Our friends over at Pro Football Talk are reporting that Keith Rivers is on his way to Cincinnati to sign his contract and join his team in camp. This completes the slotting process, with both picks on either side of Derrick Harvey under contract and in camp. The Jacksonville Jaguars must be waiting with great anticipation to see the numbers from the Rivers contract to determine if the market is continuing it's shift toward the absurd, or if it sets a reasonable "bottom end" of Harvey's range.
This game of chicken between the Jaguars and Harvey still has no end in sight, but this will eliminate some of the wiggle room from both sides. CAA, Condon and Kremer, the firm and agents that represent Harvey will have less room in what to ask for, just as the Jaguars will have the bottom ranges of their offers cut off. One would think that this would be encouraging news, but in a standoff like this you never really know.
Frankly, I'm pissed off at everyone involved in this situation. The New York Jets and New Orleans Saints broke with the league and turned the 6th and 7th draft picks into "top five" in terms of money. The Jaguars knew full and well when they traded up into the top 10 that the money would be ridiculous, especially with talks of a rookie cap getting more and more attention. Derrick Harvey, actually, is low on my list of annoyances. He's a young guy with a career that can end on any given snap. It's not his fault that the market is well past the point of absurdity and there's not many of us out there who would turn down millions of dollars, no matter how good of a teammate we may be.
It's not Harvey's fault that because of the Jets and Saints, Harvey's likely guarnteed money could be greater than or equal to David Garrard, no matter how easy it is to hate on him for the coincidence.
The Jaguars want to make a point, CAA want's to keep their reputation, and Derrick Harvey is sitting in a hotel room practicing with chairs. He's already falling behind in the teams plan for him this season, and now with Rivers signing, there's no excuse to be the last guy unsigned.
With the bottom and top of the range set, finding a reasonable middle ground should happen quickly. Once ego and pride get into things, as the Jaguars and Kremer are giving me the impression that they're negotiating for more than just Harvey in this case.
Your thoughts?
-Chris