D. Darius Signs with Jags

iceshack149 · 03-01-2005, 10:45 PM

http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/JAC/8243186

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 1, 2005) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed franchise player Donovin Darius to a one-year tender contract.

Darius received the team's franchise tag for the third straight season, meaning the hard-hitting safety's new deal is worth the average of the top five salaries at his position last season.
------------------

Drat! I was into the Howard for Darius & a 2nd rumor.

turbo_dog · 03-02-2005, 01:05 AM

He can still be traded. But I don\'t think that deal is real.

Euphoria · 03-02-2005, 02:16 AM

No its real... its a done deal one year. But the big news I am hearing is that they are shopping him around already.

mutineer10 · 03-02-2005, 03:59 AM

I heard the WWE might be interested. Kid\'s got one hell of a clothesline (just ask Robert Ferguson)...

Can you smell what Double-D is cookin\'???

saintswhodi · 03-02-2005, 11:07 AM

The latest I read, and I can post an article from today if anyone likes, was that Darius went to the owner and said he will nto be a Jag again so trade him. I saw on ESPN last night he signed the one year tender and thought we had lost our chance. But after reading that article from today, I am not so sure. We will see.

LKelley67 · 03-02-2005, 11:18 AM

the growing trend is for the franchisees to sign the tender early. this puts cap pressure on the team to either negotiate a longterm deal or trade them. similar to darius is woodson in oakland. this IS good news to us as far as hope that he could head this direction. given the latest stanky loomis comments tho it is hope against hope in my mind. but being a saints fan is all about hope isn\'t it?

BreesFN9 · 03-02-2005, 11:25 AM

I think that that is good news, because they way things are sounding, We got a better shot at getting him through a trade then we did if it meant signing ANY free agents?

LKelley67 · 03-02-2005, 11:35 AM

whew, read the article, darius sounds very pissed...
(excuse the length)

Unless there is a last minute meeting of the minds, Jaguars safety Donovin Darius could soon be traded, meaning the Jaguars will lose one of the more talented players in the history of the franchise, someone who worked hard on the field, and never got in trouble off of it.

This week an angry Darius met with Jaguars coaches and officials, including owner Wayne Weaver, and demanded to be traded. Frustrated at being tagged with the franchise moniker for three consecutive seasons, Darius told Weaver he feels the Jaguars have abused the franchise process, and no longer wants to play for the team.

\"What they have done is within the rules,\" said Darius in a telephone interview, \"but it is morally wrong. I deserve the opportunity to test the open market and the Jaguars have prevented me from doing that for three straight years. I don\'t intend to play again for the Jaguars. I won\'t change my mind.\"

\"It is nothing personal against Mr. Weaver,\" Darius added. \"I have enjoyed playing for Jack (Del Rio) and I have loved my time in Jacksonville. The fans have been great to me. I really want to thank them.\"

Is there any chance Darius changes his mind or the Jaguars convince him to drop his trade request? I still think there is a tiny one; he says there is not. \"Nothing is going to change,\" he said.

Darius said Weaver told him, \"I\'m not so sure I want players that don\'t want to be here, franchise player or not.\"

Darius met with Weaver on Monday in what at times was a contentious conversation that lasted nearly 30 minutes. In the meeting, Weaver praised Darius for his contributions to the team and the community, maintained the Jaguars have treated him fairly, and did not back down as to why the Jaguars franchised him for the third straight year.

Meanwhile, Darius stressed several different times to Weaver he will not play again for the Jaguars.

Weaver could not be reached for comment. Paul Vance, the team\'s senior vice president/football operations, did not immediately return a phone call.

While the actions of Darius are certain to engender debate among fans, what is clear is that the Jaguars may lose one of the top five safeties in football and a team leader that worked as hard as any player. In a time when an increasing number of professional athletes are getting in trouble off the field, Darius never did.

The news with Darius could temporarily complicate the team\'s free agency and draft plans. Yet if he is traded, the team will likely have another high pick for the April draft. In fact Darius asked Weaver to begin trade discussions immediately with other teams.

An NFL executive told the Times-Union that at least six teams are interested in Darius.

Originally Darius did not want to discuss his situation publicly until he had a chance to speak face-to-face with Del Rio on Wednesday. But as of Tuesday night, word was beginning to leak around the NFL that Darius had met with Weaver and demanded to be traded.

