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Pastimes : Football Forum (NFL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tonto who wrote (18979)	7/28/2003 7:26:04 PM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45639

I was wondering, because I knew our opening pre-season game, is against the Packers. I couldn't imagine you having a game before that.

To: tonto who wrote (18979)	7/28/2003 7:30:57 PM
From: sandintoes	Respond to of 45639

How much is an injured player worth? Redskins to Wilkinson: Take pay cut, or don't play ASHBURN, Va. -- Dan Wilkinson stood on the sidelines Monday during the first practice of the Washington Redskins' training camp, wearing a black baseball cap and gray shirt instead of a helmet and jersey, dangling his sunglasses in his right hand. Although he's ready to suit up, the team essentially told him not to bother until he agrees to take a pay cut. "It's unfortunate that here it's time to rock and roll, and my teammates are counting on me to be out there to support them, and I'm not able to do that," Wilkinson said. "Unfortunately this business takes a lot of odd turns." Wilkinson is scheduled to make a team-high $3.5 million this season, but the Redskins think that's too much for a player who had a career-low 17 tackles and no sacks last season. But Wilkinson points out that he played part of the season with a bad wrist and missed the last month with a calf injury. "As a defensive lineman, if you can't stick your hand in there, then all my power is nothing," Wilkinson said. The Redskins are playing tough, but their leverage is limited because they expect Wilkinson to start at defensive tackle. If they cut him, they'll have a gaping hole on the line that wouldn't be easy to fill only five weeks before the season starts. Wilkinson's leverage is also limited. If he gets cut, he knows that no other team would pay him anything close to $3.5 million. So the Redskins' strategy for now is to tell him to stay away from the huddle. The convenient reasoning is that if he practices and gets hurt, the team could be liable for the entire $3.5 million under league rules. It made for a very public and awkward standoff Monday. The Redskins hoped to be opening camp without any immediate contract problems -- with every draft pick signed, there are no holdouts for the first time since 1999. "Hopefully they can get that contract resolved," coach Steve Spurrier said. It won't happen right away. Complicating matters is Wilkinson's decision to fire his agent Friday. Under a union rule, there is a five-day waiting period before the new agent can negotiate. Wilkinson didn't sound confident that the dispute would be resolved, even with a different agent. Asked if he could see himself accepting a pay cut, he said there were "creative ways" to rework his contract that would satisfy both sides. espn.go.com