Hold The Phone: Steelers CB McFadden Hires Drew Rosenhaus

by Blitzburgh on Mar 17, 2008 1:20 PM EDT in News Comment 32 comments

Bryant McFadden, the team's 2nd round draft choice in 2005, is entering the final year of his rookie contract. He's hired super-agent Drew Rosenhaus to help him re-sign a new (lucrative) deal. I say 'hold the phone' because a decision like this, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, has the potential to throw a monkey wrench in the team's decision making in next April's draft.

Here's what we know:
A) DeShea Townsend is 33 and will be 34 when is contract expires in 2009
B) Ike Taylor is signed through 2010, and the backups William Gay and Anthony Madison are unknown commodities
C) McFadden hasn't been fragile, but he has missed games in his career, including three this past year
D) We have bigger issues in other units on both sides of the ball

So, even though none of us believes the Steelers should draft a CB in the first round, all of a sudden, that possibility is in play, if the right kind of talent is in fact available when we're on the clock, and if all of the upper-crust of the offensive linemen are off the board. The Steelers could decide that McFadden will cost too much money in today's free agency game, especially with Rosenhaus at the helm of the negotiations. And frankly, they could decide his upside isn't worth even a somewhat reasonable market price, let alone a Rosenhaus-inflated market price. If their thought process is either, then it's definitely possible we take a CB on Day One.

I happen to believe that we should not draft a CB early under any circumstance. I'll have to think more about whether I believe McFadden is worth paying, but just for the sake of it, let's say he's not. That means we'd be banking on William Gay or Anthony Madison to step up and play right away. In the case of Gay, I'm all for it. I liked what little I saw from him last year. He'll have some catching up to do scheme wise, but from what I saw, he was both aggressive and in good position. Throw him in there and let's see what we've got. If it doesn't work out well in 2008, perhaps we draft a CB in the first round of the 2009 Draft after having shored up the offensive line some in 2008.

I trust DeShea and Ike plus any combination of Gay, Madison, and dare I say Donnie Nickey as well?

Thoughts?

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UGH

Talk about a kick to the marbles on an otherwise good Monday morning. My previously optimistic outlook on McFadden being a Steeler for the next 3-5 years took a serious hit with this news.

Is something like 15-20% of him signing an extension too low?

Next question...

by cgolden on Mar 17, 2008 1:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rosenhaus

TO's agent? What a scumbag! Yeah, we may be looking elsewhere if Rosenhaus is his agent now. The agent of the only player that I've ever seen single-handedly destroy a team's season.

I guess the question is how important is McFadden? The other question may be, will Rosehaus talk him into holding out for an extension this year?

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Mar 17, 2008 1:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ok calm down

Rosenhaus isn't as terrible as you think. He's represented other Steelers (Timmons I know for sure). Yes he gets good deals for his clients, but his dealings as an agent are blown out of proportion. When a team will overspend, he takes advantage of it, which is him doing his job the way he should. The Steelers will not overspend, and Rosenhaus knows this, I don't really see this having a big effect on whether we keep McFadden or not.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Mar 17, 2008 1:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Timmons

Didn't Timmons hold out prior to last season because he (and his agent) and the Steelers couldn't agree on a contract?

by cgolden on Mar 17, 2008 8:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

no

Timmons did not hold out. He took part in the offseason workouts (well, when his hamstring permitted) and was in camp on time. Rosenhaus stated publicly many times before the deal was reached that he wanted Timmons to be in camp, and he was. There never seemed to be contract issues with Timmons.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Mar 18, 2008 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

holdout

Here was what I wrote about Timmons holding out last year during training camp.

Here was a blurb about TImmons signing the day before camp started.

So, yeah, he made it to camp on time. He was just the last Steelers rookie to sign, perhaps thats what got anybody confused.

by Blitzburgh on Mar 18, 2008 12:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yea

Maybe it was that and all of the injuries he had that made me think he held out.

by cgolden on Mar 18, 2008 7:50 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The problem with Rosenhaus...

is simply that he increases the likelihood that one of his clients will refuse to honor their contract. He has explicitly stated that he has little use or respect for contracts since teams aren't forced to honor them (which is simply untrue, but it's his job to advocate on his client's behalf).

