Dre' Bly wants to be a Skin? That's What I Hear

[Dirtbag59]

Redskins Insider

Posted at 4:09 PM ET, 03/ 4/2007

Dre' Bly wants to be a Skin? That's What I Hear

Numerous league sources, including several who have spoken with Denver cornerback Dre' Bly, said that the player is miffed that he was dealt to the Broncos last week instead of Washington. As I have reported, the Redskins were deep into trade and subsequent contract talks with Bly - a Detroit Lion at the time - and were dangling cornerback Shawn Springs in discussions with those teams.
Springs was coveted by Detroit and Denver, and very open to the possibility of a trade, but the Redskins could not match Denver's offer of two players and a draft pick (the Redskins had no suitable picks in the 2007 draft) and the Lions sent him to the Broncos instead. Once it was clear Bly was going to Denver, the Redskins tried to work out a swap with them, but according to a source, the Redskins asked for cap help deferring the costs of trading Springs ($7.5 million) and Denver refuses (the Broncos did not have a ton of space, either).
However, the Broncos have been unwilling to extend Bly's contract, which has one year and $4.2 million remaining. Bly has told numerous other NFL players that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, in the course of trade talks, was willing to give Bly a new contract including a lucrative signing bonus, and Bly has expressed his concern with remaining a Bronco with several of his new teammates in Denver. He's from Chesapeake, VA, wants to be here and wants that new contract. His agent, Kennard McGuire, initially declined to comment on the matter.
Springs, meantime, has ties to the staffs of both Denver and Detroit, and has said he will not take a pay cut to remain a Redskin this season (he is due to make $6.8 million and carries a high $7.3 million cap figure, which the Redskins have been eager to trim). The team approached Springs about taking a salary cut to remain here earlier this offseason, and he refused; his cap figures are huge each of the next three seasons and some team officials have expressed concerns about his age and injury history.
Sources close to Springs say he remains unsure about his status with the Redskins despite Coach Joe Gibbs saying repeated that he is "counting on Springs" for next season. Denver Coach Mike Shanahan is a big proponent of Springs's play, according to a source, and the Broncos and Redskins have completed trades in each of the past three years and are among the most aggressive teams in the NFL when it comes to swapping players. The Redskins remain very interested in dropping down from the sixth overall pick to acquire additional selections in this year's draft, and the possibility exists of another deal this offseason involving the cornerbacks and/or draft picks.
A trade after June 1 would cost the Redskins just $2.5 million in a cap hit on Springs (with $5 million coming in 2008). Springs is also considering approaching the Redskins about possibility relinquishing several million dollars in deferred payments still owed him in order to facilitate his possible trade or release. Many members of the Redskins staff are thrilled with the possibility of a cornerback trio of Springs, free-agent signing Fred Smoot and youngster Carlos Rogers, but should Bly attempt to force his way out of Denver, the situation bears monitoring, with the huge free agent contracts being thrown around this offseason not going unnoticed by Bly or Springs.
So keep an eye on this one folks. I think there is still a chance for more trade talks to resume. The Broncos are also very high on Ladell Betts, and could make a play in that direction as well as they entertain other RB options. Definitely something I will be monitoring.
Posted by Jason La Canfora | Permalink | Comments (18)
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[wolfeskins]

thats pretty interresting.

[dall-assblows]

not sure i want him here, isn't he kind of old?

[NYCSkin]

I would rather have Springs than Bly. Unless we get the better end of a possible deal with the Broncos--say Bly and one of Denver's thirds for Springs--the Skins should sit tight.

[skinsfan_nn]

I would feel a whole lot better with the Portis/Betts Tandem, and the Corner Back situation that we are in now with a HEALTHY? Springs, Smoot & Rodgers.

I wouldn't like to see us trade Betts/Springs for BLY. There would have to be more in it for us to make a move like that. Interesting??? BLY talking to SNYDER....

[RMSkins]

This is extremely interesting, but I just can't see us trading Springs to Denver for Bly. I'm really happy with our CB trio of Springs, Rogers, and Smoot, but it sounds to me that Springs is really unhappy here. So it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[ingibbswetrust]

I noticed the exact same thing from this piece. Why is springs so unhappy in DC? It seems to be about more than the money all of a sudden.

[Crat92]

I would rather have Bly who wants to be here, than springs who doesn't.

[djnemo65]

Didn't anyone learn from Brandon Lloyd that we shouldn't renegotiate contracts when there is still a year remaining on them? The reason Bly wants to come here is at least partially because we are the only team that would do that.

There is always the strong possibility that Bly is using the Redskins as leverage to extract a new contract from Denver.

But I don't see why you would want to swap one old corner for another old corner who you are going to give a huge contract to. To me that seems crazy.

[Crat92]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Didn't anyone learn from Brandon Lloyd that we shouldn't renegotiate contracts when there is still a year remaining on them? The reason Bly wants to come here is at least partially because we are the only team that would do that.

There is always the strong possibility that Bly is using the Redskins as leverage to extract a new contract from Denver.

But I don't see why you would want to swap one old corner for another old corner who you are going to give a huge contract to. To me that seems crazy.

Good Point! Didn't look at it from that perspective.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Didn't anyone learn from Brandon Lloyd that we shouldn't renegotiate contracts when there is still a year remaining on them? The reason Bly wants to come here is at least partially because we are the only team that would do that.

There is always the strong possibility that Bly is using the Redskins as leverage to extract a new contract from Denver.

But I don't see why you would want to swap one old corner for another old corner who you are going to give a huge contract to. To me that seems crazy.

The Danny also gave Santana Moss a big new contract when he was traded from the Jets even though he still had a year left. I'm not necessarily advocating the strategy, but it doesn't seem fair to mention Llyod without also admitting that the same move worked out pretty well with Santana.

[WillH]

Im sorry, am I the only one who thinks this would be an upgrade? Bly is a few years younger, seems less injury prone, has consistently been a threat for interceptions, and is also a hard hitting player (he has averaged about 4 Forced Fumbles over the past 5 years). The only reason I can think of that this would be a bad move would be for the sake of chemistry, but I would take that risk for a player who consistently creates turnovers which is something we seldom did last year. Now Im not saying Id be willing to trade something significant for him, but a straight up swap of springs for bly....I would take it in a heartbeat!!

[dmek25]

bly is only a slight upgrade over springs, but the contract he is looking for should keep him away from the skins

[bigSkinsfan61]

hmmmmm?.......it would be interesting but i think springs is a better corner...i hope that if infact we do deal him to someone else we get good value for him

[That Guy]

bly isn't bad... but i wonder what his contract figures would be. if we're trading springs for a more expensive contract, i'm not really sure that's a very good idea.