Darius is just one of dozens of players and agents who in recent days have publicly and privately expressed extreme displeasure with the franchise system. A franchise player is basically signed to a one year deal that earns him an average of the top five salaries at his position, which in the case of Darius is about $5 million.

Players hate the tag because, in most cases, they could earn not only more money on the free agent market but a longer-term contract. To NFL players a multi-year deal is vital in a sport where careers are extremely brief.

Darius is certain to be called selfish and egotistical by some fans and members of the media. Fine. My take? Darius is right. The system stinks. If I thought this was my last chance at a large, multi-year deal and my team was standing in the way, I\'d want out, too. Most people, if they were honest, would feel the same.

The conversation Darius had with Weaver is one of the more compelling aspects of this story. Darius said that when he told Weaver that he wanted to be traded because he feels being franchised does not allow him to get his fair market value, Weaver responded that the team was in a difficult position because the Jaguars are a small market team.

This angered Darius because he felt that had nothing to do with him being franchised.

\"The Jaguars have so much cap space they could get a long-term deal done or just let me go,\" Darius said. \"But they are trying to have the best of both worlds.\"

Darius said he later told Weaver, \"I\'m tired of this. I don\'t want to be here anymore, Mr. Weaver.\"

Weaver responded: \"We\'ve been fair to you. I think we\'ve been fair to all of our players.\"

Perhaps the biggest difference between both sides is what exactly happened during negotiations to try and work out a multi-year contract. Darius maintains that the Jaguars received an offer from his agent, Tom Condon, weeks ago, but the Jaguars never seriously countered. The Jaguars maintain they negotiated with Condon but he asked for too much money.

What happens next? It is difficult to tell. But we have probably seen the last of Darius in a Jaguars uniform.

And that, to be honest, is a shame.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-onlin...18104659.shtml

saintswhodi · 03-02-2005, 11:48 AM

Haha, you found the article I was talking about Kelley. sounds like our deal for him still has a shot.

03-01-2005, 10:45 PM	#1
iceshack149 1000 Posts + Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Fairbanks, AK Posts: 4,258 Blog Entries: 1	D. Darius Signs with Jags http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/JAC/8243186 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 1, 2005) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars re-signed franchise player Donovin Darius to a one-year tender contract. Darius received the team's franchise tag for the third straight season, meaning the hard-hitting safety's new deal is worth the average of the top five salaries at his position last season. ------------------ Drat! I was into the Howard for Darius & a 2nd rumor.

03-02-2005, 01:05 AM	#2
turbo_dog 1000 Posts + Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,592	D. Darius Signs with Jags He can still be traded. But I don\'t think that deal is real.

03-02-2005, 02:16 AM	#3
Euphoria 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Hollywood, CA Posts: 7,601 Blog Entries: 5	D. Darius Signs with Jags No its real... its a done deal one year. But the big news I am hearing is that they are shopping him around already.

03-02-2005, 03:59 AM	#4
mutineer10 Site Donor Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 1,739	D. Darius Signs with Jags I heard the WWE might be interested. Kid\'s got one hell of a clothesline (just ask Robert Ferguson)... Can you smell what Double-D is cookin\'???

03-02-2005, 11:07 AM	#5
saintswhodi 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 6,941	D. Darius Signs with Jags The latest I read, and I can post an article from today if anyone likes, was that Darius went to the owner and said he will nto be a Jag again so trade him. I saw on ESPN last night he signed the one year tender and thought we had lost our chance. But after reading that article from today, I am not so sure. We will see.

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03-02-2005, 11:18 AM	#6
LKelley67 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: baton rouge Posts: 2,540	D. Darius Signs with Jags the growing trend is for the franchisees to sign the tender early. this puts cap pressure on the team to either negotiate a longterm deal or trade them. similar to darius is woodson in oakland. this IS good news to us as far as hope that he could head this direction. given the latest stanky loomis comments tho it is hope against hope in my mind. but being a saints fan is all about hope isn\'t it?

03-02-2005, 11:25 AM	#7
BreesFN9 500th Post Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 596	D. Darius Signs with Jags I think that that is good news, because they way things are sounding, We got a better shot at getting him through a trade then we did if it meant signing ANY free agents?