Holdouts are part and parcel of that strategy. The truth is, most players overwhelmingly don't want to hold out, since it affects their ability to get lucrative contracts in the future. Drew Rosenhaus, more than other agents, encourages it.

Good ownership can ameliorate that, but only to a certain extent. If Drew talks his client into holding out in a situation he can't win, in Pitt for instance, the guy is still a holdout.

I have an incredibly high opinion of Rosenhaus as an agent. I question whether it's ever a good idea to have him representing your favorite franchise's players. My final concern with him is that he demands a lot of time from ownership.

Hogs Haven

by Skin Patrol on Mar 17, 2008 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rosenhaus

also isn't dumb. he knows that his client won't have great leverage because McFadden couldn't beat an "old" guy for the starting job. (which maybe was politicking by the Steelers to keep Mac's price down). Rosenhaus doesn't like his clients holding out either--because as a smart agent, he knows holdouts rarely work in getting the huge deal you want. TO didn't hold out in Philly remember. He showed up to camp. The Eagles asked him to leave camp.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Mar 17, 2008 1:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

good points

But the point is, Rosenhaus is experienced enough to A) convince BMac he's worth more and that we're treating him wrong and B) to convince other clubs that BMac is worth bigtime money.

You're right about him just doing his job. He does it well. And I also agree we won't see a holdout scenario. I guess what we do in the draft will give us somewhat of an idea of what the team is thinking.

by Blitzburgh on Mar 17, 2008 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

TO did show up

but, he was suspended during the season for conduct detrimental to the team. And, an arbritrater ruled in favor of the team, that, yes indeed his conduct was detrimental to the team.

Sure, TO has his own issues, but Rosenhaus came off as being totally supportive of his behavior because he needed to "get paid what he's worth." This was after the first year of a seven year contract that TO agreed to. Anyway, maybe he's not as bad as all that, but I've never seen one player so obviously not team oriented during a single season.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Mar 17, 2008 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No Worries on B. McFadden

Guys, Rosenhaus is the premiere agent in the NFL when it comes to deal-making. However, I don't think there is reason to lose any sleep here.

McFadden isn't going to get the money he thinks he deserves unless he performs on the field this year. He hasn't proved yet that he can be a starter for 16 games or a consistent starter for a playoff team. If he wants the big money, he has to stay healthy and perform.

Either way, the Steelers can't lose. If he fulfills his potential this year, then the Steelers will have a pretty solid cornerback to pair with Ike.

If he doesn't beat out Deshea this year, then I don't know if the Steelers would want him back next year. He would be another 2nd round pick for Colbert that didn't fulfill his potential. If you haven't shown something by year 4, then you and the team need to move on.

McFadden knows that this team doesn't pay for potential. You have to show it on the field here before you get the money.

I don't see a problem with having a young, talented cornerback who is motivated to have a big year to land that next contract. If he plays up to his potential, then the Steelers will benefit from it and will talk contract extension.

If not, then he's gone anyway. And I don't think we have to worry about taking a corner too early because you can get good value of corners with a lot of upside later in the draft. This team needs to go OL, DL and DE/OLB for its first 3 draft picks.

by datruth4life on Mar 17, 2008 2:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Starks

What is going on with Max Starks? The longer no other teams offer him a deal, the better leverage we have to sign him to an affordable deal, and thus possibly have the money to sign another FA O-linemen, and suddenly our line won't be so bad if we draft a couple young guys early as I'm sure we will. Agree about McFadden datruth, we are in a good situation with him. I think we'll keep him because he is solid and probably just about as good as 'Shea in my eyes. I expect us to draft a CB in the mid to late rounds this year, to groom in case B-Mac has a huge contract year and thus gets a payday we won't want to match. Then if he doesn't have a GREAT year, we can re-sign or release B-Mac for cheap, and still have depth at CB. Our front office is handling all of our situations well this off-season I believe. Once Starks is signed/cleared up, everything else will fall into place.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Mar 17, 2008 3:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It's not that I think

we'll be in trouble if we lose McFadden. Mainly, I just think Rosehaus is the prototypical lowlife agent. Sure, he does a good job getting his players paid, but he doesn't seem like anything resembling a decent person.

