem -- since he was part of the problem, he may not be part of the answer for a long-term solution -- so a long-term deal with him making over $2 mill per year if they are planning to upgrade is very high for one who may be slated to be a back-up in the near future.

[Superman]

No I don't.  I act like he is asking for more than he is probably worth, I will elaborate in my reply to Indigo below. 

 

 

You are right, I should probably not have used the words 'no right to hold out.'  Of course, this is America, he has the right to do that -- the point I was trying to make is exactly what you said and IMO a bad business decision for him.  He was offered  $2.35 million to play next year, which is probably in the ball park of what he should be making.  Every player in the NFL is one injury away from being covered after football.  Every team in the NFL is a business, and, unfortunately for Freeman, he battled through injuries for a good portion of last year.  He is 28 years old and a lot of players' production starts to drop off soon after (remember Grigs' saying before Mike Adams he didn't want to sign any players over 30?).  For the Colts, it is a good business decision not to guarantee Freeman a long-term deal with a lot of guaranteed money.  For Freeman, I think it is a poor decision for him to be holding out as he is a replaceable player who is significantly older than the vast majority of 4th year NFL veterans and is coming off a year in which he missed 1/4 of the games.  I also think the Colts' organization realized we need to improve at ILB after last season, Freeman was a part of that problem -- since he was part of the problem, he may not be part of the answer for a long-term solution -- so a long-term deal with him making over $2 mill per year if they are planning to upgrade is very high for one who may be slated to be a back-up in the near future.

 

All that said, he's underpaid at $2.4m in 2015. If he were an unrestricted free agent, he would easily have gotten $5m/year with some good guarantees. I don't know what he thinks he's worth, but he obviously think he's worth more than the tender (to say nothing of the fact that it's only one year), and he's absolutely right about that.

 

I also don't know what they offered him, or if they even offered him anything other than the tender. I'm not crying for him, but your comments come across like he should be grateful that he even has an NFL job, and the reality is far different from that. He has a market -- not an elite player in any respect, but a commodity that would draw interest in an open market -- and it's his right to try to tap into his market. It's also the Colts' right to restrict him from doing so.

 

This is NFL business as usual. I don't understand the acrimony toward him (or toward the team, from some).

[ColtsFanMikeC]

All that said, he's underpaid at $2.4m in 2015. If he were an unrestricted free agent, he would easily have gotten $5m/year with some good guarantees. I don't know what he thinks he's worth, but he obviously think he's worth more than the tender (to say nothing of the fact that it's only one year), and he's absolutely right about that.

 

I also don't know what they offered him, or if they even offered him anything other than the tender. I'm not crying for him, but your comments come across like he should be grateful that he even has an NFL job, and the reality is far different from that. He has a market -- not an elite player in any respect, but a commodity that would draw interest in an open market -- and it's his right to try to tap into his market. It's also the Colts' right to restrict him from doing so.

 

This is NFL business as usual. I don't understand the acrimony toward him (or toward the team, from some).

I am not trying to belittle him.  However, we just signed Nate Irvin, who (if healthy) probably has a legitimate shot at competing with Freeman for a starting role.  Inside Linebacker has been a very common area of concern on this board and in from the media 'experts'.  The nfl.com, for example, lists ILB as our second biggest need behind OL (http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000407751/article/2015-nfl-draft-order-top-three-needs-for-all-32-teams). 

 

Freeman is coming off an injury-plagued year.  If our 2nd biggest need (or one of our top 5 biggest needs, which I think is commonly agreed on by members on this board), it suggests it is a position where we need to improve, or perhaps a position that is problematic for us.  One of our starting ILB's received and all-pro vote and played in the probowl last year, which suggests the problem at ILB may not stemming from D'Qwell Jackson.  Jackson struggles in pass coverage so he may be a part of the problem, but I would say it is the other ILB that may be where the problem is stemming from (Freeman was that other ILB 75% of the time).  It may be that the two of them are similar players which is why the position is viewed as a weakness (I would argue both struggle against the pass about equally, and Jackson is better against the run).  Similar to safety in our system, we may be better if we have one guy who excels vs. the run and one who excels vs. the pass -- of course it would be nice if neither had glaring weaknesses in the area where they did not excel.