03-02-2005, 11:35 AM	#8
LKelley67 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: baton rouge Posts: 2,540	D. Darius Signs with Jags whew, read the article, darius sounds very pissed... (excuse the length) Unless there is a last minute meeting of the minds, Jaguars safety Donovin Darius could soon be traded, meaning the Jaguars will lose one of the more talented players in the history of the franchise, someone who worked hard on the field, and never got in trouble off of it. This week an angry Darius met with Jaguars coaches and officials, including owner Wayne Weaver, and demanded to be traded. Frustrated at being tagged with the franchise moniker for three consecutive seasons, Darius told Weaver he feels the Jaguars have abused the franchise process, and no longer wants to play for the team. \"What they have done is within the rules,\" said Darius in a telephone interview, \"but it is morally wrong. I deserve the opportunity to test the open market and the Jaguars have prevented me from doing that for three straight years. I don\'t intend to play again for the Jaguars. I won\'t change my mind.\" \"It is nothing personal against Mr. Weaver,\" Darius added. \"I have enjoyed playing for Jack (Del Rio) and I have loved my time in Jacksonville. The fans have been great to me. I really want to thank them.\" Is there any chance Darius changes his mind or the Jaguars convince him to drop his trade request? I still think there is a tiny one; he says there is not. \"Nothing is going to change,\" he said. Darius said Weaver told him, \"I\'m not so sure I want players that don\'t want to be here, franchise player or not.\" Darius met with Weaver on Monday in what at times was a contentious conversation that lasted nearly 30 minutes. In the meeting, Weaver praised Darius for his contributions to the team and the community, maintained the Jaguars have treated him fairly, and did not back down as to why the Jaguars franchised him for the third straight year. Meanwhile, Darius stressed several different times to Weaver he will not play again for the Jaguars. Weaver could not be reached for comment. Paul Vance, the team\'s senior vice president/football operations, did not immediately return a phone call. While the actions of Darius are certain to engender debate among fans, what is clear is that the Jaguars may lose one of the top five safeties in football and a team leader that worked as hard as any player. In a time when an increasing number of professional athletes are getting in trouble off the field, Darius never did. The news with Darius could temporarily complicate the team\'s free agency and draft plans. Yet if he is traded, the team will likely have another high pick for the April draft. In fact Darius asked Weaver to begin trade discussions immediately with other teams. An NFL executive told the Times-Union that at least six teams are interested in Darius. Originally Darius did not want to discuss his situation publicly until he had a chance to speak face-to-face with Del Rio on Wednesday. But as of Tuesday night, word was beginning to leak around the NFL that Darius had met with Weaver and demanded to be traded. Darius is just one of dozens of players and agents who in recent days have publicly and privately expressed extreme displeasure with the franchise system. A franchise player is basically signed to a one year deal that earns him an average of the top five salaries at his position, which in the case of Darius is about $5 million. Players hate the tag because, in most cases, they could earn not only more money on the free agent market but a longer-term contract. To NFL players a multi-year deal is vital in a sport where careers are extremely brief. Darius is certain to be called selfish and egotistical by some fans and members of the media. Fine. My take? Darius is right. The system stinks. If I thought this was my last chance at a large, multi-year deal and my team was standing in the way, I\'d want out, too. Most people, if they were honest, would feel the same. The conversation Darius had with Weaver is one of the more compelling aspects of this story. Darius said that when he told Weaver that he wanted to be traded because he feels being franchised does not allow him to get his fair market value, Weaver responded that the team was in a difficult position because the Jaguars are a small market team. This angered Darius because he felt that had nothing to do with him being franchised. \"The Jaguars have so much cap space they could get a long-term deal done or just let me go,\" Darius said. \"But they are trying to have the best of both worlds.\" Darius said he later told Weaver, \"I\'m tired of this. I don\'t want to be here anymore, Mr. Weaver.\" Weaver responded: \"We\'ve been fair to you. I think we\'ve been fair to all of our players.\" Perhaps the biggest difference between both sides is what exactly happened during negotiations to try and work out a multi-year contract. Darius maintains that the Jaguars received an offer from his agent, Tom Condon, weeks ago, but the Jaguars never seriously countered. The Jaguars maintain they negotiated with Condon but he asked for too much money. What happens next? It is difficult to tell. But we have probably seen the last of Darius in a Jaguars uniform. And that, to be honest, is a shame. http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-onlin...18104659.shtml

03-02-2005, 11:48 AM	#9
saintswhodi 5000 POSTS! + Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 6,941	D. Darius Signs with Jags Haha, you found the article I was talking about Kelley. sounds like our deal for him still has a shot.