Also, if he represents Simmons, look how that's worked out for us so far. Simmons isn't the cancer TO is, obviously, but it does appear that he is not living up to his recent big payday.

Alright, I'm done blasting Rosenhaus.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Mar 17, 2008 3:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

not Simmons

he represents Timmons. also represents Najeh. neither had contract issues with us.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Mar 17, 2008 3:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sorry, misread that

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Mar 17, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

my point is

he only uses his 'antics' with his superstar clients. he's actually pretty agreeable with his mid-level type players/clients.

by TheMostViolentTeam on Mar 17, 2008 3:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So, we may only need to hate Rosenhaus

after Timmons' rookie contract is up or when we try to sign him to an extension. :) That's assuming Timmons lives up to his expectation.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Mar 17, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Anyway

I see your point, and I'm glad that's true in this case.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Mar 17, 2008 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Steelers Scenario's

The B Mac thing with Rosenhaus is business as usual. There is no guarantee things work out in any case but the FO is doing good contingency planning in my book. It will all depend on the draft but they are hedging bets.
B Mac is with Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus will work the best deal he can for his client. The only negative is that the Steelers may have to draft a CB on day 1 which I did not want them to have to do. They need OL and DL including C.
The different draft scenario's are why they are talking to Nickey and Hartwig. If they sign Hartwig they don't need a C on day 1 and can take a CB.
Starks is also a good situation. They have frozen Starks from signing a cheap contract elsewhere. They will have first right of refusal. They can always take away the transition tag to free up cap space if they sign Hartwig. Max is depth at OT in case they don't get one in the draft. He can play either tackle spot and they can release him at any time.

When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen

by 5020 on Mar 17, 2008 4:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

McFadden

Yeah, he hasn't shown a whole lot (he did make a nice play against Reggie Wayne that saved our SB run), and with Deshea getting older, it is a concern. The good news is that we drafted a CB last year who may be decent, so we have good depth. We need either BMac to step it up and be a quality starter or to draft someone who could start next year (or this year, if the right guy fall to us). Hopefully next year we won't have the same problem with our CB's that we had with our OL, LB's, and WR's in recent years.

by BadMaafala on Mar 17, 2008 4:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What do the CB draft options look like?

If they're limited (or McFadden, like the rest of us, knows the Steelers don't want to draft one early), this could easily just be a tactic to get himself a bit more money. McFadden has to know that if he forces the Steelers to draft a CB with an early pick, given the Steelers other needs and present financial situation, his days in the 'burgh will be numbered.

by HinesField on Mar 17, 2008 4:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

CB's in the draft

This year seems to be a pretty solid year for CB's, although there aren't any worth a top 10 pick. There are six CB's that could make it into the first round, and decent depth beyond that through the 3-4th rounds. If McFadden is getting leverage from somewhere, it's that the Steelers have more pressing needs, not that there aren't good corners to draft. One of the top corners will almost definitely be available at #23.

by BadMaafala on Mar 17, 2008 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maafala stole my post

I was even going to mention the Reggie Wayne play (which could not have been better defended by Champ Bailey and Asante Samuel combined).

My concern is that we can't keep losing top 50 picks too early in their career. We end up chasing their replacements with high draft picks, resulting in us spinning our wheels and using our picks to replace good people rather than improving upon old or lesser players.

Plexico comes to mind, and then coupled with the Randall El loss, we had to chase, trading up no less, by getting Santonio Holmes.

We need to keep B-Mac and improve more needed areas. If we end up drafting a corner high in anticipation of losing him, we are spinning our wheels and not getting better.

by maryrose on Mar 17, 2008 7:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well said

It's not that McFadden can't be replaced, it's just that it takes another first day pick to replace him. It would be much easier if they could use those early picks on other areas of need (ie OL, DL, ILB, WR).

by cgolden on Mar 17, 2008 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

counter

I agree mostly with your points, but where I think I disagree a bit is in how I evaluate McFadden's long-term potential. Bottom line is we haven't seen great play from him. Yes the pass numbers were down - way down in fact - this year, but as we've discussed, there were other variables that accounted for that impressive stat other than simply otherworldly play by our corners and safetys.