 

All that said, this is a business. I get why Freeman is doing what he is doing, but I don't think he is right for doing it.  I understand the Colts' side more (you make a good point, I don't think any of us know exactly what he is asking for or what the Colts' offered him).  Anyway, in the current free-agent/market-driven era of the NFL, many teams get screwed by overpaying for free agents.  I think Grigs' thinks with the future in mind.  It may be that he views ILB as a weakness like just about everyone else, and he views JF as more of a weakness than DJ (which I think most would agree with).  In Freeman's position as a restricted free agent with his skill set, I would hope he realizes that we are probably not going to get an offer worth trading him for (he probably isn't going to demand any draft picks, but especially no draft picks higher than a 6th round pick).  I would hope he also realizes that the position he plays is a position which needs a major upgrade.  I would feel terrible for the team that offered him $5 million per year, and I don't think there are many teams that would give him that (especially over the long-term).  Freeman had a lot of tackles and got a lot of excitement in his first year -- but let's not forget who the ILB's on this team were prior to him -- Pat Angerer (no longer in the league) and Scott Lutrus (who was an undrafted rookie FA in 2011 and was cut by both Jacksonville and St. Louis) -- how could Freeman not be an improvement?

 

At this point in time, there might be a market for Freeman, though I don't think a very big one.  The position he plays is a position the organization needs to really think about upgrading.  Holding out and asking for a pay raise when you are highly likely to be considered a liability to the team (and business), IMO, is not a good move on his behalf. 

[John Dee]

 

Where is this team WEAK on D?   Pass rush and up the GUT stopping the run.       Freeman was HORRIBLE last season.    Jax is Horrible on passing downs.      

 

The more i think about it MLB and RT will be the main object of the draft early unless a "special" talent drops to them...  which very well could happen.  

 

It is sounding like GC may be damaged goods now?   I really hope not but...     and THIS D NEEDS some stout players "up the gut"...   They just do.     And Freeman, when healthy is a very good cover guy.      Against the run....   he is not a MAC level ILB.  He gets destroyed in the trenches.  

 

I won't miss him.     He has had ample opportunity to "earn" his big pay day and Indy offered him "a very fair offer"    Nobody else is banging his door down. 

 

My prediction for the draft.

!   OT  ...    I think RT is now a real issue. 

2  MLB/DL/S

3  RB    ...   maybe second round?

4  BEST D player on the radar

5       ^

6      ^^

7      ^

 

Freeman is in NO position to be in a bargaining position.     He better take what is offered and bust his butt to make the team.  He was probably the worst LB I have ever seen against the run last season.      He was straight up horrible.

 

This team is close....   they won't mess with greedy players I guarantee that.   Esp those who can't pull their weight.  

[Superman]

...

 

You're talking about the issues at ILB, but I disagree with the idea that Freeman is a bigger liability than Jackson. IMO, Freeman is our best ILB. Doesn't mean he's great, but if we're looking to get rid of someone, it probably shouldn't be him. If he can bring value in a trade, fine, and that might be the team's thinking here. He's not irreplaceable, but no one ever said he was.

 

Really, this is two separate conversations at this point (maybe more). Of course teams get hurt by overpaying players. No one thinks Freeman should be overpaid.

 

But separate from that is the idea that he has no justifiable standing for wanting a long term contract, which is just plain false. I pay a lot of attention to contracts and player value, and I'm 99% certain that Jerrell Freeman would get multiple offers for more than $5m/year, with multiple years and guaranteed money. His value is much greater than what he'll be paid under the RFA tender, both short term and long term. That doesn't mean that I'm glad he's holding out (not even really holding out, yet), but I get it. It's pretty easy to get.

 

To my mind, it's really simple. The team has contractual control in 2015, and is using it. It's not that they don't think he's valuable and want him gone -- otherwise, why tender him at all? -- it's that they are controlling costs to the extent that is reasonable. Freeman isn't happy about it (which is understandable), and is expressing his displeasure by not reporting to voluntary workouts. NFL business, in a nutshell. 

[bap1331]

Id rather rebuild our linebackers in general. Stopping the run is the #1 priority and if it means getting someone balanced than dqj and freeman who are better at pass than run, balance is better. At this point, average linebacker is better if we are going to face the pats.

[Hoosierdome93]

I wish him the best. He has been great for us and probably deserves it, but it seems to me. We have plenty of depth at line backer. Its a rough time to ask for more.

[braveheartcolt]

If you want more money, play better. He's under contract. One he signed. I'm pretty sure we won't be held to ransom.

[Dustin]

If you want more money, play better. He's under contract. One he signed. I'm pretty sure we won't be held to ransom.

He's not under contract.

[braveheartcolt]

He's not under contract.

Of course he's not. Stupid me. Thanks for correcting.....

[Traines]

Hilarious!

Edited April 25, 2015 by 21isSuperman

[Hoose]

Nobody should be offended by this. You have one shot at a big contract usually, especially when you are knocking on the 30 year old door. But Freeman did not have a stellar year in 2014, and he doesn't have much leverage. Better to make his point, then show up for the latter portion of the OTA's.

Play like a demon and he'll get his payday. Play like last year and he'll be playing for someone else.

I like Freeman, so I hope he shows the Colts why he's worth more money and a few more years.

[Colts_Fan12]

IMO we upgraded from Jackson when we signed Irving if we draft Kendricks he would be an upgrade over Freeman