Our pass defense stunk in 06, but I believe we were more upset with DeShea and Ike, and were ready to give B-Mac a break for being so young. Now this year, he doesn't even beat out DeShea (however, reason could have been this contract renegotiation on the horizon). I just wonder if he's ever going to be as good a corner as say his counterpart, Ike Taylor. I'm not sure he will be.

by Blitzburgh on Mar 17, 2008 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that the jury is still out on B-Mac

In the meantime, we can't keep chasing high draft picks with high draft picks. We'll never improve and we'll find ourselves with glaring weakness that haven't been shored up because of all the chasing.

As an example, if we didn't have to chase Plaxico with Santonio and another pick, we could have drafted valuable linemen on both sides of the ball and we wouldn't be in our current predicament in the trenches.

Now, if we need to draft cornerbacks high to replace high-drafted cornerbacks of recent past, we'll keep chasing and get further in the hole.

Of course, I understand the financial aspect of all this and fitting everything into the cap, etc., and I understand that B-Mac is not the second coming of Champ Bailey, but he is not in my mind a player or position that needs our immediate attention.

In two or three years, if we have shored up both lines and feel better about things in general, then maybe B-Mac will become our immediate attention, and at that time we be able to afford that attention.

I think we are all hoping for the same thing here!

by maryrose on Mar 18, 2008 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No worries here

Agree with 5020, datruth, Maryrose and others who think there is nothing to worry about here for at least a year. It's business as usual. McFadden gets himself a good agent which is what he should do. He's under contract for another season and this is a big year for him, so he will be motivated to make a statement about how good he is and open up some eyes. I like what he has shown. He could be more aggressive but he's a pretty good athlete who should get better. Townsend is still a capable veteran and Gay should improve. It puts the Steelers in a good position for a year. If McFadden plays well, the Steelers will offer him a competitive contract with the market. They're not cheap. It's unlikely a team would offer a huge deal to a guy who will be a RFA, but if they do, that's just the way it goes. If he really wants to leave, then he can do so as a UFA two years from now. That's his choice. We have plenty of time to find a new CB if he decides to leave but I'm confident the Steelers will do everything they can to re-sign him next year if his play justifies it.

Still, this is a good draft year for CBs and I wouldn't be surprised if we pick one. We need better athletes on ST and it's possible a CB with safety skills could be picked ahead of some of our other needs as the best player available. There is only one CB who I think would merit serious consideration in the first round and that's Dom. Rodgers-Cromartie. Can't see him lasting until the Steelers pick but if he's there, it would be tempting. Should get trade offers if that situation arises.

by steeler lifer on Mar 18, 2008 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ah

Didn't realize he was a RFA. That changes things considerably.

by Blitzburgh on Mar 18, 2008 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

McFadden will be a UFA

In order to a restricted free agent a player has to have 3 accrued seasons but McFadden will have four after '08 so he would be a UFA.

by cgolden on Mar 19, 2008 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

thanks golden

Appreciate the correction of McFadden as UFA one year from now. I'd forgotten he was going into his fourth year. It does change things a bit. If things don't go anywhere on a contract extension this off-season, then it's more likely he will want to leave next year. No reason for the Steelers to make a big offer to him now because he hasn't proven it on the field. Drafting a CB high this year makes it even more likely he leaves, whether he has a good year or not. But he needs to play well to make good money in FA.

by steeler lifer on Mar 19, 2008 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

there are other factors to ponder

Such as what the steelers will look like with cap space next year, what other fa's they have, and more importantly, how deep will the free agent crop of cb's be.
McFadden needs to have a great year, and if he improves his game and is consistent/healthy all year, then he deserves a good contract. If the steelers are in a position to give it him, great.

I don't know if it affects day 1 draft now solely because of an agent, because there probably will be other free agents out there if mcfadden leaves- ryan clark was a great pickup. And with any agent, if a player performs great in a contract year, they usually get their money.

by vherub on Mar 18, 2008 10:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs